Curiosity Is Contagious: A Social Influence Intervention to Induce Curiosity

Our actions and decisions are regularly influenced by the social environment around us. Can social cues be leveraged to induce curiosity and affect subsequent behavior? Across two experiments, we show that curiosity is contagious: The social environment can influence people's curiosity about the answers to scientific questions. Participants were presented with everyday questions about science from a popular on-line forum, and these were shown with a high or low number of up-votes as a social cue to popularity. Participants indicated their curiosity about the answers, and they were given an opportunity to reveal a subset of those answers. Participants reported greater curiosity about the answers to questions when the questions were presented with a high (vs. low) number of up-votes, and they were also more likely to choose to reveal the answers to questions with a high (vs. low) number of up-votes. These effects were partially mediated by surprise and by the inferred usefulness of knowledge, with a more dramatic effect of low up-votes in reducing curiosity than of high up-votes in boosting curiosity. Taken together, these results highlight the important role social information plays in shaping our curiosity.     

The relevance of Rawls' principle of justice for research on cognitively impaired patients

An ethical conflict arises when we must performresearch in the interest of future patients,but that this may occasionally injure theinterests of today's patients.In the case of cognitively impaired persons, thequestion arises whether it is compatible withhumane healthcare not only to treat, but alsoto use these patients for research purposes.Some bioethicists and theologians haveformulated a general duty of solidarity, alsopertaining to cognitively impaired persons, as ajustification for research on these persons. Ifone examines this thesis from the theory ofjustice according to John Rawls, it is revealedthat such a duty of solidarity cannotnecessarily be extrapolated from Rawls'conception of justice. This is at least true ofRawls' difference principle, because accordingto the difference principle only those measuresare justifiable which serve the interest of therespective least well off. Those measures whichwould engender additional injury for the leastwell off could not be balanced by any utilityaccording to Rawls.However, John Rawls' difference principleis subordinate to the first principle,which is that each person has an equalright to the most extensive basic libertycompatible with the same liberty for others.These primary goods are determined by thefreedom and integrity of the person.This integrity of decisionally impaired personswould be in danger if one would abstain fromresearch and thus forego the increase inknowledge related to their disease. Thus onecould conclude, at least from Rawls' firstprinciple, that society must take on a duty toguarantee the degrees of freedom forcognitively impaired persons and thus alsosupport the efforts for their healing.     

Beziehungsmuster und Beziehungskonflikte

Zusammenfassung  Die Veränderung pathogenetisch bedeutsamer Beziehungsmuster gilt als wesentliches psychotherapeutisches Behandlungsziel. Um zielgerichtete Veränderungen von Beziehungsstrukturen zu erreichen, bedarf es sowohl einer Diagnostik und Beschreibung solcher Beziehungsmuster, einer darauf zielenden Behandlungstechnik als auch einer Verlaufskontrolle und Evaluation der angestrebten Veränderungen. Nach einem Überblick über verschiedene Methoden zur Erfassung von Beziehungsmustern wird die Methode des Zentralen-Beziehungskonflikt-Themas (ZBKT) von Luborsky näher beschrieben; ausgewählte Ergebnisse der ZBKT-Forschung werden dargestellt und die Methode kritisch bewertet.

Relating ethnic identity, acculturation, and attitudes toward treating minority clients

This study assessed the relationship among the ethnic identity, acculturation, and self-concepts of minority health care professionals and their attitudes toward treating minority clients and using alternative therapies. The sample consisted of 150 medical students of Indian descent. Strong ethnic identity and acculturation related to high self-esteem, self-clarity, the likelihood of treating more minority patients, and the use of alternative therapies. The more "Westernized" participants expressed less of a preference for serving minority patients and believed themselves to be less effective in serving minorities. Gender differences in some aspects of ethnic identity and attitudes were found. The results imply that a focus on acculturation and ethnicity in all client-clinician psychological research is critical, and especially in cases of cultural matching.     

Sexualit?t und Internet

On the discussion about sexual internet activities, the professional and public discourses have been strongly polarized for a long time. Currently the trend is that online sexuality is to be seen in a differentiated and empirical manner. Next to undesired (e.g. assault by internet platform) or indirect (e.g. due to excessive pornography use by partners) confrontations with online sexuality, there is a broad spectrum of self-initiated sexual use of the internet. These are, for example reception of information sites, exchange of experiences, utilization of online sexual consultation and romantic relationships. On the other hand clinically relevant problems could accompany sexual internet use, such as cybersex addiction. Because of the mediatization in society ambulant patients in the psychotherapeutic practice are more informed about sexual internet use. For psychotherapists it is important to know the internet-specific details and the potential risks and chances for sexual behavior in order to know how to deal with the situation and if necessary to integrate the internet into the spectrum of web-based sexual therapeutic options.     

Psycho-Social Functioning in an Individual with Gender Identity Disorder

An adult transsexual male with presenting complaints of substance dependence was taken up for the study at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Past history covering substance use and transsexualism was followed by psychological assessment comprising of Verbal Adult Intelligence Scale, Draw-A-Person Test, Sentence Completion Test, The Adjustment Inventory and Rorschach Psychodiagnostics. The patient presented with interpersonal difficulties and distress owing to substance use. He reported being personally comfortable with his transsexual status and sought help for sex reassignment surgery. The study directs attention towards the fact that individuals with GID are at a risk for healthy adjustment with respect to their socio- cultural set up and in coping with situations. Hence, detailed assessment of distress related to GID, the social milieu leading to acceptance/isolation of the person and co-morbid conditions (if any) is productive.     

Direktausbildung Psychotherapie an der medizinischen Fakultät

Background

There is ongoing political discussion at the Federal Ministry of Health that a university entrance diploma should allow psychotherapy to be studied directly: Graduation leads to a licensure that qualifies for further specialization, e.g. in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or psychodynamic psychotherapy analog to medical specialization. As psychotherapy has its roots in both psychology and in medicine, the question is raised which faculty should be the future home of direct psychotherapy schools.

Material and methods

A theoretical model curriculum of psychosomatic psychotherapy is proposed. Its structure which is oriented to the established structure of medical training and its contents are described. It is argued that the proposed model in the tradition of psychosomatic medicine is suitable to meet ongoing changes in the structure of psychotherapeutic care due to new challenges in the field of public health.

Conclusion

The study of psychotherapy should be associated with chairs in clinical psychology and psychosomatic medicine in order to maintain and further develop the variety and quality which psychotherapy has gained in Germany.