Der ästhetische Eindruck als Funktion der „objektiven“ und „phänomenalen“ Komplexität von Bildern

Zusammenfassung Es wird von der Annahme ausgegangen, daß die häufig gefundene verkehrt u-förmige Beziehung zwischen der objektiven Komplexität (syntaktischen Information) von Reizkonfigurationen und dem Grad des durch sie ausgelösten Wohlgefallens durch eine Variable phänomenale Komplexität vermittelt wird, die ihrerseits von der Schwierigkeit einer zentralen Codierung (kognitiven Repräsentation) der Reizgrundlage abhängt. Der Zusammenhang zwischen objektiver und phänomenaler Komplexität wird als verkehrt u-förmig, die Beziehung zwischen phänomenaler Komplexität und Wohlgefallen hingegen als monoton angenommen.Um den Grad der phänomenalen Komplexität zweidimensionaler visueller Bildmuster unabhängig von evaluativen Einflüssen schätzen zu können, wurde folgende Technik angewendet: Alle nach den Merkmalen Rasterfeinheit, Farbanzahl und Verteilung der Farbhäufigkeiten variierten konstruierten Rasterbilder wurden in standardisierte Einzelteile zerschnitten. Die Versuchspersonen erhielten die Aufgabe, jedes Bild nach Art eines Puzzles aus den Einzelteilen zu rekonstruieren. Als Indikator der phänomenalen Komplexität wurde die Rekonstruktionszeit herangezogen.Die gefundenen Beziehungen zwischen objektiver Komplexität, subjektiver Komplexität und Wohlgefallen entsprechen — zumindest im untersuchten Komplexitätsbereich — der oben angeführten Hypothese.

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The esthetic impression as a function of the objective and phenomenal complexity of pictures

Summary Previous studies frequently revealed an inverted u-shaped relation between objective complexity (syntactic information) and the degree of judged pleasingness of stimulus configurations. The study presented here rests on the hypothesis that this relation is mediated by a variable phenomenal complexity which depends on the difficulty of encoding the configuration perceptually. It is hypothesized that the relation between objective and phenomenal complexity is inverted u-shaped, whereas the relation between phenomenal complexity and pleasingness is monotonic.To get an estimate of the phenomenal complexity of two-dimensional visual patterns which is independent of evaluation effects the following technique was used: Each of the pattern was presented to the Ss in form of a puzzle and had to be reconstructed by aid of the original pattern. Patterns were generated on n × n-matrices with varying n, varying number of colors and varying distribution of color frequencies. As an indicator of phenomenal complexity the time needed to reconstruct the original pattern was used.The relations between objective complexity, phenomenal complexity and evaluation conformed quite well to the assumptions cited above — at least within the range of objective complexity investigated.

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Frau cand. phil. Andrea Werner danke ich für ihre wertvolle Hilfe bei der Durchführung und Auswertung der Versuche.     

Perceptual Judgments of Sports Officials are Influenced by their Motor and Visual Experience

We examined the relation between previous motor and visual experience and current officiating experience of expert judges and referees and their judgments from an embodied cognition viewpoint. A total of 370 sports officials from soccer, handball, ice hockey, and trampoline took part in the study. Analyses revealed that cognitive judgments are related to motor, visual, and officiating experience to different degrees in the analyzed sports. Our findings indicate that, depending on the sport, sports officials should either specialize early in officiating, or gather visuo-motor experience as an athlete or spectator first, and then switch roles to become a sports official.     

Manic depression and religious experience: The use of religion in therapy

In the article, I explore the use of spiritual strategies in the treatment of manic depression in religiously oriented psychiatric inpatients. Manic depression, a disorder primarily of mood, is characterized by bouts of mania alternating with depression. Religious themes and mystical experiences pervade the language of manic depressive illness, e.g., sensing one is God, being given a divine mission, receiving divine messages, having ecstatic experiences, and so on. Debate exists concerning the effectiveness of spiritual interventions in manic patients. I suggest that a trained religious leader may be able to work therapeutically with such patients, provided that two goals are kept in mind: emphasizing beliefs that facilitate positive coping and challenging irrational religious beliefs (i.e., beliefs that lead to negative coping). When examined psychoanalytically, patients’ religious symbols and beliefs reveal deeply held beliefs about themselves. In particular, splitting and idealization and devaluation can be seen in their religious belief system. The role of culture in promoting maladaptive belief systems must not be overlooked. In employing spiritual interventions in patients diagnosed with manic depression, potential dangers are imposing one's values on patients and overstating the importance of spirituality.     

Note on Crozier’s Neural-Availability theory

Two implications of Crozier’s Availability theory are developed. First, the population of elements of neural effect is shown to have a minimum size. Second, intensity discrimination must be mediated by progressively smaller increments in neural effect as stimulus intensity is increased-an improbable state of affairs.     

MOTHER–CHILD AND FATHER–CHILD PLAY INTERACTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL PLAYFULNESS AS A MODERATOR OF THE LINKS BETWEEN PARENTAL BEHAVIOR AND CHILD NEGATIVITY

Based on the premise that father–child play is an important context for children's development and that fathers “specialize” in play, similarities and differences in the role of playfulness in the father–child and mother–child relationship were examined. Participants in this study included 111 families (children's age: 1–3 years). Father–child and mother–child play interactions were videotaped and coded for parental playfulness, sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness as well as child negativity. Results indicated that mothers and fathers did not differ in playfulness and that mothers and fathers who were higher in playfulness had children with lower levels of negativity. However, playfulness differently moderated the links between parents’ and children's behaviors for mothers and fathers. A double‐risk pattern was found for mothers, such that the links between child negativity and maternal sensitivity, structuring, and nonintrusiveness were significant only for the subgroup of mothers with low levels of playfulness. When mothers had high levels of playfulness, these effects were negligible. For fathers, a double‐buffer pattern was revealed, indicating that the links between child negativity and paternal sensitivity and structuring were significant only for fathers with high levels of playfulness. When fathers had low levels of playfulness, these effects were negligible. These findings demonstrate the important role that parental playfulness has on parent–child interaction as well as the need to examine moderation patterns separately for fathers and mothers.     

Expertise-based differences in search and option-generation strategies

The current work builds on option-generation research using experts of various skill levels in a realistic task. We extend previous findings that relate an athlete's performance strategy to generated options and subsequent choices in handball. In a 2-year longitudinal study, we present eye-tracking data to independently verify decision strategies previously inferred from patterns of generated options. A verbal protocol identified the option-generation process for each individual prior to an allocation decision. Although athletes of varying expertise generated the same number of options on average, these options differed in quality between expert, near-expert, and nonexpert athletes for both their initial and final choices. These and other key results are formalized to elaborate a model of option generation, deliberation, and selection.     

Improving the 'how' and 'what' decisions of elite table tennis players

Training methods in sport usually focus on improving either technical or tactical aspects of performance, ignoring the fact that successful performance requires the athlete to simultaneously decide what movement to perform and how it should be executed. Young elite table tennis players were trained, in a first phase, to improve their forehand and backhand movements and, in a second phase, to make a tactical switch between forehand and backhand movements. Half of the players took part in behavioral training focusing on how to perform the required movements, whereas half received additional video feedback about their technical and tactical performance (decision training). The results indicate that improvements of how decisions (techniques) and what decisions (tactics) can occur as a consequence of combining technical and tactical training. These results were stable in delayed Post-test analyses of competitive matches. It was concluded that a combination of both technical and tactical training is beneficial to elite table tennis performers, particularly during early seasonal training programs.     

Mindfulness-based stress reduction and self-compassion among mental healthcare professionals: a pilot study

The authors conducted a pilot study on the effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) educational intervention on mental health professionals' self-compassion, perceived stress, burnout, and quality of life. Data were obtained from 22 female mental healthcare workers between the ages of 24 and 69 years who were enrolled in one of four separate 8-week MBSR courses. Pre- and post-assessment measures consisted of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Quality of Life Inventory. The changes on the SCS total score proved significant with a p-value of .003. Within the SCS, changes were significant on four out of the six subscales. The study is unique in its use of the eight-week MBSR intervention to target mental health professionals currently working in the field, and in the examination of the specific facets of self-compassion enhanced by this type of intervention.     

Network approaches for expert decisions in sports

This paper focuses on a model comparison to explain choices based on gaze behavior via simulation procedures. We tested two classes of models, a parallel constraint satisfaction (PCS) artificial neuronal network model and an accumulator model in a handball decision-making task from a lab experiment. Both models predict action in an option-generation task in which options can be chosen from the perspective of a playmaker in handball (i.e., passing to another player or shooting at the goal). Model simulations are based on a dataset of generated options together with gaze behavior measurements from 74 expert handball players for 22 pieces of video footage. We implemented both classes of models as deterministic vs. probabilistic models including and excluding fitted parameters. Results indicated that both classes of models can fit and predict participants' initially generated options based on gaze behavior data, and that overall, the classes of models performed about equally well. Early fixations were thereby particularly predictive for choices. We conclude that the analyses of complex environments via network approaches can be successfully applied to the field of experts' decision making in sports and provide perspectives for further theoretical developments.