Student teachers’ implicit attitudes toward students with and without immigration background: A pilot study

in Studies in Educational Evaluation (2013), 39

Task and category fit as determinants of information processing: The case of forensic psychologists.

Scientific Conference (2012, July)

Defending the Doomed: Implicit Strategies concerning Protection of First Person Shooter Games

in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (2012), 15

Abstract Censorship of violent digital games, especially first-person shooter (FPS) games, is broadly discussed between generations. While older people are concerned about possible negative influences of ... [more ▼]

Abstract Censorship of violent digital games, especially first-person shooter (FPS) games, is broadly discussed between generations. While older people are concerned about possible negative influences of these games, not only players but also nonplayers of the younger net-generation seem to deny any association with real aggressive behavior. Our study aimed at investigating defense mechanisms players and nonplayers use to defend FPS and peers with playing habits. By using a lexical decision task, we found that aggressive concepts are activated by priming the content of FPS but suppressed afterward. Only if participants were instructed to actively suppress aggressive concepts after priming, thought suppression was no longer necessary. Young people still do have negative associations with violent video games. These associations are neglected by implicitly applying defense strategies—independent of own playing habits—to protect this specific hobby, which is common for the netgeneration. [less ▲]

Impression formation or prediction? Category fit and task influence forensic person memory.

in Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice (2011), 11

We experimentally investigated whether forensic psychologists differ from laymen in their use of heuristic and integrated information processing depending on the given task and category fit of information ... [more ▼]

We experimentally investigated whether forensic psychologists differ from laymen in their use of heuristic and integrated information processing depending on the given task and category fit of information. Participants’ task was either forming an impression or predicting the development of a fictitious rapist and a fictitious robber-and-murderer. Case report recall was measured. Results showed that experts processed the rapist’s information heuristically when offender information fit the category and the task required impression formation. In contrast, laymen did not apply the offender categories and processed all the information using an integrated strategy. When predicting the development of an offender, forensic psychologists integrated all relevant information. The robber-and-murderer information was always processed using an integrated strategy. The practical relevance of the results is discussed. [less ▲]

Are deterrent pictures effective? The impact of warning labels on cognitive dissonance in smokers

in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2009), 1(3), 356-373

An experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of cigarette warning labels on cognitive dissonance in smokers. Smokers' and non-smokers' risk perceptions with regard to smoking-related diseases ... [more ▼]

An experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of cigarette warning labels on cognitive dissonance in smokers. Smokers' and non-smokers' risk perceptions with regard to smoking-related diseases were measured with ratings as well as with response latencies before and after presentation of warning labels. Results indicated an influence of warning labels on smokers' ratings, revealing cognitive dissonance reducing strategies after confrontation with warning labels. Response latencies showed an impact of confrontation with smoking-related health risks rather than an impact of warning labels. Findings are discussed in terms of cognitive dissonance theory. [less ▲]

Das Gedächtnis für forensische Personinformationen bei Vollzugpsychologen

Scientific Conference (2008, March)

Reading about persons: The effects of conjunctions on the mental representation of person descriptions

in Swiss Journal of Psychology (2008), 67

Three experiments investigated the processing of person descriptions that consisted of a number of statements about the characteristics of a person. In one condition, each statement referred to a single ... [more ▼]

Three experiments investigated the processing of person descriptions that consisted of a number of statements about the characteristics of a person. In one condition, each statement referred to a single person attribute and in the other condition, causal and additive conjunctions to verbally link the statements were introduced. Evidence was found that the introduction of verbal links enhanced participants’ memory about the characteristics of the described person. On-line measures of processing showed that the comprehension of person information was strongly facilitated by the introduction of verbal links. Furthermore, the results were due to the introduction of causal connections between person attributes. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for models of person memory and representation. [less ▲]

Kausale Beziehungen zwischen Personmerkmalen: Der Einfluss der Direktionalität bei der Verarbeitung und bei der mentalen Repräsentation

Scientific Conference (2006, September)

Lesezeiten- und Blickbewegungsverfahren als online-Methoden für Analyse der sozialen Kognition

Scientific Conference (2006, March)

Lesezeiten- und Blickbewegungsverfahren als Methoden für die soziale Kognitionsforschung

in Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie (2006), 37

In this article, the advantages of reading time methods to investigate the processing of social information are presented. First the theoretical and the methodological basis of reading time measures is ... [more ▼]

In this article, the advantages of reading time methods to investigate the processing of social information are presented. First the theoretical and the methodological basis of reading time measures is discussed. Subsequently, the application of two different reading time methods is illustrated in two experiments. The experiments investigated the differences in the processing of person information that was presented either with or without conjunctions. Reading times which were analyzed as on-line measures showed that the first integration process while reading person information was strongly facilitated due to the introduction of conjunctions where the integration of the information immediately following the conjunction in a sentence was affected. Finally, the use of reading time methods is discussed in terms of further research in other areas of social cognition. [less ▲]