Gesundheitsf?rderung durch Introvision als Methode der mentalen Selbstregulation: eine zusammenfassende übersicht über empirische Forschungsergebnisse

This article gives an overview on five empirical studies on the effects of training in Introvision on improving health. Introvision is a newly developed, research based method of mental self-regulation aiming at resolving inner conflicts. To put it briefly, Introvision is a method of combining principles of cognitive behavior therapy with a special kind of mindfulness, thus aiming at extinguishing the habitual coupling of core cognitions with heightened arousal, tension and inhibition. In this article, two general hypotheses on the effects of Introvision on health are developed based on the theory of mental introference. The results of three controlled empirical studies show that introvision leads to significant improvement in reducing chronic health problems. Specifically, there were significant improvements (1) of hearing (in case of presbyacusis), (2) in lessening the strain of tinnitus and (3) in reducing and resolving chronic neck tensions. Also, training in Introvision led to significant long-term reduction of chronic stress (prae, post) in various groups (e.g. high-performance sports, managers). After the ending of training in Introvision, chronic stress was decreased even further significantly (post vs. follow-up).     

Die europäische Schuldenkrise als Schub systemischer Vergesellschaftung: Von Partizipationsversprechen zu Partizipationszwang

The article presents a sociological conceptualization of the dealing with the recent sovereign debt crisis in the European Monetary Union (EMU), which is reconstructed as a push of “sociation” (vergesellschaftung in Simmel’s sense) that maneuvered populations of indebted states into de facto contractual obligations vis-à-vis their states’ creditors. Seen from this perspective, the sovereign debt crisis has led to an, if highly ambivalent, deepening of European “integration”. The article suggests a combination of Habermas’s distinction between system and life-world, which enables an interpretation of contract-like relationships as systemic mode of integration potentially harking back on the life-world, with David Graeber’s emphasis on the asymmetrical and hierarchical processes of sociation inherent in contractualized and marketized creditor-debtor relationships. Far from postulating an evolutionary development of processes of debt-related sociation that might be associated with the modernization-theoretical proclivities in Habermas’s theory, the article analyzes the role of financial market publics in creating a structure of legitimation that supported the political interpretation of the financial crisis as a sovereign debt crisis in the EMU, thus bestowing justification on the treatment of populations as “debtors of last resort”.     

Who is Who? Die Sozialstruktur der Soziologie-Professorenschaft in Deutschland

Against the background of existing patterns of recruitment within academics the article deals with the socio-structural composition of the professors in the field of sociology. The basis is a full survey of professors at departments of sociology at German universities and a number of selected research institutes. The parameters of interest are the share of female professors, the share of foreign professors, the social background of professors in terms of coming from East or West Germany and the age distribution. In order to capture changes over time, we differentiate the data according to birth cohorts. All in all with the exception of the feminization of the profession we find a great structural stability of the composition of sociology professors, which indicates the ongoing dominance of specific pattern of recruitment. In particular the inclusion of East Germans and the internationalization of the professorial personal have not advanced.     

Die Sch?tzung von kausalen Effekten: überlegungen zu Methoden der Kausalanalyse anhand von Kontexteffekten in der Schule

This article discusses the problem of causal inference based on contextual peer effects in education. For this purpose, I first introduce the counterfactual approach to causality and the fundamental problem of causal inference. Subsequently, experiments and a number of statistical methods are discussed as possible approaches to estimate causal effects. In particular, conditioning on observables using common linear regression models as well as matching procedures (such as propensity score matching), fixed-effects models, the difference-in-difference approach, instrumental variables, and the regression discontinuity design are discussed. The introduction of these methods is neither focused on the mathematical background nor on the estimation procedure but rather on the general logic and the assumptions connected with a causal interpretation of the estimated effects. The paper closes with an analysis of compositional peer effects in German elementary schools to illustrate the adequate treatment of selection processes.     

Die Rezeption (Thyssen-)preisgekr?nter Artikel in der ?Scientific Community“

We investigate whether journal articles winning a prestigious award of the Thyssen foundation have a higher impact in the scientific literature than a control group of non-awarded articles. In average, awarded articles harvest significantly more citations than articles in the control group. Most remarkably, the average citation rank exactly matches the rank order of awards. The top award earns most citations while the second award, the third award and the non-awarded articles exhibit citation counts in declining order. The correlation of award rank and impact does not vanish if we restrict citation counts to the year of publication and the year thereafter. In this time span the distinction of excellence is very unlikely having a genuine effect on the impact measure. Thus, we do not find support for the social constructivist hypothesis that the correlation of the jury decision and the article impact is explainable by a label of distinctiveness. On the contrary, the empirical data confirm that the jury is successful in the selection of articles which in average have a larger impact in the scientific community than non-awarded publications.     

Gelassenheit und Handlungsfähigkeit durch Introvision als Methode der mentalen Selbstregulation – eine Einführung

Introvision is a new method of mental self regulation. Its development is the result of a long term research program at the University of Hamburg headed by the author. Introvision aims at resolving inner conflicts and mental blocks and hence regaining equanimity and a clear mind in difficult situations. It is based on the assumption that inner restlessness is the result of cognitive affective introference, a process of overwriting cognitions which entails selectively linking them with increased arousal, tension and inhibition. Introvision aims at extinguishing such automatic introference in two steps. Step 1 entails finding the core conflict by a set procedure which is based on the theory of subjective imperatives. In step 2, the subject is asked to focus his or her attention on this cognition without actively introfering with it awareness of-what-is in order to extinguish the automatic Interference coupled with this cognition. This method needs to be practiced beforehand over a period of several weeks.     

Ein Experiment zum Einfluss der Situation auf physische und psychische Nähe

The influence of the social situation on the physical distance and, as measured by a questionnaire, emotional intimacy between participants was experimentally studied (N = 90) in a cooperative, a competitive, and a neutral social situation. Results indicate that the physical distance was greatest under neutral conditions. The cooperative condition produced the strongest feeling of intimacy. It is argued that the neutral condition is irrelevant to the participants’ behaviour and level of attention to other persons. Further, intimacy can only arise if an interaction is both positive and relevant. The correlation between physical and emotional distance turned out to be relatively small, in accordance with the range usually given for attitudebehaviour correlations.     

Von Redelisten und Reißverschlüssen — Erfahrungen einer Trainerin mit der politischen Gremienarbeit

Ohne Zusammenfassung Dr. phil. Bernadette Grawe ist in eigener Praxis freiberuflich t?tig als Supervisorin (DGSv), Organisationsberaterin und Trainerin für Gruppendynamik (DAGG). Ingrid Stahmer ist Sozialarbeiterin (seit 1965) und Trainerin für Gruppendynamik im DAGG (seit 1974). Nach ihrem (freiwilligen) Ausstieg aus der Politik ist sie wieder freiberuflich als Trainerin und im Coaching für Führungskr?fte t?tig.