Cognitive Deficits in Executive Functions and Decision-Making Impairments Cluster Gambling Disorder Sub-types

To identify Gambling Disorder (GD) subtypes, in a population of men seeking treatment for GD, according to specific executive function domains (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibition and working memory as well as decision making) which are usually impaired in addictive behaviors. A total of 145 males ranging from 18 to 65 years diagnosed with GD were included in this study. All participants completed: (a) a set of questionnaires to assess psychopathological symptoms, personality and impulsivity traits, and (b) a battery of neuropsychological measures to test different executive functioning domains. Two clusters were identified based on the individual performance on the neuropsychological assessment. Cluster 1 [n = 106; labeled as Low Impaired Executive Function (LIEF)] was composed by patients with poor results in the neuropsychological assessment; cluster 2 patients [n = 46; labeled as High Impaired Executive Function (HIEF)] presented significantly higher deficits on the assessed domains and performed worse than the ones of LIEF cluster. Regarding the characterization of these two clusters, patients in cluster 2 were significantly older, unemployed and registered higher mean age of GD onset than patients in cluster 1. Additionally, patients in cluster 2 also obtained higher psychopathological symptoms, impulsivity (in both positive and negative urgency as well as sensation seeking) and some specific personality traits (higher harm avoidance as well as lower self-directedness and cooperativeness) than patients in cluster 1. The results of this study describe two different GD subtypes based on different cognitive domains (i.e., executive function performance). These two GD subtypes display different impulsivity and personality traits as well as clinical symptoms. The results provide new insight into the etiology and characterization of GD and have the potential to help improving current treatments.     

Casino Self- and Forced Excluders’ Gambling Behavior Before and After Exclusion

Casino exclusion programs are intended to prevent or limit gambling-related harm. Although previous research showed that self-exclusion is associated with reduced gambling, it remains unknown whether self- and forced excluded subjects show different patterns of gambling behavior and if exclusion from casino gambling affects all gambling activities. The present study retrospectively investigated (1) the role of voluntariness of exclusion for the first time, and (2) general gambling behavior of excluded individuals before and after exclusion. A total of N = 215 casino excluders (self-excluders: n = 187, forced excluders: n = 28) completed an online survey or a face-to-face interview up to 8 years after enrollment. Self- and forced excluders showed similar rates of abstinence (self-excluders: 19.3%, forced excluders: 28.6%) and reduction (self-excluders: 67.4%, forced excluders: 60.7%), even though forced excluders reported a significantly greater initial gambling intensity compared to self-excluders (e.g., pre-exclusion gambling time; self-excluders: 3.2 days/week, forced excluders: 4.3 days/week). Overall, results indicated that 20.5% of excluders stopped all gambling activities and another 66.5% reduced their gambling. Those who continued gambling significantly reduced this behavior in every segment, except for gambling halls. Findings indicate that self- and forced exclusion are associated with similarly reduced gambling behavior, even in non-excluded segments. However, unchanged gambling in gambling halls emphasizes the importance to implement consistent exclusion programs over all gambling segments.     

The Characteristics of Child Sexual Abuse in the School Environment in Turkey

School may represent a protective factor, boosting the mental health of the student body, while also representing a risk factor that heightens the potential for mental health problems. The present study aims to identify the individual and familial characteristics associated with the incidents of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Turkey’s school environment. The incidents involving school-related CSA constituted 5.6% (N = 125) of 2,238 cases. The following was discovered: an adult committed the majority (64%) of CSA in the school environment; most adult perpetrators were teachers (62.5%). This study determined that the perpetrators manipulated the victims via methods that included physical abuse (11.2%), threats (19.2%), tricks/deception (15.2%), and taking photographs/videos with sexual content (3.2%); and CSA incidents involved intercourse (15.2%); and almost three-quarter of the victims of CSA in the school environment reported the incident late. This study indicates that peer perpetrators abuse younger victims and a greater proportion of male victims relative to adult perpetrators. In light of these findings, school security must be improved, especially in public schools, and trainings aimed at preventing bullying and sexual abuse (SA) should be given to all school staff, students, and parents.     

Bonuszahlungen an Geschäftsführungen: Wodurch werden Gerechtigkeitsurteile von Erwerbstätigen beeinflusst?

Managerial compensation in large companies is subject to many critical concerns; this holds particularly for bonus payments. Empirical evidence shows that nearly three quarter of the German population perceive managers’ incomes as unfairly high. Based on an own survey, we examine what drives fairness perceptions of bonus payments for managers: When do employees assess bonus payments for managers within their own company as unfairly high? Under which conditions do they accept high bonus payments? The analyses show that acceptance decreases with the estimated amount of bonus paid. It increases, however, if aspects of procedural and distributive justice are taken into account.     

Quantifying Facial Expression Synchrony in Face-To-Face Dyadic Interactions: Temporal Dynamics of Simultaneously Recorded Facial EMG Signals

Human social interaction is enriched with synchronous movement which is said to be essential to establish interactional flow. One commonly investigated phenomenon in this regard is facial mimicry, the tendency of humans to mirror facial expressions. Because studies investigating facial mimicry in face-to-face interactions are lacking, the temporal dynamics of facial mimicry remain unclear. We therefore developed and tested the suitability of a novel approach to quantifying facial expression synchrony in face-to-face interactions: windowed cross-lagged correlation analysis (WCLC) for electromyography signals. We recorded muscle activations related to smiling (Zygomaticus Major) and frowning (Corrugator Supercilii) of two interaction partners simultaneously in 30 dyadic affiliative interactions. We expected WCLC to reliably detect facial expression synchrony above chance level and, based on previous research, expected the occurrence of rapid synchronization of smiles within 200 ms. WCLC significantly detected synchrony of smiling but not frowning compared to a control condition of chance level synchrony in six different interactional phases (smiling: d _z s = .85–1.11; frowning: d _z s = .01–.30). Synchronizations of smiles between interaction partners predominantly occurred within 1000 ms, with a significant amount occurring within 200 ms. This rapid synchronization of smiles supports the notion of the existence of an anticipated mimicry response for smiles. We conclude that WCLC is suited to quantify the temporal dynamics of facial expression synchrony in dyadic interactions and discuss implications for different psychological research areas.     

Policy Windows for CSOs in Latin America: Looking Outside Legal and Regulatory Frameworks

This paper presents a comparison of the legal and regulatory frameworks for civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Andean countries. Given the restrictive policies, CSOs are becoming policy entrepreneurs and identifying policy windows, that is, opportunities in public policies that are not inherently related to their sector. It focuses on the case of Ecuador and its 2010 higher education reform that requires universities to generate more research and to establish community outreach. The paper argues that while collaborations with universities might not bring substantial financial resources to CSOs, and that the roles and responsibilities in collaborative projects are constructed through a learning process, the higher education reform might have the potential to create win–win relationships among universities and CSOs. Opportunities like this, allow CSOs to demonstrate their expertise and experience in social development, and in doing so, gain, and in some cases regain, their legitimacy. In the process, CSOs might stave off further restrictive public policy.     

Telling about something that you do not really know: blind people are talking about vision!

In Turkey, the laws which define disability have become increasingly harsh, and require disabled people to be assessed in order to determine ‘how disabled’ they are. For blind people, as for other disabled people, these assessments have real consequences. This article aims to discuss an appealing piece that arose during a project, which has bearing on how disabled people tend to answer these questions. The participants are legally blind adults. We, as sighted researchers, asked totally blind individuals to describe their vision. Interestingly, they all answered this question without hesitation. The paradoxical nature of this question was only realized during the analysis. We requested the participants to talk about something they do not really know. This might be a reflection of our over-visualized world and might be due to our subtle prejudices. This type of questioning not only has implications for research, but also for assessments of disability in Turkey.     

Exploring the Relationship between Reward and Punishment Sensitivity and Gambling Disorder in a Clinical Sample: A Path Modeling Analysis

Most individuals will gamble during their lifetime, yet only a select few will develop gambling disorder. Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory holds promise for providing insight into gambling disorder etiology and symptomatology as it ascertains that neurobiological differences in reward and punishment sensitivity play a crucial role in determining an individual’s affect and motives. The aim of the study was to assess a mediational pathway, which included patients’ sex, personality traits, reward and punishment sensitivity, and gambling-severity variables. The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Symptom Checklist-Revised, and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised were administered to a sample of gambling disorder outpatients (N = 831), diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria, attending a specialized outpatient unit. Sociodemographic variables were also recorded. A structural equation model found that both reward and punishment sensitivity were positively and directly associated with increased gambling severity, sociodemographic variables, and certain personality traits while also revealing a complex mediational role for these dimensions. To this end, our findings suggest that the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire could be a useful tool for gaining a better understanding of different gambling disorder phenotypes and developing tailored interventions.     

Manager-Derailment

The topic of this article in the journal “Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation (GIO)”, failure of managers, used to be a taboo issue that currently receives more and more attention in the daily press as well as in research. In times of globalization and the resulting world-wide competition, organizations bear the responsibility of counteracting failures of their top managers as they encompass not only financial damage for the company but also personal consequences for the respective individual. The derailment of a manager describes the sudden break-down of a so far successful executive. But how does a derailment occur and are there possibilities to prevent it? The following contribution reports empirical evidence for both risk and resilience factors and gives advice for personnel selection and development.