Therapeutic results in acute acoustic trauma (author's transl)

The prime aim of this study is to investigate the influence of therapeutic measures in acute acoustic trauma (AAT). In a controlled clinical trial 209 patients (Table 1) was observed, starting within 2 days after the traumatic event. Various chemical agents, considered to have some influence on microciculation and metabolism of the inner ear, were administered as shown in Table 2. The control group was treated with NaCl infusions and glucose tablets. Statistical analysis of the audiometric data was performed in two different ways (Fig. 2). First, variations of absolute pure tone thresholds were studied in a regression analysis, revealing a close dependency of absolute hearing gains upon pretherapeutic hearing losses. Significant differences of permanent threshold shifts between test and control group could not be observed. Secondly, distribution curves of relative hearing gains (Figs. 1 and 2) were compared using the Kruskal Wallis test. The hypothesis of all of these curves being part of the same sample could not be rejected (P = 0.01). Thus, it was concluded that the four different forms of polypragmatic therapy used in this trial do not exert an effect on AAT exceeding that of NaCl infusions and glucose tablets. Under the assumption of a placebo effect of NaCl infusions and glucose tablets, either the supply with oxygen and neurotrop vitamins is no limiting factor in the regeneration process of the organ of Corti after an AAT, or the administered drugs fail to influence this supply. The effect of hospitalization with consequent reduction of noise and emotional stress was not studied in this paper.     

Seeing meaning in action: A bidirectional link between visual perspective and action identification level.

Actions do not have inherent meaning but rather can be interpreted in many ways. The interpretation a person adopts has important effects on a range of higher order cognitive processes. One dimension on which interpretations can vary is the extent to which actions are identified abstractly—in relation to broader goals, personal characteristics, or consequences—versus concretely, in terms of component processes. The present research investigated how visual perspective (own 1st-person vs. observer’s 3rd-person) in action imagery is related to action identification level. A series of experiments measured and manipulated visual perspective in mental and photographic images to test the connection with action identification level. Results revealed a bidirectional causal relationship linking 3rd-person images and abstract action identifications. These findings highlight the functional role of visual imagery and have implications for understanding how perspective is involved in action perception at the social, cognitive, and neural levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking back in time: Self-concept change affects visual perspective in autobiographical memory.

People who change often report that their old selves seem like "different people." Correlational (Study 1) and experimental (Studies 2 and 3) studies showed that participants tended to use a 3rd-person observer perspective when visualizing memories of actions that conflicted with their current self-concept. A similar pattern emerged when participants imagined performing actions that varied in self-concept compatibility (Study 4). The authors conclude that on-line judgments of an action's self-concept compatibility affect the perspective used for image construction. Study 5 shows applied implications. Use of the 3rd-person perspective when recalling past episodes of overindulgent eating was related to optimism about behaving differently at an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. The authors discuss the effect of self-concept compatibility on cognitive and emotional reactions to past actions and consider the role of causal attributions in defining the self across time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When change in the self is mistaken for change in the world.

The authors examined whether and when changes in the self lead to mistaken assessments that the world has changed. Survey data revealed that: personal changes in respondents (e.g., parenthood, financial change) were positively correlated with their assessments of various social changes (e.g., crime rates, freedom). Experimental data provided converging evidence. Experimentally induced change in knowledge influenced participants' perceptions of change in an author's writing style from one decade to the next (Study 3). Bringing self-change to participants' attention attenuated their judgments of change in the world when they had sufficient cognitive resources to consider how such self-changes might affect their perceptions (Studies 4-6). Discussion highlights how such misattributions of change contribute to the pervasive belief in societal decline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Here's Looking at Me: The Effect of Memory Perspective on Assessments of Personal Change.

Five studies manipulated the memory perspective (1st-person vs. 3rd-person) individuals used to visually recall autobiographical events and examined its effects on assessments of personal change. Psychotherapy clients recalled their first treatment (Study 1), and undergraduates recalled past social awkwardness (Study 2). Participants who were induced to recall from the 3rd-person perspective believed, and acted as though (Study 2), they had changed more since the events occurred. Subsequent studies revealed a crucial moderator: Third-person recall produces judgments of greater self-change when people are inclined to look for evidence of change, but lesser self-change when they are inclined to look for evidence of continuity. This pattern emerged when motivation (Studies 1 and 2), goals (Study 3), instructions (Study 4), and self-esteem (Study 5) determined participants' focus on change versus continuity. Results have implications for constructivism in memory and judgment and for the ability to sustain self-improvement efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Free at last? Social dominance, loss aversion, and white and black Americans' differing assessments of racial progress.

White Americans tend to believe that there has been greater progress toward racial equality than do Black Americans. The authors explain this difference by combining insights from prospect theory and social dominance theory. According to prospect theory, changes seem greater when framed as losses rather than gains. Social dominance theory predicts that White Americans tend to view increases in equality as losses, whereas Black Americans view them as gains. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors experimentally tested whether groups judge the same change differently depending on whether it represents a loss or gain. In Studies 3-6, the authors used experimental methods to test whether White participants who frame equality-promoting changes as losses perceive greater progress toward racial equality. The authors discuss theoretical and political implications for progress toward a just society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)