Predicting participants’ attitudes from patterns of event-related potentials during the reading of morally relevant statements – An MVPA investigation

Morality and language are hardly separable, given that morality-related aspects such as knowledge, emotions, or experiences are connected with language on different levels. One question that arises is: How rapidly do neural processes set in when processing statements that reflect moral value containing information? In the current study, participants read sentences about morally relevant statements (e.g., ‘Wars are acceptable’) and expressed their (dis)agreement with the statements while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Multivariate pattern classification (MVPA) was used during language processing to predict the individual's response. Our results show that (1) the response (‘yes’ vs. ‘no’) could be predicted from 180 ms following the decision-relevant word (here acceptable), and (2) the attitude (pro vs. contra the topic) could be predicted from 170 ms following the topic word (here wars). We suggest that the successful MVPA classification is due to different brain activity patterns evoked by differences in activated mental representations (e.g. valence, arousal, etc.) depending on whether the attitude towards the topic is positive or negative and whether it is in accordance with the presented decisive word or not

Das Informationszentrum Sozialwissenschaften im Urteil von Soziologieprofessorinnen und -professoren aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

"Der vorliegende Bericht ist Teil einer Serie von Untersuchungen der unterschiedlichen Zielgruppen des IZ. Lag das Augenmerk zunächst auf den Mehrfachkunden des IZ (vgl. Arbeitsbericht Nr. 13), so sind es im vorliegenden Fall die Soziologieprofessoren/innen in den deutschsprachigen Ländern. Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse: Der (gestützte) Bekanntheitsgrad des IZ ist hoch (87% der Befragten geben an, das IZ zumindest dem Namen nach zu kennen). Von den einzelnen Produkten und Dienstleistungen wird der 'sozialwissenschaftliche Fachinformationsdienst - soFid' in seiner gedruckten Version am häufigsten genutzt. Die SOFIS-Erhebung ist die mit Abstand am häufigsten genannte 'Brücke' zwischen dem IZ und seinen persönlichen Nutzern. Die allgemeine Kundenzufriedenheit ist mit einem Indexwert von 76 außergewöhnlich gut." (Autorenreferat

Qualitätsmanagementsysteme und ihre Anwendung auf Serviceeinrichtungen der WGL

"Der Arbeitsbericht gibt einen Überblick über häufig verwendete Begriffe und Konzepte im Bereich von Qualitätsmanagementsystemen. Neben der Normenfamilie ISO 9000 - 9004 sowie Total Quality Management (TQM) werden spezielle Maßnahmen wie Benchmarking und Re-Engineering angesprochen sowie Probleme der Anwendung dieser Systeme im Bereich von Forschungs- und Serviceeinrichtungen diskutiert. Auf die Evaluation und die geplanten Maßnahmen zur Qualitätssicherung im Rahmen der Institute der Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (WGL) und die Besonderheiten von Serviceeinrichtungen wird eingegangen." (Autorenreferat

Face Perception and Narcissism: Variations of Event-Related Potential Components (P1 & N170) with Admiration and Rivalry

Previous studies have demonstrated that highly narcissistic individuals perceive themselves as grandiose and devaluate and sometimes overvalue others. These results are mainly based on behavioural data, but we still know little about the neural correlates underlying, such as perceptional processes. To this end, we investigated event-related potential components (ERP) of visual face processing (P1 and N170) and their variations with narcissism. Participants (N = 59) completed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire and were shown pictures of their own face, a celebrity's face, and a stranger's face. Variations of P1 and N170 with Admiration and Rivalry were analysed using multilevel models. Results revealed moderating effects of both narcissism dimensions on the ERP components of interest. Participants with eitherhighAdmiration orlowRivalry scores showed a lower P1 amplitude when viewing their own face compared with when viewing a celebrity's face. Moreover, the Self-Stranger difference in the N170 component (higher N170 amplitude in the Self condition) was larger for higher Rivalry scores. The findings showed, for the first time, variations of both narcissism dimensions with ERPs of early face processing. We related these effects to processes of attentional selection, an expectancy-driven perception, and the mobilisation of defensive systems. The results demonstrated that by linking self-report instruments to P1 and N170, and possibly to other ERP components, we might better understand self- and other-perception in narcissism

Neural correlates of error detection during complex response selection: Introduction of a novel eight-alternative response task

Error processing in complex decision tasks should be more difficult compared to a simple and commonly used two-choice task. We developed an eight-alternative response task (BART), which allowed us to investigate different aspects of error detection. We analysed event-related potentials (ERP; N = 30). Interestingly, the response time moderated several findings. For example, only for fast responses, we observed the well-known effect of larger error negativity (N-e) in signalled and non-signalled errors compared to correct responses, but not for slow responses. We identified at least two different error sources due to post-experimental reports and certainty ratings: impulsive (fast) errors and (slow) memory errors. Interestingly, the participants were able to perform the task and to identify both, impulsive and memory errors successfully. Preliminary evidence indicated that early (N-e-related) error processing was not sensitive to memory errors but to impulsive errors, whereas the error positivity seemed to be sensitive to both error types

Predicting perceptual decision biases from early brain activity

Perceptual decision making is believed to be driven by the accumulation of sensory evidence following stimulus encoding. More controversially, some studies report that neural activity preceding the stimulus also affects the decision process. We used a multivariate pattern classification approach for the analysis of the human electroencephalogram (EEG) to decode choice outcomes in a perceptual decision task from spatially and temporally distributed patterns of brain signals. When stimuli provided discriminative information, choice outcomes were predicted by neural activity following stimulus encoding; when stimuli provided no discriminative information, choice outcomes were predicted by neural activity preceding the stimulus. Moreover, in the absence of discriminative information, the recent choice history primed the choices on subsequent trials. A diffusion model fitted to the choice probabilities and response time distributions showed that the starting point of the evidence accumulation process was shifted toward the previous choice, consistent with the hypothesis that choice priming biases the accumulation process toward a decision boundary. This bias is reflected in prestimulus brain activity, which, in turn, becomes predictive of future decisions. Our results provide a model of how non-stimulus-driven decision making in humans could be accomplished on a neural level

Predicting errors from patterns of event-related potentials preceding an overt response

Everyday actions often require fast and efficient error detection and error correction. For this, the brain has to accumulate evidence for errors as soon as it becomes available. This study used multivariate pattern classification techniques for event-related potentials to track the accumulation of error-related brain activity before an overt response was made. Upcoming errors in a digit-flanker task could be predicted after the initiation of an erroneous motor response, similar to 90 ms before response execution. Channels over motor and parieto-occipital cortices were most important for error prediction, suggesting ongoing perceptual analyses and comparisons of initiated and appropriate motor programmes. Lower response force on error trials as compared to correct trials was observed, which indicates that this early error information was used for attempts to correct for errors before the overt response was made. In summary, our results suggest an early, automatic accumulation of error-related information, providing input for fast correction processes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved