Can a connectionist model explain the processing of regularly and irregularly inflected words in German as L1 and L2?

The connectionist model is a prevailing model of the structure and functioning of the cognitive system of the processing of morphology. According to this model, the morphology of regularly and irregularly inflected words (e.g., verb participles and noun plurals) is processed in the same cognitive network. A validation of the connectionist model of the processing of morphology in German as L2 has yet to be achieved. To investigate L2-specific aspects, we compared a group of L1 speakers of German with speakers of German as L2. L2 and L1 speakers of German were assigned to their respective group by their reaction times in picture naming prior to the central task. The reaction times in the lexical decision task of verb participles and noun plurals were largely consistent with the assumption of the connectionist model. Interestingly, speakers of German as L2 showed a specific advantage for irregular compared with regular verb participles

Worrying Leads to Reduced Concreteness of Problem Elaborations: Evidence for the Avoidance Theory of Worry

Both lay concept and scientific theory have embraced the view that nonpathological worry may be helpful for defining and analyzing problems. To evaluate the quality of problem elaborations, concreteness is a key variable. Two studies with nonclinical student samples are presented in which participants elaborated topics associated with different degrees of worry. In Study 1, participants' elaborations were assessed using problem elaboration charts; in Study 2, they were assessed using catastrophizing interviews. When participants' problem elaborations were rated for concreteness, both studies showed an inverse relationship between degree of worry and concreteness: The more participants worried about a given topic the less concrete was the content of their elaboration. The results challenge the view that worry may promote better problem analyses. Instead they conform to the view that worry is a cognitive avoidance response

Muslim Integration into Western Cultures: Between Origins and Destinations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91196/1/j.1467-9248.2012.00951.x.pd

Classifying computer-mediated communication (CMC) interruptions at work using control as a key delineator

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) interruptions are a common feature of people’s work activity. In studying interruptions, researchers can understand how people manage and co-ordinate their work when faced with multiple, often competing, demands. However, CMC interruptions are characteristically different from each other and impact people’s work performance in different ways. In this theoretical paper we define and differentiate between computer-mediated communication (CMC) interruptions, according to the level of control people are able to exert over an interruption at different points in the delivery timeline. Informed by the extant interruptions literature and Action Regulation Theory, a classification framework is provided, to help researchers and work designers distinguish which types of real-world CMC interruption are more or less disruptive, based on levels of control. Using the developed framework, two key research propositions are made, which we encourage future research to attend to. Unique contributions and implications of this paper are discussed

Ideologievermittlung und Einstellungsänderung im intergruppalen Kontext

Zick A. Ideologievermittlung und Einstellungsänderung im intergruppalen Kontext. Presented at the Bericht über den 36. Kongreß der Deutschen Gesellschft für Psychologie in Berlin