Publikationen

Based on the theory of self-regulation and the polyvagal theory, we hypothesise a curvilinear relationship between self-regulation and autonomic responses. We report findings of a pilot study that provides support for the proposed hypothesis. For some of the observed cases, the quadratic polynomial regression models the data better than the linear regression model, indicating curvilinear relationships between self-regulation and indicators of autonomic response. Consequences of the hypothesis and its relevance for therapeutic interventions supporting the patients’ self-calming system are discussed.

Ziel des Beitrags ist die literaturgestützte Systematisierung sowie empirische Erfassung von Anforderungscharakteristika lernprozessbegleitender Diagnosen im laufenden Unterricht. Basierend auf einem systematischen Literaturreview sowie auf der Verarbeitung von Fragebogendaten von insgesamt 150 Lehrpersonen werden die folgenden Dimensionen identifiziert, inhaltlich beschrieben, empirisch erfasst und im Ausblick hinsichtlich ihrer forschungs- sowie unterrichtspraktischer Verwendungsmöglichkeiten diskutiert: (1) Vielfalt an Informationen, (2) Informationsdefizite, (3) unsichere Informationsgrundlage, (4) Gefahr situativer Wahrnehmungs- und Urteilsverzerrungen, (5) Zeit- und Handlungsdruck, (6) hohe Entscheidungsverantwortung, (7) fehlende Regeln und Handlungsschemata.

We examine whether shrouding or partitioning of a surcharge raises demand in online shopping. In a field experiment with more than 34,000 consumers, we find that consumers in the online shop of a cinema are more likely to select tickets for a 3D movie when the 3D surcharge is shrouded, but they also drop out more often when the overall price is shown at the checkout. In sum, the demand distribution is independent of the price presentation. This result outlines the limits of the effectiveness of shrouding practices.

A standard model of price-setting is extended to include an important role for price points as well as sticky information. It makes empirically reasonable predictions about the frequency of price adjustments, the sizes of price increases and decreases, the shape of the hazard function, the fraction of price changes that are price increases, and the relationship between price changes and inflation. When the model of price-setting is integrated into a small-scale DSGE model, it implies plausible aggregate effects of monetary policy in contrast to a model with a prominent role for price points but no information rigidities.

Emotionen sind Macht wendet sich gegen das Diktum Wissen ist Macht und das rationalistische Credo Ich denke, also bin ich. Diese Überzeugungen dienten in der beginnenden Neuzeit und der Aufklärung der Loslösung aus der Umklammerung der mittelalterlichen Scholastik und der christlich-stoischen Ethik. Sind sie aber auch zukunftsfähig für das 21. Jahrhundert? Die Konzentration auf kognitive Lern­prozesse in einer Wissensgesellschaft, allenfalls durch massive Digitalisierungsbemühungen angerei­chert, scheint immer noch das Maß der Dinge. Das sollte befremden, denn seit ca. 140 Jahren – mit einer spezifischen Dekade des Gehirns in den 1990er Jahren – wird Affekten und Emotionen in der Sin­nesphysiologie im Übergang zur Wahrnehmungspsychologie eine funktionale Bedeutung in der Bewer­tung von Sinnesreizen zum Konstituieren von Informationen als spezifischer Evolutionsvorteil zugestan­den. Erst aus bewerteten Informationen generiert sich Wissen.

Dieses Befremden mündet in den Verdacht, dass Emotionen in der Entwicklung von Gesellschaftsfor­men bis heute eine andere, eine ab- und ausgrenzende Rolle in der Konstituierung und Aufrechterhaltung von Machtverhältnissen spielen und ein Teil unseres sozio-kulturellen Erbes, den sozialen Schichten, sind. Das Aufbrechen einer emotionalen Oben-Unten-Musterprägung eröffnet aber auch die Chance, konstituierende Strukturen einer Lerngesellschaft als menschenwürdige Leistungsgesellschaft zu benen­nen. Um solche argumentativ zu stützen, konfrontieren wir die zuvor analysierten Musterprägungen mit Ergebnissen evidenzbasierter neurowissenschaftlich orientierter Lehr-Lernforschung.

Despite the importance of acquiring economic competencies at the secondary level and the worldwide popularity of economics in higher education, there is almost no research on the effects of economic competencies on economics student retention. Based on a longitudinal sample of 538 high school students in Switzerland, this study provides the first results on this topic. The longitudinal study took place from 2011 to 2016 and comprised two points of measurement. Economic competencies were measured multidimensionally and comprised knowledge and skills, as well as attitude, value-oriented dispositions, interest and motivation. Different student retention models were adapted and combined to explain student retention in the field of economics. According to these models, students' academic and social integration are key mediators to predict their retention. Based on these theoretical explanations, structural equation modelling was then used to test the long-term effects of high school students' economic competencies at the end of upper-secondary school on their retention in studying in the field of economics. The results show that economic competencies predict economics students' academic integration (as measured by grade point average) but not their social integration. Additionally, the data confirm that academic and social integration are strong mediators for their retention. In addition to economic competencies, students' cognitive abilities, prior schooling (school grades, school profile, and school type) and perceived family support predict student retention in economics. Overall, economic competencies account for a substantial proportion of the variance in student retention. Against this background, the results indicate that fostering high school students' economic competencies plays a crucial role in their study success in the field of economics.

Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether soft-skills trainers and hard-skills trainers have different perspectives regarding their required instructional knowledge and skills.

Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was completed by 129 soft-skills trainers and 61 hard-skills trainers. The authors used 14 items covering relevant instructional knowledge and skills based on the training literature.

Findings
An exploratory factor analysis identified the following two factors: managing interactions and instructional activities. A multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in the assessments of managing interactions (p = 0.00) and instructional activities (p = 0.01) between soft- and hard-skills trainers. The differences in managing interactions were larger than those in instructional activities. The soft-skills trainers showed higher agreement with all items. Most individual items had medium effect sizes. The differing perspectives of soft- and hard-skills trainers are not an effect of different educational backgrounds.

Research limitations/implications
These findings suggest that differences exist in the required instructional knowledge and skills depending on whether trainers teach soft or hard skills. Further research should consider the training content.

Practical implications
Practitioners can ensure that soft-skills trainers meet the respective requirements.

Originality/value
This study is the first to investigate the differences in soft- and hard-skills trainers’ perceptions of instructional requirements.

Trust between couples is a prerequisite for stable and satisfactory romantic relationships. However, there has been no valid research tool to assess partner-specific trust behavior including costly investments in the trustworthiness of the romantic partner. We here present a comprehensive validation of the newly developed Trust Game for Couples (TGC) by means of various self-report and implicit relationship-related measures. The TGC operationalizes trust by measuring an individual’s willingness to invest his or her own financial resources in pro-relationship attitudes of their romantic partner (collected by dichotomous responses to relationship-relevant items, e.g., answering yes to “I am absolutely sure that I love my partner”). Thirty-five healthy couples between 20 and 34 years completed the TGC in an interactive (both partners present), but anonymous setting (no information on the partner’s responses revealed). Trust, as measured by the TGC, correlates positively with self-reported trust, satisfaction, and felt closeness in the relationship, but not with general interpersonal trust, confirming both its convergent and discriminant validity. In addition to explicit criteria for construct validity, implicit measures of partner valence and confidence explained variance in the TGC, demonstrating that it constitutes an economical measure of implicit and explicit ingredients of trust between couples. In sum, the TGC provides a novel, specific behavioral tool for a sensitive assessment of trust in dyadic relationships with potential for numerous research fields.