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When people make decisions, they often prefer to receive information that supports rather than conflicts with their decision. To date, this effect has mainly been investigated in the context of decisions about gains, whereas decisions about losses have received less attention. Based on Prospect Theory, we expected information search to be differently affected by whether people previously have decided about gains or losses. Three studies have revealed that selectivity of information search is stronger after gain-framed rather than after loss-framed decision problems. An investigation of the underlying psychological processes revealed that gain decisions are made with increased subjective decision certainty (i.e. they are easier and less effortful to make), which in turn systematically increases confirmatory information search.

The present research reveals that people's implicit theories of civil courage and helping behavior are clearly distinguishable. In three studies, it was shown that situations requiring civil courage rather than helping assistance were perceived more quickly and were associated with greater perceived responsibility, less perceived intervention skills, a lower degree of expected positive social consequences, a higher degree of expected negative social consequences, a higher salience of societal norms, more evaluation apprehension, anger, and more empathy. Moreover, results revealed that the decisions on whether or not to engage in either civil courage or helping behavior are differentially influenced by perceived responsibility (the influence was greater for the decision to help than for the decision to show civil courage) and empathy (empathy was only important for the decision to help, but not for the decision to show civil courage). Implications of these results are discussed and the question of whether the determinants of helping behavior are also responsible for civil courage is pursued in detail.

Abstract. The present research conceives of morally courageous behavior as goal-directed behavior and extends its investigation from a mere situational approach to a more comprehensive understanding including dispositional determinants related to self-regulatory processes. We tested the assumption that individual difference variables differentially affect the appraisal of the two core constituents of moral courage, namely, norm violation and risk of intervention. In two samples from different cultural (Switzerland/Austria vs. The Netherlands) as well as educational (university vs. representative population sample) backgrounds, participants evaluated norm violation and risk of intervention for six vignettes of situations calling for moral courage. Across both samples, self-transcendence values (benevolence, universalism) predicted the perception of norm violation, whereas personality factors related to affective self-regulation in stressful situations (behavioral inhibition system, state orientation) predicted the perception of intervention risk. These results provide evidence for the imperative of accounting for individual differences in the self-regulation of moral courage behavior.

Three studies were performed to investigate how identification with an exergame character increases motivation to perform physical activity and, in turn, actual physical activity. Study 1 showed that the extent to which players identified with their game character positively correlated with motivation to perform physical activity. Study 2 indicated that participants who were asked to write down similarities (high identification) compared with differences (low identification) between themselves and their exergame character strengthened their motivation to perform physical activity. Study 3 suggested that playing with a game character that looked similar to one's own appearance (vs. controls) was accompanied by increased motivation to perform physical activity and a higher level of actual physical activity 1 week later. The level of physical activity required by an exergame had no significant influence on our results.

Zusammenfassung: Die Parteispendenaffäre der christlich-demokratischen Union (CDU) Ende des Jahres 1999 wurde zur Untersuchung selektiver Informationssuche und -bewertungsprozesse im Feld herangezogen. Auf Grundlage der Dissonanztheorie wurde vorhergesagt, dass die Parteispendenaffäre insbesondere bei Wähler/innen der CDU/CSU zu kognitiver Dissonanz führte, welche durch einen verzerrten Umgang mit Informationen abgebaut werden konnte. In Übereinstimmung mit dieser Hypothese zeigten die Ergebnisse, dass CDU/CSU-Wähler/innen im Vergleich zu SPD-Wähler/innen eine stärkere Suche nach konsonanten und eine Vernachlässigung dissonanter Informationen aufwiesen und zugleich konsonante Informationen als wichtiger und interessanter bewerteten. Weiterhin zeigte sich, dass Personen, denen vor der Informationssuche ihre Parteipräferenz bewusst vor Augen geführt wurde, indem sie diese schriftlich darlegen und begründen sollten, im Vergleich zu solchen Personen, die hierzu nicht aufgefordert wurden, nach mehr dissonanten Informationen suchten, - obwohl sie diese bei der Informationsbewertung weiterhin als weniger wichtig bewerteten als die konsonanten Informationen. Dieses Ergebnis wird dahingehend interpretiert, dass Personen, denen Verzerrungen beim Umgang mit Informationen bewusst werden, versuchen gegen zu steuern, um auf diese Weise eine "Illusion der Objektivität" aufrechtzuerhalten. Theoretische und praktische Implikationen der Ergebnisse werden diskutiert.

Electroencephalography (EEG) can be used as an
indicator of fatigue. Several studies have shown that
slow wave brain activities, delta (0-4 Hz) and theta (4-
8 Hz), increase as an individual becomes fatigued,
while the fast brain activities, alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta
(13-35 Hz), decrease. However, an EEG is a complex
piece of equipment that is generally used in laboratory
based studies. In order to develop a fatigue
countermeasure device for train drivers using EEG,
there is a need for a simple and wireless EEG monitor.
This paper explains the development of a single
channel wireless EEG device.

Zusammenfassung: In der vorliegenden interkulturellen Studie werden die mentalen Repräsentationen der Konstrukte "Zivilcourage" und "Hilfeverhalten" untersucht. Es wird überprüft, ob prosoziales Verhalten eher als zivilcouragiert bezeichnet wird, wenn der Akteur negative soziale Konsequenzen zu erwarten hat, wogegen die Zuschreibung von Hilfeverhalten unabhängig von den antizipierten negativen sozialen Konsequenzen auftreten sollte. Probanden aus Deutschland und der Ukraine erhielten vier Szenarien, in denen das prosoziale Verhalten einer Person dargestellt wurde. Diese Person hatte entweder hohe oder niedrige negative soziale Konsequenzen zu erwarten. Die Probanden gaben für jedes Szenario an, inwieweit es sich beim dargestellten Verhalten um Zivilcourage bzw. um Hilfeverhalten handelt. Wie erwartet wirkte sich die Manipulation der antizipierten negativen sozialen Konsequenzen nur auf die Zuschreibung von Zivilcourage, nicht aber auf die Zuschreibung von Hilfeverhalten aus.

The present research experimentally investigated the impact of terrorism salience on authoritarian practices. It was found that terrorist threat cues (induced by reminders of terrorist incidents) had a significant impact upon both attitudes and behaviors regarding authoritarian parenting practices (Studies 1 and 2) as well as their actual occurrence in a real parent-child playing interaction (Study 3). The implications of these findings for the social psychological perspective on threat and parenting style are discussed.

There is a large body of research showing that people selectively prefer information that supports their decisions and opinions, and avoid conflicting information (selective information processing). Three studies were conducted to examine how the different leadership styles of supervisors influence subordinates' selective information processing (i.e., the evaluation, seeking, and conveying of information). Studies 1 and 2 indicate that students in the role of subordinates who were exposed to transformational supervisors process information in a more balanced way than do those who were led by a transactional supervisor. Study 3 was carried out with professionals and showed that transformational leadership was negatively correlated with selective information seeking and conveying. This finding was mediated by the experience of positive emotions. Transactional leadership, by contrast, was not significantly associated with selective information processing. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Der Themenschwerpunkt des Heftes beschäftigt sich mit den Einwanderern in multikulturellen Gesellschaften und hier speziell mit den Fragen der Einwanderungskontrolle und ihren Effekten. Die AutorInnen setzen sich mit folgenden Themen auseinander: Aufnahmepolitik, Migrationsmuster und Integration (Vergleich Deutschland, Frankreich); Aussiedlerpolitik in Deutschland; Ausländerpolitik für das 21. Jahrhundert; Einwanderungskontrolle in Skandinavien; Einfluß der Migrationspolitik auf dem Arbeitsmarkt; Einwanderung und Wohlfahrt (USA, Deutschland); Internationale Migration. (IAB2)

Der Themenschwerpunkt des Heftes beschäftigt sich mit den Einwanderern in multikulturellen Gesellschaften und hier speziell mit den Fragen der Einwanderungskontrolle und ihren Effekten. Die AutorInnen setzen sich mit folgenden Themen auseinander: -Aufnahmepolitik, Migrationsmuster und Integration (Vergleich Deutschland, Frankreich); -Aussiedlerpolitik in Deutschland; -Ausländerpolitik für das 21. Jahrhundert; -Einwanderungskontrolle in Skandinavien; -Einfluß der Migrationspolitik auf dem Arbeitsmarkt; -Einwanderung und Wohlfahrt (USA, Deutschland); -Internationale Migration. (IAB2)

Abstract. This study focuses on the quantification and analysis of geomorphic processes on the barely vegetated slopes of a recultivated iron ore mine on the Italian island of Elba using photographs from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and digital photogrammetry by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over a period of 5 1/2 years. Beside this, the study tried to work out the potential and the limitations of both methods to detect surface changes by geomorphic process dynamics within a natural environment. Both UAV and TLS show the pattern of the erosion and accumulation processes on the investigated slope quite well, but the calculated amounts differ clearly between the methods. The reasons for these differences could be found in the different accuracies (variable level of detections) of the methods and the different viewing geometries. Both effects have an impact on the detectable process dynamics over different timescales on the slope and their calculated amounts, which in both cases can lead to an underestimation of erosion and accumulation by fluvial processes.