Refine
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (5)
- Conference Proceeding (1)
- Working Paper (1)
Language
- English (7) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- yes (7)
Keywords
Institute
The aim of the present thesis was to shed further light on the relationships between affectivity, mental health activities, and positive outcomes in work and life. For this purpose, three distinct studies were conducted.
Study I aimed to identify the relevance of affectivity in four types of work-related behavior and experiences. These types reflect differences in work-related motivation, coping, and emotions, which are important outcomes in a person’s working life. A quite common method to assess these work-related behavior and experiences is the Work-related Coping Behavior and Experience Pattern (WCEP) Questionnaire (Schaarschmidt & Fischer, 2008). Although positive and negative affectivity are basic traits that affect motivation, coping, and emotions, their relevance in this questionnaire remained unclear. It was found that the combination of positive and negative affectivity could predict the assignment to a specific type of work-related behavior and experiences. Study I also highlighted that beside individual differences in emotionality, environmental factors like the type of profession seemed to be relevant. Hence, future research with the WCEP questionnaire should consider both individual and environmental variables. These findings are also relevant from a health promotion perspective. High positive affectivity and low negative affectivity can be seen as individual resources whereas low positive affectivity and high negative affectivity reflect risk factors. Hence, increasing positive affect and reducing negative affect seem to be useful in order to enhance engagement and well-being in the work context.
One way to increase positive affect or reduce negative affect is to practice everyday activities. Although the promotion of everyday activities has been increasingly recognized for both the reduction of mental impairment and the promotion of positive mental health, a short scale to assess mental health promoting activities was still missing. Hence, the aims of Study II were to evaluate the usefulness of self-help strategies formulated within the concept of Mental Health Literacy (Jorm, 2012) as items of a mental health activity scale, to identify their underlying factor structure, and to associate these strategies with positive mental health as well as with positive and negative affectivity. The results of Study II suggest that these self-help strategies can be combined to a brief scale to assess mental health activity. Mental health activities seem to encompass three underlying components, namely positive orientation, physical engagement, and emotion regulation, but further validation is needed. Also, the integration of activities formulated within the field of positive psychology might be a useful extension. The finding that mental health activities were strongly associated with positive mental health broadens the context in which mental health activities can and should be promoted, because they are not only related to reduced mental impairment but also to positive mental health. Although these findings are promising, future studies are needed to establish causal effects. Moreover, mental health activities were more strongly related to positive affectivity than to negative affectivity which indicates that they might be especially useful to increase positive affect and less relevant for reducing negative affect, but the direction of causality needs be addressed in future studies.
Since affectivity and behavior are related, and can both affect relevant outcomes, the final aim of this thesis was to identify the specific relationship between affectivity, the practice of mental health activities, and positive outcomes in work (work-related behavior and experiences) and life (positive mental health). Study III revealed that the practice of mental health activities was related to more positive mental health and less unhealthy work-related behavior and experiences, even after the consideration of affectivity. Moreover, mental health activities functioned as mediators in the relationship between affectivity and the respective outcomes, indicating both an upward spiral (especially in regard to positive mental health) and a loss cycle (primarily for the risk of burnout). Positive orientation activities and physical engagement activities seem to be primarily associated with coping abilities and positive emotions, whereas emotion regulation activities might be also related to work motivation. In line with the Broaden and Build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2004) and the Conservation of Resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), the findings indicate the potential of mental health activities as ways to facilitate positive emotions and increase individual resources, ultimately leading to positive outcomes in work and life. However, future studies are needed to evaluate the (possible reciprocal) relationships between affectivity, affect, mental health activities, personal resources, and positive outcomes in more detail. Although the present findings already suggest the potential of mental health activities as lifestyle suggestions to promote mental health within and beyond the work context, future research is required.
INTRODUCTION
The symposium series MACAS, Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and
Sciences, was founded in 2005 by Astrid Bechmann, University of Education
Schwäbsich Gmünd, Bharath Sriraman, The University of Montana and Claus
Michelsen, University of Southern Denmark as an outcome of the continued
collaboration between some participants of Topic Study Group 21 at the 10th
International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME-10), held in
Copenhagen in July 2004 (Anaya & Michelsen 2005, 2008). The first MACAS
symposium was held in 2005 at the University of Education Schwäbsich Gmünd,
Germany (Beckmann, Michelsen & Sriraman 2005). Subsequent MACASmeetings
were held at University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark in
2007 (Sriraman, Michelsen, Beckmann & Freiman 2008), and at University of
Moncton, Canada in 2009 (Sriraman & Freiman 2011). For its 10th anniversary in
2015 MACAS turned back to University of Education Schwäbsich Gmünd
(Beckmann, Freiman & Michelsen 2016) and in 2017 it returned to Denmark, this
time at Danish School of Education, Aarhus University in Copenhagen.
Mathematics is part of almost every aspect of everyday life, and the society
consumes a lot of mathematics. Across regions, nations, and continents
mathematics plays a central role in educational systems from kindergarten to
lifelong learning. Mathematics plays an increasingly important part in many
scientific disciplines like the physical, the engineering, the biological sciences,
information science, economics, sociology, linguistics and dozens of other disciplines as well, although the way in which mathematics is involved in them varies considerably with the discipline. The vision which the MACAS-initiative
is based upon is to develop a holistic approach to education that combines various disciplines in a single curriculum – an approach first suggested by renaissance philosophers. According to this philosophical notion, the aim is to educate students by enabling them to pursue diverse fields of inquiry while at the same time exploring the aesthetic and scientific connections between the arts and science. In view of the challenges of the 21st century, a modern approach to
education with a focus on multi- and interdisciplinary is more important than
ever. The field of mathematics assumes a key role in this approach as it is connected to all other disciplines and can serve as a bridge between them. This is the approach of MACAS – Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and
Sciences.
The MACAS 2017 symposium took place at Danish School of Education, Aarhus University in Copenhagen 27 - 29 June 2017. It included 42 participants from Canada, China, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom interested in connections between
mathematics and the arts and. The following areas were in focus at the
symposium:
• Theoretical investigation of the relation between
mathematics, arts and science
• Curricular approaches to integrate mathematics and
science
• The importance of mathematical modelling and
interdisciplinary for studying and learning
mathematics
• The importance of arts and humanities for the
understanding of the connections between arts,
humanities and mathematics in ordinary everyday situations
• Intercultural dimensions of studying mathematics
These proceedings collect papers corresponding to the plenary lectures and
presentations given at MACAS 2017 symposium. The proceedings present 19
peer reviewed papers. The papers are very diverse in nature reflecting the fact
that impacts of mathematics can spread very in many cases. However, this diversity points at the need for a community-wide effort to rethink the
mathematics education at all levels. Ideas, experiences, conceptual frameworks,
and theories to connect mathematics education to the arts and sciences need to
be improved to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
From the symposium’s plenary sections, the paper by Annie Savard (Canada) discusses how critical thinking using mathematics might support the decisionmaking process from an ethnomathematical perspective. Jens Højgaard Jensen(Denmark) shares his reflections about the distinction between theory-derived mathematical models and ad-hoc mathematical models as a way to help ordinary people, not to distinguish between trustworthy and non-trustworthy models, but
to distinguish between the different qualities of the evaluation proses behind
different sorts of models. A third plenary (without proceedings paper) was given
by Paul Ernest (UK) on the topic of "Mathematics, Beauty and Art" in which he
addressed the questions what beauty in mathematics is and what dimensions of mathematical beauty that can be distinguished? Provisional answers to these questions were given, and mathematical beauty was illustrated by means of an example from visual art. Since beauty is shared by both mathematics and art, Ernest also asked the question of what parallels, including similarities and
differences, that can be drawn between mathematics and art?
Two papers have focus on geometrical objects. Hans Walser (Switzerland) comes
across different aspects of equivalence by dissection: Variations on the theorem
of Pythagoras, differences between methods and creativity, symmetry,
optimizing, rational and irrational rectangles, color and esthetics. The paper of
Gao Shuzhu, Chen Weiwei and Zheng Qian (China) explains the volume of a cone by the concept of a centroid.
A group of papers address the connections between mathematics and the
subjects of natural sciences. Thomas Højgaard and Jan Sølberg (Denmark)present a two-dimensional model to ensure that students acquire competencies that transcend traditional subjects. The paper by Martin Niss (Denmark) focuses on how the how the students’ ability to perform the mathematization process can be trained by using so-called unformalized physics problems. The paper by Claus
Michelsen (Denmark) reports about an in-service teacher program aimed at enabling teachers to implement interdisciplinary instructional sequences in
mathematics and biology in their daily classroom practices. Simon Zell
(Germany) discusses different approaches for models of interdisciplinary
teaching and presents his own model “Mathematics and Science under one roof”.
Topics related to technology in mathematics are addressed in the papers by LeBlanc, Freiman and Furlong (Canada) with focus on emerging mathematical connections when students are learning in school makerspaces and students’ motivation for learning mathematics when technology-based games are
integrated within the classroom. Several papers address the connections between mathematics and literature, music and arts. Starting out with G. H. Hardy’s aesthetic arguments for the value of pure mathematics the paper by Uffe Thomas Jankvist, Helle Rørbech & Jesper Bremholm (Denmark) points out didactic potentials in an interdisciplinary
approach to beauty and aesthetics within the context of mid-20th century ways
of thinking and understanding mathematics and literature. Irina Golovacheva,
Alexandre Stroev, Mikhail Zhuravlev and Polina de Mauny (Russia) analyze the
structure at the artistic space of two world-famous masochistic novellas by
mathematical modeling. The paper by Lina Medina Ibarra, Avenilde Romo-Vázquez & Mario Sánchez Aguilar (Mexico) presents an activity centered on an analysis of the story of Jorge Luis Borges “The library of Babel” from a literary as
well as from a mathematical point of view. Hans Peter Nutzinger (Germany)
shares the idea that music is a way of learning about patterning and thereby
about mathematics. The use of terahertz electromagnetic oscillations in art
expertise and public art technologies is analyzed in the paper by Darya
Yeryomka (Ukraine).
Giftedness, creativity and aesthetic are explored in three papers. Peter Weng and
Uffe Jankvist (Denmark) address the problem of many teachers not being
equipped for engaging in dialogue with gifted students and thus not being able
to facilitate their mathematical learning in a productive and efficient manner. Lena Lindenskov (Denmark) presents the “Seven keys” model as a theoretical
background for combining aesthetic aspect of mathematics research and
mathematics learning. In the paper by Lisser Rye Ejersbo (Denmark) three cases
are presented to discuss how to make mathematics a creative subject.
Finally, Maria Kirstine Østergaard (Denmark) argues that it is essential to focus
on the development of students’ beliefs in mathematics education, particularly about mathematics as a discipline, in order to enhance the students’
apprehension of the role and use of mathematics in the world and to emphasize
the interdisciplinary possibilities of mathematics.
The overall success of the MACAS 2017 Symposium was a result of a very
productive scientific work magnificently supported by the great enthusiasm,
devotion and hospitality of the local organizing team lead by Professor, Dr. Uffe
Jankvist promotes for the continuation of the MACAS symposia in the coming
years. The 6th one is planned in 2019 in Montreal, Canada.
Abstract
This study sought to explore the views and perceptions of education stakeholders (i.e. teachers, heads of schools and curriculum specialists) on the integration of environmental education into primary education curricula in Tanzania. The study also sought for stakeholders’ views and perceptions to explain why EE has not been a successful story despite having been integrated in schools for decades. Empirical studies by Kimaryo (2011) and Mtaita (2007) discovered that although EE was included in Tanzanian primary schools since 1960’s and was even stressed in the policy of education in 1990’s; yet, the condition of environment has rather deteriorated.
Studies that have been conducted in this field, mainly explained the success or failure of EE implementation basing on teachers and students as key agents, thus capturing a narrow view to explain the phenomenon. As argued by Klitgaard (1973) in the theory of diffusion of innovations in education, success or failure of educational innovations and reforms cannot be a priori attributed to only one part of the educational system. He says educational systems operate in a chain of command where different actors and levels of authorities need to function properly and collaborate with other levels so as to ensure successful implementation of change and reforms in curriculum. For this reason, this study involved the curriculum specialists and heads of schools besides teachers. Moreover, none of the studies has explored how the school theory promotes or hinders the integration of EE into the curriculum.
The study attempted to answer the following four questions:
Which views and perceptions do teachers have on the environment, environmental changes and challenges?
How do teachers perceive EE integration, content adequacy and relevance; And which instructional methods and resources do they use in integrating EE content into their subject curriculum?
How do teachers perceive their motivation and professional development on environmental education issues?
How do heads of schools and curriculum specialists perceive EE integration, and how do they motivate teachers to successfully integrate EE into their teaching?
The study is qualitative in nature, employing research techniques such as interviews and document analysis to answer the inquiry. Data was obtained from five primary schools’ teachers, heads of schools and curriculum specialists with a total of 30 participants taking part in the study. Grounded theory and thematic strategies were employed in data analysis.
The findings from teachers revealed that environmental changes and challenges are mainly seen as anthropogenic. The issue of climate change was a concern for a majority of participants. Awareness of the concept of ‘pillars of sustainability’ (i.e. ecology, economy and culture) is generally low and their balance is perceived impossible without addressing the poverty issue. Teachers’ competence and motivation are low due to lack of resources and professional training, large class sizes and work load as well as lack of government priority on environmental issues. Moreover, results revealed that EE goals and principles are incompatible with the traditional role and goals of schooling, and as EE is not a subject in itself, it is marginalized in teaching. Findings from heads of schools and curriculum
specialists confirmed most of the findings from teachers, and acknowledged that very little support for teachers to implement EE was provided. In general, results concluded that there was no perspective for effective implementation of EE in the near future, unless there is due priority given from top authorities downwards.
The study recommends capacity building of teachers as well as involvement in planning and development for curricula reforms. Government priority on environmental issues is insisted on and urged to set concrete criteria for EE competence assessment in curricula. To ensure environmental sustainability the government should keep striving to fight poverty. Lastly the study proposes a model to improve the implementation of EE in primary schools. The findings of this study hold imperative implications for the government through the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in Tanzania, curriculum specialists, and heads of schools as well as teachers as they are key players in determining the success or failure of educational innovations and reforms.
Abstract
Abstract Deutsch
Diese Dissertation konzentriert sich zunächst in Studie 1 auf den geringen Zusammenhang zwischen der Messung kognitiver Funktionen, die eine erfolgreiche Selbstregulation unterstützen, den sogenannten Exekutiven Funktionen (EFs), und der vagal vermittelten Ruhe-Herzratenvariabilität (HRV), der Veränderung der Zeitintervalle zwischen zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Herzschlägen (RR/NN-Intervalle oder Interbeat-Intervalle genannt), die aus der parasympathischen Aktivität des autonomen Nervensystems, insbesondere des Vagus Nervs resultiert. Die vagal vermittelte HRV sollte aufgrund des neuroviszeralen Integrationsmodells (Thayer et al., 2009; Thayer & Lane 2000, 2009), das darauf hinweist, dass der präfrontale Kortex eine wichtige Kortexregion sowohl für die vagal vermittelte HRV als auch für die EFs ist, mit den EFs assoziiert sein, was jedoch durch zwei Metaanalysen in Frage gestellt wird (Holzman & Bridgett, 2017; Zahn et al., 2016). In der vorliegenden Thesis wird erwartet, dass dieser Zusammenhang deshalb gering ist, da in den bisherigen Studien die individuelle implizite Affekt- und Aufmerksamkeitsregulationskapazität, die durch die individuelle Handlungs-Lageorientierung gemessen werden kann, oft nicht berücksichtigt wurde (vgl. Fischer et al., 2015; Koole & Jostmann, 2004; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b; Wolff et al., 2016). Generell können handlungsorientierte Individuen in anspruchsvollen Situationen positive Affekte leichter hochregulieren und sich selbst Anreize setzen (anforderungsbezogene Subskala der Handlungs-Lageorientierung; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b), negative Affekte herunterregulieren (fehlerbezogene Subskala der Handlungs-Lageorientierung; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b), auf eine Aufgabe fokussiert bleiben, bis sie abgeschlossen ist (leistungsbezogene Subskala der Handlungs-Lageorientierung; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b), und so ihre EFs effizienter mobilisieren. Lageorientierte Personen haben jedoch Probleme damit, sich selbst zu motivieren, bis zum Abschluss der Aufgabe konzentriert zu bleiben, den positiven und negativen Affekt zu regulieren und so ihre EFs effektiv zu
Abstract
mobilisieren (z.B., Gröpel et al., 2014; Jostmann & Koole, 2006, 2007; Koole et al., 2012; Kuhl, 2000; Wolff et al., 2016). Studie 1 zeigte, dass der Zusammmenhang zwischen der Leistung in EF-Aufgaben (in einer Verschiebeaufgabe, einer Inhibitionsaufgabe und einer Aktualisierungsaufgabe) und der vagal vermittelten Ruhe-HRV durch die fehlerbezogene (Verschiebe- und Inhibitionsaufgabe) oder die leistungsbezogene (Aktualisierungsaufgabe) Handlungs-Lageorientierung Subskalen (Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b) moderiert wurde, wenn Anforderungen und Fehlerrückmeldungen der EF-Aufgaben ebenfalls berücksichtigt wurden. Jedoch zeigten die Johnson-Neyman-Tests nur für lageorientierte Individuen eine signifikante Beziehung an1, die sich auch in der Richtung zwischen anspruchsvollen (Verschiebe- und Aktualisierungsaufgabe) und wenig anspruchsvollen (Inhibitionsaufgabe) EF-Aufgaben unterschied, was darauf hindeutet, dass bei wenig anspruchsvollen EF-Aufgaben lageorientierte Individuen sogar handlungsorientierte Individuen übertreffen können (vgl. Koole et al., 2012; Koole et al., 2005). Aufgrund der nicht-signifikanten Beziehung für handlungsorientierte Individuen kann Studie 1 das neuroviszerale Integrationsmodell nicht vollständig bestätigen (Thayer et al., 2009; Thayer & Lane 2000, 2009).
In Studie 2 wurden mögliche Indikatoren für die aktuelle (Zustands-) Selbstkontrollkapazität (gemessen anhand einer Simon-Aufgabe) nach anspruchsvollen EF-Aufgaben sowie für die generelle (Eingenschafts-) Selbstkontrolle (gemessen anhand eines Fragebogens) analysiert, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf dem Zusammenspiel zwischen Kontrollkapazität und Selbstmotivation lag (angezeigt durch die anforderungsbezogene Subskala der Handlungs-Lageorientierung; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b). Als mögliche Kontrollkapazitätsvariablen konzentrierte sich Studie 2 auf die Arbeitsgedächtniskapazität (WMC), basierend auf der integrativen Theorie der Selbstkontrolle (Kotabe & Hofmann, 2015),
1 Dies mag daran liegen, dass die anspruchsvolle EF-Aufgaben so anstrengend waren, dass sie sogar die tiefgreifende Affekt- und Aufmerksamkeitsregulationsfähigkeit handlungsorientierter Individuen überstiegen (vgl. Koole et al., 2005) oder daran, dass die Angabe handlungsorientiert zu sein auch mit sozial erwünschtem Antwortverhalten zusammenhängt (Diefendorff et al., 2000).
Abstract
und auf die Vaguskontrolle des Herzens (angezeigt durch die vagal vermittelte Ruhe-HRV), ein möglicher physiologischen Index der Kontrollkapazität (nicht eine Ressource selbst), basierend auf der Theorie des vagalen Tanks (Laborde et al., 2018b). Da die Theorie des vagalen Tanks (Laborde et al., 2018b) auch intraindividuelle Veränderungen der Vaguskontrolle des Herzens als möglichen Indikator der aktuellen (Zustands-) Selbstkontrollkapazität sieht, wurden auch Veränderungen der Vaguskontrolle des Herzens von einer Baselinemessung bis nach dem Event analysiert. Mit Fokus auf die integrative Theorie der Selbstkontrolle (Kotabe & Hofmann, 2015) deuteten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass sowohl die aktuelle (Zustands-) als auch die generelle (Eingenschafts-) Selbstkontrolle durch ein Zusammenspiel von WMC und anforderungsbezogener Handlungs-Lageorientierung vorhergesagt wird. Blickt man auf die Theorie des vagalen Tanks (Laborde et al., 2018b) deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass die aktuelle (Zustands-) Selbstkontrollkapazität am besten durch die intraindividuelle Veränderung der Vaguskontrolle des Herzens vorhergesagt werden kann (lageorientierte Individuen mit einer niedrigen WMC [wie von der integrativen Theorie der Selbstkontrolle erwartet; Kotabe & Hofmann, 2015] zeigten die grösste Reduktion der Vaguskontrolle des Herzens nach den anspruchsvollen EF-Aufgaben). Vergleicht man jedoch die Unterschiede in der Vaguskontrolle des Herzens zwischen Probanden scheinen diese mehrdeutig und weniger klar für die Vorhersage der Selbstkontrollfähigkeit zu sein, da diese nur schwach mit der generellen (Eingenschafts-) Selbstkontrolle zusammenhängen, wenn die Vaguskontrolle des Herzens unabhängig von der Handlungs-Lageorientierung betrachtet wird (d.h. nur die Korrelation wird berücksichtigt). Die Unterschiede zwischen aktueller (Zustands-) und genereller (Eingenschafts-) Selbstkontrolle könnten darauf zurückzuführen sein, dass die variablen und stabilen Komponenten der HRV von unterschiedlichem Anteil sind (Bertsch et al., 2012).
Da eine höhere vagal vermittelte HRV häufig mit Gesundheit, besserer Selbstregulierung und Selbstkontrollfähigkeit, erhöhter EF, Anpassungsfähigkeit (mehr Flexibilität zur Reaktion auf verschiedene Situationen) und Resilienz assoziiert wird (z.B.,
Abstract
bei gesunden Personen. Hier erweist sich die PMR als effektiv, während der
Abstract
down self-regulatory mechanisms: A meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 74, 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.032 Jostmann, N. B., & Koole, S. L. (2006). On the waxing and waning of working memory: Action orientation moderates the impact of demanding relationship primes on working memory capacity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1716–1728. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206292595 Jostmann, N. B., & Koole, S. L. (2007). On the regulation of cognitive control: Action orientation moderates the impact of high demands in Stroop interference tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136, 593–609. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.136.4.593 Koole, S. L., & Jostmann, N. B. (2004). Getting a grip on your feelings: Effects of action orientation and external demands on intuitive affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 974–990. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.87.6.974 Koole, S. L., Jostmann, N. B., & Baumann, N. (2012). Do demanding conditions help or hurt self-regulation?. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 328–346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00425.x Koole, S. L., Kuhl, J., Jostmann, N. B., & Vohs, K. D. (2005). On the hidden benefits of state orientation: Can people prosper without efficient affect regulation skills?. In A. Tesser, J. Wood, & D. A. Stapel (Eds.), On building, defending, and regulating the self: A psychological perspective (pp. 217–243). London, UK: Taylor & Francis. Kotabe, H. P., & Hofmann, W. (2015). On integrating the components of self-control. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 618–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615593382 Kuhl, J. (1994a). A theory of action and state orientations. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.),
Abstract
Volition and personality: Action versus state orientation (pp. 9–46). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Kuhl, J. (1994b). Action versus state orientation: Psychometric properties of the Action Control Scale (ACS-90). In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Volition and personality: Action versus state orientation (pp. 47–59). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Kuhl, J. (2000). A functional-design approach to motivation and self-regulation: The dynamics of personality systems interactions. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 111–169). Burlington, MA: Elsevier/Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012109890-2/50034-2 Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Mertgen, A. (2018a). A unifying conceptual framework of factors associated to cardiac vagal control. Heliyon, 4, e01002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e01002 Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Mertgen, A. (2018b). Vagal tank theory: The three Rs of cardiac vagal control functioning–resting, reactivity, and recovery. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00458 Quintana, D. S., & Heathers, J. A. J. (2014). Considerations in the assessment of heart rate variability in biobehavioral research. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00805 Schumann, A., Köhler, S., Brotte, L., & Bär, K.-J. (2019). Effect of an eight-week smartphone-guided HRV-biofeedback intervention on autonomic function and impulsivity in healthy controls. Physiological Measurement, 40, 064001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6579/ab2065 Segerstrom, S. C., & Nes, L. S. (2007). Heart rate variability reflects self-regulatory strength, effort, and fatigue. Psychological Science, 18, 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-
Abstract
9280.2007.01888.x Shaffer, F., & Ginsberg, J. P. (2017). An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258 Thayer, J. F., Åhs, F., Fredrikson, M., Sollers, J. J., & Wager, T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: Implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 36, 747–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009 Thayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-Rose, E., & Johnsen, B. H. (2009). Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: The neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9101-z Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61, 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00338-4 Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2009). Claude Bernard and the heart–brain connection: Further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 81–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004 Wolff, M., Krönke, K.-M., Venz, J., Kräplin, A., Bühringer, G., Smolka, M. N., & Goschke, T. (2016). Action versus state orientation moderates the impact of executive functioning on real-life self-control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 1635–1653. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000229 Zahn, D., Adams, J., Krohn, J., Wenzel, M., Mann, C. G., Gomille, L. K., Jacobi-Scherbening, V., & Kubiak, T. (2016). Heart rate variability and self-control–a meta-analysis. Biological Psychology, 115, 9–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.12.007
Abstract
Abstract Englisch
This dissertation firstly focuses in Study 1 on the low relationship between the measurement of cognitive functions that support successful self-regulation, called executive functions (EFs), and vagally mediated resting heart rate variability (HRV), the change in the time intervals between two consecutive heartbeats (called RR/NN intervals or interbeat intervals), which results from the parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system, in particular of the vagus nerve. Vagally mediated HRV should be associated with EFs due to the neurovisceral integration model (Thayer et al., 2009; Thayer & Lane 2000, 2009) which indicates that the prefrontal cortex is an important cortex region for both vagally mediated HRV and EFs but is questioned by two meta-analyses (Holzman & Bridgett, 2017; Zahn et al., 2016). In this thesis, it is expected that this relationship is low because past studies often did not consider individual implicit affect and attention regulation capacity which can be measured by action-state orientation (cf. Fischer et al., 2015; Koole & Jostmann, 2004; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b; Wolff et al., 2016). In general, in demanding situations, action-oriented individuals can more easily up-regulate positive affect and self-generate rewarding incentives (demand-related action-state orientation subscale; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b), down-regulate negative affect (failure-related action-state orientation subscale; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b), stay focused on a task until it is finished (performance-related action-state orientation subscale; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b), and thus mobilize their EFs more efficiently. State-oriented individuals, however, have problems with motivating themselves, staying focused on the task until it is finished, regulating the positive and negative affect, and thus with effectively mobilizing EFs (e.g., Gröpel et al., 2014; Jostmann & Koole, 2006, 2007; Koole et al., 2012; Kuhl, 2000; Wolff et al., 2016). Study 1 identified that the relationship between EF task performance (in a shifting task, an inhibition task, and an updating task) and vagally mediated resting HRV was moderated by failure-related (shifting and inhibition task) or performance-related (updating task) action-state orientation subscales (Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b) if demands and error feedback of the EF tasks were also being
Abstract
considered. However, the Johnson-Neyman tests only indicated a significant relationship for state-oriented individuals2, which also differed in the direction between demanding (shifting and updating task) and low-demanding (inhibition task) EF tasks, indicating that in low-demanding EF tasks state-oriented individuals can even outperform action-oriented individuals (cf. Koole et al., 2012; Koole et al., 2005). Because of the non-significant relationship for action-oriented individuals, Study 1 cannot fully confirm the neurovisceral integration model (Thayer et al., 2009; Thayer & Lane 2000, 2009).
In Study 2 possible indicators for state self-control capacity (measured by a Simon task) after demanding EF tasks, as well as for trait self-control (measured by a questionnaire) were analyzed by focusing on the interplay between control capacity and self-motivation (indicated by the demand-related action-state orientation subscale; Kuhl, 1994a, 1994b). As possible control capacity variables, Study 2 focused on working memory capacity (WMC), based on the integrative theory of self-control (Kotabe & Hofmann, 2015), and on cardiac vagal control (index by vagally mediated resting HRV), a possible physiological index of control capacity (not a resource itself), based on the vagal tank theory (Laborde et al., 2018b). Since the vagal tank theory (Laborde et al., 2018b) also focuses on within-subject changes in cardiac vagal control as a possible index of state self-control capacity, baseline to post-event cardiac vagal control changes were also analyzed. Following the integrative theory of self-control (Kotabe & Hofmann, 2015), the results indicated that state, as well as trait self-control, is predicted by an interplay of WMC, and demand-related action-state orientation. Focusing on the vagal tank theory (Laborde et al., 2018b), the results indicated that state self-control capacity can best be detected by the within-subject changes in cardiac vagal control (state-oriented individuals with a low WMC [as expected by the integrative theory of self-control; Kotabe & Hofmann, 2015]
2 This may be because demanding EF tasks where so stressful, that they exceeded even the profound affect and attention regulation capacity of action-oriented individuals (cf. Koole et al., 2005) or on the fact that being action-oriented is significantly associated with socially desirable responding (Diefendorff et al., 2000).
Abstract
indicated the greatest reduction in cardiac vagal control after the demanding EF tasks). However, between-subject differences of cardiac vagal control seem to be ambiguous and less clear for predicting self-control capacity since they are only weakly related to trait self-control if cardiac vagal control is considered without action-state orientation (i.e., only the correlation is considered). These differences here between state and trait self-control might be because the variable and stable components of HRV are of different sizes (Bertsch et al., 2012).
Since higher vagally mediated HRV is often associated with health, better self-regulation and self-control capacity, increased EFs, adaptability (more flexibility to reaction on different situations), and resilience (e.g., Segerstrom & Nes, 2007; Shaffer & Grinsberg, 2017; Thayer et al., 2009, 2012), Study 3 examined whether it is possible to increase vagally mediated HRV in healthy subjects with average resonant frequency training (RFT; i.e., 6 breaths/minute) and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) within 77 days. The effects were tested against an active control group, which did a dual-task consisting of a balance task with parallel cognitive tasks. Every morning, participants measured resting vagally mediated HRV with a mobile device by themselves. A linear mixed-effect model, using random slopes (daily HRV measurement), and random intercepts (participants) indicated that only the PMR group significantly increased their vagally mediated HRV compared to the active control group. However, the non-significant effect of the average RFT group can be caused by the fact that they had a significantly higher HRV compared to the active control group, which could not be further increased (cf. Schumann et al., 2019), or by the fact that the average RFT (daily for 5 minutes respectively) and PMR (three times a week for approximately 18 minutes respectively) intervention differed in frequency and duration, and the duration of a single average RFT session was too short.
Altogether Study 1 and Study 2 indicated that personality traits (here, action-state orientation) are an important factor and moderator when analyzing the association between
Abstract
different self-control variables or when analyzing possible indicators for state as well as trait self-control. Furthermore, Study 2 indicated that due to the multiple influences on HRV (cf. Fatisson et al, 2016; Laborde et al., 2018a), which can serve as an indicator of self-control capacity, it should best be studied in within-subject designs rather than in between-subject designs (cf. Quintana & Heathers, 2014). Finally, Study 3 deals with the possibility of increasing HRV by average RFT and PMR in healthy individuals. Here, PMR is shown to be effective, whereas the non-effectiveness of average RFT might be because the average RFT group generally had a significantly higher HRV (cf. Schumann et al., 2019) or that specific personality traits should also be taken into account in intervention studies. To sum it up, the three studies (for an overview of all studies) extend the self-control and self-regulation research and shed some light on the maze of self-control and self-regulation.
References Bertsch, K., Hagemann, D., Naumann, E., Schachinger, H., & Schulz, A. (2012). Stability of heart rate variability indices reflecting parasympathetic activity. Psychophysiology 49, 672–682. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01341.x Diefendorff, J. M., Hall, R. J., Lord, R. G., & Strean, M. L. (2000). Action–state orientation: Construct validity of a revised measure and its relationship to work-related variables. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 250–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.2.250 Fatisson, J., Oswald, V., & Lalonde, F. (2016). Influence diagram of physiological and environmental factors affecting heart rate variability: An extended literature overview. Heart International, 11, e32–e40. https://doi.org/10.5301/heartint.5000232 Fischer, R., Plessow, F., Dreisbach, G., & Goschke, T. (2015). Individual differences in the context-dependent recruitment of cognitive control: Evidence from action versus state orientation. Journal of Personality, 83, 575–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12140
Abstract
Gröpel, P., Baumeister, R. F., & Beckmann, J. (2014). Action versus state orientation and self-control performance after depletion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 476–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213516636 Holzman, J. B., & Bridgett, D. J. (2017). Heart rate variability indices as bio-markers of top-down self-regulatory mechanisms: A meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 74, 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.032 Jostmann, N. B., & Koole, S. L. (2006). On the waxing and waning of working memory: Action orientation moderates the impact of demanding relationship primes on working memory capacity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1716–1728. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167206292595 Jostmann, N. B., & Koole, S. L. (2007). On the regulation of cognitive control: Action orientation moderates the impact of high demands in Stroop interference tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136, 593–609. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.136.4.593 Koole, S. L., & Jostmann, N. B. (2004). Getting a grip on your feelings: Effects of action orientation and external demands on intuitive affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 974–990. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.87.6.974 Koole, S. L., Jostmann, N. B., & Baumann, N. (2012). Do demanding conditions help or hurt self-regulation?. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 328–346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00425.x Koole, S. L., Kuhl, J., Jostmann, N. B., & Vohs, K. D. (2005). On the hidden benefits of state orientation: Can people prosper without efficient affect regulation skills?. In A. Tesser, J. Wood, & D. A. Stapel (Eds.), On building, defending, and regulating the self: A psychological perspective (pp. 217–243). London, UK: Taylor & Francis.
Abstract
Kotabe, H. P., & Hofmann, W. (2015). On integrating the components of self-control. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 618–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615593382 Kuhl, J. (1994a). A theory of action and state orientations. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Volition and personality: Action versus state orientation (pp. 9–46). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Kuhl, J. (1994b). Action versus state orientation: Psychometric properties of the Action Control Scale (ACS-90). In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Volition and personality: Action versus state orientation (pp. 47–59). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. Kuhl, J. (2000). A functional-design approach to motivation and self-regulation: The dynamics of personality systems interactions. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 111–169). Burlington, MA: Elsevier/Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012109890-2/50034-2 Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Mertgen, A. (2018a). A unifying conceptual framework of factors associated to cardiac vagal control. Heliyon, 4, e01002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e01002 Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Mertgen, A. (2018b). Vagal tank theory: The three Rs of cardiac vagal control functioning–resting, reactivity, and recovery. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00458 Quintana, D. S., & Heathers, J. A. J. (2014). Considerations in the assessment of heart rate variability in biobehavioral research. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00805 Schumann, A., Köhler, S., Brotte, L., & Bär, K.-J. (2019). Effect of an eight-week smartphone-guided HRV-biofeedback intervention on autonomic function and impulsivity in healthy
Abstract
controls. Physiological Measurement, 40, 064001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6579/ab2065 Segerstrom, S. C., & Nes, L. S. (2007). Heart rate variability reflects self-regulatory strength, effort, and fatigue. Psychological Science, 18, 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01888.x Shaffer, F., & Ginsberg, J. P. (2017). An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258 Thayer, J. F., Åhs, F., Fredrikson, M., Sollers, J. J., & Wager, T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: Implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 36, 747–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009 Thayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-Rose, E., & Johnsen, B. H. (2009). Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: The neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9101-z Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61, 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00338-4 Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2009). Claude Bernard and the heart–brain connection: Further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 81–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004 Wolff, M., Krönke, K.-M., Venz, J., Kräplin, A., Bühringer, G., Smolka, M. N., & Goschke, T. (2016). Action versus state orientation moderates the impact of executive functioning on real-life self-control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 1635–1653.
Abstract
https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000229 Zahn, D., Adams, J., Krohn, J., Wenzel, M., Mann, C. G., Gomille, L. K., Jacobi-Scherbening, V., & Kubiak, T. (2016). Heart rate variability and self-control–a meta-analysis. Biological Psychology, 115, 9–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.12.007
Unhealthy eating behaviour among adolescents is a worldwide problem. In Germany, adolescents with a Turkish migration background constitute a high-risk group. Furthermore, the level of acculturation was found to be linked to eating behaviour and its social-cognitive determinants. In order to develop effective interventions, it is important to identify relevant social-cognitive determinants of eating behaviour and to find out whether cultural differences exist. The present thesis therefore combined the research line on explaining health/risk behaviour via social-cognitive theories using the prototype-willingness model (PWM) with the line of research on culture and acculturation. For the explanation of eating behaviour, the PWM was firstly differentiated. Social norms whose influence was identified to be culture-specific were operationalised as descriptive and subjective norms. Secondly, this differentiated PWM was extended by acculturation as a background factor. The level of acculturation was hypothesised to influence every variable of the differentiated PWM. The models were tested in one cross-sectional study (Study II) and in two longitudinal studies (Study I and III). Study I analysed adolescent Turkish migrants’ eating behaviour in comparison to adolescent non-migrants in the host country Germany using the differentiated PWM. Study II conducted an analogical analysis with adolescent Turkish migrants in Germany compared to adolescent non-migrants in the home country Turkey. Latent mean differences, associations of variables, and group differences within these associations were analysed using multiple-group structural equation modelling. Study III analysed associations of variables within the differentiated and extended PWM using structural equation modelling in a sample of adolescent Turkish migrants. Latent mean differences across adolescent Turkish migrants and non-migrants in Germany as well as non-migrants in Turkey, prediction patterns for the given cultural groups, and the association between acculturation and the differentiated PWM for adolescent Turkish migrants were revealed. Theoretical implications for the PWM, culture, and acculturation as well as influences of adolescent Turkish migrants’ eating behaviour in comparison to adolescent non-migrants in Germany and Turkey are shown. These influences are targets for effective culture-specific and generic interventions regarding healthy eating among adolescents in the given cultural groups.
The publication “Beggars, peasants and Soldiers in the Early Modern Age“ consists of two parts: 1. The papers of the “Paupers and Beggars“ section of the European Social Science History Conference which took place at Gent, Belgium in April 2010, 2. South-west German sources dealing with the relations between soldiers and civilians during the Thirty Years’ War. 1. The papers of the “Paupers and Beggars“ section of the European Social Science History Conference, Gent, Belgium, in April 2010 In the first paper Gerhard Fritz shows the percentage of beggars and vagrants of the population in the Swabian Kreis (i. e. South Western Germany) of the late 17th century and the 18th century. According to historian Carsten Küther the percentage was about 10 % or more. Fritz reduces these estimations – at least for times of peace. During peaceful times the percentage of vagrants seems to have been rather low (1 or 2 %) but during the very long times of war it could have reached 10, 20, 30 % or even more. Alfred Stefan Weiß uses a travel book dealing with the Duchy of Carinthia written by Franz Sartori around 1800 as his first main source. Sartori says that there have been “masses of beggars“ in Carinthia. Weiß shows that Sartori must have suffered from some kind of “beggar-phobia“ which led to an over-estimation of the number of Carinthian beggars during that time. Numbers of beggars too high can also be found in a source from Salzburg from 1819. Gerhard Ammerer focuses on the survival strategies of the wandering beggars in Austria and states that they survived by a combination of work and begging, legal and illegal activities. Ammerer discusses the concept of “adaptive family economy“ developed by Richard Wall and comes to the conclusion that this concept can also be applied to the unsettled population. 2. South-west German sources concerning the relations between soldiers and civilians during the Thirty Years’ War. Eberhard Fritz and Maria Würfel present facsimiles of sources, transcriptions into the German language of the 17th century, and translations to actual German and English. By means of the edition, the transcription, and the translations pupils and students have the possibility to see and learn how historians actually work. The first text is a list of the Empirial commander Schüller von Herdern “on how citizens and peasants shall behave towards high and non commissioned officers and common cavalrymen as well as foot soldiers“. The second text contains the military “Rates of food 1640“, the third and the fourth texts are “Reports concerning the quarterings“ in the villages of Mössingen and Talheim, and the last text is a report about “Resistance of mugged people“ against marauding soldiers near the village of Grötzingen.
This thesis addresses these three research shortcomings. To determine where learning takes place in VET and the barriers to learning at the workplace that may occur, this thesis is guided by the overarching question, what are barriers to learning and how can they be measured? The following four sub-questions further structure the thesis:
1) What challenges and problems do VET professionals face in their professional development? (Study I)
2) What are the learning conditions and informal and formal learning activities of professional trainers and training managers? (Study II)
3) What are the experienced barriers to learning, and how can they be categorized? (Study II)
4) How can barriers to learning at the workplace be categorized and be measured? (Study III)