Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Vicarious joy is the pleasure you experience when witnessing someone else’s happiness or success. The brain region that is typically associated with reward processes, namely the nucleus accumbens,...Show moreVicarious joy is the pleasure you experience when witnessing someone else’s happiness or success. The brain region that is typically associated with reward processes, namely the nucleus accumbens, also responds to positive experiences for others, such as winning for them. However, it has been found that the nucleus accumbens is only active upon winning for close others, such as friends or parents, but not strangers. However, the role of gender in these neural processes has previously not been investigated. In this study, I focused on the role of the gender combination of the parent-child dyad in the neural correlates of vicarious reward processing using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). In the fMRI scanner, adolescents played a reward task where they could win money for either their mothers or fathers. They also reported how close they felt to each parent and how much they liked to win for them. Regardless of their gender, adolescents indicated feeling closer to their mother than to their father; they also reported liking winning for them better. A region-ofinterest analysis of the nucleus accumbens showed that there was no difference in neural activation between same-gender and opposite-gender parent-child dyads. Together, these findings demonstrate that regardless of behavioral gender differences in reports of closeness and liking to win, gender does not relate to the underlying neural responses to vicarious rewards for parents. Taken together, these results indicate that adolescent females and males show similar neural responses in the NAcc upon a vicarious reward task. Future research could aim to observe whether this holds true for other social brain regions as well.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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The use of feedback interventions to inform treatment progress have increased in the past decades, but the mechanism of action is not sufficiently understood. It is hypothesized that feedback...Show moreThe use of feedback interventions to inform treatment progress have increased in the past decades, but the mechanism of action is not sufficiently understood. It is hypothesized that feedback interventions may work through adapting the expectation of therapists on the patient’s treatment outcome. The current study aims to investigate the effect of feedback (simple feedback, complex feedback, and no feedback) on therapists’ treatment expectations. Additionally, it is tested whether the effect of feedback on therapists’ treatment expectations is moderated by whether the patient is progressing or not. Lastly, an examination of the effect of feedback on therapists’ predicting treatment success, was evaluated, with an expectation that complex feedback would help therapists have a better prediction accuracy than simple feedback. To explore these hypotheses, therapists (N = 68) answered a few questions regarding their outcome expectations at sessions 1, 5, 10, and 15 while patients (N = 437) had to complete the Outcome Questionnaire-45 item prior to each session, for a maximum of 15 sessions. Results suggest that therapists’ expectations were not affected when they received feedback, neither the effect of feedback on therapists’ outcome expectations was moderated by patients’ progression. Additionally, it showed that feedback in general, led to better therapists' prediction accuracy than not receiving feedback. When a distinction between complex feedback and simple feedback was made, the results showed that therapists seem to benefit more from complex feedback. To conclude, feedback does not affect therapists’ treatment expectations over time. Moreover, feedback in general does affect therapists' prediction accuracy, and more specifically, complex feedback makes therapists’ have a more accurate prediction.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Female sexual dysfunction is a common problem. Problems with relaxation are often perceived as the cause for why these sexual difficulties occur. However, little is known about how relaxation...Show moreFemale sexual dysfunction is a common problem. Problems with relaxation are often perceived as the cause for why these sexual difficulties occur. However, little is known about how relaxation influences the sexual response. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how relaxation is associated with the female sexual response. This was investigated by an experimental design in which 50 healthy women (age 18-45 years) performed a relaxation exercise with the help of a relaxation instrument. As a control condition, they had to quietly lay down. Pelvic floor and self-reported mental relaxation, pleasurableness of tactile non-genital stimulation in response to a tactile stimulation exercise, and genital and subjective sexual arousal in response to an erotic film were measured as dependent variables. It also exploratively examined whether having a history of sexual abuse influences the relationship between relaxation and the sexual response. Performing the relaxation exercise with the relaxation instrument did not induce more pelvic floor or mental relaxation compared to quietly lying down. Similarly, the relaxation exercise did not facilitate pleasurableness of tactile non-genital stimulation. Levels of pelvic floor or mental relaxation were not associated with genital sexual arousal in response to an erotic film, but were associated with subjective sexual arousal. Having a history of sexual abuse did not influence pelvic floor and mental relaxation and pleasurableness of tactile non-genital stimulation, and it was not associated with genital and subjective sexual arousal in response to an erotic film. These results show that the relaxation exercise was not effective in increasing pelvic floor or mental relaxation and that it does not lead to more pleasurableness of tactile stimulation when compared to quietly lying down. However, the findings might indicate that relaxation could indeed facilitate feelings of sexual arousal, but does perhaps not facilitate the physical sexual response. Nevertheless, more research is needed with a more effective relaxation exercise in order to get a greater understanding in the facilitating effects of relaxation on the female sexual response.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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The gender gap in STEM majors and careers is very prominent and alarming (Beilock & Maloney, 2015). Students are more likely to avoid STEM careers when they show higher levels of Mathematics...Show moreThe gender gap in STEM majors and careers is very prominent and alarming (Beilock & Maloney, 2015). Students are more likely to avoid STEM careers when they show higher levels of Mathematics Anxiety (MA; Ahmed, 2018). The current study investigates the difference in Mathematics Anxiety between male and female students in their first year of the preacademic educational track (HAVO, atheneum and gymnasium) in secondary school in the Netherlands. The Numerical Dot-Probe Task (NDPT) is a computerized task that is based on attentional bias and less susceptible to bias than self-report questionnaires. (Rubinsten, Eidlin, Wohl, & Akibli, 2015). Related concepts to MA that will be controlled for are; mathematical achievement, general anxiety and working memory. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling, the final sample consisted of seven students. Using the adapted t-test, z-scores of all participants were compared in order to answer the research question (Crawford, Garthwaite, & Wood, 2010). 100% of girls and 20% of boys showed higher levels of MA when looking at their scores on the self-report questionnaires compared to their score on the NDPT. Overall, the girls’ MA score was overestimated and the boys’ MA score was underestimated. However, this effect was not strong enough to result in an overrepresentation of girls and an underrepresentation of boys in the population of children with high levels of MA when looking at the self-report questionnaires. Results suggested that the prominent gender gap in STEM studies might not be due to gender differences in MA. Due to the smaller sample size, it is important that these findings are replicated in future studies using bigger samples. Stereotype threat is a variable that could explain the STEM gender gap and should thus be included in these future studies.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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The current study aimed to investigate whether there were different clusters of behaviour problems in children deemed at risk for developing antisocial behaviour. The expectations were that there...Show moreThe current study aimed to investigate whether there were different clusters of behaviour problems in children deemed at risk for developing antisocial behaviour. The expectations were that there would be at least two clusters, a cluster with only externalizing behaviour problems and a cluster with both internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Furthermore, it was assessed whether there were group differences on emotion recognition and inhibition. The dataset contained 255 Dutch participants, between the ages five and eighteen (mean age: 11,37 (SD = 2.91); 190 boys and 65 girls). The teacher of the participant filled out Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form (TRF) to assess the behavioural problems. Both vocal and facial emotion recognition tasks were conducted. Furthermore, both hot inhibition (delayed frustration) and cool inhibition (response inhibition) were measured. To evaluate the group differences MANOVA’s were conducted. The results revealed that there were different clusters of behavioural problems. In the younger group two clusters were found, a cluster with less problems and a cluster with more externalizing problems. Three clusters were found in the older group, a cluster with less behavioural problems, a cluster with high externalizing problems, and a small cluster with both internalizing and some externalizing problems. The results also revealed that the participants in the different clusters did not differ in their ability on emotion recognition and inhibition. Concluding it can be stated that the current study found different clusters of behavioural problems in children and adolescents deemed at risk for developing antisocial behaviour. Contrary to expectations, the group with both internalizing and externalizing problems was small in the current dataset. The current research did not find group differences in emotion recognition and inhibition.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: Between 10-15% of women have a pathological fear of childbirth. An expectation of fear might contribute to an actual fearful childbirth experience, which is known as a nocebo effect....Show moreBackground: Between 10-15% of women have a pathological fear of childbirth. An expectation of fear might contribute to an actual fearful childbirth experience, which is known as a nocebo effect. Likewise, positive thoughts about childbirth may lead to positive experiences, known as a placebo effect. Negative expectations surrounding childbirth mainly occurs in women who are known with anxiety and depression. As a result of these negative expectations, women could have a prolonged labor and obstetric complications which can evoke traumatic symptoms. The purpose of this study was to research whether there is a predictive association between positive or negative expectations surrounding childbirth and the experience of childbirth and whether this differs in women with or without psychiatric problems. This is relevant because most research on women’s expectations of childbirth are focused on fear of childbirth and its potential impact in medical aspects, whereas in this study the focus is on a broader expectation base, including positive expectations and also the subjective experience of childbirth. Methods: In this prospective study we included in total 150 women from both the Psychiatric Obstetric Pediatric (POP) outpatient clinics, a clinic for pregnant women with psychiatric vulnerability, and the general obstetric clinic, between January 2020 and January 2022. All participants filled in the Wijma Delivery Expectancy (version A at T1) and Experience (version B at T2) questionnaire after providing an informed consent. Also, all participants filled in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and the PTSS checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), to evaluate current psychiatric complaints. Results: The expectation surrounding childbirth was a significant predictor for the childbirth experience after controlling for parity and pain relief, p <.001, whereas positive expectations are related to a positive childbirth experience (placebo effect) and negative expectations are related to a negative childbirth experience (nocebo effect). This was not different for women with or without psychiatric problems, p =.841. Conclusions: Women’s negative and positive expectations of childbirth are related to the childbirth experience, showing indications for both a nocebo and placebo effect. These results can be important for future experimental research to see whether changing the expectation of childbirth in a positive way, could improve the experience of childbirth.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Child social behaviour is indicative of psychosocial functioning. Familial factors, including positive and negative parental characteristics are proposed to be related to child adaptive and...Show moreChild social behaviour is indicative of psychosocial functioning. Familial factors, including positive and negative parental characteristics are proposed to be related to child adaptive and maladaptive social behaviour. The differential susceptibility (DS) theory suggests that the relationship between parental characteristics and child behaviour can only be understood after taking child characteristics into consideration. In this study, we explored the relationship between parental positive and negative affect/social anxiety and child positive shyness and avoidance while taking into account the potential moderating role of child temperament. The sample consisted of children aged 4 to 6 years (N = 68, Age M =5.16; 34 girls) and their primary caregivers. Parents reported their positive and negative affect and their child’s temperament. Child positive shyness and avoidance were observed during a social performance task. Parenting dimensions did not significantly relate to child social behaviour. No significant associations were found between parental positive affect and child observed positive shyness, or between parental negative affect/ social anxiety and child observed avoidance. Child temperament was not found to enhance the relationship between parenting dimensions and child observed behaviour. These non-significant results could be explained by the reflexive nature of inhibitory behaviour, or by methodological aspects of the study.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
open access
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a data collection method that utilizes phone apps to gather data in daily life. EMA has many advantages, such as ecological validity. However, data...Show moreEcological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a data collection method that utilizes phone apps to gather data in daily life. EMA has many advantages, such as ecological validity. However, data collection protocols are often intense, with multiple measurements per day, which can interrupt participants’ everyday activities and place a burden on them. This can reduce compliance. One way to tackle this is to provide participants with personalized data reports as an intrinsic reward. However, current frameworks to generate such reports are focused on single individuals in treatment, and not suitable for large-scale studies. Here we introduce a software to fill this gap, FRED (Feedback Reports on EMA Data), and showcase FRED by generating reports for 428 participants who took part in the WARN-D study. Participants were followed for 85 consecutive days, and received four daily and one weekly survey, resulting in up to 352 observations. We provided feedback to participants in the form of downloadable HTML-files, which were generated using the R programing environment. Reports included descriptive statistics, timeseries visualizations, and network analyses on selected variables. Furthermore, we assessed participants’ perceptions of the created reports (n=54), who judged reports mostly as understandable, insightful, and that reports resonated well with them. Given that FRED is flexible and can be adjusted to the needs of a particular research project, it provides a good basis to generate large numbers of personalized data reports.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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This thesis examined factors that influence citizens’ food waste separation intentions through an extended norm activation model (NAM). Extensions comprised the incorporation of anticipated guilt,...Show moreThis thesis examined factors that influence citizens’ food waste separation intentions through an extended norm activation model (NAM). Extensions comprised the incorporation of anticipated guilt, anticipated disgust, and biodigester information in the model. Citizens of the municipality of Leiden, the Netherlands (N = 168) participated in an experimental survey study. One group of participants completed the survey while keeping their current waste separation options for food waste in mind, other participants received information about small-scale biodigesters and imagined a small-scale biodigester in their neighborhood. Results confirmed that the original NAM is a suitable model for explaining food waste separation intentions. In addition to previous studies, results supported our hypothesis that citizens’ outcome efficacy is positively associated with personal norms. Findings concerning extensions of the NAM were not in line with expectations. Anticipated guilt and anticipated disgust did not mediate the positive relationship between personal norms and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, outcome efficacy was not higher in participants that imagined a small-scale biodigester in their neighborhood in comparison to participants that did not. Implications regarding these findings are discussed.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Purpose. The current study aimed to research the relation between teleworking and distress levels, depressive symptoms, workload, work functioning and need for recovery. Age and gender were further...Show morePurpose. The current study aimed to research the relation between teleworking and distress levels, depressive symptoms, workload, work functioning and need for recovery. Age and gender were further tested as moderators on these relations, and workload was tested as a mediator between telework and distress level, depressive symptoms, work functioning and need for recovery. Methods. A sample of 87 employees working at a Dutch telecom organization were included. The group of employees who exclusively worked at the office (teleworkers; N = 37) was compared to the group of employees who worked remotely some of their time (teleworkers; N = 50) on all outcomes using independent t-tests. The indicators were measured cross-sectionally. Results. There was no significant difference between teleworkers and nonteleworkers in distress level (p = .161, d = 0.33), depressive symptoms (p = .575, d = 0.12), workload (p = .886, d = 0.01), work functioning (p = .266, d = 0.24) and need for recovery (p = .964, d = 0.01). Moreover, age and gender did not have a moderating effect on any of these relations. Results showed lastly that workload was not a significant mediator between telework and all four outcomes. Conclusion. The current study suggests that there is no difference between teleworkers in distress levels, depressive symptoms, workload, work functioning and need for recovery. Also, characteristics of the employees such as gender and age do not seem to relate to relations of telework with these outcomes. Results furthermore suggest that workload does not explain the effects of telework on the included outcomes.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Financial stress is a widespread issue that has a profound impact on the ability to make sound financial decisions. People experiencing financial stress are generally more prone to temporal...Show moreFinancial stress is a widespread issue that has a profound impact on the ability to make sound financial decisions. People experiencing financial stress are generally more prone to temporal discounting: valuing immediate (monetary) outcomes more than future ones. This tendency can prolong the problematic financial situation. In this study, we developed and tested an intervention to help individuals in financial stress increase their focus on their future financial goals. Based on the broaden-and-build theory, which suggests that positive emotions facilitate attentional broadening, we induced either joy or hope in the participants. Our online survey was filled out by 324 UK-participants with varying degrees of financial stress. First, the participants filled in a questionnaire that measured their experienced financial stress. To induce positive emotions, the participants then wrote about personal experiences that either make them feel joy or hope. Finally, they made a series of hypothetical financial decisions. Participants in the gains condition chose between receiving a small amount now, or a larger amount in the future. Participants in the losses condition decided between paying a sum now, or a larger amount later. We hypothesized that, compared to the control condition, temporal discounting would be lower in both the joy and hope condition (1); and that, compared to the control condition, the positive relationship between financial stress and temporal discounting would be weaker in both the joy and hope condition (2). Although our emotion manipulation was successful, linear regression analyses indicated that both hypotheses were not supported. First of all, financial stress and temporal discounting were not positively related in our sample. Additionally, inducing joy and hope did not lessen temporal discounting. We can conclude from this that further research is needed on how temporal discounting can be reduced.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Perceiving and correctly interpreting emotional expressions is one of the most important abilities for social animals’ communication. It determines the majority of social interactions, group...Show morePerceiving and correctly interpreting emotional expressions is one of the most important abilities for social animals’ communication. It determines the majority of social interactions, group dynamics, and cooperation, being highly relevant for an individual’s survival. With the evolutionary implications of understanding emotions, and the phylogenetical closeness between humans and non-human primates, the core mechanisms of this ability have been hypothesized to be shared across closely related species. In the current study, we aimed to find homologies in human processing of different species’ facial expressions using eye-tracking. Introducing a prime-target paradigm, we tested the influences on human’s attention elicited by priming with differently valenced emotional stimuli depicting human and chimpanzee faces. We demonstrated a shift of attention towards the conspecific emotional target picture that was congruent with the valence depicted on the primer picture. We did not find this effect to occur with heterospecific primers, although based on post-hoc valence and arousal ratings, the emotional expressions in chimpanzees were interpreted correctly. Explanations of this finding, as well as implications about the involvement of related emotion processing mechanisms between humans and chimpanzees are discussed. Additional systematic investigations of emotional expressions across species are needed to unravel whether the emotion representation mechanisms can extend to process other species’ faces. Through cross-species investigations, we continue to address the gap of a shared evolutionary ancestry between humans and other animals to ultimately answer the question of “Where emotions come from?”.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: The abrupt spread of Covid-19 all over the world created a global crisis and resulted in a pandemic which led to various adverse mental health outcomes. Concordantly, studies reported...Show moreBackground: The abrupt spread of Covid-19 all over the world created a global crisis and resulted in a pandemic which led to various adverse mental health outcomes. Concordantly, studies reported an increasing trend in the prevalence and severity of binge eating and emotional eating symptoms. Aims: To estimate the prevalence and severity rates of binge eating and emotional eating symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic through systematic review with meta-analysis. Methods: Pre-registered systematic review with meta-analysis (Prospero ID: CRD42022316105). Results: Systematic searches in PubMed and Web of Science (final search date 19th of March, 2022) yielded 27 eligible studies on changes in binge eating and emotional eating prevalence and severity rates during the Covid-19 outbreak (total N = 22.029). An overall increase in the elicited and exacerbated binge eating and emotional eating symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic was observed (number of studies (k) = 14, r = 0.27, 95% CIs = 0.059 to 0.478). Furthermore, overall 7% of participants reported increases in pooled binge eating and emotional eating behaviours. Conclusions: Our data show a significant increase in the prevalence and severity rates of binge eating and emotional eating during the Covid-19 outbreak. This increase may be expected due to raised emotions of stress, loss of control, fear, ineffectiveness, and boredom during the pandemic. Public health policies and intervention programs for preventing and treating binge eating and emotional eating symptoms should be considered during confinement or related circumstances.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: Research has identified psychological factors as important predictors of highly prevelant persistent somatic symptoms (PSS). However, this research is generally not based on primary...Show moreBackground: Research has identified psychological factors as important predictors of highly prevelant persistent somatic symptoms (PSS). However, this research is generally not based on primary care data and general practitioners (GPs) experience difficulties identifying PSS in their patients. Awareness of the psychological risk factors noted in readily accessible electronic medical records (EMRs) might aid GPs with earlier discovery and treatment. Aim: The objective was to examine the predictive value of psychological registrations in primary care for PSS onset. Method: We employed a retrospective longitudinal cohort design. EMR data of Dutch primary care patients were allocated into different subsamples according to registrations of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), and a combination of these registrations (COMBI) with age and sex-matched non-PSS cohorts. Candidate predictors were registered psychological symptoms, mental health referrals, and psycho-pharmaceuticals registered prior to PSS onset. The relevance of each candidate predictor was determined via L1 regularization in a logistic Lasso regression. The resulting prediction models’ performance was assessed via area under the curve (AUC). Results: The AUC indicated a fair classification performance for IBS (AUC IBS = .77), and good classification performances for CFS, FM, and COMBI (AUC CFS = .82, AUC FM = .88, and AUC COMBI= .87). The IBS-, CFS-, FM-, and COMBI-models, retained a total of 27, 12, 22, and 15 predictors, respectively. The strongest predictor per model was registration of sexual dysfunction for IBS (OR = 4.0), concentration disorder for CFS (OR = 2.4), neurasthenia for FM (OR = 3.0), and concentration disorder for COMBI (OR = 3.8). Neither of these predictors was unique to one specific model. Each final model retained mental health referrals, psycho-pharmaceuticals, and certain psychological symptom registrations as valuable predictors. Based on shared predictors IBS and FM had the closest models while IBS and CFS models were the most dissimilar. Discussion: These findings indicate that several psychological registrations are valuable predictors for onset of IBS, CFS, and/or FM. Therefore, GPs should consider the according predictors when screening for PSS. Future research could examine the comparatively low classification performce for IBS and psychological factors outside of primary care across PSS subtypes.Show less
