Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Saving for retirement is a difficult task and individuals need to overcome many hurdles to succeed in it. When governments and companies try to help individuals, they will need to engage in choice...Show moreSaving for retirement is a difficult task and individuals need to overcome many hurdles to succeed in it. When governments and companies try to help individuals, they will need to engage in choice architecture, which means that they will exert some influence on the individuals’ decisions. Therefore, they might be held responsible for the outcomes of the individuals’ savings decisions. Evidence from two online experiments on Prolific (N = 1142) indicates that choice architecture which does not reach the desired outcome can result in a loss of trustworthiness. Further, this loss of trustworthiness depended on the exact choice architecture used. When the choice architecture did not reach the desired outcome, an individual who was presented with a suggestion perceived the trustworthiness of the CA as lower than an individual who was presented a simple free choice. Interestingly, using defaults seems to have no adverse impacts on perceived trustworthiness when the desired outcome was not reached. Finally, we discuss implications for policy and research.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: Memory decline and altered functional connectivity in the default-mode network (DMN) have been widely reported in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Dance has been suggested to...Show moreBackground: Memory decline and altered functional connectivity in the default-mode network (DMN) have been widely reported in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Dance has been suggested to induce neuroplasticity and memory improvement, yet it remains unclear whether dance can serve as a tool to improve brain functioning and memory performance in PwMS. Objectives: (a) To examine differences in resting-state functional connectivity between PwMS and healthy controls (HC) at baseline, and (b) to investigate the short-term effects of an 8-week dance intervention on functional connectivity of the hippocampus within the DMN and its association with changes in memory functioning in PwMS. Methods: In total 19 PwMS and 38 matching HC took part in this study. Regarding PwMS (44.53 ± 8.52 years, 15:4 ratio of relapsing-remitting MS and secondary progressive MS, with 8.9 ± 8.8 disease duration in years), neuropsychological (Brief Repeatable Battery memory tests), psychological (Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire; MSNQ among other questionnaires), and functional MRI data were collected pre-/post-intervention. Data of matching HC (44.68 ± 8.47 years) was adopted from the Amsterdam MS cohort. All PwMS completed an 8-week dance intervention with sessions being held twice a week for one hour each. Repeated measures tests of variances (ANOVAs) and one-tailed Pearson correlations were conducted. Results: Baseline hippocampal connectivity within the DMN was reduced in PwMS compared to HC (p= .036). Following the dance intervention, hippocampus-DMN connectivity remained stable (p= .252). While verbal learning memory improved (65.05 ± 8.38 total score, p= .001), visuospatial memory did not (p= .517). Additional analyses showed improved subjective cognitive functioning indicated by the MSNQ (24.84 ± 9.38 score, p= .035), but this was not associated with changes in objective cognitive functioning (r= -.331, p= .083) nor with changes in functional connectivity (r= -.355, p= .068). Conclusion: Participation in dance can improve verbal learning memory and self-perceived cognitive abilities in PwMS. Either the duration of the intervention was too short to induce a change in hippocampus-DMN connectivity or stable functional connectivity may be regarded as a sign of neuroprotection. Future studies with longer intervention duration and follow-up are needed to further elucidate the benefits of dancing on cognition and brain functioning in PwMS.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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One in 650-1000 individuals has sex chromosome trisomy (SCT), being born with an extra X or Y chromosome (XXX; XXY; XYY). SCT comes with various developmental risks. The present study was designed...Show moreOne in 650-1000 individuals has sex chromosome trisomy (SCT), being born with an extra X or Y chromosome (XXX; XXY; XYY). SCT comes with various developmental risks. The present study was designed to evaluate the relation between parental factors (parenting skills (parental reflective functioning, sensitivity, and intrusiveness) and family functioning) and the social cognitive skills and its rate of development of children with SCT. Literature suggests that parenting skills and family functioning influence social cognitive development in typical children, but this has not been researched in children with SCT. Included in this study were 106 children with SCT and 102 controls (age M = 3.65, SD = 1.78 range = .98-7.66). A free play task, the parental developmental interview, and a questionnaire were used for evaluating parental factors, and the social cognitive skills of the child were measured using the ASIEP-3. Children with SCT showed significant impairments in social cognitive skills while the rate of development of social cognitive skills proved identical to controls. Parental sensitivity, intrusiveness, and reflective functioning were similar across groups and were found to not significantly influence social cognitive development. Family functioning was found to be positively related to the social cognitive skills of SCT children. However, family functioning did not influence the rate of social cognitive development of either SCT or control groups. The findings imply other factors to be of more importance in the social cognitive development of children with SCT at the average ages of 1-2 years and 3-6 years. It is recommended to research other factors, namely brain maturation and timing of diagnosis. Further knowledge about which factors stimulate the development of the social cognitive abilities of children with SCT, to what extent and at what age, is of importance as this may help to develop and personalize prevention and intervention programs.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic strongly influenced adolescents’ opportunities for real-life interactions, especially with their peers. These interactions are crucial for the development of...Show moreThe Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic strongly influenced adolescents’ opportunities for real-life interactions, especially with their peers. These interactions are crucial for the development of prosocial behavior, and its predictors, such as empathic concern, perspective-taking, and opportunities for prosocial actions. We investigated the development of prosocial behavior, empathic concern, perspective-taking, and opportunities for prosocial actions in adolescents aged 15-18 years old before the pandemic (T1/T2 for the pre-pandemic group) and in those aged 15-18 years old during the pandemic (T2/T3 for the peri-pandemic group). Both groups participated in a charity dictator game a during two measurement instances. Adolescents in the pre-pandemic group showed more empathic concern, and prosocial behavior over time (T1/T2), while their perspective-taking skills remained stable, and their opportunities for prosocial behavior decreased. Adolescents in the peri-pandemic group showed more perspective-taking skills and opportunities for prosocial actions over time (T2/T3), while their empathic concern and prosocial behavior remained stable. These different developmental trajectories may point toward the importance of real-life interactions for empathic concern and prosocial behavior and the role of crisis situations in fostering perspective-taking skills. Adolescents may have sought out more opportunities for prosocial actions during the pandemic to fulfill their need to contribute to society and to belong. Moreover, gender affected the results, with girls showing more empathic concern across groups, and more prosocial behavior in the pre-pandemic group. This may be due to gender intensification and reinforcement for gender-conforming behavior. Future research should investigate the extent to which empathic concern, perspective-taking, and prosocial behavior are malleable by different circumstances and whether gender roles explicitly influence adolescents’ prosocial behavior.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
under embargo until 2025-01-31
2025-01-31T00:00:00Z
Dissociation is a complex trans-diagnostic phenomenon, which ranges from normative to pathological. There are multiple ways of measuring and categorising dissociation, and different theories as to...Show moreDissociation is a complex trans-diagnostic phenomenon, which ranges from normative to pathological. There are multiple ways of measuring and categorising dissociation, and different theories as to the aetiology and function of dissociation in psychological disorders. People with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) experience more dissociation than healthy controls and other personality disorders, and dissociation is associated with other key features of BPD. Despite this, dissociation in BPD is poorly understood. It is unclear which types of dissociation manifest in BPD, in which situations, and the function that dissociation achieves. The aim of this study was to investigate the form and function of dissociation in BPD, by identifying themes across personal narratives. A thematic analysis was performed on narratives of dissociative experiences assessed within a script-driven imagery approach. The predominant forms of dissociation were depersonalisation and derealisation. Dissociation occurred in interpersonal and threatening situations, tended to follow negative affect, and was accompanied by physical reactions consistent with sympathetic nervous system activation. Dissociation functioned as psychological escape from internal experiences or external situations. These themes are discussed within the context of prominent theories of BPD and dissociation. These findings are in line with the idea that dissociation in BPD acts as a protective mechanism against high sensitivity and reactivity to affective and interpersonal experiences in the place of normative regulation skills. This paper concludes that dissociation in BPD offers psychological escape from intolerable experiences, and is related to a low threshold for threat perception and threat response mobilisation.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Prediction-based learning is an effective teaching method for building factual knowledge, i.e., semantic learning. Its effectiveness likely depends on its potential to elicit surprise in learners....Show morePrediction-based learning is an effective teaching method for building factual knowledge, i.e., semantic learning. Its effectiveness likely depends on its potential to elicit surprise in learners. Only a few studies tested this hypothesis using a prediction-based learning framework comparable to semantic learning in the classroom. Most of these studies used physiological measures of surprise. However, the link between prediction-based semantic learning and learners' metacognitive surprise remains to be investigated. Using mixed models, we tested and explored to what degree participants' (N = 41; Mage = 21.9 years, SD = 1.5, 73% female) metacognitive surprise about the learning material (numerical trivia facts) explained how well participants learned (continuous metric) and recalled (binary metric) this material during a numerical-fact learning task designed to resemble classroomlike prediction-based learning. In line with our hypothesis, preregistered analyses showed that the more surprising participants found a fact, the more they learned from it. Extending previous work, we found that this link remained when controlling for a) between-fact differences in learning potential and b) facts already known to the participants and when c) participants failed to recall a fact correctly. Further extending previous work, our exploratory analyses suggested that learning also improved when participants perceived the facts as nonsurprising. So, the link between metacognitive surprise and learning may be u-shaped rather than linear. Altogether, these findings hint that learners'surprise about the learning material is one of the factors explaining to what degree learners learn from their prediction mistakes to update their factual knowledge. We forgo conclusions about the link between metacognitive surprise and recall accuracy since the confirmatory and exploratory results were ambiguous and negligibly small.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
under embargo until 2024-12-22
2024-12-22T00:00:00Z
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a disorder characterized by impairments in interpersonal functioning such as experiencing difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships. These impairments...Show moreSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is a disorder characterized by impairments in interpersonal functioning such as experiencing difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships. These impairments have negative intrapersonal consequences for individuals with SAD on different levels such as the physiological, behavioral, and psychological level. A newer perspective on SAD has suggested that it also negatively impacts the interaction partner (i.e. interpersonal consequences of the disorder). According to this perspective, certain verbal and nonverbal behaviors and thought or feeling content of the healthy interaction partner are affected while interacting with an individual who have SAD. The current study investigated the intra- and interpersonal consequences of SAD on the physiological, behavioral, and psychological level during initial interactions. Participants played a dyadic trust game (23 same-gender dyads) while their electrodermal activity (EDA) was continuously measured and filled in self-report measures during and after the game. The dyads consisted either of one participant scoring high on social anxiety (SA) and one low on SA (i.e. SA dyads) or two participants scoring low on SA (i.e. control dyads). EDA was used as the measure on the physiological level, participants’ trust ratings were the measure on the behavioral level, and the discrepancy between self and partner reports on positive/negative personal attributes to explore cognitive biases was the measure on the psychological level. We expected to observe higher EDA synchrony, lower trust ratings, and higher discrepancy between self and partner reports in SA dyads compared to control dyads. Results showed no difference between dyads on all levels indicating that we were not able to observe the predicted effect of finding intra- and interpersonal consequences of SAD in SA dyads. The most important implication of the current study is that, it included three different levels of SAD, in contrast to earlier studies that mainly focused on one level. This provides a useful example for how future studies might be designed and conducted.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: about 5% of children experience childhood parental death, which has been associated with a higher risk for developing insecure attachment styles in adulthood. However, some people...Show moreBackground: about 5% of children experience childhood parental death, which has been associated with a higher risk for developing insecure attachment styles in adulthood. However, some people suffer more long-term consequences compared to others, even within the same family. Which factors play a role in the differential experiences following childhood parental death, even between siblings, who experienced the same objective life event? Objective: In the current study, we aimed to investigate the association between childhood parental death and adult attachment, and the role of parental bonding with each parent in this association. We also investigated this in a sibling-context, where we studied parental bonding as a family-wide and an individual factor. Design: 819 participants, aged between 25 and 45 years old, took part in this cross-sectional between-subject study. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information about parental bonding and adult attachment. The study included two parts, where in the first part the hypotheses were investigated in the main sample (i.e., a sample of nonrelated individuals), an in the second part in the sibling sample (i.e., a sample of sibling dyads and triads). Results: Both avoidant and anxiety attachment were more present in the target group compared to the control group in the main sample, but not in the sibling sample. Stronger maternal and paternal bonding were related to less insecure attachment in adulthood in the control group of the main sample, but no associations between bonding with the surviving and deceased parent were found the target group of the main sample. Stronger family-wide and individual maternal bonding were related to less avoidance attachment in the control group of the sibling sample, but not to anxiety attachment. In the target group of the sibling sample, stronger family-wide bonding with the surviving parent was related to less avoidance attachment and stronger family-wide bonding with the deceased parent was related to less anxiety attachment. Conclusion: Childhood parental death appears to be related to more insecure attachment in adulthood. The role of parental bonding seems to be different depending upon whether childhood parental death has been experienced. Within siblings, both familywide parental bonding and individual specific bonding seem to have individual effects on adult attachment, suggesting that including individual and family-wide experiences might shed light upon more complex processes of bonding and attachment formation within families. However, further research is needed to replicate these findings before conclusions can be drawn.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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When learning new information, generating a prediction before receiving the information strongly improves the amount of learning. To this date, the mechanisms underlying why generating predictions...Show moreWhen learning new information, generating a prediction before receiving the information strongly improves the amount of learning. To this date, the mechanisms underlying why generating predictions increases learning are poorly understood. One potential factor that influences this effect is surprise: more surprising information has been demonstrated to deepen information processing when the information differs from our expectations, which occurs when we cannot explain the new information through our belief systems. However, too much surprise may be adverse to learning, as the information may be flagged as implausible and consequently be rejected from our belief network (Munnich & Ranney, 2019). In this study, we investigated the influence of surprise and plausibility on a numerical fact-learning task using three different kinds of learning outcomes: recall, recognition, and memory updating. Using multilevel modelling, we found a nonlinear influence of surprise on immediate recall, as well as a linear influence of surprise on the updating of beliefs. We did not find a significant association between surprise and delayed recognition, nor any significant effects of plausibility on the three measures of learning, although there appeared to be a trend effect of plausibility on the updating of beliefs. Future research should further investigate when newly presented information gets rejected from belief systems, and the role that implausibility of information plays in this phenomenon.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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Affective empathy and emotion recognition deficits are hypothesized to underlie impaired social interaction in children exhibiting antisocial behaviour. However, few studies have examined the...Show moreAffective empathy and emotion recognition deficits are hypothesized to underlie impaired social interaction in children exhibiting antisocial behaviour. However, few studies have examined the possible emotion recognition deficits and affective empathy. This study compared facial affect recognition, vocal emotion recognition and affective empathy of children at risk for criminal behaviour to that of normally developing children. It was expected that children at risk of criminal behaviour had impaired emotion recognition and affective empathy, and that emotion recognition deficits and affective empathy were partially related to each other. The high-risk children were recruited through and intervention project connected to several municipalities in the Netherlands, focusing on the underage siblings or children of delinquents and those exhibiting antisocial and disruptive behaviour according to teachers. Facial and vocal recognition of happy, sad, angry and fearful emotions were respectively measured with the Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) test and the Prosody test of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT). Affective empathy was assessed by recording heart rate (HR) while showing video clips with neutral and emotional content (happiness, fear, pain and sadness). It was found that the high-risk group were less able to recognize fear and sadness in still-faces, and had an overall lower percentage corrected when recognizing emotions from voices, compared to healthy controls. The high-risk group also showed reduced HR to pain and fear, but this was not related to emotion recognition deficits. These findings suggest that children that engage in antisocial behaviour have impaired emotion recognition and reduced affective empathy, but that lack of empathy cannot solely be explained by a less ability to recognize emotions.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) lack the full-length dystrophin protein. In muscle this protein contributes to membrane integrity. It is also found in the brain, but its function...Show morePatients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) lack the full-length dystrophin protein. In muscle this protein contributes to membrane integrity. It is also found in the brain, but its function there is unclear. Patients with DMD experience a number of cognitive and behavioral problems, and MRI studies have shown reduced gray matter and total brain volume. The current study aimed to assess whether these MRI findings are progressive and whether neural correlates of psychological problems in DMD are similar to those in healthy controls. Previously-acquired pediatric data was combined with newly-acquired data from adult DMD patients and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Subjects underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan and a neuropsychological evaluation. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of age and DMD on the ratio of gray matter to cerebrospinal fluid volume (GMV:CSFV) and total brain volume corrected for intracranial volume (TBV:ICV). An independent-samples t-test and a voxel-based morphometry analysis were used to compare gray matter volume in patients with psychological problems to patients without such problems, to identify global or local gray matter reductions in patients with psychological problems. Patients with DMD had reduced GMV:CSFV and TBV:ICV compared to healthy controls (b=-0.43, p<0.001; b=-0.02, p<0.001 respectively). Both GMV:CSFV and TBV:ICV linearly decreased in both groups (b=-0.09, p<0.001; b=-0.003, p<0.001 respectively), but this was not different between-groups (p>0.05). No global (p>0.05) or localized gray matter volume reductions were found in patients with DMD with psychological problems compared to patients without such problems. In both patients and healthy controls gray matter was displaced by cerebrospinal fluid over time, suggesting this process is not a pathological mechanism in DMD. Patients with DMD did have a lower GMV:CSFV and TBV:ICV ratio, suggesting this is a diseased mechanism. No global or local GM reductions were found in patients with DMD with psychological problems compared to patients without such problems.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
open access
Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a data collection method in which participants’ current behaviors and experiences are sampled repeatedly in their natural environment. EMA has advantages...Show moreEcological momentary assessment (EMA) is a data collection method in which participants’ current behaviors and experiences are sampled repeatedly in their natural environment. EMA has advantages over retrospective research methods, in that it reduces retrospective bias, increases ecological validity, and offers the possibility to observe dynamical changes of variables. However, EMA protocols are burdensome for participants and may interfere with their daily activities. This can lead to non-compliance over the course of a study. Missing data can subsequently decrease statistical power, and even induce bias. This paper explored whether missing data can be predicted by various variables related to students’ primary motivation to participate, mental health, stress levels, and demographics. We analyzed data of the first cohort (N = 418) of the ongoing WARN- D project on student mental health. Participants completed a comprehensive baseline survey and took part in an 85-day long EMA study. We predicted overall rates of non- compliance by participant characteristics at baseline (Analysis 1) and weekly rates of non- compliance by time-varying factors during the EMA stage (Analysis 2). Analysis 1 showed that overall non-compliance can be predicted by baseline measures such as age, depression, substance use, and primary motivation to participate. Analysis 2 showed that weekly assessed time-varying measures like time into study, enjoyment of the study, weekly stress, anxiety, and depression may predict weekly rates of non-compliance. Participant’s sex and smartphone operating system were not related to overall non-compliance. Summarizing, non-compliance rates of participants can be predicted by participant characteristics at baseline as well as by time-varying predictors. Our findings may inform future research on potential mechanisms behind noncompliance in EMA designs that should be considered to maximize participation rates while avoiding biased conclusions.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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In this study, we investigated how people’s contribution decisions in a public goods game change when uncertainty about the effects of the contribution is introduced. Additionally, we investigated...Show moreIn this study, we investigated how people’s contribution decisions in a public goods game change when uncertainty about the effects of the contribution is introduced. Additionally, we investigated whether social value orientation (SVO) and subjective wealth (SW) might have moderating effects on contribution behavior. Using a mixed model, we found that participants contributed significantly less in the uncertain condition when there was a chance that the contributions may be wasted compared to the certain condition. However, we did not find any moderating effects on contribution behavior for SVO and SW. When it was uncertain whether incurring a personal cost would benefit the collective, both pro-socials and pro-selves contributed less to a public good. Overall, participants seemed to choose the option with the highest expected utility and the least uncertainty.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Negative Attention Bias (NAB) is suggested to have evolutionary functions; however, there is evidence that it also plays a role in the onset and maintenance of depression. Previous studies...Show moreNegative Attention Bias (NAB) is suggested to have evolutionary functions; however, there is evidence that it also plays a role in the onset and maintenance of depression. Previous studies investigating NAB and its links to depression were mainly conducted with clinical and at-risk adolescent and adult samples. Results of previous studies indicated depressed or at-risk individuals present NAB specifically towards depression-congruent stimuli (e.g., sad faces). This study is the first to investigate NAB and its links to depressive symptoms in non-clinical children. Moreover, the link between parental depressive symptoms and NAB in children was also investigated. In line with the previous studies, it was hypothesized children, like adults, will show NAB towards negative over positive emotional stimuli; children who have higher levels of depression will attend longer to sad faces in specific; children whose parents have higher levels of depression will attend longer to sad faces in specific. In a cross-sectional design, 90 8–12-year-old children and 84 parents (44 mothers) were tested. Children and parents’ dwell times to positive (happy) compared to negative (angry, fearful, sad) emotional expressions were measured using an eye-tracking task. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) for children and the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) for parents. While only one parent contributed to the eye-tracking task, both parents were asked to fill out the BDI. Results indicated although parents compared to children attended longer to all emotional expressions, both children and their parents attended longer to negative compared to positive emotions. No link between child depressive symptoms or parental depressive symptoms with NAB specific to sad faces was found in children. We conclude that children, like adults, show a negativity bias in their attention to emotional expressions; however, suggested links between child and parent depressive symptoms with NAB may not hold in non-clinical child samples. This study adds to the growing research on emotion-processing and vulnerability to depression in children.Show less
