Persönlichkeitspsychologie und Psychologische Diagnostik

A report from the World Economic Forum (2019) stated loneliness as the third societal stressor in the world, mainly in western countries. Moreover, research shows that loneliness tends to be experienced more severely by young adults than other age groups (Rokach, 2000), which is the case of university students who face profound periods of loneliness when attending university in a new place (Diehl et al., 2018). Digital technology, especially mental health apps (MHapps), have been viewed as promising solutions to address this distress in universities, however, little evidence on this topic reveals uncertainty around how these resources impact individual well-being. Therefore, this research proposed to investigate how the gamified social mobile app Noneliness reduced loneliness rates and other associated mental health issues of students from a German university. As little work has focused on digital apps targeting loneliness, this project also proposed to describe and discuss the app’s design and development processes. A multimethod approach was adopted: literature review on high-efficacy MHapps design, gamification for mental health and loneliness interventions; User Experience Design and Human-centered Computing. Evaluations occurred according to the app’s development iterations, which assessed four versions (from prototype to Beta) through quantitative and qualitative studies with university students. The main results obtained regarding the design aspects were: users' preference for minimalistic interfaces; importance in maintaining privacy and establishing trust among users; students' willingness to use an online support space for emotional and educational support. Most used features were those related to group discussions, private chats and university social events. Preferred gamification elements were those that provided positive reinforcement to motivate social interactions (e.g. Points, Levels and Achievements). Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial with university students (N = 12), showed no statistically significant interactions in reducing loneliness among experimental group members (n = 7, x² = 3.500, p-value = 0.477, Cramer’s V = 0.27) who made continued use of the app for six weeks. On the other hand, the app showed effects of moderate magnitude on loneliness reduction in this group. The app also demonstrated relatively strong magnitude effects on other associated variables, such as depression and stress in the experimental group. In addition to motivating the conduct of further studies with larger samples, the findings point to a potential app effectiveness not only to reduce loneliness, but also other variables that may be associated with the distress.

Since the rise of social network sites (SNSs) beginning in the early 2000s, their popularity has steadily increased. Today, SNSs are an obligatory tool in the field of interpersonal relationships. They expand the possibilities for interaction through a variety of different functions. The wide range of uses allows for a highly individualized user experience, depending on personal preferences. Regarding interpersonal relationships, such needs and behaviors derive from attachment style. A growing body of studies is capturing SNSs engagement depending on individual characteristics. Due to the dynamic development of SNSs over the last two decades and their complexity, a patchwork of findings exists on different aspects of SNS usage. Understanding the role of SNSs in interpersonal relationships requires a comprehensive model that considers all facets of SNS use. This dissertation project developed and tested such a model based on the uses and gratifications approach. Study 1 reviewed the current literature on the associations between attachment style and SNS use. We derived a model comprising the three components according to the uses and gratifications theory (motives, activities, and outcomes) and corresponding categories of attachment-related SNS use. In the second study, based on this model, we applied structural equation modeling to identify individual usage patterns associated with attachment style. In the third study, we validated a German Version of the State Adult Attachment Measure (DE-SAAM), which we applied in our last study. We showed that individual SNS usage patterns effect state attachment. Our research contributed to the comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics of attachment-related SNS use and methodological peculiarities in measuring SNS use, which provide numerous perspectives for future research. Moreover, our studies provide practical implications in the field of mental-health associated with SNS use.

Attention is a fundamentally important aspect of human consciousness and cognition that interfaces with all aspects of life. The concept can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, which has resulted in multiple definitions and approaches. A common view is that attention is a complex bundle of processes that filter and select information prior to reaching consciousness and higher mental processing. Essentially, attention is the lens through which we experience human existence. Obviously, this is a simplification, and the theories and models developed in the field describe quantities and qualities that vary situationally and individually. In the work context, where attention is routinely required, it is useful to assess not only an individual’s ability but also situational demands. The present dissertation aims to contribute to the field of attentional assessment by designing and evaluating novel, computerized means of measurement. To this end, three distinct projects were carried out: The first strived to identify the relevance of attention as a job demand in the occupational landscape. Although this goal could not be achieved, the project, nevertheless, yielded an interesting perspective on occupations and their demands. The second project attempted to identify and operationalize which characteristics of jobs determine demands for attention. By integrating relevant theories of attention, a novel framework of parameters constituting demands for different manifestations of attention was created. A job analysis questionnaire (Parameters of Attention at Work – PAW36) based on the framework was constructed and positively evaluated in an empirical study. The third project consisted of designing innovative and computerized paradigms to measure attention. This design was strictlybased on the theoretical landscape of attention and the framework of task parameters. A range of bespoke paradigms were created, one of which, the Continuous Matching Task (CMT) was evaluated in a second empirical study. This project brought several noteworthy innovations to attentional assessment, primarily by including adaptive testing and procedural stimulus generation; both of which proved to be useful additions. The paradigm was thoroughly evaluated using empirical data from performance tests, related personality assessments, as well as physiological measurements in the form of heartrate variability. The study also included a mobile application of the CMT in which participants completed the task using their own mobile devices. Further details, results, and interpretations of them are provided in this dissertation, as well as the four articles created within the scope of it.

Self-worth, the subjective value one ascribes to oneself as a person, is a central driving force of human action. The need for high self-esteem is axiomatic, and congruence between one's attitude towards oneself and one's actual abilities is a prerequisite for effectively coping with reality. However, despite amassing objective indicators of success, people often underestimate their abilities and achievements, which then stand in stark contrast to external performance expectations, which correspond to the actual successes achieved. This divergence between one’s own and social performance expectations by others can potentially lead to the feeling of being an Impostor. The impostor phenomenon describes the chronic feeling that one's achievements and successes are fake, no matter how many indicators of success have been amassed, as well as the fear of being exposed to social judgement. Growing scholarly interest in this phenomenon has led to increased research and new psychometric instruments to measure the interindividual characteristics of those affected. Common to all these instruments is measurement of an overall, expression despite the multidimensional conceptualization of the construct. In this dissertation project, we addressed this mismatch between the theoretical construct and psychometric operationalization by developing a multidimensional questionnaire for measuring the impostor phenomenon on a facet level. In our preliminary article, we developed and validated the six-scale Impostor-Profile. In a subsequent study, the first study of this dissertation project, we detected an Imposter-Profile total score by aggregating the six subscales. Further, we found that gender differences in Impostor expression are particularly evident at the subscale level. In the second study, in an experimental design we showed that high Impostor expression is related to external-unstable success attribution and internal-stable failure attribution. In the third and final study, we validated the English version of the Imposter-Profile and formulated and explored an explanatory model for the emergence and manifestation of Impostor feelings, which we termed the LHMIP. Our research thus focuses on expanding diagnostic possibilities in Impostor research, experimentally validating imposters’ non-self-serving attribution style, and contributing new impulses to etiological research through the exploratory model.