Car-following techniques: reconsidering the role of the human factor

Keeping correct distance between vehicles is a fundamental tenet in road traffic. New road signs and markings appearing on motorways aid drivers in determining this distance. However, the ‘Nagoya experiment’ (Sugiyama et al., 2008) revealed correct distance made following safe while also eventually destabilizing traffic flow. When traffic becomes dense, most drivers keep the minimum safety distance and brake when the vehicle ahead decelerates. The resultant chain reaction along the entire line of closely following vehicles causes for no apparent reason a traffic stoppage, known as a ‘phantom’ or ‘shockwave’ jam. The car-following models of Sugiyama et al. found certain speeds, traffic densi…

Estructura del Test de Dependencia a los Videojuegos, relación con el juego, diferencias sexuales y tipologías de dependencia al juego en una muestra colombiana

Structure of the Video Game Dependence Test, relationship with playing, sex differences and typology of gambling dependence in a Colombian sampleAbstract: The objective of this study was to analyze the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Video Game Dependence Test (TDV; Cholíz & Marco, 2011) in a Colombian sample, its ability to predict weekly game time, as well as differences by sex. The TDV was completed by a sample of 738 participants aged from 16 to 38 years. The factorial structure of the TDV was composed of these factors: impulsive gambling, compulsive gambling, and associated problems, constituting excellent predictors of weekly gambling time. Finally, we found…

Análisis psicométrico del test de dependencia de videojuegos (TDV) en población peruana

El objetivo del presente trabajo es validar en población peruana, el
 Test de Dependencia de Videojuegos (TDV) (Chóliz & Marco, 2011).
 Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que se trata de una herramienta
 confiable y válida. Se encontró una sola estructura factorial, en lugar de
 cuatro dimensiones, como plantearon los autores del TDV. Este factor
 podría denominarse genéricamente: adicción a videojuegos, y podría
 servir como evidencia de la existencia de este trastorno, que coincidiría
 con el denominado ‘Trastorno de Juego por Internet’, que aparece en la
 Sección III del DSM-5. Los resultados hallados se discuten en relación a lo
 plantea…

Rear-view mirror use, driver alertness and road type: An empirical study using EEG measures

Abstract The use of rear-view mirrors has been suggested as a good behavioural indicator of driver alertness in traffic situations (Brookhuis, K. A., De Vries, G., & De Waard, D. (1991). The effects of mobile telephoning on driving performance. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 23 (4), 309–316). In general terms, drivers look in the mirrors to find information and adapt their driving to traffic variations. This paper aims to analyse the links between time variations in alertness—measured from EEG activity data—and the frequency of rear-view mirror use in a group of drivers, both on motorways and conventional roads. The results point to a direct relationship between alertness level and mirro…

Cross-cultural validation of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale in four forms and eight languages

International audience; The 14-item Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) is one of the most frequently internationally adapted psychometric instruments developed to assess generalized problematic Internet use. Multiple adaptations of this instrument have led to versions in different languages (e.g., Arabic and French), and different numbers of items (e.g., from 5 to 16 items instead of the original 14). However, to date, the CIUS has never been simultaneously compared and validated in several languages and different versions. Consequently, the present study tested the psychometric properties of four CIUS versions (i.e., CIUS-14, CIUS-9, CIUS-7, and CIUS-5) across eight languages (i.e., Germ…

Mobile phone addiction: a point of issue.

Infant crying: pattern of weeping, recognition of emotion and affective reactions in observers.

This study has three objectives: a) to describe the main differences in the crying patterns produced by the three affective states most closely related to crying: fear, anger and pain; b) to study the adults' accuracy in the recognition of the affective states related to the infant's crying, and c) to analyze the emotional reaction that infant crying elicits in the observers. Results reveal that the main differences appear in the ocular activity and in the pattern of weeping. The infants maintain their eyes open during the crying produced by fear and anger, but in the case of crying provoked by painful stimuli, the eyes remain closed almost all the time. In regard to the pattern of weeping,…

Cognitive-behavioral treatment of online role-playing videogames: proposal of treatment and a case study

El propósito de este trabajo es presentar una propuesta de tratamiento cognitivo-conductual para la intervención en la adicción a video juegos. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 21 años con problemas con el uso de los videojuegos. Se expone el procedimiento en cada una de las fases de las que consta el tratamiento, así como los resultados de su eficacia en un estudio de caso. Después de trece semanas de intervención se aprecian importantes cambios en el nivel de dependencia. Los resultados muestran una disminución significativa del tiempo de uso del ordenador y de juego, así como una mejoría del funcionamiento personal y social del paciente. This article provides a proposal of cognitive-be…

Regular el juego para prevenir la adicción: hoy más necesario que nunca

En mayo de 2013 aparecio la quinta edicion de la clasificacion de los trastornos mentales (DSM-5) de la American Psychiatric Association (APA, 2013), en la cual se incluye el trastorno de juego dentro de la categoria de trastornos adictivos, que es algo que era demandado desde hace decadas desde los ambitos clinicos, sociales y cientificos. El juego de azar, que segun la propia APA tiene la misma consideracion que las drogas o el alcohol en cuanto a la activacion de los circuitos cerebrales de recompensa y a las consecuencias clinicas del trastorno del juego, no tiene, sin embargo, esa consideracion desde el principal ambito desde donde se debe llevar a cabo la prevencion de la adiccion, qu…

The placebo in the context of scientific theories

Placebo is not a unitary concept. It can have different meanings, depending on the scientific discipline in which it is used. The placebo exists in psychology, medicine, and other sciences, and in each case it is assumed that the results obtained by the placebo are unexplainable. But the results that can’t be explained by a scientific discipline could be explained by another. For example, a sugar pill used in the treatment of pain could be a pharmacological placebo, but it isn’t a psychological placebo, because there is an explanation of its effects based in psychological principles. In this work, a conceptual analysis of placebo in the context of scientific theories is presented.

Psychometric analysis of the Test of Dependence of Videogames (TDV) in Peruvian population

Resumen El objetivo del presente trabajo es validar en población peruana, el Test de Dependencia de Videojuegos (TDV) (Chóliz & Marco, 2011). Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que se trata de una herramienta confiable y válida. Se encontró una sola estructura factorial, en lugar de cuatro dimensiones, como plantearon los autores del TDV. Este factor podría denominarse genéricamente: adicción a videojuegos, y podría servir como evidencia de la existencia de este trastorno, que coincidiría con el denominado ‘Trastorno de Juego por Internet’, que aparece en la Sección III del DSM-5. Los resultados hallados se discuten en relación a lo planteado por Chóliz y Marco (2011), en lo que se refiere…

Video game addiction in gambling disorder: clinical, psychopathological, and personality correlates

Objective. We studied the prevalences of video game use (VGU) and addiction (VGA) in gambling disorder (GD) patients and compared them with subjects with non-video game use (non-VGU) in relation to their gambling behavior, psychopathology, and personality characteristics.Method. A sample of 193 GD patients (121 non-VGU, 43 VGU, and 29 VGA) consecutively admitted to our pathological gambling unit participated in the study.Assessment. Measures included the video game dependency test (VDT), symptom checklist-90-revised, and the temperament and character inventory-revised, as well as a number of other GD indices.Results. In GD, the observed prevalence of VG (use or addiction) was 37.3% (95% CI:…

¿Por qué (también) es tan difícil legislar sobre juego en España? Un ‘déjà vu’ de lo ocurrido con el alcohol

Development of a Brief Multicultural Version of the Test of Mobile Phone Dependence (TMDbrief) Questionnaire

The Test of Mobile Phone Dependence (TMD) questionnaire (Chóliz, 2012) evaluates the main features of mobile phone dependence: tolerance, abstinence syndrome, impaired impulse control, associated problems, excessive use, etc. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a multicultural version of the TMD (TMDbrief) adapted to suit the novel communication tools of smartphones. Procedure: In this study, the TMD was completed by 2,028 young respondents in six distinct world regions: Southern Europe, Northwest Europe, South-America, Mesoamerica, Pakistan, and India. Results: Psychometric analysis of the reliability of the instrument and factor analysis were performed to adapt the TMDbr…

Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions: The Role of Facial and Contextual Information in the Accuracy of Recognition

Recognition of emotional facial expressions is a central area in the psychology of emotion. This study presents two experiments. The first experiment analyzed recognition accuracy for basic emotions including happiness, anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust. 30 pictures (5 for each emotion) were displayed to 96 participants to assess recognition accuracy. The results showed that recognition accuracy varied significantly across emotions. The second experiment analyzed the effects of contextual information on recognition accuracy. Information congruent and not congruent with a facial expression was displayed before presenting pictures of facial expressions. The results of the second ex…

Measurement Invariance of the Short Version of the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire (PMPUQ-SV) across Eight Languages

The prevalence of mobile phone use across the world has increased greatly over the past two decades. Problematic Mobile Phone Use (PMPU) has been studied in relation to public health and comprises various behaviours, including dangerous, prohibited, and dependent use. These types of problematic mobile phone behaviours are typically assessed with the short version of the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire (PMPUQ–SV). However, to date, no study has ever examined the degree to which the PMPU scale assesses the same construct across different languages. The aims of the present study were to (i) determine an optimal factor structure for the PMPUQ–SV among university populations using eig…

Cognitive Biases and Decision Making in Gambling

Heuristics and cognitive biases can occur in reasoning and decision making. Some of them are very common in gamblers (illusion of control, representativeness, availability, etc.). Structural characteristics and functioning of games of chance favor the appearance of these biases. Two experiments were conducted with nonpathological gamblers. The first experiment was a game of dice with wagers. In the second experiment, the participants played two bingo games. Specific rules of the games favored the appearance of cognitive bias (illusion of control) and heuristics (representativeness and availability) and influence on the bets. Results and implications for gambling are discussed.

Perceptions Underlying Addictive Technology Use Patterns: Insights for Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

International audience; Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is considered the ‘gold standard’ in the treatment of addictive disorders related to excessive technology use. However, the cognitive components of problematic internet use are not yet well-known. The aim of the present study was to explore the cognitive components, that according to problematic users, can lead to potential internet addiction. A total of 854 European adults completed an online survey using a mixed-methods design. Internet problems and attachment styles were assessed, prevalence rates estimated, correlations, chi-squared automatic interaction detection, and content analysis were performed. Self-reported addictions t…

Driving on the motorway: the effect of alternating speed on driver's activation level and mental effort

When most of the driving tasks are performed automatically, a driver's level of alertness may decline, as has been pointed out in the study of the phenomenon called 'highway hypnosis'. One possible countermeasure is to periodically vary the speed (Wertheim 1978), but the authors have not found any studies that directly assess the effectiveness of this countermeasure. The objective of our study has been to provide empirical evidence regarding the effects of this strategy on the level of driver activation on a motorway route in real traffic. In the present study activation level as indexed by a relative measure based on slow EEG activity tended to be significantly higher when speed was modifi…

Eficacia de las técnicas de control de la impulsividad en la prevención de la adicción a videojuegos

The main objective of this research has been the analysis of the effectiveness of some impulsivity control techniques to prevent videogame addiction. It has compared the results obtained with a prevention program that it had been already validated with the same program in which additional impulsiveness control techniques were added. Four periods were selected for the analysis: baseline, pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Two experimental conditions were designed: a) conventional prevention program, and b) program with impulsiveness control techniques. Results were compared with a group control (waiting list). Results indicate that, while groups that remain on waiting list do not present cha…

A breathing-retraining procedure in treatment of sleep-onset insomnia: theoretical basis and experimental findings.

Increase in CO2 has a sedative effect upon the central nervous system, and the beginning of sleep coincides with modifications in breathing, decrease in ventilation, and in pCO2 increase. In this paper is described a technique of breathing that is useful in producing drowsiness in a very short time. 46 insomniacs were randomly allocated to either a treatment or control condition. In the former, patients were trained in the breathing process. The control group was taught no breathing process. Latencies to sleep for the insomniacs confirmed that the breathing process was useful in producing drowsiness. Theoretical bases are discussed.

Addiction-Like Mobile Phone Behavior – Validation and Association With Problem Gambling

Mobile phone use and its potential addiction has become a point of interest within the research community. The aim of the study was to translate and validate the Test of Mobile Dependence (TMD), and to investigate if there are any associations between mobile phone use and problem gambling. This was a cross-sectional study on a Swedish general population. A questionnaire consisting of a translated version of the TMD, three problem gambling questions (NODS-CLiP) together with two questions concerning previous addiction treatment was published online. Exploratory factor analysis based on polychoric correlations was performed on the TMD. Independent samples T-tests, Mann-Whitney test, logistic …

Self-reported dependence on mobile phones in young adults: A European cross-cultural empirical survey

Background and aims: Despite many positive benefits, mobile phone use can be associated with harmful and detrimental behaviors. The aim of this study was twofold: to examine (a) cross-cultural patterns of perceived dependence on mobile phones in ten European countries, first, grouped in four different regions (North: Finland and UK; South: Spain and Italy; East: Hungary and Poland; West: France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland), and second by country, and (b) how socio-demographics, geographic differences, mobile phone usage patterns, and associated activities predicted this perceived dependence.\ud \ud Methods: A sample of 2,775 young adults (aged 18–29 years) were recruited in different…

Wertheim’s hypothesis on ‘highway hypnosis’: empirical evidence from a study on motorway and conventional road driving

This paper aims to study the phenomenon known as 'highway hypnosis' or 'driving without attention mode', which has been defined as a state showing sleepiness signs and attention slip resulting from driving a motor vehicle for a long period in a highly predictable environment with low event occurrence, this being the case with motorways and very familiar roads [Highway hypnosis: a theoretical analysis. In: Gale, A.G., Brown, I.D., Haslegrave, C.M., Moorhead, I., Taylor, S. (Eds.), Vision in Vehicles-III. Elsevier, North-Holland, pp. 467-472]. According to Wertheim's hypothesis on 'highway hypnosis', long-term driving on motorways and conventional roads, e.g. main roads, secondary roads--impl…

Ethical Gambling: A Necessary New Point of View of Gambling in Public Health Policies

Tratamiento cognitivo-conductual de la adicción a videojuegos de rol online: fundamentos de propuesta de tratamiento y estudio de caso

Resumen: El proposito de este trabajo es presentar una propuesta de tratamiento cognitivo-conductual para la intervencion en la adiccion a videojuegos. Se presenta el caso de un varon de 21 anos con problemas con el uso de los videojuegos. Se expone el procedimiento en cada una de las fases de las que consta el tratamiento, asi como los resultados de su eficacia en un estudio de caso. Despues de trece semanas de intervencion se aprecian importantes cambios en el nivel de dependencia. Los resultados muestran una disminucion significativa del tiempo de uso del ordenador y de juego, asi como una mejoria del funcionamiento personal y social del paciente. Palabras clave: Adiccion a videojuegos; …