Ideas & Trends
Psychology in Vienna
Dr. Birgit Stetina, Natascha Stejskal, Esra Schroffenegger, Lisa Maria Glenk
Photo: K. Rothschild
The Internet forges new planes of exploration in many fields of psychology, paving the way for innovative treatments
Windows to the Mind: the world of Cyberpsychology by Krista Rothschild shown that people are more open. ... It seems The doors of cyberspace are open – for in- that we get the real answers better online.” formation, support and occasional dangers. The Online assessments, as well as online redoors to research, however, particularly in psy- search, apparently benefit of anonymity. Psychology, have been ripped from their hinges, via chologists have access to people - patients - who technological advances and the Internet. are now research participants. “Online research As covered in Dr. Birgit U. Stetina and and experiments provide a way of capturing Prof. Ilse Kryspin-Exner’s book, Gesundheit people we normally would not be able to - for und Neue Medien (SpringerWienNewYork) example, a research project on drug dealers a few there are many negative sides to cyberspace: years ago,” attested Stetina. “It was also fascinatshopping addiction, cyber sex addiction, por- ing to discover that of the online population, 20 nography, cyberchondria and sub-cultures (i.e. percent suffer from social phobia.” That is nearly animal torture, and other websites promoting twice the general population’s prevalence of 7-12 bulimia and anorexia). percent, as quoted in the Clinical Psychology Re“The Internet is only a mirror of our society,” view, 24 (2004) pages 737–767. confirmed Dr. Stetina. “There is nothing online One attempt to address the problem of sowhich did not exist becial phobia is a program fore, but the Internet by Stetina “Online research and experi- developed is world wide – you and her team: “SKY? will find someone for ments provide a way of capSelfsicher, Kompetent sure who shares your – for the Youth.” This turing people we normally interest.” Now, these computer-adaptive onwould not be able to reach.” groups and others are line training employs being examined, evalcognitive behavioural uated and quantified. therapy techniques to Psychological research, in general, races on promote assertiveness and social competencies at cyber-speed. Literature searches for research, and reduce social anxiety. which previously took months to complete and Another area easier to research online is the even longer to coordinate photocopies of journal psychological aspects of gaming behavior. As rearticles held by distant libraries, are now accom- ported in Computers in Human Behavior (Volplished within hours. Recent research results are ume 27 Issue 1, January, 2011), Stetina and her obtainable for immediate downloading. team discovered that, contrary to popular belief, The newest journal articles are released 83 percent of the online gamers do not suffer online, before the print version is finished. from addictive gaming behaviour or depression. Journals are also state of the art, available only The users of multiplayer online role-playing online, i.e. Journal of Medical Internet Research, games appear to have a higher risk of psychoexplained Stetina. Historically relevant articles logical problems compared to users of other onhave been scanned for widespread cyber use. line games. Nearly all scientific journals have their archives The topic has resurfaced following the online, with articles available immediately for shootings in Norway and the 10th anniversary purchase. of 9/11. Should video games and simulators Further technological developments allow be banned? Controlled? We as a society are psychologists electronic access to many hun- desperate to find a cause, an explanation, an dreds of psychological tests and instruments answer and someone/something to blame for for assessment. Diagnosing mental disorders is such horrors. Some terrorists have used video easier, faster and transportable. One of the ma- games, but naturally that does not mean that jor publishers of psychological tests in Europe all video game players are terrorists. Research is a good example: Hogrefe Austria. Its compu- in this area must continue. terized psychological tests, Hogrefe Test System By researching the most appropriate uses (HTS), are purchasable in a number of forms. for special groups (elderly, inmates, drug adHTS provides several PC formats, online meth- dicts, etc.), Stetina and her team have widened ods and an extra licence for transportable tests the range of technological advances in psycholwith a laptop. ogy. For example, they are evaluating the use This type of technology “enhances the test- of technology by seniors and the psychological ing and extends the testing situation to online aspects of the elderly accepting technology in psychological testing, which increases conven- daily living (often referred to as “Ambient Asience,” expanded Stetina. “Online research has sisted Living”).
Continuing on the idea of increasing the quality of life, Stetina elaborated on an idea of enhancing the daily life of bed-ridden people with virtual animals. “We know that being around dogs and playing with dogs is a health promoting factor in a bio-psychosocial way. Virtual reality dogs could be developed to the extent that people feel that they are real.” It sounds like a sci-fi film. “Yes, like on Star Trek – the holodeck. That is where it all came from,” she admitted. “This exists today in research form – a cave – a closed room of virtual reality. In one episode they even talked about a holodeck addiction.” Psychologists can sit for hours on end by the computer – with a low risk of addiction – to further their education and professional development. Further education is possible via online courses, i.e. NACE – National Association for Continuing Education approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) or APA’s own online courses. Live cyber-conferences, i.e. the 1st International Online Conference on Psychology and Allied Sciences in November, and other recorded conferences are being promoted. Webinars, such as those provided by the psychological and educational test publisher Pearson Assessments inform clients live online about their products. Stetina’s goal is to make virtual reality therapy an accessible and affordable tool for all psychologists working with clients. She sees the future of cyberpsychology not as field of its own. “Each area of psychology should have its own cyberpsychology - social cyberpsychology focusing on the social aspects, clinical cyberpsychology on the clinical aspects.” Information, support, assessments, research and treatment proceed at fiber speed; psychology is doing its best to keep up. The trend will most likely continue, considering that the younger generation has shown a huge interest in cyberpsychology: At Webster University and University of Vienna, Birgit U. Stetina’s classes are overbooked with waiting lists. Mag. Krista Rothschild is a Clinical and Health Psychologist practicing in Vienna. www.psychaccess.at This is the second of two articles.
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The Vienna Review
September 2011
Bucking international trends, Austrian print media grows
Honouring the printed word... still by Laurence Doering In contrast to the oft-quoted “crisis of the print media” brought about by the Internet, Austrian newspapers continue to hold – or even expand – their market share. According to figures released in July by the Austrian Audit Bureau of Circulations (Österreichische Auflagenkontrolle – ÖAK), an industry association of media and advertising companies, three national dailies were able to increase their sales in the first half of 2011, compared to same period a year earlier: Kronen Zeitung, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten and Der Standard. Kronen Zeitung, a tabloid, remains far and away Austria’s highest-selling newspaper; during the week it sold on average 796,174 copies over the counter and via subscriptions in the first half of this year (thus excluding bulk sales and Sunday issues), marking a tiny increase of 151 on the previous year. As such, its circulation is almost three times that of the second-highest selling daily, the Kleine Zeitung (277,445 copies). The two major free dailies also increased their circulation: Heute raised its free distribution by 35,000 to 571,552, while Österreich’s went up by 80,000 to 248,370. The latter, which is listed by ÖAK as a free paper but also sells at kiosks, lost sales by about 10,000 to 89,445. Regarding weeklies, the tabloid Die Ganze Woche remained the clear market leader, upping weekly sales by 3,318 to 330,373 copies. NEWS saw a reduction of 6,482 to 114,615, while Profil boosted its sales by 2,103 to 65,043 copies. With its continued growth, the Austrian print media industry defies the downward trend in Western European countries. By comparison, during the same reference period, all British daily newspapers but one – The Independent – saw declining sales figures.
06.09.2011 16:07:14 Uhr
06.09.2011 21:34:56 Uhr