How social network sites and other online intermediaries increase exposure to news.

Research has prominently assumed that social media and web portals that aggregate news restrict the diversity of content that users are exposed to by tailoring news diets toward the users’ preferences. In our empirical test of this argument, we apply a random-effects within–between model to two large representative datasets of individual web browsing histories. This approach allows us to better encapsulate the effects of social media and other intermediaries on news exposure.

Mutual friends' social support and self-disclosure in face-to-face and instant messenger communication.

In the present study, we investigated long-term effects of self-disclosure on social support in face-to-face and instant messenger (IM) communication between mutual friends. Using a representative sample of 583 German IM users, we explored whether self-disclosure and positive experiences with regard to social support would dynamically interact in the form of a reinforcing spiral across three measurement occasions. If mutual friends self-disclose today, will they receive more social support 6 months later? In turn, will this affect their willingness to self-disclose another 6 months later? We further analyzed spill-over effects from face-to-face to IM communication and vice versa.

Longitudinal patterns of problematic computer game use among adolescents and adults--a 2-year panel study.

Aims: To investigate the longitudinal patterns (stability and change) of problematic computer game use and its interdependencies with psychosocial wellbeing in different age groups.

Design: Three-wave, annual panel study using computer-assisted telephone surveys.

Setting: Germany.

Press CRTT to measure aggressive behavior: the unstandardized use of the competitive reaction time task in aggression research.

The competitive reaction time task (CRTT) is the measure of aggressive behavior most commonly used in laboratory research. However, the test has been criticized for issues in standardization because there are many different test procedures and at least 13 variants to calculate a score for aggressive behavior. We compared the different published analyses of the CRTT using data from 3 different studies to scrutinize whether it would yield the same results.

The relative trustworthiness of inferential tests of the indirect effect in statistical mediation analysis: does method really matter?

A content analysis of 2 years of Psychological Science articles reveals inconsistencies in how researchers make inferences about indirect effects when conducting a statistical mediation analysis. In this study, we examined the frequency with which popularly used tests disagree, whether the method an investigator uses makes a difference in the conclusion he or she will reach, and whether there is a most trustworthy test that can be recommended to balance practical and performance considerations. We found that tests agree much more frequently than they disagree, but disagreements are more common when an indirect effect exists than when it does not.

Problematic computer game use among adolescents, younger and older adults.

Aims: Playing digital games has been associated with forms of addictive behavior. Past research on the subject has often been criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds, due mainly to measurement or sampling issues. The present study aims to overcome these two limitations, and presents data from a representative study in Germany using an already established instrument for measuring problematic game use.