The efficacy of collaborative learning depends on the student interaction taking place. Monitoring student interaction can help teachers ensure their lesson goals are met. Experienced teachers describe, explain, and predict student interactions by drawing on their professional knowledge about types of student interaction that are associated with learning. This paper reports an assessment tool that measures teachers’ monitoring competence, operationalized as a form of professional vision: the ability to describe student interaction. Participants rate student interactions shown in videos on standardized items. Ratings are compared to an expert solution to provide a measure of monitoring competence. The assessment tool was evaluated with N = 193 teacher students that were in the pre-service or in-service phase of German teacher education. Classical test theory and generalizability theory were applied to evaluate the reliability of the assessment tool. Scores showed medium internal consistency. Measurement error resulting from videos was small. Reliability of scores was sufficient to detect differences in competence levels, before and after completing a training program on monitoring competence. Participants found the assessment tool appropriate for measuring monitoring competence. The findings show the feasibility of measuring professional vision of student interaction in collaborative learning. The assessment tool may be useful for adapting teacher dashboards, such as by advising beginning teachers how to intervene or, for more experienced teachers, by alerting when student interaction is not optimal for learning.

Decentralized energy storage systems (ESS) are a promising means to more effectively match the supply and demand of fluctuating renewable energies. In most countries, however, ESS market share is small and whether or not the technology will attain a critical market share is subject to homeowners' investment decisions. For policy and industry alike, it is of particular interest to identify factors that drive ESS adoption. Empirically addressing this question, we hypothesized that the factors autarky and autonomy aspirations crucially determine ESS adoption decisions. In two studies (Ntotal = 489), sketching future decentralized energy scenarios, we found evidence for the importance of both factors for homeowners' evaluations of the technology. However, only autarky significantly affected homeowners' willingness to pay extra for ESS, in that homeowners invested more in the technology when autarky was higher (Study 1) or autarky benefits were emphasized (Study 2). In accordance with concepts aspiring to optimize energy flow on the low-voltage grid level (e.g. Smart Neighborhoods), we additionally examined the influence of autarky and autonomy aspirations on homeowners' willingness to exchange self-generated energy within a local energy network. Results showed that emphasis on autarky increased the subjective value of self-generated energy, decreasing the likelihood of peer-to-peer energy trading.

The goals of this paper are twofold: (1) to demons trate how previously published data can be re-analyzed to gain a new perspective o n CSCL dynamics and (2) to propose a new measure of social cohesion that was developed t hrough improvements to existing analytic tools. In this study, we downloaded the Simuligne c orpus from the publicly available Mulce repository. We improved the Knowledge Space Visuali zer (KSV) to deepen the notion of cohesion by using a dynamic representation of socio grams. The Calico tools have been used and extended to complete this cohesion measure by a nalyzing lexical markers. These complementary analyses of cohesion, based on clique sizes and communication intensity on the one hand, and lexical markers on the other hand , offer more detailed information on (a) the relationships between participants and (b) the stru ctu e and intensity of communication. In particular, the analyses highlight strong convergen ces that were not visible in the previous analysis.

The development of decentralized renewable energy systems is of crucial importance for the decarbonization of energy generation worldwide. Purchase decisions regarding innovative energy systems depend to some extent on consumers' perception of the systems' degree of autarky. We assumed that, in addition to the energetic perspective, consumers associate other non-energetic facets such as independence, autonomy, self-sufficiency, or control with the concept of autarky. These psychological facets of autarky were expected to contribute to purchase decisions. In Study 1, participants (N = 168) evaluated three future energy supply scenarios. The scenarios varied regarding their range of autarky (household/neighborhood/small town), but the individually realized degree of energetic autarky did not vary. Participants reported a higher willingness to pay in connection with a higher perceived psychological autarky for the Household Scenario. Study 1's findings were confirmed by Study 2, in which qualitative interviews (N = 13) also revealed that participants favored the Household Scenario on several points. These evaluations were driven by the anticipated psychological facets of autarky that is the subjective perception of being independent, autonomous, self-sufficient, energy secure, and of control. To promote an adoption of renewable energy systems, these psychological autarky facets need to be addressed. Enabling the people to self-determine, control, and secure their energy provision even in complex organizational settings in such a manner is likely to increase their acceptance and therefore foster the required social transition as a whole.

The location of objects in relation to other objects can be perceived of and communicated in different ways. Assuming that variance in spatial Frame of Reference (FoR) use may be explained by practical professional requirements, we reasoned that medical professionals may increasingly use the intrinsic FoR which because of its observer-independence is less prone to misunderstandings than relative FoRs. We compared FoR-use of beginner and advanced medical students (n=142) to that of law students (n=191) using 40 ambiguous referencing tasks. We found that medical students applied the intrinsic FoR more frequently than law students in a medical yet not in a generic context. Beginners did not differ from advanced students. Within contexts, individuals were highly consistent in their FoR-use. Investigation of latencies indicates that processing of the intrinsic FoR becomes easier with practice. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The monitoring by teachers of collaborative, cognitive, and meta-cognitive student activities in collaborative learning is crucial for fostering beneficial student interaction. In a quasi-experimental study, we trained pre-service teachers ( N = 74) to notice behavioral indicators for these three dimensions of student activities. Video clips of student interactions in collaborative learning settings served as learning opportunities in the training and as test scenarios for measuring monitoring competency in an assessment tool. Participants completed the assessment tool before and immediately after the training program. A control group ( N = 33) completed the assessment tool twice but did not receive training in between. Results show that monitoring competency increased significantly in the training group but not in the control group. This provides initial evidence that a video-based training program can effectively enhance pre-service teachers’ noticing of behavioral indicators of collaborative, cognitive, and meta-cognitive student activities in a relatively short time. Our findings are of practical relevance as evaluating student interactions in a collaborative learning setting is challenging, yet also a skill much needed in teacher practice.

In the present work two cognitive biases are examined in the context of computer-based opinion formation and decision making processes. The dissertation comprises two parts: Studies on a Framing Effect and studies examining the Confirmation Bias. The first part describes the cross-cultural investigation of the Framing Effect described by Shafir (1993). Shafir showed that, depending on the framing of questions, in decision making, the same options are perceived to be both better and worse than alternatives. Options with clearly positive and clearly negative attributes (termed enriched options) are both more often chosen and more often rejected compared to options with average attributes (termed impoverished options). This phenomenon contradicts assumptions of rational decision making (e.g. Neumann & Morgenstern, 1944): In binary decisions, the frequency of adoption of an option should correspond to the frequency of denial of the alternative option. In four online-experiments conducted in three countries (USA, Germany, England, N = 592) it was examined whether Shafir’s (1993) findings can be replicated. By means of collecting process-data (decision making latencies and indication of arguments important to decision making) it was investigated whether the explanations proposed for the irrational behavior in decision making withstand empirical testing: Shafir (1993) assumes that enriched options provide better arguments both in chosing and in denying a given alternative and thus being the ‘easier’ decision enriched options are better compatible with the question at hand. Using one of Shafir’s original tasks we were able to replicate his findings in a US-American sample and the collected process-data supported his compatibility explanation. In Great Britain and Germany, however, we observed more ‘rational’ decision making. Both alternatives were largely complementary in terms of adoption and denial as proposed by assumptions on rational decision making. Analyses of the process-data provided explanations for the different behavior of US-American and European participants: For Europeans other arguments play a role in the decision making than for Americans. Moreover, the enriched alternative appears not to be the easier choice. Thus, the study contributes to the current debate on the replication of established research findings (e.g. Open Science Collaboration, 2015) emphasizing that such effects are not necessarily of universal validity even within Western samples. The second part of the present dissertation investigates the phenomenon of confirmatory information search (Fischer, Jonas, Frey, & Schulz-Hardt, 2005; Frey, 1981), i.e. the tendency in information search to prefer information supporting an initial preliminary decision (preference consistent information) while information inconsistent with the initial decision is neglected. This information search behavior results in potentially bad decisions as preliminary decisions are not amended even when based on new information they turn out to have been wrong (e.g. Nemeth & Rogers, 1996). Some authors explain this Confirmation Bias by the motivation to avoid unpleasant states caused by preference-inconsistent information (motivational explanatory approach, Festinger, 1957, 1964; Frey, 1981). Other authors attribute the Confirmation Bias to different processing strategies applied to preference-consistent versus preference-inconsistent information resulting in differences in the evaluation of information quality (cognitive explanatory approach, Fischer et al., 2005; Schulz-Hardt, Frey, & Jonas, 2001). In the current literature efforts are made to integrate these two approaches (e.g. Fischer, 2011). In the second part of the dissertation one laboratory- and two online-experiments (N=746) investigating the Confirmation Bias are described, in which we operationalized the factors accountability and information evaluation. Diametrical effects concerning the quality of decisions and judgments have been reported for process-accountability (assumption that one will have to justify the decision making process) versus outcome-accountability (assumption that one will have to justify the decision making process): While process-accountability leads to better judgments, increased epistemic motivation and systematic information processing, outcome-accountability induces the opposite (Scholten, van Knippenberg, Nijstad, & Dreu, 2007; Siegel-Jacobs & Yates, 1996). In the present dissertation, these effects are to be transferred to the information search paradigm. Our studies show that outcome-accountability leads to a more pronounced Confirmation Bias compared to process-accountability. Process-data on information processing, information evaluation and confidence in one’s own decision indicate that effects of the factor accountability can be explained by the motivational explanatory approach. Meanwhile, information processing and quality evaluation advanced by the cognitive explanatory approach could also be related to dissonance caused by preference-inconsistent information. Overall, this supports integrative explanatory approaches. We were also able to show that the experimental factor information evaluation (the explicit evaluation of information by means of scales prior to information selection) reduces the Confirmation Bias compared to controls. This effect, too, can be explained motivationally: Through the scales an Information Focus is evoked (Jonas, Schulz-Hardt, Frey, & Thelen, 2001) which moves the decision to the background yielding preference-inconsistent information less potent to cause unpleasant states. Thus, we were able to transfer findings from the literature on the diametrical effects of process- and outcome-accountability (Scholten et al., 2007; Siegel-Jacobs &Yates, 1996) to the Confirmation Bias paradigm. Moreover, with the experimental factor information evaluation and the collected process-data we were able to obtain evidence concerning the established explanatory approaches and potential interventions. In this dissertation, two cognitive biases were investigated in an environment in which they often occur in modern everyday life: In computer-assisted opinion formation or the preparation of or making of decisions in online-environments. In the first quarter of 2014, in Germany 80% of people above the age of nine used the internet. Of these, 90% used the internet to look for information on goods or services and 68% to gain information by reading online-news or magazines (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2014). In the framework of such opinion formation processes, the herein described framing effect and confirmatory information search may occur. New findings on the formation of these two cognitive biases provide valuable insights indicating how errors in decision making processes can be avoided.

This article describes teacher competencies for implementing collaborative learning in the classroom. Research has shown that the effectiveness of collaborative learning largely depends on the quality of student interaction. We therefore focus on what a teacher can do to foster student interaction. First, we present a framework that draws a comprehensive picture of a teacher role we see as germane to fostering student interaction. The framework distinguishes between five teacher competencies that span across all implementation phases of collaborative learning: the ability to plan student interaction, monitor, support, and consolidate this interaction, and finally reflect upon it. Then, we review research on collaborative learning and structure this review along the five teacher competencies presented in the framework. The review targets relevant concepts and pivotal empirical research results about how to foster student interaction. For each competency, we first summarize relevant concepts and empirical results. We then apply the concepts and findings to a classroom situation. These teaching vignettes illustrate the functions of the five teacher competencies in fostering student interaction in collaborative learning. For each vignette, we discuss and highlight specific aspects of the presented teacher role and draw practical implications. Monitoring and supporting in the classroom should be trained in teacher education and facilitated by providing teachers with tools such as a checklist of beneficial student behaviors. These practical implications can inform educational practices and offer new directions for future research regarding promoting collaborative learning.

Photovoltaic (PV) system adoption in Germany is mainly driven by a feed-in tariff that guarantees a financial return on investment. To promote adoption in the future absence of this tariff, we explored further motives of homeowners relevant to PV system purchase intention. A sample of 200 homeowners who did not own a PV system participated in an online-survey. Only few homeowners actually planned to adopt a PV system. However, basic willingness to adopt a PV system was high, whereas willingness to pay was low - hinting at a potentially growing market with falling prices. Using path analysis, we show that the subjective norm (i.e. peer behavior and expectations) and the attitude towards PV were strong predictors of purchase intention. Attitude towards PV systems was mainly based on aspirations of social status, autarky, and financial gains, whereas costs, efforts, and risks associated with PV systems were detrimental to attitude. We conclude that to promote further adoption, energy storage systems that increase financial savings and autarky need to be improved and marketed. Furthermore, institutionalized tests of PV systems and labels need to be introduced to reduce risk perceptions among homeowners willing to adopt a PV system.

Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products - even when presented product information contradicts the label's image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels' potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers' motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers' ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1-3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants' pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information.

Environmental issues such as climate change are becoming ever more important in today's societies and politics. Information is spread by the media, for example, via the Internet or information brochures, employing different representational styles (e.g. sensational vs. neutral styles, emphasis of human vs. natural causes). We investigated the effects of such differences in presentation when informing about local impacts of climate change - more specifically about invasive species - on perceived risk, emotions, and learning. Seventy-two students at a German university read five brochures about the local effects of climate change and invasive species. They rated their perceived risk and emotions and worked on learning outcome tests. As expected, the sensational style led to higher perceived risk and stronger negative emotions than the neutral style. In addition, our results reveal a potential dilemma for environmental education: while a sensational style enhanced general learning outcomes, it seemed to lead to quite a negative and one-sided view about climate change and invasive species.

ABSTRACTNowadays, environment‐friendly products are widely accepted by society. However, market share of sustainable technologies demanding higher investments or behavioral changes is rather small, indicating that consumers seem to generally approve of sustainable products, but rarely perceive them as being compatible with their needs. The present research introduces a model emphasizing the importance of consumers perceiving the product as being suitable to match their motives relevant to the product domain. In investigating a sample of 531 car drivers, the hypothesized model was tested in the realm of a highly relevant sustainable product: electric vehicles (EVs). Findings based on structural equation modeling showed that participants' perceived matching with EV attributes was related to their domain‐specific motives (hedonic, freedom, ecological, and financial motives) and a global preference towards the product. Specific to sustainable products, ecological motives strongly influenced participants' matching processes by positively affecting perceived matching with all product attributes. Participants' purchase intentions, in turn, were strongly affected by their perceived matching of the product with their motives. The added value of the model with respect to self‐image theories and implications for sustainable product marketing are examined through discussion. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We report two studies, testing the assumption that activating environmental values increases consumers' willingness to pay for electric vehicles (EVs). We hypothesized that sustainable products such as EVs enable consumers to meet their activated values. In Study 1 (N = 171), activating environmental values resulted in more positive evaluations of EV costs as compared to the control group. Information about the product moderated effects of value activation on price evaluations: Value activation only improved EV cost evaluations when the product was presented as superior to current standards. Findings of Study 2 (N = 100) indicated that price evaluation effects in Study 1 were based on value activation altering internal thresholds for sustainable product prices. Moreover, value activation resulted in less sensitive reactions to increases in price, that is, in lowered price sensitivity towards EVs. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We present emerging trends and challenges in research on Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) that resulted from an international Delphi study. The study used the input from members of the European Network of Excellence STELLAR (Sustaining Technology Enhanced Learning LArge-scale multidisciplinary Research), as well as input from two international panels of experts (n(1) = 230, n(2) = 569). Over the course of five Delphi rounds, we identified 11 Core Research Areas (CRAs). A CRA integrates important societal challenges, emerging technological trends and relevant educational research themes into one comprehensive area of TEL research. The CRA connection between formal and informal learning was ranked to be the most important for future TEL research. Ten research challenges complement the CRAs with concrete and innovative research project proposals. Together, the CRAs and the research challenges can serve as a well-founded starting point for future research programmes in TEL.

Despite steady progress in research in technology-enhanced learning (TEL), the translation of research findings and technology into educational practices falls short of expectations. We present five Areas of Tension which were identified and evaluated in an international Delphi study on TEL. These tensions might impede a more comprehensive inclusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) in educational settings. The Delphi study was embedded in the European Network of Excellence STELLAR (Sustaining Technology Enhanced Learning LArge-scale multidisciplinary Research). Five Delphi rounds were conducted to identify Areas of Tension and Core Research Areas in TEL. An Area of Tension opposes two conflicting views on a certain technological development regarding the future of TEL. In the present article we describe the design of the Delphi study and report the results regarding the Areas of Tension. These areas were identified by collecting visionary statements on the future of TEL (Round 1) and by having 230 international experts evaluate those statements (Round 2). The emerging tensions were integrated into five Areas of Tension (Round 3) and evaluated by 569 international experts on several dimensions for their significance for TEL and TEL research (Round 4). The identified areas concern a) data tracking for personalized learning versus data privacy, b) the spreading of technology reducing the digital divide versus even increasing it, c) ubiquitous learning opportunities versus critical and focused processing of information, d) continuous innovation in the classroom versus approved practices, and e) individualized versus standardized learning paths.

The media play a key role in forming opinions by influencing people´s understanding and perception of a topic. People gather information about topics of interest from the internet and print media, which employ various news frames to attract attention. One example of a common news frame is the human-interest frame, which emotionalizes and dramatizes information and often accentuates individual affectedness. Our study investigated effects of human-interest frames compared to a neutral-text condition with respect to perceived risk, emotions, and knowledge acquisition, and tested whether these effects can be "generalized" to common variants of the human-interest frame. Ninety-one participants read either one variant of the human-interest frame or a neutrally formulated version of a newspaper article describing the effects of invasive species in general and the Asian ladybug (an invasive species) in particular. The framing was achieved by varying the opening and concluding paragraphs (about invasive species), as well as the headline. The core text (about the Asian ladybug) was the same across all conditions. All outcome variables on framing effects referred to this common core text. We found that all versions of the human-interest frame increased perceived risk and the strength of negative emotions compared to the neutral text. Furthermore, participants in the human-interest frame condition displayed better (quantitative) learning outcomes but also biased knowledge, highlighting a potential dilemma: Human-interest frames may increase learning, but they also lead to a rather unbalanced view of the given topic on a "deeper level".

Influences Beyond Language? A Comparison of Spatial Referencing in Native French Speakers from Four Countries Lisa Huther (lisa.huether@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) University of Freiburg, Department of Psychology, Engelbergerstrasse 41 79085 Freiburg, Germany Anne Bentz (anne.bentz@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) University of Freiburg, Department of Psychology, Engelbergerstrasse 41 79085 Freiburg, Germany Hans Spada (spada@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) University of Freiburg, Department of Psychology, Engelbergerstrasse 41 79085 Freiburg, Germany Andrea Bender (bender@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de) University of Freiburg, Department of Psychology, Engelbergerstrasse 41 79085 Freiburg, Germany Sieghard Beller (sieghard.beller@uni-paderborn.de) University of Paderborn, Department of Human Sciences, Warburger Strase 100 33098 Paderborn, Germany Abstract Research has shown that spatial referencing differs across cultures. Whether “Western” samples, specifically ones speaking the same native language, show the same referencing patterns has not been investigated thus far. Examining spatial referencing behavior across different tasks, we compared samples from four different countries speaking the same language with respect to their application of the intrinsic frame of reference (FoR) and the three variants of the relative FoR. Our findings indicate influences of factors beyond language: While the four French-speaking samples showed an overall preference for the reflection variant of the relative FoR, they differed significantly regarding the extent to which reflection and the intrinsic FoR were applied. Moreover, in all samples, characteristics of the referenced objects, namely whether they were animate or inanimate, influenced FoR use. The order of tasks also had an impact on referencing behavior. Keywords: space; spatial cognition; frames of reference (FoRs); linguistic relativity; object characteristics; animacy; French. The Question of Language’s Influence on Cognition In the past decades, the debate about linguistic relativity (known as the Sapir-Whorf-Hypothesis, e.g. Sapir, 1949; Whorf, 1956), that is, whether language determines cognition, has been revived (e.g. Gumperz & Levinson, 1996). An influential research area spurring this revival concerns frames of reference in the domain of space. Languages differ regarding spatial referencing, that is, how they preferentially describe the position of objects in relation to one another (e.g. Majid, Bowerman, Kita, Haun, & Levinson, 2004; Mishra, Singh, & Dasen, 2009). Moreover, it has been shown that across different languages, frames of reference (FoRs) covary in language and cognition (e.g. Danziger, 2011; Haun, Rapold, Janzen, & Levinson, 2011; Levinson, 2003). However, there is still much debate on how this covariation comes about, specifically whether language determines cognition or vice versa or whether environmental factors influence both language and cognition (see e.g. the debate between Levinson, Kita, Haun, & Rasch, 2002, and Li & Gleitman, 2002; and see Haun et al., 2011; Li, Abarbanell, Gleitman, & Papafragou, 2011). In their overview of cross-cultural findings, Majid and colleagues (2004) investigated environment (urban vs. rural), habitual action (subsistence patterns) and cognitive styles (individualism vs. collectivism) as possible mediators between FoRs in language and cognition. They found that none of these factors beyond language systematically accounted for differences in non-linguistic FoR use between speakers of different languages. Commonly, in spatial referencing research, language and culture are treated as one entangled factor (e.g. Burenhult & Levinson, 2008). As they are closely intertwined (e.g. Kodish, 2003), differential effects of language and culture are arguably difficult to investigate. However, feasible approaches would be to investigate individuals living in the same country but speaking different languages or the other way around: individuals speaking the same language but living in different countries.