Der Einfluss von Prozessen der sozialen und personalen Identität auf die Genauigkeit der Symptomwahrnehmung bei an Asthma erkrankten Menschen

• Applicant: Dr. Sibylle Petersen
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2009 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 115301563

Detection of asthma symptoms is inadequate in a high number of patients and improving accuracy in symptom perception is a fundamental goal in asthma self-management education. However, determinants of deficient symptom perception still remain poorly understood. It is unclear whether patients who over or under report symptoms have problems to actually perceive physiological changes that precede an attack, or show a biased interpretation of sensations. The aim of this research project is to explore accuracy of symptom perception by combining psychophysiological research with research and theory development in social psychology. Because of its chronic character, we assume that asthma is not only a threat to personal well-being, but also a potential threat to a positive self-concept. It has been shown that individuals strategically shift from a potentially negative evaluated aspect of their self to aspects that are more positive. It can be assumed that such shifts in focus away from asthma as a part of ones identity can alter attention towards symptoms, as well as interpretation and evaluation of ambiguous internal sensations. The aim of this research project is to explore the role of social identity focus in information processing in the perception of internal sensations such as asthma symptoms. If the proposed hypotheses could be supported empirically, this would also be relevant for other chronic diseases. Interventions targeting social identity processes could be developed helping to improve disease management.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Thomas Ritz, Ph.D.