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

在大量患者中，对哮喘症状的检测是不够的，提高症状感知的准确性是哮喘自我管理教育的根本目标。然而，症状感知不足的决定因素仍然知之甚少。目前尚不清楚，报告症状过多或过少的患者是否在实际感知发作前的生理变化方面存在问题，或者对感觉表现出偏见的解释。本研究的目的是将心理生理学研究与社会心理学的研究和理论发展相结合，探索症状感知的准确性。由于哮喘的慢性特征，我们认为哮喘不仅是对个人幸福感的威胁，也是对积极自我概念的潜在威胁。已有研究表明，个体会策略性地从自我评价的潜在负面方面转向更积极的方面。可以假设，这种将焦点从哮喘转移到一个人身份的一部分，可以改变对症状的关注，以及对模棱两可的内在感觉的解释和评估。本研究的目的是探讨社会认同焦点在信息加工中对哮喘症状等内部感觉知觉的作用。如果提出的假设能够得到经验上的支持，这也将适用于其他慢性病。可以制定针对社会认同进程的干预措施，以帮助改善疾病管理。

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.