In advanced robot applications, the challenge today is that the robot should perform different successive subtasks to achieve one or more complicated tasks similar to human. Hence, this kind of tasks required to combine different kind of sensors in order to get full information about the work environment. However, from the point of view of control, more sensors mean more possibilities for the structure of the control system. As shown previously, vision and force sensors are the most common external sensors in robot system. As a result, in scientific papers it can be found numerous control algorithms and different structures for vision/force robot control, e.g. shared, traded control etc. The lacks in integration of vision/force robot control could be summarized as follows: • How to define which subspaces should be vision, position or force controlled? • When the controller should switch from one control mode to another one? • How to insure that the visual information could be reliably used? • How to define the most appropriated vision/force control structure? In many previous works, during performing a specified task one kind of vision/force control structure has been used which is pre-defined by the programmer. In addition to that, if the task is modified or changed, it would be much complicated for the user to describe the task and to define the most appropriated vision/force robot control especially if the user is inexperienced. Furthermore, vision and force sensors are used only as simple feedback (e.g. vision sensor is used usually as position estimator) or they are intended to avoid the obstacles. Accordingly, much useful information provided by the sensors which help the robot to perform the task autonomously is missed. In our opinion, these lacks of defining the most appropriate vision/force robot control and the weakness in the utilization from all the information which could be provided by the sensors introduce important limits which prevent the robot to be versatile, autonomous, dependable and user-friendly. For this purpose, helping to increase autonomy, versatility, dependability and user-friendly in certain area of robotics which requires vision/force integration is the scope of this thesis. More concretely: 1. Autonomy: In the term of an automatic decision system which defines the most appropriated vision/force control modes for different kinds of tasks and chooses the best structure of vision/force control depending on the surrounding environments and a priori knowledge. 2. Versatility: By preparing some relevant scenarios for different situations, where both the visual servoing and force control are necessary and indispensable. 3. Dependability: In the term of the robot should depend on its own sensors more than on reprogramming and human intervention. In other words, how the robot system can use all the available information which could be provided by the vision and force sensors, not only for the target object but also for the features extraction of the whole scene. 4. User-friendly: By designing a high level description of the task, the object and the sensor configuration which is suitable also for inexperienced user. If the previous properties are relatively achieved, the proposed robot system can: • Perform different successive and complex tasks. • Grasp/contact and track imprecisely placed objects with different poses. • Decide automatically the most appropriate combination of vision/force feedback for every task and react immediately to the changes from one control cycle to another because of occurrence of some unforeseen events. • Benefit from all the advantages of different vision/force control structures. • Benefit from all the information provided by the sensors. • Reduce the human intervention or reprogramming during the execution of the task. • Facilitate the task description and entering of a priori-knowledge for the user, even if he/she is inexperienced.

The brood-nosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle is a pipefish with reversed sex roles. Males prefer to mate with large and ornamented females and females compete for partners. It has previously been shown that males mate more randomly when water becomes turbid. In the Baltic Sea eutrophication has become a severe problem with turbid waters as one consequence. Turbidity makes visual cues less effective and thus weakens sexual selection in species using vision to discriminate between partners. It also affects mate encounter rates in species using vision to find each other. A lower mate encounter rate means a weakening of sexual selection and that individuals mate more randomly. One way to compensate for lower visibility would be to use olfactory cues instead. In this study I investigated whether S. typhle could use olfactory cues to discriminate between sexes. I found no support that they could use olfactory cues to find a partner.

Changes in cis- and trans-regulatory elements are among the prime sources of genetic and phenotypical variation at species level. The introduction of cis- and trans- regulatory variation has played important roles in driving diversity, phenotypical differentiation, and evolution of humans. Therefore, variation that occurs on cis- and trans- regulatory elements becomes imperative to better understanding of human genetic diversity and its evolution. In this research, around 3360 gene regulatory factors (GRF) from the human genome were catalogued. This catalog includes genes that code for proteins that perform gene regulatory activities such DNA-depending transcription, RNA polymerase II transcription cofactor and co-repressor activity, chromatin binding and remodeling, among other 218 regulatory functions. This GRF catalog allowed us to initially explore how some GRF genes have evolved in humans, archaic humans (Neandertal and Denisovan) and non-human primate species. We discussed the likely phenotypical and medical effects that evolutionary changes in GRF genes may have introduced into the human genome; for instance, traits associated to speech and language capabilities, genomic recombination hotspots, diseases, among others. By using genome-wide datasets, we additionally looked for GRFs likely to be candidates for positive selection in three human populations: Utah Residents with Northern and Western Ancestry (CEU), Han Chinese in Beijing (CHB), and Yoruba in Ibadan (YRI). As result, we produced a set of candidates that gathers genes that may have contributed in shaping the phenotypical diversity currently observed in these populations; for instance, by introducing regulatory diversity at population-specific level. We additionally identified six GRF classes enriched for genes located in regions that are likely candidates for positive selection at population specific level. We found that out of the 41 DNA-binding GRF classes classified so far, six groups exhibited enrichment for genes located on regions that may have been under positive selection: C2H2 zinc finger, KRAB-ZNF zinc finger, Homeo domain, Tryptophan cluster, Fork head/winged helix and, and High-mobility HMG domain. We additionally identified three KRAB-ZNF gene clusters, in the chromosomes one, three, and 16, for the Asian population that exhibit regions with extended haplotype homozygosity EHH (larger than 100 kb). This EHH suggests that these regions have undergone positive selection in CHB population. Finally, considering that a representative fraction of the phenotypic diversity observed between humans and its closely related species are likely explained by changes in cis-regulatory elements (CREs), we investigated putative binding sites for the transcription factor GABPa. Using ChIP-Seq data generated from a human cell line (HEK293T), 11,619 putative GABPa CREs were found, Out of which 224 are putative human-specific. To experimentally validate the transcriptional activity of these human-specific CREs, reporter gene essays and knock-down experiments were performed. Our results supported the functionality of these human-specific GABPa CREs and suggest that at least 1,215 genes are primary targets of GABPa. Finally, further analyses depict scenarios that put together transcriptional regulation by GABPa and the evolution of particular human traits; for instance, cognitive abilities, breast morphology, lipids and glucose metabolic pathways, among others.

Der Beitrag untersucht die Wirkung verschiedener Einflussfaktoren auf die Perzeption von Unordnung. Einer Einführung in die theoretische Diskussion rund um die Wirkung von Unordnung auf das urbane Sozialgefüge folgen verschiedene multivariate Berechnungen (N = 2003). Hierzu wird ein additiver Index aus dem Produkt von subjektiver Schwere und perzipierter Häufigkeit verschiedener Erscheinungsformen physischer und sozialer Unordnung gebildet. Die Regressionsergebnisse zeigen, dass die soziale Struktur urbaner Nachbarschaften, der bedingte Erwartungswert für die kollektive Wirksamkeit informeller Sozialkontrolle sowie solche Prädiktoren, welche die Bedeutung des unmittelbaren sozialen Nahraumes für Prozesse kognitiver Dissonanzbewältigung betonen (Viktimisierung, Wohnverhältnis, Kriminalitätseinstellungen), erklären, wann ein Akteur eine Situation als unsicher definiert und infolgedessen Unordnung als Anzeichen von Gefahr interpretiert. Der dem Explanans zugrundeliegende soziale Mechanismus beruht auf der Theorie der Frame-Selektion nach Esser (1991). Die Untersuchung basiert auf der Sicherheitsbefragung der Stadt Leipzig (2011).:1 Einleitung 2 Theorie 2.1 Hunter (1978) 2.2 Wilson und Kelling (1982) 2.3 Exkurs 2.4 Lewis und Salem (1986) 2.5 Skogan (1990) 2.6 Das Konzept der collective efficacy 3 Hypothesen 3.1 Der Grundzusammenhang des theoretischen Modells 3.2 Die Brückenhypothesen des Modells 3.2.1 Direkte und indirekte Viktimisierung 3.2.2 Kriminalitätsfurcht 3.2.3 Medienrezeption 3.2.4 Kontrollvariablen 4 Daten, Operationalisierungen, Methoden 4.1 Daten 4.2 Operationalisierungen 4.2.1 Abhängige Variable(n) 4.2.2 Unabhängige Variablen 4.3 Methoden 5 Auswertung 5.1 Bivariate Ergebnisse 5.2 Multivariate Ergebnisse 6 Fazit und abschließende Bemerkungen 7 Anhang 8 Literaturverzeichnis / This article investigates the influence of various predictors on the perception of disorder. An introduction to the theoretical discussion about the impact of disorder on the urban social structure is followed by different multivariate regressions (N = 2003). The perception of different images of physical and social disorder is measured in terms of the sentimental value of disorder and the perceived frequency of disorder. An additive index using product terms of the sentimental value and the perceived frequency for each image is constructed. The results of the regressions indicate that social structure of urban neighborhoods, collective efficacy, and such predictors which aim at the significance of social proximity (victimization, housing situation, personal crime settings) for processes of cognitive dissonance coping explain when an actor defines a situation as not-secure and subsequently interprets disorder as a symbol of danger. Esser’s (1991) theory of frame-selection functions as the social mechanism of the explanans. The hypotheses are tested on survey data provided by the city of Leipzig (2011).:1 Einleitung 2 Theorie 2.1 Hunter (1978) 2.2 Wilson und Kelling (1982) 2.3 Exkurs 2.4 Lewis und Salem (1986) 2.5 Skogan (1990) 2.6 Das Konzept der collective efficacy 3 Hypothesen 3.1 Der Grundzusammenhang des theoretischen Modells 3.2 Die Brückenhypothesen des Modells 3.2.1 Direkte und indirekte Viktimisierung 3.2.2 Kriminalitätsfurcht 3.2.3 Medienrezeption 3.2.4 Kontrollvariablen 4 Daten, Operationalisierungen, Methoden 4.1 Daten 4.2 Operationalisierungen 4.2.1 Abhängige Variable(n) 4.2.2 Unabhängige Variablen 4.3 Methoden 5 Auswertung 5.1 Bivariate Ergebnisse 5.2 Multivariate Ergebnisse 6 Fazit und abschließende Bemerkungen 7 Anhang 8 Literaturverzeichnis

Einleitung: Aufgrund der Heuknappheit der letzten Jahre werden zunehmend auch extensiv bewirtschaftete Wiesen für die Heuproduktion genutzt. Teil der artenreichen Wiesen ist jedoch auch das Vorkommen von potentiell toxischen Pflanzen wie die Herbst-Zeitlose. Inwieweit Pferde getrocknete Herbst-Zeitlose im Heu erkennen und meiden, ist unzureichend erforscht. Erfahrungsberichte von Landwirten sowie Fallberichte kommen zu widersprüchlichen Ergebnissen. Ziele der Untersuchungen: Das Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung bestand in der Beschreibung des Selektionsverhaltens von Pferden bei Vorlage von Heu, welches mit Herbst-Zeitlosen kontaminiert war. Tiere, Material und Methoden: Die Studie (TVV-Nummer 17/19) wurde mit sechs klinisch gesunden, adulten (Alter: 11 – 17 Jahre) Warmblutwallachen (durchschnittliches Körpergewicht (KGW) ± Standardabweichung (SD): 674 ± 85 kg) durchgeführt. Die Pferde wurden in Einzelboxen auf Stroh mit täglichem Zugang zu einem Paddock gehalten. Heu wurde, mit Ausnahme der Aufenthaltszeit auf dem Paddock, ad libitum zur Verfügung gestellt und durch 50 g eines kommerziellen Mineralfuttermittels (Hoeveler, Reformin Plus©) ergänzt. Leitungswasser war zu jeder Zeit frei verfügbar. Jedes Pferd erhielt zu unterschiedlichen Tageszeiten über eine Stunde Heu, welches mit 1 oder 2 % getrockneten Herbst-Zeitlosen kontaminiert war. Das Selektionsverhalten der Tiere wurde individuell beobachtet, protokolliert und ausgewählte Beobachtungsperioden mittels Videoaufnahmen aufgezeichnet. Um Intoxikationen zu vermeiden, wurden Abbruchkriterien definiert. Nahm ein Pferd zwei Herbst-Zeitlose auf, wurde die Beobachtungsperiode abgebrochen und das kontaminierte Heu entfernt. Die Beobachtungsperiode wurde an einem anderen Tag und zu einer anderen Tageszeit wiederholt. Musste die Beobachtungsperiode erneut abgebrochen werden, wurde das entsprechende Pferd aus dem Versuch ausgeschlossen. Alle Pferde wurden zu Beginn des Versuchs und anschließend alle zwei bis drei Tage allgemein klinisch untersucht (Herz- und Atemfrequenz, Beschaffenheit der Schleimhäute, Darmgeräusche, innere Körpertemperatur, Pulsation der Gliedmaßen). Ein Blutbild sowie biochemische Blutuntersuchungen aller Pferde wurden zu Beginn und am Ende der Studie durchgeführt. Sowohl das gefütterte Heu als auch die Herbst-Zeitlosen wurden auf die Menge ihrer Rohnährstoffe und Anteile der Faserfraktionen untersucht. Eine Messung der Colchicingehalte in den getrockneten Herbst-Zeitlosen wurde durchgeführt (Flüssigkeitschromatographie/Tandem-Massenspektrometrie). Die Ergebnisse der genannten Analysen wurden mithilfe von Microsoft Excel 2016® deskriptiv und mittels SPSS 27® statistisch ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Keines der Pferde mied die Herbst-Zeitlose im Heu. Vier von sechs Pferden zeigten sogar eine Präferenz für die Pflanze und nahmen sie gezielt ohne umliegendes Heu auf. Lediglich ein Pferd mied die Herbst-Zeitlose während der ersten sechs Beobachtungsperioden. Innerhalb der siebten Beobachtungsperiode nahm es Anteile der Herbst-Zeitlose auf. Die Parameter der klinischen Untersuchung und die Blutwerte lagen zu jeder Zeit im physiologischen Normbereich. Bei der Messung der Rohnährstoffe konnten in der Herbst-Zeitlosen höhere Rohprotein- (CP: 12,5 ± 0,717 %) und Rohfettgehalte (CFAT: 3,86 ± 0,254 %), sowie ein höherer Anteil an stickstofffreien Extraktstoffen (NFE: 52,3 ± 1,24 %) als im Heu (CP: 7,84 ± 1,47 %; CFAT: 0,80 ± 0,237 %; NFE: 41,4 ± 1,99 %) nachgewiesen werden. Die Faserfraktion der Herbst-Zeitlosen (CF: 17,3 ± 0,837 %) stellte sich geringer als im Heu (CF: 34,5 ± 1,85 %) dar. Es wurde ein durchschnittlicher Colchicingehalt von 331 µg/g Trockensubstanz in der getrockneten Herbst-Zeitlosen gemessen. Schlussfolgerungen: Aufgrund der unselektiven, teils gezielten Aufnahme der Herbst-Zeitlosen durch die Pferde der vorliegenden Studie, sowie das stark gehäufte, nestartige Vorkommen der Herbst-Zeitlosen im Heu, können Vergiftungen durch kontaminiertes Heu nicht ausgeschlossen werden. Daher sollten Wiesen, auf welchen Herbst-Zeitlose wachsen, von der Heugewinnung ausgeschlossen werden.

In this thesis, we address the identification of biomarkers in high-dimensional omics data. The identification of valid biomarkers is especially relevant for personalized medicine that depends on accurate prediction rules. Moreover, biomarkers elucidate the provenance of disease, or molecular changes related to disease. From a statistical point of view the identification of biomarkers is best cast as variable selection. In particular, we refer to variables as the molecular attributes under investigation, e.g. genes, genetic variation, or metabolites; and we refer to observations as the specific samples whose attributes we investigate, e.g. patients and controls. Variable selection in high-dimensional omics data is a complicated challenge due to the characteristic structure of omics data. For one, omics data is high-dimensional, comprising cellular information in unprecedented details. Moreover, there is an intricate correlation structure among the variables due to e.g internal cellular regulation, or external, latent factors. Variable selection for uncorrelated data is well established. In contrast, there is no consensus on how to approach variable selection under correlation. Here, we introduce a multivariate framework for variable selection that explicitly accounts for the correlation among markers. In particular, we present two novel quantities for variable importance: the correlation-adjusted t (CAT) score for classification, and the correlation-adjusted (marginal) correlation (CAR) score for regression. The CAT score is defined as the Mahalanobis-decorrelated t-score vector, and the CAR score as the Mahalanobis-decorrelated correlation between the predictor variables and the outcome. We derive the CAT and CAR score from a predictive point of view in linear discriminant analysis and regression; both quantities assess the weight of a decorrelated and standardized variable on the prediction rule. Furthermore, we discuss properties of both scores and relations to established quantities. Above all, the CAT score decomposes Hotelling’s T 2 and the CAR score the proportion of variance explained. Notably, the decomposition of total variance into explained and unexplained variance in the linear model can be rewritten in terms of CAR scores. To render our approach applicable on high-dimensional omics data we devise an efficient algorithm for shrinkage estimates of the CAT and CAR score. Subsequently, we conduct extensive simulation studies to investigate the performance of our novel approaches in ranking and prediction under correlation. Here, CAT and CAR scores consistently improve over marginal approaches in terms of more true positives selected and a lower model error. Finally, we illustrate the application of CAT and CAR score on real omics data. In particular, we analyze genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics data. We ascertain that CAT and CAR score are competitive or outperform state of the art techniques in terms of true positives detected and prediction error.

Standard purification processes in large scale antibody production are largely dependent on Protein A chromatography. Protein A binds specifically to many subclasses of IgG with high affinity. However, in order to elute the proteins, the pH needs to be lowered. Since lowering of the pH can be detrimental to some antibodies, a milder purification process is of great interest. A variant of Protein A, called ZCa, has previously been engineered to bind to IgG in a calcium-dependent manner. The antibody binds to ZCa when calcium is present and releases when calcium is removed. For the IgG1 subclass, the elution still requires a slight lowering of the pH, which is why there is room for improvement of the molecule. A phage display selection has been performed with the aim to obtain calcium-dependent IgG1 binders that are able to release the antibodies upon calcium depletion at neutral pH. In addition, an attempt on increasing the alkaline stability of the binders was made. Sequence analysis of the selection output showed almost no indications of increased alkaline stability. Instead, M13K07 helper phages were exposed to new selections for increased alkaline tolerance which might be useful in future phage display selections. Even though the binders selected for in this project did show some promising characteristics, none of them were able to elute upon calcium depletion at neutral pH as aimed for. However, one of the variants did show promising results during most of the performed characterizations. Most interestingly, the elution properties of this variant could indicate a higher calcium-dependence in the interaction with the target than that of ZCa, although further characterizations need to be performed in order to draw any conclusions about possible improvements of this protein domain.

Browsing patterns in large herbivorous mammals are complex and decisions regarding food items occur at different levels depending on internal or external factors such as energy requirements and available food sources. A broader understanding of the behavior of animals living in habitats of economic interests for humans enables human exploitation with as little impact as possible on the animals' habitats. In this study, individual moose (Alces alces) tracks in the snow were surveyed in a mountainous environment with spruce-dominated forest, to map out what was browsed in relation to what was available in forests of two age classes: young and older. The following hypotheses were made: (1) every potential tree a moose passes will not be browsed and the browsed trees will be browsed to different degrees, and (2) the amount of available forage and the amount of used forage will differ between young and older forest. The moose tracks were followed on skis or on foot and all trees within browsing distance along a transect of 50 meters were counted and signs of browsing were recorded. Control transects (without fresh tracks) were also surveyed in the same forest areas where moose tracks were found. The data showed a higher proportion of available trees in young forest (60%) compared to older forest (40%) (all trees along the track transects), and a higher proportion of browsed trees in young forest (26%) compared to older forest (17%) (excluding Norway spruce, Picea abies). Downy birch (Betula pubescens) was the most abundant tree (56%) and Scots pine (Pinus silvestris) the least abundant (<1%). Only 20% of all available trees along the track transects were freshly browsed to some extent, and even among the more selected species no more than around 50% of all available trees were freshly browsed. In young forest, Eurasian aspen (Populus tremula), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and willow (Salix spp.) were the most selected by moose, while common juniper (Juniperus communis) was the least selected. In older forest, however, gray alder (Alnus incana) was the most selected, followed by willow and rowan, while downy birch was the least selected. No browsing on Ericaceous shrubs were recorded in any of the transects. The study underlines that many different factors influence moose browsing choices, but generally a varied diet is sought and forests of different age classes, not exclusively young forests, are used for winter foraging. / Betesmönster hos stora växtätande däggdjur är komplext och val kopplade till föda sker på olika nivåer beroende på inre och yttre faktorer så som energibehov och tillgänglig föda. En bredare förståelse om beteenden hos djur som lever i habitat där människan har ekonomiska intressen möjliggör mänsklig exploatering med så lite påverkan som möjligt på djurens livsmiljöer. I den här studien spårades individuella älgar (Alces alces) i snö i en fjällnära miljö med grandominerad skog för att kartlägga vad som betades i relation till vad som fanns tillgängligt inom två åldersklasser; ung och äldre skog. Jag ställde upp två hypoteser: (1) varje potentiellt födoträd som en älg passerar kommer inte att vara betat på och de betade träden kommer att vara betade i olika grad, samt (2) mängd tillgängligt foder och mängd nyttjat foder kommer skilja sig mellan ungskog och äldre skog. Älgspåren följdes på skidor eller till fots och alla träd inom betesavstånd längs en transekt om 50 meter räknades samt kontrollerades för bete. Även kontrolltransekter (utan färska spår) inventerades i samma skogsområden där älgspår återfunnits. Datan visade på en högre andel träd i ungskog (60%) jämfört med äldre skog (40%) (alla träd längs spårtransekterna), och en högre andel betade träd i ungskog (26%) jämfört med äldre skog (17%) (gran, Picea abies, undantaget). Glasbjörk (Betula pubescens) var det mest förekommande trädet (56%) och tall (Pinus silvestris) det minst förekommande (<1%). Enbart 20% av alla tillgängliga träd längs spårtransekterna var färskbetade i någon mån, och även hos de högre selekterade arterna var inte mer än runt 50% av alla tillgängliga träd färskbetade. I ungskog var asp (Populus tremula), rönn (Sorbus aucuparia) och sälg (Salix spp.) högst selekterade, medan en (Juniperus communis) var lägst selekterad. I äldre skog var däremot gråal (Alnus incana) högst selekterad följt av sälg och rönn, medan glasbjörk var lägst selekterad. Inget bete på bärris noterades längs någon av transekterna. Studien understryker att många olika faktorer påverkar betesval hos älg, men att en varierad diet generellt eftersträvas och skogar av olika åldersklasser, inte enbart ungskogar, nyttjas till födosök vintertid.

Sexually selected traits may also be subject to non-sexual selection. If optimal trait values depend on environmental conditions, then “narrow sense” (i.e., non-sexual) natural selection can lead to local adaptation, with fitness in a certain environment being highest among individuals selected under that environment. Such adaptation can, in turn, drive ecological speciation via sexual selection. To date, most research on the effect of narrow-sense natural selection on sexually selected traits has focused on precopulatory measures like mating success. However, postcopulatory traits, such as sperm function, can also be under non-sexual selection, and have the potential to contribute to population divergence between different environments. Here, we investigate the effects of narrow-sense natural selection on male postcopulatory success in Drosophila melanogaster. We chose two extreme environments, low oxygen (10%, hypoxic) or high CO₂ (5%, hypercapnic) to detect small effects. We measured the sperm defensive (P1) and offensive (P2) capabilities of selected and control males in the corresponding selection environment and under control conditions. Overall, selection under hypoxia decreased both P1 and P2, while selection under hypercapnia had no effect. Surprisingly, P1 for both selected and control males was higher under both ambient hypoxia and ambient hypercapnia, compared to control conditions, while P2 was lower under hypoxia. We found limited evidence for local adaptation: the positive environmental effect of hypoxia on P1 was greater in hypoxia-selected males than in controls. We discuss the implications of our findings for the evolution of postcopulatory traits in response to non-sexual and sexual selection.

In our daily lives, we encounter a multitude of emotional challenges in various contexts, necessitating the use of diverse emotion regulation strategies for adaptive responses (Aldao et al., 2015; Bonanno and Burton, 2013). These strategies require cognitive control, making them cognitively demanding processes (Gross, 2015b; Ochsner et al., 2012). Yet, it remains unknown whether different strategies impose different levels of cognitive effort. This thesis aims to address this gap in the literature by conducting a comparative analysis of the cognitive effort required for specific emotion regulation strategies. Our research takes a comprehensive approach to evaluating effort, utilizing physiological and subjective measures. In the field of emotion regulation choice, the role of effort remains less explored. We seek to deepen the understanding by not only investigating the self-reported reasons behind participants’ choice behaviour, but also by employing rigorous statistical analyses to identify the factors that influence these choices. Prior studies on the determinants of emotion regulation choice have faced certain limitations. While some determinants favouring specific strategies have been identified, there is a lack of information regarding the strategies that are not chosen. Additionally, it is unclear to what extent individuals prefer their chosen strategy over other available options. These issues can be addressed by assigning subjective values to all choice options, as these values are central to the decisionmaking process. This thesis has developed and validated a novel paradigm that measures the individual subjective values associated with emotion regulation strategies. We not only examined whether these values can effectively predict actual choice behaviour, but also delved into the variables that predict these subjective values, offering a holistic perspective on the complex interplay between cognitive effort and emotion regulation choice. To enhance comprehension on the impact of cognitive effort on emotion regulation, Study 1 and Study 2 aimed to compare the necessary effort between the two emotion regulation strategies distancing and expressive suppression. To our knowledge, this was the first work striving to comprehensively examine effort during emotion regulation by assessing it through various means. Two studies were carried out to examine the impact of cognitive effort on emotion regulation choice. Specifically, it was explored whether decision-making behaviour is more influenced by the cognitive effort required to implement the strategy or the effectiveness of the strategy. To answer these research questions, cognitive effort and effectiveness of distancing and suppression were quantified through subjective (ratings) and physiological (pupillometry, heart rate) measures. To explore choice behaviour, participants were instructed to finally employ either of the strategies again. Our findings highlight that the strategies did not differ substantially in terms of physiological effort, yet they did exhibit substantial disparities in the subjectively perceived effort. These differences between strategies also manifested in their choice behaviour: Two thirds of the participants opted for suppression once again, despite its lower effectiveness. Participants cited lower effort as the reason for their choice. By measuring effort through various means, these two studies provide a comprehensive understanding of the cognitive effort involved in emotion regulation. Furthermore, the results on the determinants of emotion regulation choice not only enrich research, but also provide starting points for practical applications. Paradigms commonly employed in emotion regulation choice research - as in Study 1 and Study 2 - suffer from a drawback as they entail a loss of information, providing only binary data concerning whether or not a strategy was chosen. However, it is unclear to what extent the favoured strategy was preferred compared to the alternative options. In Study 3, a registered report, the objective was to develop a novel paradigm to determine the subjective values attributed to each emotion regulation strategy at hand. The cognitive effort discounting paradigm by Westbrook et al. (2013) provided the foundation, but was developed and extended further. Participants completed an emotion regulation paradigm whereby they were prompted to employ three strategies - distraction, distancing, and expressive suppression. Next, we conducted our novel discounting paradigm to determine the subjective value of each strategy. In our study, we were not only able to show that subjective values predict subsequent choice behaviour, but that, in addition to self-assessed utility, subjective effort in particular was predictive of subjective values. Our innovative paradigm has extensive potential applications, even beyond the field of emotion regulation. By utilising this paradigm, it becomes feasible to ascertain subjective values of demand levels that lack any objective effort hierarchy. In summary, the present thesis makes an important contribution to deepen the understanding of the role of cognitive effort in emotion regulation and emotion regulation choice. Cognitive effort and regulatory success were comprehensively examined by assessing trait measures (questionnaires), subjective ratings and peripheral physiological measures (pupillometry, electromyography, electrocardiogram). Our main finding, which could be replicated across three pre-registered studies, shows that the use of strategies is associated with different levels of subjective effort for individuals. This leads to the majority of individuals choosing the strategy that is associated with less effort for them, rather than the strategy that is more effective. Finally, the thesis outlines a novel paradigm that enables the calculation of individual subjective values attributed to emotion regulation strategies. This facilitates a more comprehensive evaluation of the determinants of emotion regulation choice, as well as the strength of their preference for such strategies. Thus, it adds to the expanding literature on the field of emotion regulation flexibility by presenting starting points for assessing individuals’ flexibility and adaptability.:Contents Summary Preface 1. Theoretical Background 1.1. Fundamentals of emotions and emotion regulation 1.1.1. Emotions 1.1.2. Emotion regulation 1.2. The cognitive control of emotions 1.2.1. Cognitive control and cognitive effort 1.2.2. Cognitive effort and emotion regulation 1.3. Peripheral physiological consequences of intentional emotion regulation 1.4. Flexible emotion regulation 1.4.1. The extended process model of emotion regulation 1.5. Emotion regulation choice 1.5.1. A conceptual framework of emotion regulation choice 1.5.2. Determinants of emotion regulation choice 2. Scope of the thesis and study overview 3. Effort beats effectiveness in emotion regulation choice: Differences between suppression and distancing in subjective and physiological measures (Study 1 and 2) 3.1. Theoretical Background 3.1.1. Effort and emotion regulation 3.1.2. The present study 3.2. Study 1 3.2.1. Method 3.2.2. Results 3.3. Study 2 3.3.1. Method 3.3.2. Results 3.4. Exploratory analyses 3.4.1. Statistics 3.4.2. Results 3.5. Discussion 3.5.1. Effort plays a crucial role in the selection of an ER strategy 3.5.2. Individual differences in personality traits do not explain individual differences in arousal and effort 3.5.3. Subjective arousal and effort are not reflected in physiological arousal and effort 3.6. Limitations 3.7. Conclusion 4. Estimating individual subjective values of emotion regulation strategies 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Method 4.2.1. Ethics information 4.2.2. Pilot data 4.2.3. Design 4.2.4. Sampling plan 4.2.5. Analysis plan 4.3. Results 4.3.1. Participants and descriptive statistics 4.3.2. Confirmatory analyses 4.3.3. Exploratory analyses 4.4. Discussion 4.4.1. Ecological validity of subjective values of emotion regulation strategies 4.4.2. Trait character of subjective values 4.4.3. Limitations 4.4.4. Conclusion 5. General Discussion 5.1. Summary of results 5.2. The role of cognitive effort in emotion regulation 5.2.1. Effects of effort in the selection stage 5.2.2. Effects of effort in the implementation stage 5.2.3. Post-regulation effects of effort 5.3. Regulatory goals in emotion regulation 5.3.1. The interaction of regulatory goals and cognitive effort 5.4. Individual subjective values of choice options 5.4.1. Factors influencing subjective values 5.4.2. Subjective values: States or traits? 5.5. Methodological considerations 5.5.1. Experimental design 5.5.2. Assessment of physiological effort and arousal 5.6. Future directions 5.7. Conclusion References Appendix A. Supplementary Information Study 1 and Study 2 Appendix B. Supplementary Information Study 3 List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations Erklärung