Smartphone use and daily cognitive failures: A critical examination using a daily diary approach with objective smartphone measures

While smartphones have brought many benefits and conveniences to users, there is continuing debate regarding their potential negative consequences on everyday cognition such as daily cognitive failures. A few cross-sectional studies have found positive associations between smartphone use and cognitive failures. However, several research gaps remain, such as the use of cross-sectional designs, confounds related to stable individual differences, the lack of validity in self-report measures of smartphone use, memory biases in retrospective self-reports, and the lack of differentiation between smartphone checking and smartphone screen time. To simultaneously address the aforementioned shortcomings, the current study examined the within-person associations between various objective indicators of smartphone use and daily cognitive failures using a 7-day daily diary study. Multilevel modelling revealed that smartphone checking, but not total smartphone screen time, predicted a greater occurrence of daily cognitive failures at the within-person level. Surprisingly, we also found negative within-person associations between smartphone screen time for social- and tools-related applications and daily cognitive failures, suggesting that some types of smartphone use may temporarily benefit one's cognitive functioning. This finding demonstrates the importance of studying the specific functions of smartphone use and their differential cognitive consequences, as well as highlights the complex relations between smartphone use and cognition.     

A daily process approach to coping. Linking theory, research, and practice

For decades, coping researchers have used between-person designs to address inherently within-person questions derived from theory and clinical practice. The authors describe recent developments in the use of within-person, process-oriented methods that examine individuals intensively over time. Ongoing studies of stress and alcohol consumption, the effects of depression on adaptational processes, and the temporal dynamics of coping with chronic pain demonstrate that by tracking rapidly fluctuating processes such as mood and coping close to their real-time occurrence, daily process designs offer unique insights into conceptually and clinically challenging questions. Such designs also provide new opportunities to examine the purported mechanisms of therapeutic interventions. Despite its demands on participants and investigators, daily process research offers fresh opportunities to link psychological theory, research, and practice.     

Affect and alcohol use: an ecological momentary assessment study of outpatients with borderline personality disorder

Alcohol use may be viewed as an attempt (albeit maladaptive) to regulate negative emotional states. We examined associations between both negative and positive affects and alcohol use in outpatient women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD; n=74), a prototype of emotional dysregulation, as well as a psychiatric control group of women with current depressive disorder (major depressive disorder/dysthymic disorder [MDD\DYS]; n=50). Participants completed randomly prompted reports of mood and alcohol use up to six times a day over a 28-day period using electronic diaries. Mean levels of either positive or negative affects did not distinguish between drinkers and nondrinkers in either diagnostic group. However, levels of both negative and positive affects were positively associated with alcohol use at the momentary level in BPD drinkers. More robust findings were obtained with respect to within-person affective variability, which was related to alcohol use in multiple ways. BPD drinkers showed higher within-person variability for most negative affects than BPD nondrinkers; MDD\DYS drinkers in general showed less within-person variability than MDD\DYS nondrinkers for negative affects. Multilevel lagged analyses for BPD drinkers indicated that alcohol use was positively related to variability in all affects, concurrently, but fewer significant effects of affect variability on the next day's drinking or significant effects of alcohol use on the next day's affect variability were observed. Among MDD\DYS drinkers, we observed more significant associations between affect variability on next day's alcohol use and of alcohol use on next day's affect variability. We discuss theoretical and methodological issues relevant to these findings as well as implications for future research.     

A within-person theoretical perspective in sales research: outlining recommendations for adoption and consideration of boundary conditions

Abstract

In the sales literature it is standard practice for researchers to collect cross-sectional data from multiple salespeople, and to compare those salespeople on the data obtained. This between-person approach is suitable for research aiming to draw conclusions between salespeople. However, many salesperson processes are dynamic and vary within salespeople over time, requiring datasets with repeated-measures. This article highlights the need to adopt a within-person theoretical perspective in sales research. Critically, the article shows how our present understanding of boundary conditions may change depending on whether a between-person or within-person level of analysis is adopted. Using examples from the sales literature, we show how the practical implications from between-persons research designs do not necessarily generalize to the within-person level. Further, we explain the methodological and analytical considerations that researchers must account for when undertaking within-person research. Furthermore, the article provides decision criteria that help to identify when within-person analysis should be conducted, outlining analysis tools that are capable of correctly estimating within-person effects without bias. Examples of how within-person research can enhance theory within future sales research, and how within-person research may influence management implications are also discussed. Finally, potential remedies to within-person research barriers are given.     

Review of Issues About Classical Change Scores: A Multilevel Modeling Perspective on Some Enduring Beliefs

Change scores obtained in pretest–posttest designs are important for evaluating treatment effectiveness and for assessing change of individual test scores in psychological research. However, over the years the use of change scores has raised much controversy. In this article, from a multilevel perspective, we provide a structured treatise on several persistent negative beliefs about change scores and show that these beliefs originated from the confounding of the effects of within-person change on change-score reliability and between-person change differences. We argue that psychometric properties of change scores, such as reliability and measurement precision, should be treated at suitable levels within a multilevel framework. We show that, if examined at the suitable levels with such a framework, the negative beliefs about change scores can be renounced convincingly. Finally, we summarize the conclusions about change scores to dispel the myths and to promote the potential and practical usefulness of change scores.     

Personality moderates the interaction between positive and negative daily events predicting negative affect and stress

A 30-day diary study examined personality moderators (neuroticism and extraversion) of the interaction between positive and negative daily events predicting daily negative affect and night-time stress. Multilevel analyses revealed positive daily events buffered the effect of negative daily events on negative affect for individuals low in neuroticism and individuals high in extraversion, but not for individuals high in neuroticism or individuals low in extraversion. Positive daily events also buffered the effect of negative daily events on that night’s stress, but only for participants low in neuroticism. As such, this research linked today’s events to tonight’s stressfulness. This study advances our understanding of how neuroticism and extraversion influence within-person associations between positive and negative events predicting negative affect and stress.     

THE RELATIONS OF DAILY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR WITH EMOTIONS, SITUATIONAL ANTECEDENTS, AND PERSONALITY MODERATORS: A DIARY STUDY IN HONG KONG

In this diary study conducted in Hong Kong, we examined a theoretical model in which negative emotions serve as an explanatory mechanism through which daily stressors impact daily counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We further theorized that personality variables (negative affectivity, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness) would exert cross-level effects on the within-person relationships. Hierarchical linear modeling results based on a sample of 231 individuals and 5,583 observations across 25 days provide partial support for the mediating role of negative emotions in the within-person stressor–CWB relationships. Specifically, we found that negative emotions (a) partially mediated the within-person relation of perceived ambiguity with CWB directed at the organization, (b) fully mediated the relation of supervisor interpersonal injustice with CWB directed at individuals, and (c) fully mediated the relation of customer interpersonal injustice with CWB directed at the organization. High levels of trait negative affectivity were found to strengthen the within-person relation between daily supervisor interpersonal injustice and daily negative emotions. As expected, high levels of trait Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were found to weaken the within-person relations of daily negative emotions with daily CWB directed at the organization and individuals.     

The valence and the functions of autobiographical memories: Does intensity matter?

Autobiographical memories serve psychosocial functions in daily life and the use of memories is related to their valence. In the present study, we examined whether functions are also related to the intensity of positive and negative memories. Our sample included 110 participants (57–89 years of age). Memories were prompted with 30 emotionally neutral cue words. Participants rated the emotional quality of each memory and indicated how frequently they had recalled it for self-continuity, directing behavior, social-bonding, and mood-enhancement. We used multilevel modeling to test whether individual differences in the use of memories can explain why individuals recall different numbers of positive and negative memories as well as memories high or low in intensity. Each function revealed its specific pattern regarding valence and intensity but also regarding within-person and between-person effects. Mood-enhancement showed the strongest relations, which points to the importance of considering emotion regulation as a function of autobiographical memory.     

Today I'll use a condom, but who knows about tomorrow: a daily process study of variability in predictors of condom use

OBJECTIVE: Most models of health behavior change applied to condom use behavior have focused on individual differences in theoretical constructs to explain condom use or nonuse, while ignoring the possibility that day-to-day within-person changes in these constructs may contribute to understanding behavior. The goal of the present study was to investigate day-to-day variability in condom use attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions and assess the utility of this variability in predicting the likelihood of condom use each day. DESIGN: A 30-day Web-based structured daily diary was used to collect daily reports of sexual behaviors and data on theoretical predictors of condom use behavior from sexually active college students (N = 116). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The authors investigated whether condom use attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions vary day to day; whether this within-person variability predicts condom use behavior; and whether negative affective states explain this variability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Within-person variability was found for each of the constructs. Within-person day-to-day changes in behavioral intentions and attitudes predicted the instances in which an individual used a condom and daily negative affect partially explained within-person day-to-day changes in behavioral intentions and self-efficacy. Implications for models of health behavior change and for behavior change interventions are discussed.     

It is about time: Daily relationships between temporal perspective and well-being

This study examined the day-to-day relationships between temporal perspective and well-being. Temporal perspective has predominantly been measured with single-occasion measurement designs, which ignore the potential for within-person variations that may be important in accounting for fluctuations in well-being. A 14-day daily diary design was employed to examine the dimensions of temporal perspective (temporal focus, temporal attitude, and temporal distance) and their dynamic relationships with daily well-being. The results from multilevel analyses indicated that: (a) there is evidence of within-person variability in daily temporal perspective, and (b) this within-person variability in temporal perspective fluctuated systematically with fluctuations in daily well-being. Each temporal perspective dimension was useful in predicting daily well-being. Temporal perspective dimensions interacted with each other such that the daily relationships with well-being depended on both the temporal region (past, present, or future) and the nature of the thoughts (pleasant vs. unpleasant; near vs. far).     

Daily variability in working memory is coupled with negative affect: the role of attention and motivation

Across days, individuals experience varying levels of negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. We investigated whether this intraindividual variability was coupled with daily fluctuations in working memory (WM) performance. In 100 days, 101 younger individuals worked on a spatial N-back task and rated negative affect, control of attention, and motivation. Results showed that individuals differed in how reliably WM performance fluctuated across days, and that subjective experiences were primarily linked to performance accuracy. WM performance was lower on days with higher levels of negative affect, reduced control of attention, and reduced task-related motivation. Thus, variables that were found to predict WM in between-subjects designs showed important relationships to WM at the within-person level. In addition, there was shared predictive variance among predictors of WM. Days with increased negative affect and reduced performance were also days with reduced control of attention and reduced motivation to work on tasks. These findings are in line with proposed mechanisms linking negative affect and cognitive performance.     

Motives and Consequences of Alcohol Use in People With Social Anxiety Disorder: A Daily Diary Study

People with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are at increased risk for alcohol-related problems. Most research exploring social anxiety and alcohol use has examined negative drinking consequences, with less consideration of positive consequences—namely positive social experiences—that may reinforce alcohol use. In this daily diary study, we examined how adults diagnosed with SAD (N = 26) and a psychologically healthy control group (N = 28) experienced positive drinking consequences in naturally occurring drinking episodes during the study period. For 14 consecutive days, participants answered questions about alcohol use, motives for drinking, and positive consequences of drinking. On days when participants drank, those with SAD were more likely than healthy controls to perceive a reduction in anxiety, but the two groups did not differ in their likelihood of experiencing positive social drinking consequences. For both groups, on days when they were more motivated to drink to enhance social experiences (affiliation motives) or cope with distress (coping motives), they were more likely to obtain positive consequences from drinking. Compared to controls, participants with SAD endorsed stronger trait and daily coping motives (anxiety-coping, social anxiety-coping, and depression-coping). Results are discussed in the context of reinforcement mechanisms that may maintain social anxiety and alcohol use.     

Multilevel Models for Examining Individual Differences in Within-Person Variation and Covariation Over Time

Heterogeneity of variance may be more than a statistical nuisance—it may be of direct interest as a result of individual differences. In studies of short-term fluctuation, individual differences may relate to the magnitude of within-person variation as well as to level of an outcome or its covariation with other processes. Although models for heterogeneous variances have been utilized in group contexts (i.e., dispersion models), they are not usually applied in examinations of intraindividual variation. This work illustrates how an extension of the multilevel model for heterogeneous variances can be used to examine individual differences in level, between- and within-person covariation, and magnitude of within-person variation of daily positive and negative mood in persons with dementia.     

The effect of daily stress, personality, and age on daily negative affect

The current study examined whether stress reactivity becomes stronger or weaker with age. Daily stress and daily negative affect were modeled using 1,012 subjects from the National Study of Daily Events (NSDE), an 8-day daily diary study. Age ranged from 25 to 74. Data were modeled using within-person HLM techniques. Daily stress and neuroticism interacted in their effect on daily negative affect. There was a stronger association between daily stress and negative affect for persons high in neuroticism as compared to those low on the trait. In addition, daily stress and age interacted in their effect on daily negative affect. There was a stronger association between daily stress and negative affect for older as compared to younger adults. Results suggest heightened reactivity to stressors in older adulthood, perhaps due to kindling effects. Changes in the aging brain may explain this effect. Our investigations illuminate the complexities that characterize the set of associations among negative affect, stress, personality, and age, and point to potential aging or cohort effects.     

坏心情与工作行为：中庸思维跨层次的调节作用

本研究探讨工作中坏心情与3种工作行为(组织公民行为、反生产行为和任务绩效行为)在个体内水平的关系, 以及中庸思维在二者间跨层次的调节作用。采用经验抽样方法, 通过对72名员工历时两周的追踪调查, 获取被试每日心情状态和每日工作行为的数据。HLM 6.02分析表明：(1)每日坏心情显著地负向影响每日的组织公民行为和任务绩效行为, 而对反生产行为无显著影响; (2)中庸思维在“心情-行为”的联系间发挥调节作用, 高中庸思维者的坏心情对组织公民行为的负向影响较弱, 低中庸思维者的坏心情对组织公民行为的负向影响较强; 高中庸思维者的坏心情对任务绩效行为产生正向影响, 低中庸思维者的坏心情对任务绩效行为产生负向影响。     

On Standardizing Within-Person Effects: Potential Problems of Global Standardization

Person-mean centering has been recommended for disaggregating between-person and within-person effects when modeling time-varying predictors. Multilevel modeling textbooks recommended global standardization for standardizing fixed effects. An aim of this study is to evaluate whether and when person-mean centering followed by global standardization can accurately estimate fixed-effects within-person relations (the estimand of interest in this study) in multilevel modeling. We analytically derived that global standardization generally yields inconsistent (asymptotically biased) estimates for the estimand when between-person differences in within-person standard deviations exist and the average within-person relation is nonzero. Alternatively, a person-mean-SD standardization (P-S) approach yields consistent estimates. Our simulation results further revealed (1) how misleading the results from global standardization were under various circumstances and (2) the P-S approach had accurate estimates and satisfactory coverage rates of fixed-effects within-person relations when the number of occasions is 30 or more (in many conditions, performance was satisfactory with 10 or 20 occasions). A daily diary data example, focused on emotional complexity, was used to empirically illustrate the approaches. Researchers should choose standardization approaches based on theoretical considerations and should clearly describe the purpose and procedure of standardization in research articles.     

A daily diary study of relationships between feelings of gratitude and well-being

Much of the research on relationships between gratitude and well-being has concerned between-person level relationships, and this research suggests that increasing people’s feelings of gratitude can increase their well-being. To complement this research, we examined such relationships at the within-person level. Participants (N = 130) in the present study described their well-being and how grateful they felt each day for two weeks. MLM analyses found that at the within-person level, daily feelings of gratitude and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were positively related. Lagged analyses found that feelings of gratitude on one day were positively related to hedonic (but not eudaimonic) well-being on the next day, and well-being on one day was not related to gratitude on the next day. These results complement existing research and suggest that causal relationships between gratitude and well-being may vary as a function of whether gratitude is measured in more affective or cognitive terms.     

A systematic review of the within-person association between physical activity and affect in children's and adolescents' daily lives

BackgroundIt is important to understand the relationship between physical activity and affect because affect experienced during physical activity and momentary incidental affect may both predict physical activity behaviours. Additionally, affect experienced during physical activity may explain the mental health benefits of participation in physical activity. Utilising ambulatory assessment techniques, researchers can examine the acute within-person association between physical activity and affect in children and adolescents' daily life. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature to determine whether there is a within-person association between physical activity and affect in children and adolescents' daily life.MethodsMedline via EBSCOHost, SPORTdiscus, PsychINFO, and Scopus were searched up to March 2020. A narrative synthesis was used to summarize results of the included studies.ResultsTen studies, reporting on nine unique samples, met the inclusion criteria. The strongest evidence identified was for a positive within-person association between physical activity and subsequent positive affect and energy. The findings regarding the within-person association between physical activity and subsequent negative affect and moods were mixed, as were the findings regarding affect predicting subsequent physical activity.ConclusionThere was mixed support for the acute within-person association between physical activity and affect in children and adolescents. Future research should consider factors that may moderate the relationship between physical activity and affect. Additionally, experimental research should examine how manipulations of incidental affect effect physical activity participation in children and adolescents' daily life.Prospero RegistrationCRD42020141649.     

Do Co-Worker Conflicts Enhance Daily Worries about Job Insecurity: A Diary Study

The long-term negative consequences of job insecurity on employees’ health and well-being have been demonstrated by several studies, but there is very little evidence on the daily experience of job insecurity and on the factors that may influence it. Therefore, we investigated whether short-term changes occur in the experience of job insecurity and whether these are influenced by daily co-worker conflicts. We carried out a diary study, in which 66 employees answered a questionnaire over the course of five working days. We conducted a multilevel analysis in which we included co-worker conflicts as a predictor, and type of contract, emotional stability, and aggregated job insecurity perceptions as control variables. Our results revealed that job insecurity varies on a daily level, and that 23 per cent of the variance could be explained at a within-person level. Co-worker conflicts were a significant positive predictor for perceived job insecurity in subsequent days after controlling for aggregated job insecurity perceptions at person level. Reversed causation was not found. Practical implications for organisations should focus on the promotion of positive social relations in the work environment in order to mitigate or avoid the negative consequences of social stressors in uncertain times.     

Aggregating to the between-person level in idiographic research designs: Personal goal research as an example of the need to distinguish between reliability and homogeneity

In several areas of personality research (e.g., personal networks, interpersonal behaviour, academic effort), the empirical data represent a multilevel structure, in which within-person variables are nested within individuals. Both within-person variation and between-person differences can be related to outcome variables (e.g., emotions, life satisfaction). One major precondition for aggregating within-person data to the between-person level is sufficient reliability of the aggregated data, a point that has received scant attention in previous research. Drawing on the example of personal goal research, we recommend that the two major forms of the intraclass correlation coefficient—the ICC(1) and the ICC(2)—be applied to within-person data in idiographic research designs. These indices allow the homogeneity and reliability of within-person data to be determined separately. Their application is illustrated using data from a study with 4,565 young adults.