Exploring the relationship between executive functions and self-reported media-multitasking in young adults

Media-multitasking involves simultaneous engagement with information streams from multiple media sources, and is most prevalent in young adults. Heavy media-multitasking has been associated with differential performance on tasks involving attentional control and working memory relative to light media-multitasking. The aim of the present study was to systematically investigate relationships between executive functions and self-reported media-multitasking. Healthy participants (N?=?112, aged 18–25, male N?=?36) completed a battery of 10 traditional executive function tasks, that included assessments of attentional inhibition, response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Scores on the individual executive function tasks were correlated against frequency of self-reported media-multitasking, but no significant relationships were found. Trait anxiety, however, was found to be significantly associated with greater frequency of self-reported media-multitasking. The present study found no evidence of a relationship between the frequency of self-reported media-multitasking and executive functioning. The possible reasons for this are discussed.     

Does Traumatic Brain Injury Attenuate the Exposure Therapy Process?

Research indicates that exposure therapy is efficacious for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comorbid with traumatic brain injury (TBI) as is shown by reduced PTSD treatment outcome scores. What is unknown, however, is whether the process of fear extinction is attenuated in veterans with TBI history. Increased PTSD symptomatology and possible cognitive deficits associated with TBI sequelae may indicate additional or longer exposure sessions to achieve habituation and extinction comparable to individuals without TBI history. As such, a more extensive course of treatment may be necessary to achieve comparable PTSD treatment outcome scores for individuals with TBI history. Using a sample of veterans with combat-related PTSD, some of whom were comorbid for TBI, this study compared process variables considered relevant to successful treatment outcome in exposure therapy. Individuals with and without TBI demonstrated similar rates of fear activation, length and number of exposure sessions, within-session habituation, between-session habituation, and extinction rate; results remained consistent when controlling for differential PTSD symptomatology. Furthermore, results indicated that self-perception of executive dysfunction did not impact the exposure process. Results suggest that individuals with PTSD and TBI history engage successfully and no differently in the exposure therapy process as compared to individuals with PTSD alone. Findings further support exposure therapy as a first-line treatment for combat-related PTSD regardless of TBI history.     

Letting Go: Conceptualizing Intervention De‐implementation in Public Health and Social Service Settings

The discontinuation of interventions that should be stopped, or de‐implementation, has emerged as a novel line of inquiry within dissemination and implementation science. As this area grows in human services research, like public health and social work, theory is needed to help guide scientific endeavors. Given the infancy of de‐implementation, this conceptual narrative provides a definition and criteria for determining if an intervention should be de‐implemented. We identify three criteria for identifying interventions appropriate for de‐implementation: (a) interventions that are not effective or harmful, (b) interventions that are not the most effective or efficient to provide, and (c) interventions that are no longer necessary. Detailed, well‐documented examples illustrate each of the criteria. We describe de‐implementation frameworks, but also demonstrate how other existing implementation frameworks might be applied to de‐implementation research as a supplement. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of de‐implementation in the context of other stages of implementation, like sustainability and adoption; next steps for de‐implementation research, especially identifying interventions appropriate for de‐implementation in a systematic manner; and highlight special ethical considerations to advance the field of de‐implementation research.     

Associations among Life Events,Empathic Concern,and Adolescents' Prosocial and Aggressive Behaviors Toward Specific Targets

The goal of the present study was to examine the links between life events and adolescents' social behaviors (prosocial and aggressive behaviors) toward specific targets and to examine how empathic concern may play a role in these associations. The study examined two hypotheses: both the mediating role of empathic concern and the moderating role of empathic concern. The sample included 311 high school students from the Midwest (M age = 16.10 years; age range = 14–19 years; 58.7% girls; 82.7% White, 13.6% Latino). The results demonstrated support for the moderation model as well as complex links between life events and prosocial and aggressive behaviors toward specific targets. The discussion focuses on the role of empathic concern in understanding how life events are ultimately associated with adolescents' social development.     

An Approach‐Inhibition Model of Employee Silence: The Joint Effects of Personal Sense of Power and Target Openness

When employees consciously withhold potentially important suggestions or concerns from those who may be able to act on that information, it can have serious implications for organizational performance. Yet there is research suggesting that, when faced with the choice of whether or not to raise an issue, employees often choose to remain silent. Our objective in this paper is to expand current theoretical understanding of why employees often remain silent and of situational factors that can lessen this tendency. Drawing on the approach‐inhibition theory of power, we argue that an employee's personal sense that he or she is lacking in power in relation to others at work is a key factor contributing to the decision to remain silent but that this effect is moderated by perceived target openness. We took a multimethod approach, testing these relationships across 3 studies: a laboratory experiment, a survey study of healthcare workers, and a survey study of employees working across a wide range of industries. Our findings suggest that, although silence is indeed rooted in the psychological experience of powerlessness, perceived target openness mitigates this relationship, encouraging employee to speak up when they would not otherwise do so.     

The Indirect Nature of Social Motives: The Relation of Social Approach and Avoidance Motives with Likeability via Extraversion and Agreeableness

The current study tested assumptions derived from the whole‐trait theory (Fleeson, 2012), which proposes a connection between personality and motivation. We hypothesized that individual differences in social approach and avoidance motives are associated with personality as observed by others. In addition, we expected that observed personality links social approach and avoidance motives to interpersonal outcomes. The sample was composed of 83 young adults (25.3% males, M_age = 21.66 years) who had recently moved into a shared apartment. Roommates (N = 83; 50.6% males, M_age = 22.83 years) evaluated the newcomers on Extraversion, Agreeableness, and likeability. Approach motives had an indirect positive effect on likeability through other‐reported Extraversion and Agreeableness. Although avoidance motives had some negative effects on likeability mediated through low Extraversion, they were positively associated with Agreeableness. These results demonstrate the complexity of social approach and avoidance motives. Moreover, they highlight the importance of motivational factors for observed personality.