Familiarity from the configuration of objects in 3-dimensional space and its relation to déjà vu: a virtual reality investigation

Déjà vu is the striking sense that the present situation feels familiar, alongside the realization that it has to be new. According to the Gestalt familiarity hypothesis, déjà vu results when the configuration of elements within a scene maps onto a configuration previously seen, but the previous scene fails to come to mind. We examined this using virtual reality (VR) technology. When a new immersive VR scene resembled a previously-viewed scene in its configuration but people failed to recall the previously-viewed scene, familiarity ratings and reports of déjà vu were indeed higher than for completely novel scenes. People also exhibited the contrasting sense of newness and of familiarity that is characteristic of déjà vu. Familiarity ratings and déjà vu reports among scenes recognized as new increased with increasing feature-match of a scene to one stored in memory, suggesting that feature-matching can produce familiarity and déjà vu when recall fails.     

Do low burnout and high work engagement always go hand in hand?: investigation of the energy and identification dimensions in longitudinal data

The aim of the present 2-year follow-up study among young managers (N=433) was to investigate the intraindividual developmental patterns of burnout and work engagement as well as their interconnections. More specifically, we examined the interconnectedness of the varying patterns (i.e., latent classes) of exhaustion and vigor (i.e., the energy dimension) and cynicism and dedication (i.e., the identification dimension) across time. The latent class solutions supported by the growth mixture modeling indicated four latent classes for exhaustion and five for vigor. In addition, four latent classes were found for cynicism and six for dedication. Cynicism and dedication represented opposites with a strong negative relationship, whereas exhaustion and vigor were not connected and seemed to be two independent constructs. Overall, the present findings confirmed the results of earlier studies relating to the energy and identification continua and underlined the importance of investigating the subdimensions of burnout and work engagement. Thus, our study showed that high cynicism goes hand in hand with low dedication, but high exhaustion and low vigor do not necessarily appear together.     

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Behavioral Problems and Attentional Functioning in Adolescents with ADHD

The effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness training for adolescents aged 11–15?years with ADHD and parallel Mindful Parenting training for their parents was evaluated, using questionnaires as well as computerized attention tests. Adolescents (N?=?10), their parents (N?=?19) and tutors (N?=?7) completed measurements before, immediately after, 8?weeks after and 16?weeks after training. Adolescents reported on their attention and behavioral problems and mindful awareness, and were administered two computerized sustained attention tasks. Parents as well as tutors reported on adolescents’ attention and behavioral problems and executive functioning. Parents further reported on their own parenting, parenting stress and mindful awareness. Both the mindfulness training for the adolescents and their parents was delivered in group format. First, after mindfulness training, adolescents’ attention and behavior problems reduced, while their executive functioning improved, as indicated by self-report measures as well as by father and teacher report. Second, improvements in adolescent’ actual performance on attention tests were found after mindfulness training. Moreover, fathers, but not mothers, reported reduced parenting stress. Mothers reported reduced overreactive parenting, whereas fathers reported an increase. No effect on mindful awareness of adolescents or parents was found. Effects of mindfulness training became stronger at 8-week follow-up, but waned at 16-week follow-up. Our study adds to the emerging body of evidence indicating that mindfulness training for adolescents with ADHD (and their parents) is an effective approach, but maintenance strategies need to be developed in order for this approach to be effective in the longer term.     

Kv4.2 knockout mice have hippocampal-dependent learning and memory deficits

Kv4.2 channels contribute to the transient, outward K(+) current (A-type current) in hippocampal dendrites, and modulation of this current substantially alters dendritic excitability. Using Kv4.2 knockout (KO) mice, we examined the role of Kv4.2 in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. We found that Kv4.2 KO mice showed a deficit in the learning phase of the Morris water maze (MWM) and significant impairment in the probe trial compared with wild type (WT). Kv4.2 KO mice also demonstrated a specific deficit in contextual learning in the fear-conditioning test, without impairment in the conditioned stimulus or new context condition. Kv4.2 KO mice had normal activity, anxiety levels, and prepulse inhibition compared with WT mice. A compensatory increase in tonic inhibition has been previously described in hippocampal slice recordings from Kv4.2 KO mice. In an attempt to decipher whether increased tonic inhibition contributed to the learning and memory deficits in Kv4.2 KO mice, we administered picrotoxin to block GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)R), and thereby tonic inhibition. This manipulation had no effect on behavior in the WT or KO mice. Furthermore, total protein levels of the α5 or δ GABA(A)R subunits, which contribute to tonic inhibition, were unchanged in hippocampus. Overall, our findings add to the growing body of evidence, suggesting an important role for Kv4.2 channels in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory.     

Is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory still relevant? A test of independent grandiosity and entitlement scales in the assessment of narcissism

Some scholars have called for the replacement of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) with more narrow scales measuring grandiosity and entitlement instead. In the current study, the authors examined the relations among the NPI and measures of grandiosity and entitlement, as well as in relation to a measure of the Five-Factor Model (FFM). The NPI manifested significant correlations with the alternative scales of entitlement and grandiosity and relatively similar patterns of correlations with the FFM traits. Of note, the NPI manifested significant incremental validity in the prediction of several FFM traits that are central to the conceptualization of narcissism. These findings suggest that some caution must be used before assuming that these lower-order scales can be used to replace the NPI in the assessment of narcissism.     

Confidence–accuracy relations for faces and scenes: Roles of features and familiarity

Using naturalistic scenes, we recently demonstrated that confidence?Caccuracy relations differ depending on whether recognition responses are based on memory for a specific feature or instead on general familiarity: When confidence is controlled for, accuracy is higher for familiarity-based than for feature-based responses. In the present experiment, we show that these results generalize to face recognition. Subjects studied photographs of scenes and faces presented for varying brief durations and received a recognition test on which they (1) indicated whether each picture was old or new, (2) rated their confidence in their response, and (3) indicated whether their response was based on memory for a feature or on general familiarity. For both stimulus types, subjects were more accurate and more confident for their feature-based than for their familiarity-based responses. However, when confidence was held constant, accuracy was higher for familiarity-based than for feature-based responses. These results demonstrate an important similarity between face and scene recognition and show that for both types of stimuli, confidence and accuracy are based on different information.     

The effect of the first glimpse at a scene on eye movements during search

Previewing scenes briefly makes finding target objects more efficient when viewing is through a gaze-contingent window (windowed viewing). In contrast, showing a preview of a randomly arranged search display does not benefit search efficiency when viewing during search is of the full display. Here, we tested whether a scene preview is beneficial when the scene is fully visible during search. Scene previews, when presented, were 250 ms in duration. During search, the scene was either fully visible or windowed. A preview always provided an advantage, in terms of decreasing the time to initially fixate and respond to targets and in terms of the total number of fixations. In windowed visibility, a preview reduced the distance of fixations from the target position until at least the fourth fixation. In full visibility, previewing reduced the distance of the second fixation but not of later fixations. The gist information derived from the initial glimpse of a scene allowed for placement of the first one or two fixations at information-rich locations, but when nonfoveal information was available, subsequent eye movements were only guided by online information.     

Rapid recognition at 10 months as a predictor of language development

Infants' ability to recognize words in continuous speech is vital for building a vocabulary. We here examined the amount and type of exposure needed for 10-month-olds to recognize words. Infants first heard a word, either embedded within an utterance or in isolation, then recognition was assessed by comparing event-related potentials to this word versus a word that they had not heard directly before. Although all 10-month-olds showed recognition responses to words first heard in isolation, not all infants showed such responses to words they had first heard within an utterance. Those that did succeed in the latter, harder, task, however, understood more words and utterances when re-tested at 12 months, and understood more words and produced more words at 24 months, compared with those who had shown no such recognition response at 10 months. The ability to rapidly recognize the words in continuous utterances is clearly linked to future language development.     

Conséquences d’une catastrophe naturelle touchant le lieu de travail sur l’épuisement professionnel : Le cas du personnel d’un hôpital gériatrique

The Hautmont tornado has occurred on august 03, 2008, in the North of France. It was caused major destructions in this town and particularly in this city hospital. A tornado is a major natural phenomenon that causes destructions and disasters. In the literature, natural disaster and their destructive consequences are associated with psycho-traumatic disorders, among which is posttraumatic stress. The purpose of this research was to study the psychological impact of this tornado on a particularly vulnerable population: employees of a hospital. Thirty eight employees were interviewed one year after the Tornado. The results of this study showed that this disaster had many psychological repercussions. Many cases of posttraumatic stress disorders and cases of burnout were present independently of job strain level.