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.     

Learning different task spaces: how explored density aligns the Quiet Eye

Cognitive Processing - In the current study, predictions of a theoretical account to the explanation of the Quiet Eye (QE) were investigated. To this end, by manipulating the learning environment,...     

A quarter of a century of job transitions in Germany

By examining trends in intra-organizational and inter-organizational job transition probabilities among professional and managerial employees in Germany, we test the applicability of mainstream career theory to a specific context and challenge its implied change assumption. Drawing on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we apply linear probability models to show the influence of time, economic cycle and age on the probability of job transitions between 1984 and 2010. Results indicate a slight negative trend in the frequency of job transitions during the analyzed time span, owing to a pronounced decrease in intra-organizational transitions, which is only partly offset by a comparatively weaker positive trend towards increased inter-organizational transitions. The latter is strongly influenced by fluctuations in the economic cycle. Finally, the probability of job transitions keeps declining steadily through the course of one's working life. In contrast to inter-organizational transitions, however, this age effect for intra-organizational transitions has decreased over time.     

Components of task switching: A closer look at task switching and cue switching

Research using the diffusion model to decompose task-switching effects has contributed to a better understanding of the processes underlying the observed effect in the explicit task cueing paradigm: Previous findings could be reconciled with multiple component models of task switching or with an account on compound-cue retrieval/repetition priming. In the present study, we used two cues for each task in order to decompose task-switch and cue-switch effects. Response time data support previous findings that comparable parts of the switching effect can be attributed to cue-switching and task-switching. A diffusion model analysis of the data confirmed that non-decision time is increased and drift rates are decreased in unpredicted task-switches. Importantly, it was shown that non-decision time was selectively increased in task-switching trials but not in cue-switching trials. Results of the present study specifically support the notion of additional processes in task-switches and can be reconciled with broader multiple component accounts.     

The temporal dynamics of the perceptual consequences of action-effect prediction

An essential aspect of voluntary action control is the ability to predict the perceptual effects of our actions. Although the influence of action-effect prediction on humans’ behavior and perception is unequivocal, it remains unclear when action-effect prediction is generated by the brain. The present study investigates the dynamics of action effect anticipation by tracing the time course of its perceptual consequences. Participants completed an acquisition phase during which specific actions (left and right key-presses) were associated with specific visual effects (upward and downward dots motion). In the test phase they performed a 2 AFC identification task in which they were required to indicate whether the dots moved upward or downward. To isolate any effects of action-effect prediction on perception, participants were presented with congruent and incongruent dot motion in which the association participants learned in the previous acquisition phase was respected and violated, respectively. Crucially, to assess the temporal dynamics of action prediction, congruent and incongruent stimuli were presented at different intervals before or after action execution. We observed higher sensitivity (d′) to motion discrimination in congruent vs. incongruent trials only when stimuli were presented from about 220 ms before the action to 280 ms after the action. The temporal dynamics of our effect suggest that action-effect prediction modulates perception at later stages of motor preparation.     

Frankfurt-Style Cases User Manual: Why Frankfurt-Style Enabling Cases Do Not Necessitate Tech Support

‘Frankfurt-style cases’ (FSCs) are widely considered as having refuted the Principle of Alternate Possibilities (PAP) by presenting cases in which an agent is morally responsible even if he could not have done otherwise. However, Neil Levy (J Philos 105:223–239, 2008) has recently argued that FSCs fail because we are not entitled to suppose that the agent is morally responsible, given that the mere presence of a counterfactual intervener is enough to make an agent lose responsibility-grounding abilities. Here, I distinguish two kinds of Frankfurt counter-arguments against the PAP: the direct and the indirect counter-arguments. I then argue that Levy’s argument, if valid, can shed doubt on the indirect argument but leaves the direct argument untouched. I conclude that FSCs can still do their job, even if we grant that the mere presence of a counterfactual intervener can modify an agent’s abilities.     

Neuronal correlates of three attentional strategies during affective picture processing: an fMRI study

This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study directly compared the neurocircuitry involved in three different attentional strategies during affective picture processing. We exposed 40 participants (20 men, 20 women) to images depicting dental treatment, as well as neutral scenes. They were asked to do one of three tasks while watching the same pictures: directing their attention toward a foreground object within the picture (distraction), classifying whether the image showed dental treatment, or deciding whether the scene elicited fear of pain (introspection). The participants performed the distraction and classification task with high accuracy and rated only 11 % of the dental treatment pictures as pain relevant. Introspection was associated with increased activation of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), relative to the two other conditions. Since the dental, relative to the neutral, pictures elicited enhanced DMPFC activation across all conditions, this underlines the role of this brain region for the assignment, as well as self-reference, of affective meaning. Moreover, self-reported dental anxiety was positively correlated with activation of a pain modulatory network (DMPFC, basal ganglia) when the participants focused on the pain relevance of the dental treatment cues. For future studies, it seems promising to study a high-anxious group or even patients afflicted with dental phobia.     

Summation versus suppression in metacontrast masking: On the potential pitfalls of using metacontrast masking to assess perceptual–motor dissociation

A briefly flashed target stimulus can become “invisible” when immediately followed by a mask—a phenomenon known as backward masking, which constitutes a major tool in the cognitive sciences. One form of backward masking is termed metacontrast masking. It is generally assumed that in metacontrast masking, the mask suppresses activity on which the conscious perception of the target relies. This assumption biases conclusions when masking is used as a tool—for example, to study the independence between perceptual detection and motor reaction. This is because other models can account for reduced perceptual performance without requiring suppression mechanisms. In this study, we used signal detection theory to test the suppression model against an alternative view of metacontrast masking, referred to as the summation model. This model claims that target- and mask-related activations fuse and that the difficulty in detecting the target results from the difficulty to discriminate this fused response from the response produced by the mask alone. Our data support this alternative view. This study is not a thorough investigation of metacontrast masking. Instead, we wanted to point out that when a different model is used to account for the reduced perceptual performance in metacontrast masking, there is no need to postulate a dissociation between perceptual and motor responses to account for the data. Metacontrast masking, as implemented in the Fehrer–Raab situation, therefore is not a valid method to assess perceptual–motor dissociations.     

Selective Exposure and News Media Brands: Implicit and Explicit Attitudes as Predictors of News Choice

ABSTRACT

Media consumers often lack the motivation, time, or cognitive capacity to select content in a deliberate way; instead, they opt for mental shortcuts. Brands are important in this regard because they simplify decision making. In the present study we investigated whether attitudes toward news media brands predict news choice. It is important that we conceptualized attitudes on two different levels: Although explicit attitudes are defined as overtly expressed, more or less deliberate evaluations, implicit attitudes are defined as automatically activated, gut-level evaluations. The supplementary use of implicit attitudes is consistent with current theorizing highlighting that deeply held and sometimes even unconscious evaluations influence media choice. Using a web-based study, we found that implicit and explicit attitudes toward television brands predicted choice. Each attitude construct predicted variance beyond that predicted by the other. We discuss implications by emphasizing the role of automatic, gut-level decision making in current high-choice media environments.     

Diagnostik der Hypochondrie

In the current review the criteria for the diagnosis of hypochondriasis in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) are compared with the criteria for illness anxiety disorder in DSM-5 and differences are discussed. A current review of instruments for the dimensional assessment of the severity of hypochondriasis and associated characteristics (illness-related cognitions and safety behavior) is given. Possible ways of implementing these instruments for planning and evaluating therapy are specified. Furthermore, economical screening methods, which could be broadly applied in medical contexts to identify patients with pronounced illness anxiety in order to offer effective treatment are described and discussed. This procedure would not only lead to a reduction of strain in the person concerned, it would also be connected with financial relief for the health care system.