Psychometric evaluation and experimental validation of the statistics anxiety rating scale

The Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS) was adapted into German to examine its psychometric properties (n = 400). Two validation studies (n = 66, n = 96) were conducted to examine its criterion-related validity. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were very similar to those previously reported for the original English version in various countries and other language versions. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated 2 second-order factors: One was more closely related to anxiety and the other was more closely related to negative attitudes toward statistics. Predictive validity of the STARS was shown both in an experimental exam-like situation in the laboratory and during a real examination situation. Taken together, the findings indicate that statistics anxiety as assessed by the STARS is a useful construct that is more than just an expression of a more general disposition to anxiety.     

For Fun,Love, or Money: What Drives Workaholic,Engaged, and Burned‐Out Employees at Work?

Previous research has distinguished between two types of working hard: workaholism, a “bad” type of working hard, and work engagement, a “good” type of working hard. However, the motivations underlying workaholism and work engagement have not been examined extensively. Building on Deci and Ryan's Self‐Determination Theory, the present study examined the motivational correlates of workaholism, work engagement, and burnout (a possible consequence of working hard), using data from Chinese health care professionals (544 nurses and 216 physicians), and controlling for job demands and resources. As expected, structural equation modeling revealed that high levels of workaholism were associated with high levels of introjected regulation and identified regulation; that high levels of work engagement were mainly associated with high levels of intrinsic regulation; and that high levels of burnout were mainly associated with low levels of intrinsic regulation. Thus, different types of motivational regulation are associated with different types of job‐related well‐being.     

Neurocognitive impairment in early adolescence following prenatal alcohol exposure of varying duration.

The aims of the study were, first, to perform a comprehensive assessment of neurocognitive status in early adolescence of children exposed to alcohol prenatally; and, second, to examine whether duration of exposure continues to be predictive of outcome at this age. Twenty-seven exposed 12-14-year-olds and 39 non-exposed 13-14-year-olds underwent neuropsychological assessments (WISC-III, NEPSY subtests) of attention and executive functions, language, visuomotor functions, and memory. The group of non-exposed children was used to develop preliminary test norms for the 13-14-year-old exposed children whereas published test norms could be used for the 12-year-olds. The results demonstrated neurocognitive impairment across all types of tasks. Impairment varied in degree according to the duration of alcohol exposure. Children exposed throughout pregnancy, most of who had diagnoses of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), performed well below the average range. It was concluded that the neurocognitive effects of alcohol exposure tend to be widespread and generalized. Attention and executive functions do not seem to be selectively affected. Further, the relationship between duration of prenatal alcohol exposure and neurocognitive development continues to be significant in early adolescence.     

The microgenesis of action-effect binding

Ideomotor theories of human action control assume that performing a movement leads to the automatic integration of the underlying motor pattern with codes of its perceptual consequences. We studied the microgenesis of action-effect integration by varying the mapping of action effects upon actions from trial to trial. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that perceiving a tone repetition systematically affects one’s tendency to carry out the response that produced that tone in the previous trial, suggesting that even the unintentional production of a stimulus creates a temporary binding of that stimulus with the action that brought it about. Experiments 3 and 4 extended this finding in suggesting that the integration and/or retrieval of action effects is modulated by attentional factors: Ongoing performance is more impacted by action effects if they are salient or match the current attentional set.

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The exemplary social emotion guilt: Not so relationship-oriented when another person repairs for you

Guilt is considered by many researchers to be the hallmark social emotion. Guilt theories perceive guilt to be a negative emotion with positive interpersonal consequences, and empirical research has shown guilt to motivate prosocial behaviours aimed at restoring the relationship with one's victims. The current research questions the relationship-oriented nature of this emotion. Five experiments reveal that when a person repairs the transgressor's damage caused to a victim, the transgressor's guilt feelings, reparative intentions, and prosocial behaviour decrease. These findings suggest that it is not the relationship with the victim that is important in the regulation of guilt feelings, but rather the reparative actions that have been undertaken. Implications for theory and behavioural research on guilt are discussed.     

State-dependent changes of prefrontal–posterior coupling in the context of affective processing: Susceptibility to humor

The aim of the present study was to examine whether interindividual differences in the coupling or decoupling of prefrontal and posterior cortices during the exposure to social–emotional information may predict an individual’s positive emotional responsiveness. Susceptibility to humor was assessed in a behavioral paradigm several weeks after the EEG recordings. State-dependent changes of prefrontal–posterior EEG beta coherence were recorded during stimulation with other people’s auditory expressions of cheerfulness and sadness. Greater decreases of coherence during the stimulation with positive affect expressions prospectively predicted greater positive emotional responsiveness, indicated by higher amusement ratings in response to cartoons and higher scores in a questionnaire measure of exhilarability. Greater increases of coherence during the stimulation with negative affect expressions did not predict perceived funniness but were related to shorter response latencies to the amusement ratings. The results further support the notion that a more loose prefrontal–posterior coupling may be related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming emotional information and, thus, to a propensity to deeper emotional involvement and a greater impact of perceptual input, whereas increased prefrontal–posterior coupling may be related to strong control and the propensity to protect oneself from becoming emotionally affected.     

Demographic and occupational correlates of workaholism

Drawing on a convenience sample of 9,160 Dutch employees, the present study examined whether commonly held ideas about the associations between demographic, professional, and occupational characteristics and workaholism would be observed. For example, it is sometimes assumed that managers are more likely to display workaholic tendencies than others. Analysis of variance was used to relate workaholism scores (measured as the combination of working excessively and working compulsively) to participant age, sex, employment status (self-employed or not), profession, and occupational sector. Relatively high average scores on workaholism were obtained by workers in the agriculture, construction, communication, consultancy, and commerce/trade sectors, as well as managers and higher professionals. Low scores were found for those in the public administration and services industry sectors, and for nurses, social workers, and paramedics. The other characteristics were not or only weakly related to workaholism.