The hippocampus: hub of brain network communication for memory

A complex brain network, centered on the hippocampus, supports episodic memories throughout their lifetimes. Classically, upon memory encoding during active behavior, hippocampal activity is dominated by theta oscillations (6-10Hz). During inactivity, hippocampal neurons burst synchronously, constituting sharp waves, which can propagate to other structures, theoretically supporting memory consolidation. This 'two-stage' model has been updated by new data from high-density electrophysiological recordings in animals that shed light on how information is encoded and exchanged between hippocampus, neocortex and subcortical structures such as the striatum. Cell assemblies (tightly related groups of cells) discharge together and synchronize across brain structures orchestrated by theta, sharp waves and slow oscillations, to encode information. This evolving dynamical schema is key to extending our understanding of memory processes.     

Emotional Intelligence as a Moderator of Affectivity/Emotional Labor and Emotional Labor/Psychological Distress Relationships

Emotional labor refers to effort, planning, and control required to display organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions and performed by individuals either through deep acting or surface acting. Deep acting refers to the modification of inner feeling in order to express the organizationally desired emotions, whereas surface acting refers to the change of emotional expression without facilitating the change of inner emotional state. The authors examined the moderating role of emotional intelligence dimensions (self-emotional appraisal; others’ emotional appraisal, use of emotion, and regulation of emotion) in the affectivity (a general positive or negative tendency to experience a particular mood)-emotional labor and emotional labor-psychological distress relationships among 210 university teachers. Specifically, we found that (a) regulation of emotion was a particularly important emotional intelligence dimension in influencing the use of deep acting, both directly and indirectly through the interaction with negative affectivity; (b) positive affectivity emerged as an important affectivity dimension in influencing the use of deep acting both directly and indirectly through the interaction with self-emotional appraisal; (c) negative affectivity was a particularly important affectivity dimension in influencing the use of surface acting, both directly and indirectly through its interaction with emotional intelligence dimensions of self-emotional appraisal and use of emotion; and finally (d) regulation of emotion interacted with deep acting to influence the psychological distress arising from EL requirements.     

The interactive effects of perceived external prestige and need for organizational identification on turnover intentions

Recent research has highlighted the importance of understanding the influence of an organization’s external image on its members. Although progress has been made in understanding how perceived external prestige relates to workplace outcomes, researchers have not examined the joint effect of perceived external prestige and individual differences on such outcomes. In this article, we tested the impact of perceived external prestige on turnover intentions, but we also assumed that this influence is moderated by individuals’ need for organizational identification. Using three samples and a longitudinal research design, we found consistent support for this assumption. These results provide empirical support for the theoretical integration of social identity and need-based motivation theories.     

Correlates of adolescent pregnancy in La Paz,Bolivia: findings from a quantitative-qualitative study

Recent data indicate that nearly one in three Bolivian adolescent females becomes pregnant prior to reaching age twenty. This article presents the results of a study undertaken to address the question of why some female adolescents in La Paz, Bolivia, become pregnant while others in similar circumstances avoid early pregnancy. The study utilized mixed qualitative-quantitative methods based on a case-control design. Among the potential explanatory factors considered were family structure, parental relationships, partner relationships, knowledge of pregnancy risks, self-esteem, and locus of control. Significant differences between girls experiencing a pregnancy and those who had not were observed on two of the six factors considered-relationships with parents and self-esteem. Girls who had experienced a pregnancy were less likely to have reported affectionate and supportive parents, more likely to have reported fighting in their home, and exhibited lower levels of self-esteem than those who had never been pregnant. Focus-group discussions suggested that adolescent females in La Paz lack trustworthy support networks that would empower them to seek information regarding sex and contraception and to act upon such information.     

Double Jeopardy: Subordinates’ Worldviews and Poor Performance as Predictors of Abusive Supervision

Purpose

To test a moderated mediation model where a positive relationship between subordinates’ perceptions of a dangerous world—the extent to which an individual views the world as a dangerous place—and supervisory abuse is mediated by their submission to authority figures, and that this relationship is heightened for more poorly performing employees.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were obtained from 173 subordinates and 45 supervisors working in different private sector organizations in Pakistan.

Findings

Our model was supported. It appears that subordinates’ dangerous worldviews are positively associated with their perceptions of abusive supervision and that this is because such views are likely to lead to greater submission to authority figures. But this is only for those employees who are performing more poorly.

Implications

We highlight the possibility that individual differences (worldviews, attitudes to authority figures, and performance levels) may lead employees to become victims of abusive supervision. As such, our research informs organizations on how they may better support supervisors in managing effectively their subordinate relationships and, in particular, subordinate poor performance.

Originality/Value

We add to recent work exploring subordinate-focused antecedents of abusive supervision, finding support for the salience of the previously untested constructs of individual worldviews, authoritarian submission, and individual job performance. In so doing we also extend research on dangerous worldviews into a new organizational setting. Finally, our research takes place within a new Pakistani context, adding to the burgeoning non-US based body of empirical work into the antecedents and consequences of abusive supervision.

     

Future anhedonia and time discounting

The temporal location of an event influences the way people mentally represent that event. We suggest (a) that such representational differences can produce an affective forecasting error that we call future anhedonia, which is the belief that hedonic states will be less intense in the future than in the present, and (b) that future anhedonia plays a role in time discounting (i.e., the tendency to place a smaller present value on present events than on future events). Experiments 1a and 1b demonstrated that people are prone to future anhedonia, Experiments 2a and 2b ruled out artifactual alternatives, and Experiments 3a and 3b demonstrated that future anhedonia plays a role in time discounting. These studies suggest that one reason why people prefer to enjoy benefits in the present and pay costs in the future is that they do not realize how they will feel when those costs and benefits are actually experienced.     

How to Accommodate to the Invisible? The ��halo�� of ��nano��

Nanotechnologies produce many different types of images but are characterized by the ones that allow us to ??see the atoms?? despite the fact that objects at the nanoscale are smaller than the wavelength of light and hence are ??invisible??. Images from scanning probe microscopy (SPM), like ??The Beginning??, have played an emblematic role in the constitution of the field and are also more likely to be used in communication outside the scientific field. These images are made, selected, modified and evaluated with respect to the information that they communicate. The ??life cycle?? of these images implies the transduction of this information. Outside of the scientific field, however, they are no longer defined by this information, nor according to technical and scientific criteria, but by their aesthetic power, and they become associated with other images from other fields (art, advertisement, entertainment). This process creates a psycho-social ??halo?? about ??nano?? in the public perception, and raises ethical issues about nanotechnological communication via images. We will analyze the halo of the nano in this respect and propose a strategy for a reflexive ??accommodation?? to the images at the nanoscale.     

Individual differences in the anterior insula are associated with the likelihood of financially helping versus harming others

The neural basis of individual differences in positive and negative social decisions and behaviors in healthy populations is yet undetermined. Recent work has focused on the potential role of the anterior insula in guiding social and nonsocial decision making, but the specific nature of its activation during such decision making remains unclear. To identify the neural regions mediating individual differences in helpful and harmful decisions and to assess the nature of insula activation during such decisions, in the present study we used a novel fMRI task featuring intentional and unintentional decisions to financially harm or help persons in need. Based on a whole-brain, unbiased approach, our findings indicate that individual differences in dorsal anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and right temporo-parietal junction activation are associated with behavioral tendencies to financially harm or help another. Furthermore, activity in the dorsal anterior insula and ACC was greatest during unintended outcomes, whether these were gains or losses for a charity or for oneself, supporting models of the role of these regions in salience prediction error signaling. Together, the results suggest that individual differences in risk anticipation, as reflected in the dorsal anterior insula and dorsal ACC, guide social decisions to refrain from harming others.     

Understanding the unique impact of dimensions of ethical leadership on employee attitudes

This study extends earlier findings on ethical leadership by testing the relationship of the seven dimensions of ethical leadership with job satisfaction, organization commitment, job embeddedness, and cynicism. It uses time-lagged data from 585 employees in Pakistan. Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, the study supports the concept of multidimensional ethical leadership in the Eastern setting and indicates that the dimensions of people orientation, fairness, power sharing, ethical guidance, and role clarification are associated with the majority of outcomes, as suggested by social exchange theory. However, the concern for sustainability and integrity dimensions had a limited effect.