Stress and Cytokine Effects on Learning: What Does Sex Have to Do With It?

Many studies have alluded to sexually dimorphic changes in behavior following stress. Although many have suggested that these changes are a function of stress-induced changes in learning and memory, there are questions regarding whether performance in those learning and memory tasks are influenced by stress-induced changes in drive more than in actual learning and memory processes. We used the classically conditioned eyeblink response (CCER) to determine whether slowed learning following stress in females can be explained by changes in unconditional response (UR) amplitude, a sign of a stress-induced shift in sensory reactivity. In addition, we had a second treatment group injected with the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta to serve as an interoceptive stress condition, a physiological stressor with minimal stimulation to the animal. Replicating the work by Shors and colleagues, we found that stressed female rats had slower acquisition of the conditioned response (CR), but we also found that an IL-1beta injection leads to a slowing of CR acquisition. However, in both cases, UR amplitude was lower in the treatment groups. We followed up these results by testing sensory reactivity through the acoustic startle response (ASR), where the magnitude of the ASR was marginally, but nonsignificantly, reduced by the same dose regimen of IL-1beta. Together, these experiments suggest that tailshock stress and immune signaling (IL-1beta) reduce sensory reactivity and the saliency of the stimuli used in the CCER, leading to slower learning in female rats.     

Self‐Monitoring and Job Performance: The moderating role of tenure

Previous research on the relationship between self‐monitoring and job performance has neglected the role of tenure even though both theory and preliminary evidences suggest that job incumbents' tenure should be a strong moderator. The current study investigates the role of organizational tenure on the relationship between self‐monitoring and job performance (number of new contracts sold) in a sample of sales insurance agents. Consistent with expectations, tenure moderates the relationship between self‐monitoring and job performance, i.e., self‐monitoring is positively correlated with job performance for job incumbents with less tenure but not for those with more tenure. We propose that the relationship between self‐monitoring and job performance depends on the job incumbents' ability and opportunity to control the cues available to those who interact with and/or appraise the performance of the job incumbent.     

Self‐Esteem and Suicide Ideation in Psychiatric Outpatients

Depression, hopelessness, and low self‐esteem are implicated as vulnerability factors for suicide ideation. The association of self‐esteem with suicide ideation after controlling for depressed mood and hopelessness was examined. Adult psychiatric outpatients (N = 338) completed measures of self‐esteem, suicide ideation, hopelessness, and depression. Self‐esteem was operationalized as beliefs about oneself (self‐based self‐esteem) and beliefs about how other people regard oneself (other‐based self‐esteem). Each dimension of self‐esteem was negatively associated with suicide ideation after controlling for depression and hopelessness. Of the two dimensions of self‐esteem, other‐based self‐esteem was the more robust predictor of suicide ideation. These findings suggest that even in the context of depression and hopelessness, low self‐esteem may add to the risk for suicide ideation.     

The Structure and Dynamics of Worry: Theory, Measurement, and Cross-National Replications

This article presents a comprehensive conceptualization of the structure of worry and the relation of worry to mental health and well-being. It is assumed that worries have two facets, namely, the object of a worry (e.g., self, close others, society, the world) and the domain of a worry (the field of life with which it is concerned). The object of a worry is presumed to be more important than its domain in determining the impact of worries on mental health. Only worries concerned with self and close others (micro worries) are expected to be related to poor mental health, whereas worries about society or the entire world (macro worries) are expected to be positively related to mental health. An instrument is introduced to study worries in accordance with the proposed structure. Its validity is tested by two confirmatory techniques (similarity structure analysis and confirmatory factor analysis) in samples from Israel, West Germany, and (the former) East Germany. Worry scores are also related to five mental health indicators. Results show that across samples micro and macro worries can validly be distinguished. Micro worries are strongly related to poor mental health, whereas macro worries are unrelated to mental health or relate marginally to positive well-being.     

The relation between similarity grouping and perceptual constancy.

In two experiments on whether similarity grouping is based on the retinal or the perceived slopes of lines, observers judged the grouping of diagonal lines when a display of vertical and diagonal lines was presented upright and when it was slanted 75 deg toward the floor. The floorwise slanting of the display improved gouping, as would be expected if the spontaneous organization of a field into groups in strongly influenced by the projection-level representation of stimuli. It is proposed that similarity grouping occurs at the readout stage of stimulus processing and involves segregating a field into groups on the basis of extrafoveal stimulus differences that are responded to in parallel; or if sequentially, very quickly and independently of focal attention.