Noradrenergic action in prefrontal cortex in the late stage of memory consolidation

These experiments investigated the role of the noradrenergic system in the late stage of memory consolidation and in particular its action at beta receptors in the prelimbic region (PL) of the prefrontal cortex in the hours after training. Rats were trained in a rapidly acquired, appetitively motivated foraging task based on olfactory discrimination. They were injected with a beta adrenergic receptor antagonist into the PL 5 min or 2 h after training and tested 48 h later. Rats injected at 2 h showed amnesia, whereas those injected at 5 min had good retention, equivalent to saline-injected controls. Monitoring extracellular noradrenaline efflux in PL by in vivo microdialysis during the first hours after training revealed a significant increase shortly after training, with a rapid return to baseline, and then another increase around the 2-h posttraining time window. Pseudo-trained rats showed a smaller early efflux and did not show the second wave of efflux at 2 h. These results confirm earlier pharmacological and immunohistochemical studies suggesting a delayed role of noradrenaline in a late phase of long-term memory consolidation and the engagement of the PL during these consolidation processes.     

Distributional Models of Category Concepts Based on Names of Category Members

Cognitive scientists have long used distributional semantic representations of categories. The predominant approach uses distributional representations of category-denoting nouns, such as “city” for the category city. We propose a novel scheme that represents categories as prototypes over representations of names of its members, such as “Barcelona,” “Mumbai,” and “Wuhan” for the category city. This name-based representation empirically outperforms the noun-based representation on two experiments (modeling human judgments of category relatedness and predicting category membership) with particular improvements for ambiguous nouns. We discuss the model complexity of both classes of models and argue that the name-based model has superior explanatory potential with regard to concept acquisition.     

Variable heart rate and a flexible mind: Higher resting-state heart rate variability predicts better task-switching

The neurovisceral integration model proposes that heart rate variability (HRV) is linked to prefrontal cortex activity via the vagus nerve, which connects the heart and the brain. HRV, an index of cardiac vagal tone, has been found to predict performance on several cognitive control tasks that rely on the prefrontal cortex. However, the link between HRV and the core cognitive control function “shifting” between tasks and mental sets is under-investigated. Therefore, the present study tested the neurovisceral integration model by examining, in 90 participants, the relationship between vagally mediated resting-state HRV and performance in a task-switching paradigm that provides a relatively process-pure measure of cognitive flexibility. As predicted, participants with higher resting-state HRV (indexed both by time domain and frequency domain measures) showed smaller switch costs (i.e., greater flexibility) than individuals with lower resting-state HRV. Our findings support the neurovisceral integration model and indicate that higher levels of vagally mediated resting-state HRV promote cognitive flexibility.     

Accuracy of head orientation perception in triadic situations: experiment in a virtual environment

Research has revealed high accuracy in the perception of gaze in dyadic (sender- receiver) situations. Triadic situations differ from these in that an observer has to report where a sender is looking, not relative to himself. This is more difficult owing to the less favourable position of the observer. The effect of the position of the observer on the accuracy of the identification of the sender's looking direction is relatively unexplored. Here, we investigate this, focusing exclusively on head orientation. We used a virtual environment to ensure good stimulus control. We found a mean angular error close to 5 degrees. A higher observer viewpoint results in more accurate identification. Similarly, a viewpoint with a smaller angle to the sender's midsagittal plane leads to an improvement in identification performance. Also, we found an effect of underestimation of the error in horizontal direction, similar to findings for dyadic situations.     

Recipient design in tacit communication

The ability to design tailored messages for specific listeners is an important aspect of human communication. The present study investigates whether a mere belief about an addressee’s identity influences the generation and production of a communicative message in a novel, non-verbal communication task. Participants were made to believe they were playing a game with a child or an adult partner, while a confederate acted as both child and adult partners with matched performance and response times. The participants’ belief influenced their behavior, spending longer when interacting with the presumed child addressee, but only during communicative portions of the game, i.e. using time as a tool to place emphasis on target information. This communicative adaptation attenuated with experience, and it was related to personality traits, namely Empathy and Need for Cognition measures. Overall, these findings indicate that novel nonverbal communicative interactions are selected according to a socio-centric perspective, and they are strongly influenced by participants’ traits.     

Manifesto for the future of work and organizational psychology

This manifesto presents 10 recommendations for a sustainable future for the field of Work and Organizational Psychology. The manifesto is the result of an emerging movement around the Future of WOP (see www.futureofwop.com), which aims to bring together WOP-scholars committed to actively contribute to building a better future for our field. Our recommendations are intended to support both individuals and collectives to become actively engaged in co-creating the future of WOP together with us. Therefore, this manifesto is open and never “finished.” It should continuously evolve, based on an ongoing debate around our professional values and behavior. This manifesto is meant, first of all, for ourselves as an academic community. Furthermore, it is also important for managers, decision makers, and other stakeholders and interested parties, such as students, governments and organizations, as we envision what the future of WOP could look like, and it is only through our collective efforts that we will be able to realize a sustainable future for all of us.     

The role of future time perspective in psychological contracts: A study among older workers

Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N = 176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates relations between psychological contract fulfillment and employee obligations. Based on previous work, three types of employer psychological contract fulfillment are examined: economic, socio-emotional, and developmental fulfillment. FTP was expected to relate positively to developmental fulfillment. Moreover, people with limited future time perspective were hypothesized to manifest a stronger relationship between economic and socio-emotional fulfillment and employee obligations. Results showed that future time perspective is indeed significantly related to developmental fulfillment, and also moderated the relations between contract fulfillment and employee obligations. More specifically, economic and socio-emotional fulfillments were significantly stronger related to obligations among older workers with high FTP.     

Dominant achievement goals of older workers and their relationship with motivation-related outcomes

The aim of this study was to increase our insight into older employees' achievement motivation by examining the prevalence of dominant achievement goals among a “unique” group of 172 Dutch workers who remained active after their post-statutory retirement age. Moreover, we investigated how their dominant achievement goals were linked to motivation-related outcomes (i.e., work engagement and meaning of work). Our results showed that, relative to younger workers, a significantly higher amount of older workers endorsed dominant mastery-avoidance goals. In addition, as expected, older workers with dominant mastery-approach goals scored highest, while the workers with dominant mastery-avoidance goals scored lowest in work engagement, social and personal meaning of work. Theoretical as well as practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Neoliberal ideology in work and organizational psychology

This paper explores the role of neoliberal ideology in workplace practices and in work and organizational psychology (WOP) research. It analyses how neoliberal ideology manifests in these two domains by using a prominent framework from the field of political theory to understand ideology through three different logics: political, social and fantasmatic logics. We explore the main neoliberal assumptions underlying existing practices in the workplace as well as in WOP research, how individuals are gripped by such practices, and how the status quo is maintained. The paper analyses how individuals in the contemporary workplace are henceforth influenced by neoliberalism, and how this is reflected in the practices and dominant paradigms within WOP. In particular, we focus on three ways neoliberalism affects workplaces and individual experiences of the workplace: through instrumentality, individualism and competition. The paper finishes with practical recommendations for researchers and practitioners alike on how to devote more attention to the, often implicit, role of neoliberal ideology in their work and research. The discussion elaborates on how alternative paradigms in the workplace can be developed which address the downsides of neoliberalism.