The negative generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon

In four experiments employing between-list designs, generation was found to have negative effects on free recall of word pairs and on cued recall of the second word. In addition, generation had negative effects on measures of word-pair integration and on clustering in recall. In contrast, positive effects of generation were found on free recall of second words alone, and on a recognition test for memory of the second word. It was concluded that in between-list designs, generation led to greater individual-item processing of the generated term than reading, but this processing occurred at the expense of processing the relation between the words in a pair and processing the relations between different pairs in a list.     

Does 'mental kinesiophobia' exist?

In this study the relevance of the concept of mental kinesiophobia (respectively cogniphobia or fear of mental exertion) for clients with chronic stress problems was explored. It was hypothesized that cognitive, chronic stress complaints, such as concentration problems or decreased problem solving abilities, could be catastrophized as signs of heightened personal vulnerability, with a chance of becoming permanent. As a consequence, mental exertion is avoided. This line of reasoning comes from the existing concept of kinesiophobia. This concept describes the avoidance behavior in chronic benign pain patients and refers to their fear of inflicting irreversible bodily damage due to physical exertion.An illustrative case of cogniphobia is presented. In an explorative pilot-study it was demonstrated that chronically stressed clients scored significantly higher on an experimental questionnaire measuring avoidance tendencies for mental exertion, compared with actively working employees. Consequences for treatment and suggestions for further study are discussed.     

Long-term retention of a theatrical script by repertory actors: the role of context.

Four actors were requested to perform Sartre's No Exit after a retention interval of more than 5 months. Their recall of the play was studied either with the spatial and visual contextual cues normally available during a performance or without such cues. Total recall was still considerable, equalling 85%. The number of paraphrases of, and inferences on, the original text was however quite large (32%), suggesting that the actors had learned their lines according to their meaning rather than as a result of rote memorisation. The context manipulation showed that actors' recall is facilitated by the availability of spatial-visual information, but only to a limited extent. The relative importance of textual and contextual cues in the long-term retention of a play is discussed.     

The time course of attentional bias to cues of threat and safety

It is well known that relative to neutral stimuli, attention is biased towards processing stimuli that convey threat. In a previous study in which a particular stimulus (e.g. a blue diamond) was associated with the delivery of an electrical shock, the presence of the fear-conditioned stimulus interfered with the execution of voluntary eye movements to other locations. Here, we show that this effect not only occurs early in time, but remains present long after the fear-conditioned stimulus was removed from the screen. In a subsequent experiment, we associated the presence of a particular stimulus with safety, that is, when this stimulus was present it was certain that no electrical shock would be delivered. The presence of the safety signalling stimulus also interfered with the execution of voluntary saccades, but only when the time between stimulus and cue presentation was relatively long. The results indicate that both signals of threat and signals of safety interfere with execution of a saccade long after the source of threat or safety has been removed. However, only threatening stimuli affect saccade execution early in time, suggesting that threatening stimuli drive selection exogenously.     

Workload,Risks, and Goal Framing as Antecedents of Shortcut Behaviors

Purpose

Shortcut behaviors are methods of completing a task that require less time than typical or standard procedures. These behaviors carry the benefit of increasing efficiency, yet can also carry risks (e.g., of an accident). The purpose of this research is to understand the reasons individuals engage in shortcut behaviors, even when doing so is known to be risky.

Design/Methodology/Approach

We present two laboratory studies (N = 121 and N = 144) in which participants performed an air traffic control simulation. Participants could improve efficiency by taking shortcuts; that is, by sending aircraft off the prescribed flight paths. This design allowed for direct and unobtrusive observation of shortcut behaviors.

Findings

Individuals who were told that efficiency was an obligation tended to believe that shortcut behaviors had utility for managing high workloads, even when the risks associated with shortcuts were high. Downstream, utility perceptions were positively related to actual shortcut behavior.

Implications

Although communicating risks may be used to help individuals balance the “pros” and “cons” of shortcut behaviors, goal framing is also important. Subtle cues indicating that efficiency is an obligation can lead to elevated perceptions of the utility of shortcut behaviors, even when knowing that engaging in shortcut behaviors is very risky.

Originality/Value

Past research has provided limited insights into the reasons individuals sometimes engage in shortcut behaviors even when doing so is known to be risky. The current research speaks to this issue by identifying workload and obligation framing as antecedents of the decision to take shortcuts.