Large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) have retrospective but not prospective metamemory

Evidence of metamemory, the ability to monitor one’s own memory, has been obtained in some primates, but it appears to be weaker in other species. In this study, we examined whether crows flexibly modulate their behavior by monitoring the strength of memory trace in a delayed matching-to-sample task using two paradigms. First, crows performing a memory test were given an escape option to decline taking the test (prospective metamemory). Second, crows were given the escape option as a “not confident” report after completing the test (retrospective metamemory). Accurate memory performance yielded a reward with a higher probability, whereas inaccurate memory performance resulted in no such recompense. The escape option yielded a reward with a lower probability. In the prospective metamemory test, crows escaped the memory test more frequently with longer delay intervals than they did with shorter delay intervals but no more frequently in the sample-omission than the sample-present trials, indicating that the crows decided to take the test or decline it by using the delay interval as a cue. In contrast, in the retrospective metamemory test, the crows escaped the memory test more frequently when their memory-test response was incorrect than correct and more frequently in the sample-omission than the sample-present trials, indicating that the crows recognized confidence regarding their choice in the memory test and utilized the escape option to maximize reward probability. Although these results suggest that crows retrospectively monitor the strength of memory trace, their prospective metamemory ability has not yet been confirmed in the present paradigm.     

Impairment of perception by positive and negative affect

Abstract

This study examined the perceptibility of affectively charged words. It was hypothesised that the affect elicited via preattentive processing of an impinging word amplifies subsequent, attentive processing. According to this hypothesis, the affect should impair the veridical perception when the word is presented in an extremely impoverished manner and, as a consequence, attentive processing is likely to be misdirected to an irrelevant perceptual code. In Experiment 1, 52 subjects were shown an affectively positive, negative, or neutral target word (128 words in total) with an extremely diminished contrast for 100, 150, or 200msec. They then chose, from a pair of equivalently valenced words, the one presented. As predicted, choice accuracy was lower for both affectively positive and negative words than for neutral words in all the three exposure time conditions. In further support of the current analysis, Experiment 2 showed that once the stimulus contrast was increased, the accuracy was no worse for the affective words than for the neutral words.     

Work Engagement in Japan: Validation of the Japanese Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale

The purpose of this study was to validate the Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES‐J). Employees from three independent samples completed the questionnaire (total N= 2,334). Confirmatory factor analyses using the multiple‐group method revealed that, instead of the original three‐factor model, a one‐factor model that assumes that all engagement items load on one single factor fitted the data. Moreover, the one‐factor structure was invariant across all three samples. Internal consistency of the scale was sufficiently high (α= .92) and the test–retest reliability with an interval of two months was .66. A series of second‐order confirmatory factor analyses to examine construct validity confirmed the hypothesised model, indicating that work engagement was positively related to job satisfaction whereas it was negatively related to strain and burnout. However, as in previous studies, professional efficacy, a component of burnout, loaded on the engagement factor. These results, in general, suggest the reliability (internal consistency and stability), factorial invariance, and construct validity of the UWES‐J in three independent samples. Cette étude avait pour objectif de valider la version japonaise de l’Echelle d’Implication au Travail d’Utrecht (UWES‐J). 2,334 salariés provenant de trois échantillons indépendants ont rempli le questionnaire. Une analyse factorielle confirmatoire faisant appel à la méthode des groupes multiples a montré que le modèle originel en trois facteurs devait laisser la place à un modèle unifactoriel puisque tous les items d’implication étaient saturés sur un unique facteur qui rendait compte à lui seul des données. En outre, la structure monofactorielle restait identique à elle‐même sur les trois échantillons. La consistance interne de l’échelle était suffisamment élevée (α= .92) et la fidélité test‐retest après une période de deux mois était de .66. Une série d’analyses factorielles confirmatoires de second ordre destinées àétudier la validité de construction ont confirmé le modèle hypothétique, indiquant que l’implication dans le travail était en corrélation positive avec la satisfaction professionnelle tandis qu’elle était en relation négative avec la tension nerveuse et le burnout. Comme dans des travaux antérieurs, l’efficacité professionnelle, une composante du burnout, était saturée dans le facteur d’implication. Ces résultats, vont dans le sens de la fidélité (consistance interne et stabilité), de la solidité factorielle et de la validité de construction de l’UWES‐J dans ces trois échantillons indépendants.