State work engagement and state affect: Similar yet distinct concepts

State work engagement (SWE), a multidimensional construct of work-related well-being, was originally conceptualized as a trait, but diary studies have revealed substantial within-person fluctuations. Given that SWE is conceptualized as a work-related affective-motivational construct, the question arises as to whether SWE can be differentiated from other affective constructs. Thus, the goal of the present study was to compare SWE and state affect with respect to their degree of within-person variability and to examine their distinct relationships with health and performance variables (i.e., sleep quality and job performance). Fifty-two employees (44% female) participated in the study, which included 3 assessments per day over the course of 2 weeks. Our results revealed that energetic arousal and tense arousal fluctuated more strongly within days than vigor and absorption. Multilevel analyses demonstrated that high sleep quality predicted higher state affect but not higher SWE. In addition, vigor exhibited an inverted U-shaped relation with performance. In sum, SWE as a time-varying construct showed some overlap with state affect but also demonstrated discriminant validity.     

Multisensory Stimulation to Improve Low- and Higher-Level Sensory Deficits after Stroke: A Systematic Review

The aim of this systematic review was to integrate and assess evidence for the effectiveness of multisensory stimulation (i.e., stimulating at least two of the following sensory systems: visual, auditory, and somatosensory) as a possible rehabilitation method after stroke. Evidence was considered with a focus on low-level, perceptual (visual, auditory and somatosensory deficits), as well as higher-level, cognitive, sensory deficits. We referred to the electronic databases Scopus and PubMed to search for articles that were published before May 2015. Studies were included which evaluated the effects of multisensory stimulation on patients with low- or higher-level sensory deficits caused by stroke. Twenty-one studies were included in this review and the quality of these studies was assessed (based on eight elements: randomization, inclusion of control patient group, blinding of participants, blinding of researchers, follow-up, group size, reporting effect sizes, and reporting time post-stroke). Twenty of the twenty-one included studies demonstrate beneficial effects on low- and/or higher-level sensory deficits after stroke. Notwithstanding these beneficial effects, the quality of the studies is insufficient for valid conclusion that multisensory stimulation can be successfully applied as an effective intervention. A valuable and necessary next step would be to set up well-designed randomized controlled trials to examine the effectiveness of multisensory stimulation as an intervention for low- and/or higher-level sensory deficits after stroke. Finally, we consider the potential mechanisms of multisensory stimulation for rehabilitation to guide this future research.     

Couples’ Work Schedules and Child-Care Use in the Netherlands

Various aspects of parental work schedules affect the opportunities and constraints that parents encounter when arranging care for their children. This study examined the extent to which the combination of couples’ work schedules was associated with their use of different types of child care, focusing on parental, formal, and informal child care. We considered multiple dimensions of couples’ work schedules, namely, the timing of work, schedule flexibility, and home-based telework. Data from a recent Dutch survey were used, including information about 1599 dual-earner couples with children aged 0–6 years. The results indicated that paid work during nonstandard hours increased the amount of parental child care that was provided by one parent while the other parent was working, whereas work during evenings, nights, and weekends decreased the likelihood of using both formal and informal child care. Results further revealed gender differences for nonstandard hours and schedule flexibility. We found stronger effects of mothers’ work schedules, indicating that a gender-neutral approach to parental work is not justified. These results indicate that the timing of parental work is important to consider when examining not only parental child care but also formal and informal child-care use. We provide recommendations for future research, specifically regarding the possible consequences for parental well-being.     

Professional Experience and Referencing Context Explain Variance in Use of Spatial Frames of Reference

The location of objects in relation to other objects can be perceived of and communicated in different ways. Assuming that variance in spatial Frame of Reference (FoR) use may be explained by practical professional requirements, we reasoned that medical professionals may increasingly use the intrinsic FoR which because of its observer‐independence is less prone to misunderstandings than relative FoRs. We compared FoR‐use of beginner and advanced medical students (n = 142) to that of law students (n = 191) using 40 ambiguous referencing tasks. We found that medical students applied the intrinsic FoR more frequently than law students in a medical yet not in a generic context. Beginners did not differ from advanced students. Within contexts, individuals were highly consistent in their FoR‐use. Investigation of latencies indicates that processing of the intrinsic FoR becomes easier with practice. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic testing of learning potential in adults with cognitive impairments: A systematic review of methodology and predictive value

Dynamic testing includes procedures that examine the effects of brief training on test performance where pre‐ to post‐training change reflects patients’ learning potential. The objective of this systematic review was to provide clinicians and researchers insight into the concept and methodology of dynamic testing and to explore its predictive validity in adult patients with cognitive impairments. The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, PsychINFO, and Embase/Medline. Of 1141 potentially relevant articles, 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. The mean methodological quality score was 4.6 of 8. Eleven different dynamic tests were used. The majority of studies used dynamic versions of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The training mostly consisted of a combination of performance feedback, reinforcement, expanded instruction, or strategy training. Learning potential was quantified using numerical (post‐test score, difference score, gain score, regression residuals) and categorical (groups) indices. In five of six longitudinal studies, learning potential significantly predicted rehabilitation outcome. Three of four studies supported the added value of dynamic testing over conventional testing in predicting rehabilitation outcome. This review provides preliminary support that dynamic tests can provide a valuable addition to conventional tests to assess patients’ abilities. Although promising, there was a large variability in methods used for dynamic testing and, therefore, it remains unclear which dynamic testing methods are most appropriate for patients with cognitive impairments. More research is warranted to further evaluate and refine dynamic testing methodology and to further elucidate its predictive validity concerning rehabilitation outcomes relative to other cognitive and functional status indices.     

Route learning in Korsakoff's syndrome: Residual acquisition of spatial memory despite profound amnesia

Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is characterized by explicit amnesia, but relatively spared implicit memory. The aim of this study was to assess to what extent KS patients can acquire spatial information while performing a spatial navigation task. Furthermore, we examined whether residual spatial acquisition in KS was based on automatic or effortful coding processes. Therefore, 20 KS patients and 20 matched healthy controls performed six tasks on spatial navigation after they navigated through a residential area. Ten participants per group were instructed to pay close attention (intentional condition), while 10 received mock instructions (incidental condition). KS patients showed hampered performance on a majority of tasks, yet their performance was superior to chance level on a route time and distance estimation tasks, a map drawing task and a route walking task. Performance was relatively spared on the route distance estimation task, but there were large variations between participants. Acquisition in KS was automatic rather than effortful, since no significant differences were obtained between the intentional and incidental condition on any task, whereas for the healthy controls, the intention to learn was beneficial for the map drawing task and the route walking task. The results of this study suggest that KS patients are still able to acquire spatial information during navigation on multiple domains despite the presence of the explicit amnesia. Residual acquisition is most likely based on automatic coding processes.     

Between Platonic Love and Internet Pornography

The article sets out to show how an holistic approach in matters of sexuality is always more helpful than one-sided approaches. On the issue of internet pornography, the authors suggest that the recent anti-masturbation online movement ‘no fapping’ is based on wrong conclusions from insufficient evidence. We suggest that a holistic approach is called for, with emphasis on the embodied human. Abstinence or what is understood by ‘Platonic love’ is not a solution, according to Plato himself. From a phenomenological perspective, we suggest owning up to our strange bodies and habitualising sexual activity.     

The Influence of Major Life Events and Personality Traits on the Stability of Affective Well-Being

The current study examines the influence of major life events compared to personality traits on the stability of affective well-being (AWB). It is shown how the decomposition of autocovariances can be used to estimate the degree of stability that is due to life events and personality traits. The approach is illustrated by an analysis of data from a nationally representative Australian sample with four consecutive waves of measurement. The autocovariances of positive and negative mood served as indicators of the stability of AWB. Big five personality traits as well as 21 major life events were used as predictor variables in a path analysis. In comparison to previous studies, this allowed to directly compare the effects of multiple events to the influence of personality traits in a longitudinal design. Results indicated medium stability coefficients for AWB. Ca. 10 % of the autocovariances could be accounted for by life events and about 20 % by personality traits. Both types of predictors together accounted for about 30 %. Among personality traits, emotional stability followed by extraversion had the highest effects. Among life events “financial worsening” and “serious personal injury/illness” had the highest effects. Additionally, life events were significantly correlated with personality traits as well as with other life events. In a next step, it might be interesting to compare the influence of Big Five personality traits and stable life circumstances on the stability of the cognitive well-being component, using a similar statistical procedure. Also, as the number of variables in large panel studies is limited, results should be complemented by more in-depth studies, favourably using multi-method approaches.     

Remembering specific features of emotional events across time: The role of REM sleep and prefrontal theta oscillations

When an episode of emotional significance is encountered, it often results in the formation of a highly resistant memory representation that is easily retrieved for many succeeding years. Recent research shows that beyond generic consolidation processes, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep importantly contributes to this effect. However, the boundary conditions of consolidation processes during REM sleep, specifically whether these extend to source memory, have not been examined extensively. The current study tested the effects of putative consolidation processes emerging during REM sleep and slow wave sleep (SWS) on item and source memory of negative and neutral images, respectively. Results demonstrate superior emotional relative to neutral item memory retention after both late night REM sleep and early night SWS. Emotional source memory, on the other hand, exhibited an attenuated decline following late night REM sleep, whereas neutral source memory was selectively preserved across early night SWS. This pattern of results suggests a selective preservation of emotional source memory during REM sleep that is functionally dissociable from SWS-dependent reprocessing of neutral source memory. This was further substantiated by a neurophysiological dissociation: Postsleep emotional source memory was selectively correlated with frontal theta lateralization (REM sleep), whereas postsleep neutral item memory was correlated with SWS spindle power. As such, the present results contribute to a more comprehensive characterization of sleep-related consolidation mechanisms underlying emotional and neutral memory retention. Subsidiary analysis of emotional reactivity to previously encoded material revealed an enhancing rather than attenuating effect of late night REM sleep on emotional responses.