PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW

AbstractBackgroundEarly career doctors (ECDs) are faced with many challenges due to their transition from undergraduate medical/dental studentship to being postgraduate doctors and being in an early phase of their career. The specific factors that affect ECDs in their careers and endeavors at the workplace range from poor remuneration, particularly in developing countries, to psychosocial problems (such as burnout [BO] syndrome). There is a dearth of information on BO among ECDs in Nigeria. This qualitative study aims to explore the opinions of ECDs in Nigeria on the causal/predisposing factors of BO, effects of BO, and strategies for mitigating BO among ECDs in Nigeria.MethodUsing purposive sampling method, two sessions of focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 14 ECDs (key informants) holding key leadership positions and who were delegates of other ECDs in Nigeria were conducted to explore their experiences on psychological issues among ECDs. Data collected were transcribed and analyzed thematically.ResultsBO is an issue of serious concern among ECDs in Nigeria. The causes of BO are diverse, some of which include low staff strength, prolonged work hours, wrong counseling, lack of job description and specification, and abuse of powers by trainers. In order to mitigate the issue of BO among ECDs, the respondents recommended that work policy review, medical workforce strengthening, stakeholder dialog on ECDs’ welfare, regular psychological review of ECDs, and provision of free yearly medicals need to be looked into. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the participants considered BO issues among ECDs to be common, and it affected their performance and the overall quality of care in Nigeria health system. Based on our findings, there is an urgent need to mitigate the problem of emotional exhaustion among ECDs in Nigeria.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW

Mind ◽

10.1093/mind/xv.58.282-a ◽

1906 ◽

Vol XV (58) ◽

pp. 282-a-282

Keyword(s):

Psychological Review

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PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW

Mind ◽

10.1093/mind/xxv.2.280 ◽

1916 ◽

Vol XXV (2) ◽

pp. 280-281

Keyword(s):

Psychological Review

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Electrophysiological Correlates of Similarity-based Interference during Detection of Visual Forms

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2006.18.6.880 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 880-888 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Markus Conci ◽

Klaus Gramann ◽

Hermann J. Müller ◽

Mark A. Elliott

Keyword(s):

Target Selection ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Form Perception ◽

Psychological Review ◽

Physiological Basis ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Kanizsa Figure ◽

Global And Local ◽

Selection Of ◽

Form Information

Illusory figure completion demonstrates the ability of the visual system to integrate information across gaps. Mechanisms that underlie figural emergence support the interpolation of contours and the filling-in of form information [Grossberg, S., & Mingolla, E. Neural dynamics of form perception: Boundary completion, illusory figures and neon colour spreading. Psychological Review, 92, 173–211, 1985]. Although both processes contribute to figure formation, visual search for an illusory target configuration has been shown to be susceptible to interfering form, but not contour, information [Conci, M., Müller, H. J., & Elliott, M. A. The contrasting impact of global and local object attributes on Kanizsa figure detection. Submitted]. Here, the physiological basis of form interference was investigated by recording event-related potentials elicited from contour- and surface-based distracter interactions with detection of a target Kanizsa figure. The results replicated the finding of form interference and revealed selection of the target and successful suppression of the irrelevant distracter to be reflected by amplitude differences in the N2pc component (240–340 msec). In conclusion, the observed component variations reflect processes of target selection on the basis of integrated form information resulting from figural completion processes.

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Usage-based linguistics and the magic number four

Cognitive Linguistics ◽

10.1515/cog-2015-0112 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 209-237 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Clarence Green

Keyword(s):

Short Term Memory ◽

Magic Number ◽

Cognitive Domain ◽

Psychological Review ◽

Magical Number ◽

Brain Sciences ◽

Intonation Units ◽

Processing Information ◽

Multiple Languages ◽

Linguistic Structures

AbstractMiller’s (1956, The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review 63(2). 81–97) working memory (WM) capacity of around seven items, plus or minus two, was never found by usage-based linguists to be a recurrent pattern in language. Thus, it has not figured prominently in cognitive models of grammar. Upon reflection, this is somewhat unusual, since WM has been considered a fundamental cognitive domain for information processing in psychology, so one might have reasonably expected properties such as capacity constraints to be reflected in language use and structures derived from use. This paper proposes that Miller’s (1956) number has not been particularly productive in usage-based linguistics because it turns out to have been an overestimate. A revised WM capacity has now superseded it within cognitive science, a “magic number four plus or minus one” (Cowan 2001, The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24(1). 87–185). This paper suggests, drawing on evidence from spoken language corpora and multiple languages, that a range of linguistic structures and patterns align with this revised capacity estimate, unlike Miller’s (1956), ranging from phrasal verbs, idioms, n-grams, the lengths of intonation units and some abstract grammatical properties of phrasal categories and clause structure.

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