scholarly journals Fatigue-Related Effects in the Process of Task Interruption on Working Memory

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueyuan Chen ◽  
Weining Fang ◽  
Beiyuan Guo ◽  
Haifeng Bao

Interruption generally has a negative effect on performance by affecting working memory (WM). However, the neural mechanism of interruption has yet to be understood clearly, and previous studies have largely ignored the role of fatigue state. To address these issues, the present study explores the behavioral and electrophysiological effects of interruption on WM performance using electroencephalography (EEG) data. The moderating effect of fatigue is also explored. The participants performed spatial 2-back tasks with math task interruption, suspension interruption, and non-interruption under different fatigue states. The results show that interruption led to increased alpha activity and P300 amplitude, indicating inhibitory control to interference from irrelevant information. Analysis of P200 amplitude revealed that interruption affected attentional reallocation when resuming the primary task. Increased theta power indicated an increased demand for information maintenance during the interruption. A speeding-up effect was discovered after interruption; however, fatigue impaired cognitive ability and further exacerbated the negative effects of interruption on WM and behavioral performance. These findings contribute to a better understanding of cognitive activity during the interruption and of the interaction with fatigue, and provide further support for the theory of memory for goals (MFG).

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Klostermann ◽  
Chris Hydock ◽  
Reinhold Decker

Purpose In recent years, brands have increasingly engaged in corporate political advocacy (CPA; also termed brand activism or corporate sociopolitical activity) by taking positions on polarizing sociopolitical issues. Recent experimental research suggests that consumers respond to CPA based on its alignment with their own values, and that it typically induces an overall negative response. This study aims to provide additional insights by exploring consumer brand perceptions following CPA. Design/methodology/approach An event study of 106 CPA events and weekly consumer brand perception data was conducted. A regression model was used to investigate the moderating effects of CPA effort, concurrence and the strength of the online protests evoked by the CPA. Findings The results show that CPA had a negative effect on consumers’ brand perceptions and that the effect was stronger for customers relative to non-customers. The negative effect was attenuated by CPA concurrence and amplified by effort. Additionally, online protests were driven by the CPA effort and had a strong negative effect on brand perception. Online protests were stronger in the past, and, in turn, the negative effects of CPA on brand perceptions have slightly weakened in recent years. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the role of online protests following CPA and distinguishing consumer and customer responses. This study also provides converging evidence of the moderating effects of effort and concurrence identified in previous studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haejoo Han ◽  
Jisu Yi ◽  
Sunghee Jun ◽  
Sungsook Ahn

PurposeIn the context of influencer marketing, this study examines the effects of explicit advertising disclosure on consumers' inference regarding influencers' sincere recommendation intent, and its consequences for consumers' purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachIn Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to the conditions of explicit advertising disclosure (e.g. #AD, #Sponsored) and subtle advertising disclosure (e.g. #ThankYou), and indicated their inference regarding influencers' recommendation motives and their own purchase intentions. One-way ANOVA analysis reveals the effect of advertising disclosure on consumers' purchase intentions and the PROCESS model indicates the mediating role of consumers' inferences regarding influencers' sincere recommendation intent. In Study 2, we implemented a 2 (explicit vs. subtle advertising disclosure) × 2 (moderate vs. large size of followers) between-subjects design, using a two-way ANOVA analysis. We analyzed the moderated mediation effect via the PROCESS model.FindingsConsumers are less inclined to purchase products when influencers express explicit advertising disclosures, compared to when the advertising disclosures are subtle (Study 1). These negative effects of advertising disclosure can be caused by consumers' inferences regarding influencers' sincere recommendation intent in terms of posting content (Studies 1 and 2). Additionally, the negative effect is particularly prominent when an influencer has a large (vs. moderate) number of followers (Study 2).Originality/valueBy examining (1) the effects of explicit advertising disclosure on consumers' inference regarding influencers' persuasion motives and (2) the role of the influencer's number of followers, this research provides both theoretical and practical insights for understanding how best to implement influencer marketing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Xu ◽  
Larry R. Martinez ◽  
Hubert Van Hoof ◽  
Mateo Estrella Duran ◽  
Gabriela Maldonado Perez ◽  
...  

Hospitality employees inevitably face emotional exhaustion when performing their jobs. The purpose of this study was to investigate dispositional antecedents of hospitality employees’ emotional exhaustion, including self-instability, pessimism, and affect variability, and how employees’ affect variability mediates the relations between self-instability and pessimism and emotional exhaustion. In addition, we explored the moderating role of positive work reflection on the relation between affect variability and emotional exhaustion. A total of 224 frontline employees in 18 four- and five-star hotels in Ecuador responded to surveys about their emotions and work lives. The findings suggest that (a) emotional exhaustion was influenced by affect variability, (b) affect variability mediated the relations between self-instability and pessimism and emotional exhaustion, and (c) the relation between affect variability and emotional exhaustion was weakened by positive work reflection. The results highlight the importance of potential low-cost and easily trainable interventions that could help in attenuating the negative effects of highly variable emotions and the resulting exhaustion that are prevalent in the hospitality industry. This research is among the first to examine the dispositional antecedents of emotional exhaustion, and the first to highlight the role of positive work reflection as a moderating variable that can buffer the negative effect of affect variability on emotional exhaustion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (04) ◽  
pp. 1950035 ◽  
Author(s):  
NUTTANEEYA (ANN) TORUGSA ◽  
WAYNE O’DONOHUE

This study uses data from a sample of 31,948 European innovating firms to examine the impact that knowledge-related barriers to technological innovation have on the link between the level of such innovation and firm performance, and, to investigate the role of “exploitative” and “explorative” organisational strategies in moderating such impact. Exploitative strategies are measured by the level of organisational innovations, and exploratory strategies are measured by the level of methods for fostering workplace creativity. Using moderated hierarchical regression, the results reveal a negative effect of the interaction between technological innovation and related knowledge constraints on firm performance. They also reveal that the negative interaction effect becomes positive at high levels of organisational innovations and creativity-fostering methods. The study findings thus indicate the need for managers of technologically innovative firms to implement both exploitative and explorative organisational strategies. Doing so could help minimise the negative effects of knowledge-related barriers to technological innovation, and in turn promote innovation-based competitiveness and business success.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Labonté ◽  
François Vachon

Studies examining individual differences in interruption recovery have shown that higher working memory capacity (WMC) attenuated the negative impact of interruption length on resumption, at least in static contexts. In continuously evolving (or dynamic) situations, however, working memory may not be as central to the effective resumption of a task, especially in the case of long interruptions. One of the main theories of task interruption suggests that dynamic task resumption could depend on a reconstruction of the primary task context, that is, a visual examination of the post-interruption environment. To better define the role of working memory and reconstruction processes in interruption recovery, the current study examined the association between (1) dynamic task resumption following interruptions of various lengths and (2) two cognitive abilities chosen to operationalize the processes under study, namely, WMC and visual search capacity. Participants performed a multiple object tracking task which could be uninterrupted or interrupted for 5, 15, or 30 s while the hidden stimuli continued their trajectory. They also completed tasks measuring the two cognitive abilities of interest. The results revealed that WMC contributed to post-interruption accuracy regardless of interruption duration. On the contrary, visual search capacity was related to faster resumption in the 15-s and 30-s interruption conditions only. Those results show that working memory plays a preponderant role in resumption not only in static, but also in dynamic contexts. However, our study suggests that this mechanism must share the limelight with reconstruction following lengthy interruptions in dynamic settings.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simplice Asongu ◽  
Jacinta Nwachukwu

Purpose This study aims to use interactive quantile regressions to assess the conditional role of foreign aid in reducing the potentially negative effect of terrorism on fuel exports in 78 developing countries for the period of 1984-2008. Design/methodology/approach Bilateral and multilateral aid indicators have been used, whereas terrorism includes domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism dynamics. Interactive quantile regressions have been used. Findings First, with the exception of unclear terrorism, bilateral aid can be used to mitigate the potentially negative effects of terrorism on fuel exports in bottom quantiles of the fuel export distribution. Second, multilateral aid can be used to reduce the negative effect of transnational terrorism on fuel exports exclusively in the highest (90th) quantile of fuel exports. The corresponding modifying thresholds are within policy ranges disclosed in the summary statistics. Practical implications While the policy instrument of bilateral aid is most relevant in countries with below-median fuel exports, the policy instrument of multilateral aid is effective with respect to transnational terrorism in countries with the highest levels of fuel exports. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on the role of external flows in reducing the negative externalities of terrorism on development outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyeon Won ◽  
Daniel D. Callow ◽  
Jeremy J. Purcell ◽  
J. Carson Smith

Abstract Introduction: The relationship between gait speed and working memory is well-understood in older adults. However, it remains to be determined whether this relationship also exists in younger adults; and there is little known regarding the possible neural mechanism underlying the association between gait speed and working memory. The aims of this study are to determine if there is: 1) an association between gait speed and working memory performance; and 2) a mediating role of cerebellar subregion volume in the correlation between gait speed and working memory in healthy younger adults.Methods: 1054 younger adults (28.7±3.6 years) from the Human Connectome Project were included in the analyses. A four-meter gait test was used to assess gait speed. The N-back task was conducted to measure working memory performance [accuracy and response time(RT)]. T1-weighted structural MRI data (obtained using Siemens 3T MRI scanner) was used to assess cerebellar subregion volumes. Linear regression and mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between the variables after controlling for age, sex, and education. Results: Faster gait speed was associated with faster working memory RT in younger adults. Greater cerebellar subregion volumes were associated with faster gait speed and better working memory performance. Faster gait speed was correlated with faster working memory RT through greater volume of cerebellar region VIIIa. Conclusions: The present study suggests faster gait speed is associated with faster RT during working memory tasks in younger individuals. The specific subregion of the cerebellum (VIIIa) may serve as an important neural basis linking gait speed and working memory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick van der Meulen ◽  
Peter van Baalen ◽  
Eric van Heck ◽  
Sipko Mülder

Despite its prevalence, there is a lack of understanding regarding the effect of telework on an organization’s knowledge base. Recognizing the enabling role of electronic communication media, this article therefore addresses the interaction effects of media synchronicity and temporal as well as spatial separation among colleagues on sharing in knowledge networks. Special attention is paid to knowledge awareness (a form of metaknowledge representing “who knows what”) as well as homogeneous and heterogeneous knowledge sources to further explicate the relationship between coworker separation and knowledge sharing. Multiple surveys were placed between two smaller ethnographic investigations and combined with whole network data to form an in-depth study of 64 knowledge workers at a medium-sized European research and advisory organization. The results reveal that spatial separation directly reduces the frequency of knowledge sharing between colleagues, whereas temporal separation affects knowledge sharing through reduced knowledge awareness, resulting in lower job and proactive performance. The use of asynchronous media can serve to mitigate most of the negative effects of spatial separation on knowledge sharing but may also exacerbate the negative effect of temporal separation on teleworkers’ knowledge awareness of colleagues with identical expertise.


Author(s):  
David Álvarez-García ◽  
Andrea Núñez ◽  
María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes ◽  
José Carlos Núñez

This study has three objectives: to examine whether adolescents who perceive themselves as overweight differ from others in terms of offline victimization at school, cybervictimization, self-esteem, and difficulties relating to peers; to examine the possible effects of offline and cybervictimization on self-esteem and difficulties relating to peers; and to examine the possible moderating role of perceiving oneself as overweight on those effects. Previously validated questionnaires were applied to a sample of 3145 adolescents in Asturias (Spain). Descriptive, inferential, correlational, and structural equation analyses were performed. Adolescents who perceived themselves as overweight reported being victims of both offline victimization and most forms of cybervictimization to a greater extent than those who did not perceive themselves as overweight. They also reported lower self-esteem and more peer difficulties (shyness or social anxiety). In both groups of adolescents, victimization and cybervictimization were correlated with each other, both types of victimization had direct, negative effects on self-esteem, and self-esteem in turn had a direct, negative effect on peer difficulties. Furthermore, offline victimization had a direct, positive effect on peer difficulties. Perceiving oneself as overweight moderated the effect of self-esteem on peer difficulties. In adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight, low self-esteem was a stronger risk factor of peer difficulties than in the rest of the adolescents. With high overall self-esteem there were no significant differences in peer difficulties between the adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight and the rest of the adolescents.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105960112110096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Leroy ◽  
Claudia Buengeler ◽  
Marlies Veestraeten ◽  
Meir Shemla ◽  
Inga J. Hoever

This article advances prior theory on inclusive leadership to better understand how leaders foster team creativity through members’ experience that their uniqueness belongs within the team (i.e., team-derived inclusion). We argue that leaders can instigate such sense of inclusion in their team by engaging in two behaviors: stimulating all members of the team to fully express their unique viewpoints and perspectives ( harvesting the benefits of diversity) and facilitating beliefs about the value of differences in the team ( cultivating value-in-diversity beliefs). In Study 1 ( n = 491 employees), we validated newly developed scales measuring these two leader behaviors. Using a sample of 38 teams within one organization (Study 2), we showed that harvesting the benefits of diversity, without also cultivating value-in-diversity beliefs, has a negative effect on team-derived inclusion and indirectly team creativity. In Study 3, we demonstrated based on 93 teams from multiple organizations, while ruling out several alternative explanations, that harvesting the benefits of diversity positively relates to team-derived inclusion and indirectly team creativity, if leaders also cultivated value-in-diversity beliefs. Our model and findings across studies are the first to shed light on inclusive leadership as double-edged sword in that leaders may need to complement harvesting with cultivating to prevent negative effects and elicit positive effects on inclusion and, eventually, team creativity.


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