The aim of this investigation was to assess deficits in prospective remembering following chronic traumatic brain injuries (TBI), under conditions of high and low distraction. We constructed a virtual shopping precinct from photographs, sounds, and video segments linked together. The street was divided into halves, a low distraction zone and a high distraction zone (with increased visual and auditory noise). Twenty persons with TBI (7 severe, 7 very severe, 6 extremely severe) and 20 matched controls completed ongoing and prospective memory tasks while "walking" along the street. In the ongoing task, participants were given ten errands to complete with a checklist accessible at any time. The prospective component required responding to three targets that appeared repeatedly. As predicted, the TBI group performed both the ongoing and the prospective components of the street task poorly compared with the controls and was more affected by distractions. The results suggest that the real-life deficits in memory skills reported by persons with TBI may become more apparent when remembering engages executive processes and that computer simulations can be used to construct sensitive measures of practical memory abilities.

The research reported in this investigation sought to examine the self-esteem hypothesis (SEH) using measures of domain-specific and public collective self-esteem (CSE). Two studies were conducted. Each tested both propositions of the SEH. The first study revealed that minimal group members (a) experienced an increase in that domain of self-esteem judged to be relatively more important to the in-group, following the display of in-group favouritism and (b) that minimal group members with low public CSE (and who thus believed that the in-group was negatively evaluated by the out-group) showed enhanced levels of in-group favouritism. The second study, which utilized the members of real social categories (i.e. New Zealanders and Australians) and negative outcome allocations (i.e. white noise) revealed identical findings. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

Speed of information processing in persons with postconcussion syndrome (PCS) was examined using word fluency tasks. Twenty patients with PCS and twenty controls matched for age, gender, and occupation were given two word fluency tasks, and the speed of word generation was measured. Response latencies were analyzed to determine whether slowed retrieval or degradation of words in semantic memory was responsible for problems with word retrieval after traumatic brain injury. The PCS group recalled fewer words, had significantly longer interresponse times, and took significantly longer to generate their first word than the controls. There was no evidence that either structure loss or slowness in word retrieval from semantic memory could account for the word fluency deficits. Rather, the findings suggest that the primary cause of word retrieval difficulties in patients with PCS is a generalized slowness of cognitive processing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to existing models of human motivation by measuring transcendental needs along with the more commonly studied basic and social needs in order to take into account the multitude of needs experienced in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach A survey combining the Big Five Inventory (John and Srivastava, 1999) with the authors’ 30-item need-level questionnaire was administered to 366 participants (162 males, 204 females). The authors examined the relation between need levels, particularly transcendental needs, and personality to detect the predictors of the different personality traits. Findings The results showed that extraversion (r=0.24; p<0.001) and agreeableness (r=0.19; p<0.001) are predicted by high social needs, whereas openness to experience is predicted by high transcendental needs (r=0.35; p<0.001). While the authors made no hypotheses about conscientiousness and neuroticism, they found that neuroticism was significantly correlated with transcendental needs (r=−0.15; p<0.01). Research limitations/implications The relations between needs and other individual dimensions, such as values or interests, could be further examined. The nature of the sample could be extended in additional studies. Practical implications Since need levels were able to predict personality traits, measuring need levels instead of personality could be a better predictor of both adaptability and performance in specific contexts. Social implications In a position that requires a specific vocation and sense of purpose (priest, counselor, etc.), transcendental needs could be a better predictor of job achievement than personality traits. Monitoring all levels of needs could also be valuable in helping managers develop a deeper understanding of their team members’ expectations for meaning and purpose. Originality/value This research contributes to the model on human motivation by adding one more level (transcendental) and by testing the hypothesis of a link between a need scale and personality traits.

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