When focusing on a goal interferes with action control: action versus state orientation and over-maintenance of intentions

Wearable Device-Based Intelligent Patrol Inspection System Design and Implementation

The traditional on-site operation of power stations includes inspection and maintenance. However, it heavily relies on experience for maintenance. Most on-site operation and maintenance data are text records. On the one hand, the data processing is tedious for experience to affect the safe on-site operation. On the other hand, we usually cannot give full consideration to the value of maintenance experience, so that the corresponding efficiency is very low. Therefore, this paper proposes a wearable device based remote and intelligent patrol inspection system that uses the cloud video transmission mode of both public and private clouds to realize the video connection between the power stations and the remote diagnosis center and uses the wearable devices for real experience. In this way, the authors can simulate real operation guidance and safety supervision, etc. so as to realize the remote management patrol operations, improve the fault detection efficiency, and improve equipment reliability.

Volitional Action Control and Depression in Chronic Pain: Does Action versus State Orientation Moderate the Relations of Pain-Related Cognitions to Depression?

In this study, we examined the conditional indirect and direct relations of pain-related cognitions to depression. Subjective helplessness was included as presumably mediating the relations of catastrophizing and thought suppression to depression due to motivational deficits. In addition, moderating effects of dispositional action versus state orientation were analyzed, whereby state orientation indicates volitional deficits in coping with distress. The study was based on self-report data from 536 patients with chronic non-specific low back pain at the beginning of inpatient rehabilitation. Moderated mediation analyses were performed. The indirect catastrophizing- and thought suppression-depression relations were (partially) mediated by subjective helplessness; and moderated by failure-related action versus state orientation. Moreover, action versus state orientation moderated the direct relation of thought suppression to depression. Results suggest that catastrophizing, thought suppression, and subjective helplessness do not lead to depression unless associated with self-regulatory inability (i.e., state orientation). In contrast, action-oriented patients more effectively self-regulate pain-related emotions, disengage from rumination, and distract from pain and thus better avoid the debilitating effects of negative pain-related cognitions on depression. Future research and treatment may more strongly focus on the role of motivational and volitional deficits underlying learned helplessness and depression in chronic pain.

Endurance and avoidance response patterns in pain patients: Application of action control theory in pain research

BACKGROUND

Identifying pain-related response patterns and understanding functional mechanisms of symptom formation and recovery are important for improving treatment.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to replicate pain-related avoidance-endurance response patterns associated with the Fear-Avoidance Model, and its extension, the Avoidance-Endurance Model, and examined their differences in secondary measures of stress, action control (i.e., dispositional action vs. state orientation), coping, and health.

METHODS

Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted on self-report data from 536 patients with chronic non-specific low back pain at the beginning of an inpatient rehabilitation program. Measures of stress (i.e., pain, life stress) and action control were analyzed as covariates regarding their influence on the formation of different pain response profiles. Measures of coping and health were examined as dependent variables.

RESULTS

Partially in line with our assumptions, we found three pain response profiles of distress-avoidance, eustress-endurance, and low-endurance responses that are depending on the level of perceived stress and action control. Distress-avoidance responders emerged as the most burdened, dysfunctional patient group concerning measures of stress, action control, maladaptive coping, and health. Eustress-endurance responders showed one of the highest levels of action versus state orientation, as well as the highest levels of adaptive coping and physical activity. Low-endurance responders reported lower levels of stress as well as equal levels of action versus state orientation, maladaptive coping, and health compared to eustress-endurance responders; however, equally low levels of adaptive coping and physical activity compared to distress-avoidance responders.

CONCLUSIONS

Apart from the partially supported assumptions of the Fear-Avoidance and Avoidance-Endurance Model, perceived stress and dispositional action versus state orientation may play a crucial role in the formation of pain-related avoidance-endurance response patterns that vary in degree of adaptiveness. Results suggest tailoring interventions based on behavioral and functional analysis of pain responses in order to more effectively improve patients quality of life.

Predicting self-control capacity - Taking into account working memory capacity, motivation, and heart rate variability

The present study analyzes possible indicators for state self-control capacity (measured by a Simon task) after demanding executive function tasks as well as for trait self-control (measured by a questionnaire) by focusing on the interplay between control capacity and motivation (measured by demand-related action-state orientation; 154 students; M = 23.55 years; SD = 3.15). As possible control capacity variables, we focused on working memory capacity, based on the integrative theory of self-control, as well as on the baseline cardiac vagal control as a possible physiological index (not a resource itself) indicating control capacity based on the vagal tank theory. The vagal tank theory also focuses on within-subject changes in cardiac vagal control as a possible index of self-control capacity. Therefore, we analyzed among the first 54 participants (M = 24.61 years; SD = 2.67) baseline to post-event changes in cardiac vagal control. Following the integrative theory of self-control, the results indicated that both state and trait self-control capacity are predicted by an interplay of working memory capacity and action-state orientation. Focusing on the vagal tank theory, the results suggest that state self-control capacity can best be detected by the within-subject changes in cardiac vagal control instead of analyzing between-subject differences in cardiac vagal control. However, when focusing on trait self-control, cardiac vagal control might be an indicator, if considered without action state orientation.

Personality, Stress, and Intuition: Emotion Regulation Abilities Moderate the Effect of Stress-Dependent Cortisol Increase on Coherence Judgments

Objective

Findings on the relationship between hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activity and cognitive performance are inconsistent. We investigated whether personality in terms of emotion regulation abilities (ERA) moderates the relationship between stress-contingent HPA activity and accuracy of intuitive coherence judgments.

Method

ERA and cortisol responses to social-evaluative stress as induced by a variant of the Trier Social Stress Test were measured in N = 49 participants (32 female, aged 18 to 33 years, M = 22.48, SD = 3.33). Subsequently, in a Remote Associates Task they provided intuitive judgments on whether word triples, primed by either stress-reminding or neutral words, are coherent or not.

Results

Under relative cortisol increase participants low in ERA showed reduced performance whereas individuals high in ERA showed increased performance. By contrast, under conditions of low cortisol change, individuals low in ERA outperformed those high in ERA.

Conclusion

Personality can moderate the link between stress and cognition such as accurate intuition. This can happen to a degree that existing effects may not be become apparent in the main effect (i.e. without considering personality), which highlights the necessity to consider personality in stress research, ERA in particular. We discuss the findings with respect to individual differences in neurobehavioral mechanisms potentially underlying ERA and corresponding interactions with cognitive processing.

Selbstregulation im Bewerbungsprozess

Zusammenfassung. Der Affekt (AV) von Bewerberinnen und Bewerbern ( N = 173) und seine Änderungen im Bewerbungsprozess wurde basierend auf der Selbstregulations-Theorie untersucht. Der Affekt wurde erstmals explizit und implizit unmittelbar vor und nach typischen Aufgaben (Stellenauswahl, Interview) in einem realitätsnah simulierten, mehrwöchigen Bewerbungsprozess erfasst. Die Auswertung erfolgte mittels 2-faktoriellem between-within-subjects-Design mit den Faktoren (UV ) Handlungskontrolle und Bewerbungsprozess. Separate Analysen zeigen signifikante Haupteffekte ( p < .001) von Bewerbungsprozess und Handlungskontrolle auf den positiven und negativen expliziten und den negativen impliziten Affekt. Handlungsorientierte Bewerberinnen und Bewerber berichten mehr positiven Affekt (explizit) und weniger negativen Affekt (explizit, implizit) als lageorientierte Bewerberinnen und Bewerber. Die Korrelation impliziten und expliziten negativen Affekts vor und nach dem Interview ähnelt der unter neutralen Bedingungen. Die Befunde sprechen für vorteilhafte Selbstdarstellung, jedoch nicht für eine Verstellung der Bewerberinnen und Bewerber. Handlungskontrolle beeinflusst den impliziten und expliziten Affekt der Bewerbenden und so ihre affektive Selbstpräsentation.

Individual Difference in Goal Motives and Goal Content: The Role of Action and State Orientation

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether hesitant or preoccupied people (state-oriented) have different goal content and motives compared to initiative or disengaged people (action-oriented). People rated the degree of autonomous versus controlled feelings for extrinsic or intrinsic types of goals. Results showed that action-oriented people had a higher autonomous motive than state-oriented people for intrinsic goals, but not for extrinsic goals. Moreover, action-oriented individuals were related to a more internalised goal content (intrinsic goal) than state-oriented individuals. Implications for goal internalisation are discussed.

Relative frontal brain asymmetry and cortisol release after social stress: The role of action orientation

Social evaluation is a potent stressor and consistently leads to an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Here, we investigated whether individual differences in action orientation influence the relationship between the cortisol response to social-evaluative threat and relative left frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry as a brain marker of approach motivation. Forty-nine participants were exposed to a camera-based variant of the Trier Social Stress Task while salivary cortisol and resting EEG frontal alpha asymmetry were assessed before and after stress induction. Higher relative left frontal activity was associated with higher changes in cortisol levels as measured by the area under curve with respect to increase, particularly in individuals low in action orientation. We discuss the role of the left frontal cortex in coping, the potential role of oxytocin, and negative health consequences when the left-frontal coping process becomes overstrained.