The association between memory self-efficacy (MSE) and memory performance is highly documented in the literature. However, previous studies have produced inconsistent results, and there is no consensus on the existence of a significant link between these two variables. In order to evaluate whether or not the effect size of the MSE-memory performance relationship in healthy adults is significant and to test several theory-driven moderators, we conducted a meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies. A random-effects model analysis of data from 107 relevant studies (673 effect sizes) indicated a low but significant weighted mean correlation between MSE and memory performance, r = .15, 95% CI [.13, .17]. In addition, the mean effect size was significantly moderated by the way MSE was assessed. Memory performance was more strongly related to concurrent MSE (perceived current ability to perform a given task) than it was to global MSE (perceived usual memory ability in general). Furthermore, we found marginally larger MSE-memory performance correlations when the memory situations used to assess MSE involved familiar stimuli. No effect of the method used to assess global MSE or domain MSE (memory rating vs. performance predictions) was found. The results also show that the resource demands of the memory tasks have a moderator effect, as the MSE-performance correlation is larger with free-recall and cued-recall tasks than it is with recognition tasks. Limitations (generalization issues, moderators not considered) and implications for future research are discussed.

Widely used explicit memory tasks seem to overestimate age-related differences in memory performance. Social and personal factors may buffer or undermine the effect of age on memory performance. In two studies, the performance of older adults was compared with the performance of younger adults. Tasks were presented either as memory tasks or non-memory tasks. Older adults’ performance on a memory task improved when the task-instructions did not explicitly emphasize the memory component of the task. In the first study, results revealed that memory self-efficacy beliefs play a moderator role on the impact of task-instruction on memory performance, so that lower levels of memory self-efficacy correlate with lower performance in the memory emphasizing task condition but not in the orientation emphasizing task condition. In a second study actual performance expectations were measured. For older participants only, expectations were sensitive to task-instructions and mediated the relation between tasks-instructions and performances. These findings suggest that observed age-related differences in memory performance may be significantly exaggerated by the testing situation and by a low memory self-efficacy and low memory performance expectancies prevalent among older adults. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Several personality models are known for being replicable across cultures, such as the Five-Factor Model\ud (FFM) or Eysenck’s Psychoticism–Extraversion–Neuroticism (PEN) model, and are for this reason considered universal.\ud The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cross-cultural replicability of the recently revised Alternative FFM\ud (AFFM). A total of 15 048 participants from 23 cultures completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire\ud (ZKA-PQ) aimed at assessing personality according to this revised AFFM. Internal consistencies, gender differences\ud and correlations with age were similar across cultures for all five factors and facet scales. The AFFM structure was very\ud similar across samples and can be considered as highly replicable with total congruence coefficients ranging from .94 to\ud .99. Measurement invariance across cultures was assessed using multi-group confirmatory factor analyses, and each\ud higher-order personality factor did reach configural and metric invariance. Scalar invariance was never reached, which\ud implies that culture-specific norms should be considered. The underlying structure of the ZKA-PQ replicates well across\ud cultures, suggesting that this questionnaire can be used in a large diversity of cultures and that the AFFM might be as\ud universal as the FFM or the PEN model. This suggests that more research is needed to identify and define an integrative\ud framework underlying these personality models

Background A clear picture of people’s adoption of protective behaviours, and a thorough understanding of psychosocial correlates in the context of contagious diseases such as COVID‐19, is essential for the development of communication strategies, and can contribute to the fight against epidemics. Methods In this paper, we report a survey on the adoption of the recommended protective behaviours before and during the epidemic. We also assessed demographic correlates, and beliefs (towards COVID‐19 and protective behaviours, towards SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission, social dilemma variables, and perceived external cues) of a representative sample of British residents. Data were collected during the early stage of the COVID‐19 epidemic that spread worldwide in 2020. Results Results showed a marked increase in the adoption of protective behaviour. We also identified targets for intervention in variables related to transmission of the virus and social dilemma‐related beliefs. Sex differences in the adoption of protective measures, as well as differences associated with the frequency of social contacts, were associated with differences in beliefs. Conclusions These findings suggest changeable determinants, which could be targeted in global communication about COVID‐19, or in interventions targeting specific sub‐groups not following the protective measures.

Short-term and working memory (WM) capacities are subject to change with ageing, both in normal older adults and in patients with degenerative or non-degenerative neurological disease. Few normative data are available for comparisons of short-term and WM capacities in the verbal, spatial and visual domains. To provide researchers and clinicians with a set of standardised tasks that assess short-term and WM using verbal and visuospatial materials, and to present normative data for that set of tasks. The present study compiled normative French data for three short-term memory tasks (verbal, visual and spatial simple span tasks) and two WM tasks (verbal and spatial complex span tasks) obtained from 445 healthy older adults aged between 55 and 85 years. Our data reveal main effects of age, education level and gender on older adults' short-term and WM performances. Equation-based normalisation can therefore be used to take these factors into account. The results provide a set of cut-off scores for five standardised tasks that can be used to determine the presence of short-term or WM impairment in older adults.

Testing in a medical environment undermines the memory performance of older people with low MSE and boosts performance of older people with high MSE. Clinical Implications We encourage neuropsychologists to pay attention to psychosocial determinants of older people's performance when assessing their memory abilities.

The extant literature has focused either on personal variables or on situational factors to explain pro-environmental behavior despite several calls to integrate both. The present research addresses this integration call by testing the interaction between environmental attitudes and situational prompts on pro-environmental behavior. Three experimental studies manipulate the presence/absence of pro-environmental prompts, measure environmental attitudes, and investigate the effect of both variables on behavior. Study 1 showed a simple effect: participants with higher levels of pro-environmental attitudes (compared to those with lower levels) performed more energy saving behavior in the presence of prompts. However, in the absence of prompt, none of the participants performed the behavior, which prevented us from statistically testing the interaction. Studies 2 and 3 were conducted with a similar design: main effects of attitude and prompts were obtained, but the interaction was not found. A Bayesian analysis of the data suggested more evidence toward the null hypothesis of no interaction between environmental attitudes and situational prompts.