Experiences with teachers in childhood and their association with wellbeing in adulthood

Abstract Background Prior research mainly focussed on the impact of the teacher-student relationship on teachers emotions and wellbeing. Current data shows a relationship between the quality of the teacher-student relationship and children's mental health. Unfortunately, it has not yet been investigated whether meaningful experiences with teachers also have an impact on students' well-being and whether an effect can still be found in adulthood. This work examines the impact of meaningful experiences with teachers during childhood and adolescence on the well-being of adults. Methods The data in this study was collected by using a questionnaire. The current well-being of the participants was assessed with measures of life satisfaction, resilience, anxiety, stress, depressiveness, and self-esteem. Also, participants were asked to briefly write about their most meaningful experiences with teachers and rate them regarding their valence. These experiences were categorized into seven categories using a summarizing content analysis. We then conducted a statistical analysis with the data obtained. Results The results showed a highly significant correlation between the participants’ self-esteem and the valence ratings of their experiences. Furthermore, the experience category had a substantial effect on individual self-esteem. Overall, this study demonstrated that a relationship exists between the well-being of adults and their experiences with teachers during childhood and adolescence. Conclusion The results of this study call for a reflective, fair, authentic, and empathetic approach to students. Accordingly, teachers should be intensively trained to establish a relationship with their students that is characterized by appreciation and empathy

Customizable Memory Training in Virtual Reality with Personal Memoirs

Memory training methods are often not designed for all age groups, which causes older people to be failed by educational systems. However, the brain remains plastic for a lifetime. The application discussed in this paper demonstrates how approaches to learning psychology can be implemented in virtual reality to create an individualized learning environment that addresses all age groups. In addition, personal memoirs were used to address the episodic part of the brain and to increase motivation. In a small usability study, twelve participants tested the application and filled out a questionnaire. This showed that the design and usability of this application, using a virtual learning environment customized to the user as well as different perception channels, has been successful. Moreover, the wellbeing was rated positively as well.Vo

Midlife occupational cognitive requirements protect cognitive function in old age by increasing cognitive reserve

Introduction: Several lifestyle factors promote protection against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) throughout a person’s lifespan. Although such protective effects have been described for occupational cognitive requirements (OCR) inmidlife, it is currently unknown whether they are conveyed by brainmaintenance (BM), brain reserve (BR), or cognitive reserve (CR) or a combination of them. Methods: We systematically derived hypotheses for these resilience concepts and tested themin the population-based AgeCoDe cohort andmemory clinic- based AD high-risk DELCODE study. The OCR score (OCRS) was measured using job activities based on the O*NET occupational classification system. Four sets of analyses were conducted: (1) the interaction of OCR and APOE- +4 with regard to cognitive decline (N = 2,369, AgeCoDe), (2) association with differentially shaped retrospective trajectories before the onset of dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT; N = 474, AgeCoDe), (3) cross-sectional interaction of the OCR and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers and brain structural measures regarding memory function (N = 873, DELCODE), and (4) cross- sectional and longitudinal association of OCR with CSF AD biomarkers and brain structural measures (N = 873, DELCODE). Results: Regarding (1), higherOCRS was associated with a reduced association of APOE-+4 with cognitive decline (mean follow-up = 6.03 years), consistent with CR and BR. Regarding (2), high OCRS was associated with a later onset but subsequently stronger cognitive decline in individuals converting to DAT, consistent with CR. Regarding (3), higher OCRS was associated with a weaker association of the CSF Ab42/40 ratio and hippocampal volume with memory function, consistent with CR. Regarding (4), OCR was not associated with the levels or changes in CSF AD biomarkers (mean follow-up = 2.61 years). We found a cross sectional, age-independent association of OCRS with someMRI markers, but no association with 1-year-change. OCR was not associated with the intracranial volume. These results are not completely consistent with those of BR or BM. Discussion: Our results support the link between OCR and CR. Promoting and seeking complex and stimulating work conditions in midlife could therefore contribute to increased resistance to pathologies in old age and might complement prevention measures aimed at reducing pathology

The effects of social context and food abundance on chimpanzee feeding competition

Feeding competition is thought to play a role in primate social organization as well as cognitive evolution. For chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), social and ecological factors can affect competition, yet how these factors interact to affect feeding behavior is not fully understood; they can be difficult to disentangle in wild settings. This experiment investigated the differential effects of food quantity, the presence of a co-feeding partner, and the contestability of a food patch on feeding rate. We presented tolerant pairs of chimpanzees from a semi-captive social group with an apparatus comprising a matrix of transparent tubes between two adjacent rooms, of which, either all (abundant condition) or only a small proportion (scarce condition) were baited with peanuts. Dyads were either grouped into the competitive treatment, in which peanuts were accessible from both sides of the apparatus simultaneously, or the non-competitive treatment, in which the peanuts were pre-divided; half of the tubes were accessible to one chimpanzee from one side, and the other half were accessible only from the opposite side of the apparatus. We compared dyadic tolerance levels with individual feeding rates across quantity conditions and between competitive treatments. While tolerance and food quantity had no effect on feeding rate, partner presence significantly increased feeding rate relative to individual feeding. This increase was much larger when the dyads directly competed over the peanuts than when they were co-feeding on a pre-divided set of peanuts. Thus, in a co-feeding situation, the presence of another individual and, to an even larger extent, the contestability of the food source play a larger role in chimpanzee feeding behavior than dyadic tolerance or food quantity. These findings highlight the relative impact of social facilitation and direct competition on co-feeding behavior between pairs of chimpanzees.</p