Krista Lampi, Kaisa Kirves & Ulla Kinnunen

Job demands and symptoms of insomnia: Job-related rumination as a mediator

The aim of this study was to investigate whether job demands are related to symptoms of insomnia and whether this relationship is mediated by job-related rumination. Time pressures, cognitive demands and emotional demands were examined as job demands. Rumination referred to affective rumination, which has been found to be the most detrimental form of rumination in relation to health. The data are based on a survey which was carried out in spring 2013 (n = 1 176). The average age of the respondents was 46.9 years and 60 percent of them were female. The associations between job demands, affective rumination and symptoms of insomnia were examined with hierarchical regression analysis. The results revealed that time pressures, cognitive demands and emotional demands had positive associations with symptoms of insomnia and rumination. Additionally, rumination and symptoms of insomnia were positively related. Affective rumination fully mediated the relationship between cognitive and emotional demands and symptoms of insomnia and partially mediated the relationship between time pressures and symptoms of insomnia. It seems that it is possible to decrease employees’ insomnia by supporting employees in encountering job demands. However, it may be even more important to give employees advice and training about how to detach themselves from emotionally negative job-related thoughts in their leisure time.

Keywords: affective rumination, cognitive demands, emotional demands, symptoms of insomnia, time pressures

Michael Laakasuo, Jussi Palomäki & Otto Lappi

The psychology of poker

Poker is a unique form of gambling due to its skill component. Poker skill can be reliably measured, and its development predicts rational poker decision making. Skilled players can make a financial profit in the long run. The concept of poker skill encompasses both technical and emotional aspects. These relate to the understanding of game mechanics and mathematics, and capabilities in emotional self-regulation, respectively. Emotion regulation in poker is crucially dependent on a profound understanding of game-mechanical concepts, such as variance. The unique nature of poker in the field of gambling poses a challenge to traditional gambling research, where pathological gambling behavior is often evaluated by means of conventionally validated questionnaires. In this review we examine the psychological processes central to the development of poker skill and experience. We also suggest improvements to existing psychometric measures assessing pathological gambling in the context of poker.

Keywords: poker, poker skills, emotion regulation, well-being, problem gambling, decision making, risk