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Updated: May 1, 2026

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
Published on: May 4, 2020
Association between exposure to work stressors and cognitive performance
Marko Vuori1, Ritva Akila, Virpi Kalakoski
1From the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (Mr Vuori, Ms Akila, Dr Kalakoski, Ms Pentti, Dr Kivimäki, Dr Vahtera, Dr Härmä, and Dr Puttonen), Helsinki, Finland; University College London (Dr Kivimäki), UK; and University of Turku and Turku University Hospital (Dr Vahtera), Finland.
Objective:
To examine the association between work stress and cognitive performance.
Methods:
Cognitive performance of a total of 99 women (mean age = 47.3 years) working in hospital wards at either the top or bottom quartiles of job strain was assessed using validated tests that measured learning, short-term memory, and speed of memory retrieval.
Results:
The high job strain group (n = 43) had lower performance than the low job strain group (n = 56) in learning (P = 0.025), short-term memory (P = 0.027), and speed of memory retrieval (P = 0.003). After controlling for education level, only the difference in speed of memory retrieval remained statistically significant (P = 0.010).
Conclusions:
The association found between job strain and speed of memory retrieval might be one important factor explaining the effect of stress on work performance.
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