The Influence of Feedback on Mood: Linear Effects on Pleasantness and Curvilinear Effects on Arousal

We investigated the effects of feedback (grades) on two primary mood dimensions - Pleasantness and Arousal. We hypothesized that (a) cognitive comparisons of feedback to multiple standards yield cognitive appraisals of feedback sign, and that (b) feedback sign has a linear effect on harm/benefit appraisal, which influences mood Pleasantness, and a curvilinear effect on need for action appraisal, which influences Arousal. In Study 1 (N = 281), grades (a proxy for the sign of feedback-norm discrepancy) had a linear relationship with Pleasantness and a U-shaped relationship with Arousal. In addition, subjects who received grades had higher Arousal than control subjects. Study 2 (N = 226) replicated the results of Study 1 and showed that after controlling for the relationship of grades with Pleasantness and Arousal, the sign of feedback-expectation discrepancy (a second standard) also had a linear relationship with Pleasantness and a U-shaped relationship with Arousal.     

Multi-attribute choice and affect: The influence of naturally occurring and manipulated moods on choice processes

Based on a two-dimensional model of affect that views Pleasantness and Arousal as affect's two primary dimensions, this study investigates the effects of emotions on choice processes and outcomes. In Study 1, subjects first described their naturally occurring emotional state and then performed two multi-attribute product choice tasks. Subjects in more pleasant mood deliberated longer, used more decision-related information, re-examined more previously examined information, and made more interdimensional moves. Subjects in more aroused mood spent less time deliberating, revealed less information, ignored more product-describing attributes, and re-examined less of previously examined information. Study 2 replicated many of these effects with experimentally manipulated emotions and using a managerial decision-making task. The results are interpreted in terms of (1) a congruency between one's hedonic state and selected decision strategy and (2) a restriction in attentional capacity induced by increased Arousal.     

拿破仑情结的进化：相对身高劣势和求偶动机对男性冒险行为的影响

研究以性选择理论为基础, 探讨了与同性竞争者的相对身高劣势和求偶动机对男性冒险行为的影响。4个研究一致显示, 与同性竞争者存在的身高劣势会导致男性提高自身冒险性; 且高求偶动机水平的男性, 会更多地表现出这种补偿性行为。这些结果提示, 拿破仑情结具有进化的基础, 男性在自身身高与竞争者相比处于劣势时, 采用冒险行为进行补偿是男性用以解决性内竞争和性间竞争问题的一种适应器。     

Ageism,Sensation-Seeking,and Risk-Taking Behavior in Young Adults

The research investigated the relationships among ageism, sensation-seeking, and risk-taking in young adults. Recent research has shown that young adults reporting higher levels of ageist attitudes and ageist behaviors also report higher levels of risk-taking in daily life than those with less ageist attitudes and behaviors (Popham et al. in press). The results are consistent with terror management theory; young adults may attempt to buffer their death anxiety by seeking out experiences that make them feel strong and invulnerable (i.e., taking risks). In contrast, prior research has shown that there is a link between risk-taking and sensation-seeking and that individuals may be biologically predisposed to be high sensation-seekers (Zuckerman Behavioural and Brain Sciences 7:413–471, 1984; Neuropsychobiology 13:121–128, 1985). In a study with 475 undergraduates, we investigated the relationships among ageism, sensation-seeing, and risk-taking behavior. The results showed that ageist behavior and two dimensions of sensation-seeking (i.e., Disinhibition and Experience Seeking) were significant predictors of risk-taking. Implications for practical approaches to reduce risk-taking in young adults are discussed.     

Ego depletion increases risk-taking

We investigated how the availability of self-control resources affects risk-taking inclinations and behaviors. We proposed that risk-taking often occurs from suboptimal decision processes and heuristic information processing (e.g., when a smoker suppresses or neglects information about the health risks of smoking). Research revealed that depleted self-regulation resources are associated with reduced intellectual performance and reduced abilities to regulate spontaneous and automatic responses (e.g., control aggressive responses in the face of frustration). The present studies transferred these ideas to the area of risk-taking. We propose that risk-taking is increased when individuals find themselves in a state of reduced cognitive self-control resources (ego-depletion). Four studies supported these ideas. In Study 1, ego-depleted participants reported higher levels of sensation seeking than non-depleted participants. In Study 2, ego-depleted participants showed higher levels of risk-tolerance in critical road traffic situations than non-depleted participants. In Study 3, we ruled out two alternative explanations for these results: neither cognitive load nor feelings of anger mediated the effect of ego-depletion on risk-taking. Finally, Study 4 clarified the underlying psychological process: ego-depleted participants feel more cognitively exhausted than non-depleted participants and thus are more willing to take risks. Discussion focuses on the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

A theory of perceived risk and attractiveness

People judged both the attractiveness and risk of lotteries to win or lose money. The lotteries were designed to test whether risk and attractiveness judgments show systematic deviations from the simple sum of probability-by-utility-products analogous to (S)EU theory. Our results led to an alternative combination rule for probability and outcome information, with a relative weight averaging component and a configural (i.e., sign- or rank-dependent) probability weighting component. Ratings of risk and attractiveness were negatively correlated, but the two tasks showed systematic differences in the rank order of judgments. Both judgments could be fit by the same configural relative weight averaging model, but with different parameters (especially the sign-dependent probability weighting functions). Risk judgments were more sensitive to the probability of losses and zero outcomes compared to attractiveness judgments, which were more sensitive to the probability of gains. There were individual differences on the extent of this difference in probability weights between risk and attractiveness judgments.     

In What Sense Are Positive and Negative Affect Independent?

We agree with most of the claims made by Tellegen, Watson, and Clark: Pleasant and unpleasant affect (i.e., happiness and unhappiness) are strongly negatively correlated; random and nonrandom error need to be taken into account before interpreting correlations among affect scales; scales of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) embedded within the affective circumplex are orthogonal in theory, as are pleasure and arousal; and two-dimensional views of the affective space are more valid and useful than one- or three- dimensional models. Finally, and most important, we agree that PA and NA, as typically operationalized, are not independent, despite what may be the case theoretically. In this brief rejoinder, we offer some reasons why measurement problems likely prevent PA and NA from being measured orthogonally, why the factor analytic work reported in the target article is unlikely to shed new light on the perplexing problem of how best to characterize and measure affect, and why Pleasantness and Arousal tend to be operationally superior to their PA and NA counterparts.     

Intuition,affect, and personality: unconscious coherence judgments and self-regulation of negative affect

According to personality systems interaction theory, a negative mood was expected to reduce access to extended semantic networks and to reduce performance on intuitive judgments of coherence for participants who have an impaired ability to down-regulate negative affect (i.e., state-oriented participants). Consistent with expectations, state-oriented participants reporting higher levels of perseverating negative mood had a reduced discrimination between coherent and incoherent standard word triples (Study 1) and individually derived word triples describing persons (Study 2). Participants who are able to down-regulate negative affect (i.e., action-oriented participants) did not show this tendency. In addition, Study 2 revealed a dissociation between state orientation and Neuroticism that is discussed in terms of a functional difference between the two constructs.     

The effects of short- and long-term life review interview on the psychological well-being of young adults

The present study investigates the effects of short- and long-term life review interviews on young adults' psychological well-being. Study 1 investigates mood using the Japanese UWIST adjective checklist (yielding two scores: Tense Arousal which represents low hedonic tone and Energetic Arousal which represents high hedonic tone). Results show that Energetic Arousal significantly increased after life review, although Tense Arousal did not change. Study 2 investigates self-esteem and mental health (measured by the General Health Questionnaire-6 factors: General Illness, Somatic Symptoms, Sleep Disturbance, Social Dysfunction, Anxiety and Dysphoria, Suicidal Depression). Both self-esteem and mental health scores increased after life review. With regard to factors of mental health, General Illness and Anxiety Dysphoria scores were much higher than those on Somatic Symptoms, Sleep Disturbance, Social Dysfunction, and Suicidal Depression. There was also a significant difference between before and after scores on General Illness, Somatic Symptoms, Sleep Disturbance, and Anxiety Dysphoria, but not in Social Dysfunction and Suicidal Depression. That is, short-term life review led to higher hedonic tone scores, and long-term life review led to better mental health scores in healthy young adults. These results suggest that both short- and long-term life review in an interview promote young adults' immediate psychological well-being. Further research is required for young adults who have psychological problems.     

Unpacking buyer-seller differences in valuation from experience: A cognitive modeling approach

People often indicate a higher price for an object when they own it (i.e., as sellers) than when they do not (i.e., as buyers)—a phenomenon known as the endowment effect. We develop a cognitive modeling approach to formalize, disentangle, and compare alternative psychological accounts (e.g., loss aversion, loss attention, strategic misrepresentation) of such buyer-seller differences in pricing decisions of monetary lotteries. To also be able to test possible buyer-seller differences in memory and learning, we study pricing decisions from experience, obtained with the sampling paradigm, where people learn about a lottery’s payoff distribution from sequential sampling. We first formalize different accounts as models within three computational frameworks (reinforcement learning, instance-based learning theory, and cumulative prospect theory), and then fit the models to empirical selling and buying prices. In Study 1 (a reanalysis of published data with hypothetical decisions), models assuming buyer-seller differences in response bias (implementing a strategic-misrepresentation account) performed best; models assuming buyer-seller differences in choice sensitivity or memory (implementing a loss-attention account) generally fared worst. In a new experiment involving incentivized decisions (Study 2), models assuming buyer-seller differences in both outcome sensitivity (as proposed by a loss-aversion account) and response bias performed best. In both Study 1 and 2, the models implemented in cumulative prospect theory performed best. Model recovery studies validated our cognitive modeling approach, showing that the models can be distinguished rather well. In summary, our analysis supports a loss-aversion account of the endowment effect, but also reveals a substantial contribution of simple response bias.     

Cursing as a Form of Risk-Taking

The research investigated the relationships among cursing, risk-taking (i.e., drinking, smoking, using illegal drugs, and engaging in risky sexual behavior), and personality variables that have been shown to be related to risk-taking (i.e., sensation-seeking and Big-Five personality factors). In a study with 360 participants, the results showed that for both men and women, those who took more risks in daily life also reported cursing more than others. Men and women who scored higher on disinhibition and experience-seeking reported taking more risks and cursing more than others. Men and women who scored higher in conscientiousness reported taking fewer risks and reported cursing less than others. The results of a multiple regression analyses showed that frequency of curse word usage was predicted by disinhibition and risk-taking, and cursing behavior was predicted by disinhibition, risk-taking, and emotional stability. Overall men reported taking more risks and cursing more often than women; however, in the multiple regression analyses, participant sex was not among the significant predictors. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Extreme outcome expectations and affect intensity

Two studies tested the hypothesis that extreme outcome expectations are associated with affect intensity. Study 1 (N=104) measured extreme outcome expectations in response to one's idiosyncratic goals, and Study 2 (N=93) measured extreme outcome expectations in response to common life events. Higher levels of affect intensity were associated with higher levels of extreme outcome expectations in both studies. The association between affect intensity and extreme outcomes expectations held even after controlling for shared variance with other affective variables (i.e., trait pleasant affect, trait unpleasant affect, affect variability) and other variables that might overlap with extreme outcome expectations (i.e., optimism, pessimism).     

The effects of risk-glorifying media exposure on risk-positive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors: a meta-analytic review

In recent years, there has been a surge in the quantity of media content that glorifies risk-taking behavior, such as risky driving, extreme sports, or binge drinking. The authors conducted a meta-analysis involving more than 80,000 participants and 105 independent effect sizes to examine whether exposure to such media depictions increased their recipients' risk-taking inclinations. A positive connection was found for overall, combined risk taking (g=.41); as well as its underlying dimensions: risk-taking behaviors (g=.41), risk-positive cognitions and attitudes (g=.35), and risk-positive emotions (g=.56). This effect was observed across varying research methods (experimental, correlational, longitudinal); types of media (video games, movies, advertising, TV, music); and differing risk-related outcome measures (e.g., smoking, drinking, risky driving, sexual behavior). Multiple moderator analyses revealed 2 theoretically new boundary conditions for sociocognitive models. First, the effect was stronger for active (i.e., video games) than for passive (e.g., film, music) exposure to risk-glorifying media content. Second, the effect was stronger when there was a high degree of contextual fit between the media content and type of risk-taking measure. The theoretical, practical, and societal implications of the present research synthesis are discussed.     

Constructing preference from experience: the endowment effect reflected in external information search

People often attach a higher value to an object when they own it (i.e., as seller) compared with when they do not own it (i.e., as buyer)--a phenomenon known as the endowment effect. According to recent cognitive process accounts of the endowment effect, the effect is due to differences between sellers and buyers in information search. Whereas previous investigations have focused on search order and internal search processes (i.e., in memory), we used a sampling paradigm to examine differences in search termination in external search. We asked participants to indicate selling and buying prices for monetary lotteries in a within-subject design. In an experience condition, participants had to learn about the possible outcomes and probabilities of the lotteries by experiential sampling. As hypothesized, sellers tended to terminate search after sampling high outcomes, whereas buyers tended to terminate search after sampling low outcomes. These differences in stopping behavior translated into samples of the lotteries that were differentially distorted for sellers and buyers; the amount of the distortion was predictive of the resulting size of the endowment effect. In addition, for sellers search was more extended when high outcomes were rare compared with when low outcomes were rare. Our results add to the increasing evidence that the endowment effect is due, in part, to differences in predecisional information search.     

Performance Trends and Salesperson Evaluations: The Moderating Roles of Evaluation Task,Managerial Risk Propensity,and Firm Strategic Orientation

Understanding managers’ evaluations of salesperson performance is important for both theoretical and pragmatic reasons. We examine several factors that moderate the influence of performance trends on salesperson evaluations provided by practicing sales managers. Preliminary data from a pilot study indicate that performance trends exert a stronger influence on salesperson evaluations that are prospective (e.g., making a hiring decision) rather than retrospective (e.g., providing an annual evaluation). Study 1’s findings reveal an additional contingency by demonstrating that these trend effects were particularly pronounced for risk-taking sales managers providing prospective evaluations. Finally, evidence from Study 2 documents the moderating influence of firm strategic orientation by showing that trend effects were most prominent for managers making forward-looking evaluations under the aegis of a prospector-based strategic orientation. The latter two studies also offer mediational evidence indicating that trends influence performance evaluations by affecting inferences about a salesperson’s future productivity.     

Secure Attachment to God Uniquely Linked to Psychological Health in a National,Random Sample of American Adults

Relationships between religiousness and psychological health are well established. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether perceived relationship with God (i.e., attachment to God) or how people view God (i.e., image of God) account for variation in psychological distress and well-being. Statistical relationships between two attachment to God dimensions (avoidance, anxiety), two dimensions of God image (forgiving, wrathful), and general psychological well-being were investigated in a convenience sample (Study 1) and nationally representative sample (Study 2) of American adults who expressed belief in God or a higher power. In both studies, secure attachment to God (i.e., lower avoidance, lower anxiety) and religious service attendance were positively correlated with self-reported psychological well-being. Hierarchical regressions indicated that attachment to God dimensions account for unique variability in reported mental health even after religious service attendance, prayer frequency, God image and demographic variables were statistically controlled. Negligible associations were found between images of God as forgiving or wrathful and psychological well-being. Perceived relationship with God appears to be an important factor in the connection between religiousness and psychological health.     

Employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility: Effects on pride,embeddedness, and turnover

We examined socioemotional microfoundations of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and posited that employees’ perceived CSR triggers a perception-emotion-attitude-behavior sequence. Drawing from appraisal theory of emotion, we hypothesized that perceived CSR relates to emotions (i.e., organizational pride), which relate to job attitudes (i.e., organizational embeddedness) that in turn relate to job behaviors (i.e., decreased turnover). To test this model, we conducted a multistudy investigation involving different samples, designs, and data-analytic methods. In Study 1, we conducted an experiment and found that participants who envisioned working in a firm that was active regarding CSR activities reported greater pride and organizational embeddedness. We then conducted two field studies using a nonmanagerial sample (Study 2) and a managerial sample (Study 3) and found that participants’ perceived CSR was positively related to their pride, which in turn was related to stronger organizational embeddedness. Stronger organizational embeddedness was related to lower turnover 6 months later in Study 2 but not in Study 3. In Study 4, we conducted a longitudinal four-wave 14-month study to test the proposed relationships from a within-person conceptualization, and the results were also supportive. Thus, the proposed perception-emotion-attitude-behavior framework received broad support and illustrated that stronger microfoundations of CSR research could be constructed through understanding employees’ emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral reactions to their perceptions of their employers’ CSR.     

Affect regulation and temporal discounting: interactions between primed, state, and trait affect

Previous research has largely focused on the influence of experienced affect on decision making; however, other sources of affective information may also shape decisions. In two studies, we examine the interacting influences of affective information, state affect, and personality on temporal discounting rates (i.e., the tendency to choose small rewards today rather than larger rewards in the future). In Study 1, participants were primed with either positive or negative affect adjectives before making reward choices. In Study 2, participants underwent either a positive or negative affect induction before making reward choices. Results in both studies indicate that neuroticism interacts with state unpleasant affect and condition (i.e., positive or negative primes or induction) to predict discounting rates. Moreover, the nature of the interactions depends on the regulatory cues of the affective information available. These results suggest that irrelevant (i.e., primes) and stable (i.e., personality traits) sources of affective information also shape judgments and decision making. Thus, current affect levels are not the only source of affective information that guides individuals when making decisions.