Mood regulation and relationship quality predict change in homesickness during college

Recent theorizing has implicated affect regulation as central to the experience of homesickness. Conceptualized as grief due to losing social connections with close others when relocating, homesickness is associated with poor emotional and social adjustment. The present study examined how mood regulation and relationship quality – at home and in college – predict homesickness and negative affect among college students (N = 168). We assessed 16 mood regulation strategies as well as relationship quality each week over the first college term. As predicted, time-lagged multilevel analyses demonstrate that avoidance-oriented strategies were helpful in the short term (the following week), but chronic avoidance (across the college term) predicted higher levels of homesickness. Approach-oriented regulatory strategies did not predict homesickness, however. Relationship quality demonstrated differential main effects at the between-person level but did not predict fluctuations in homesickness from week to week. Across the college term, closer ties at home predicted greater homesickness, whereas closer ties in college predicted lower homesickness. Notably, there were distinct effects of mood regulation for homesickness compared to negative affect. The present study is among the first to examine effects of mood regulation on homesickness longitudinally, suggesting it is important to consider the type of regulation strategies being used as well as the time scale.     

Mood change through physical exercise in nine- to ten-year-old children.

The present study assessed the effect of two types of physical exercise on the self reported mood of 64 9 and 10-yr.-old children who responded to a self-report mood meassure after two different types of aerobic exercise of 15 min., and after a 15-min. video. Significant increases in positive mood and significant decreases in negative mood were found after each exercise treatment; however, positive mood decreased and negative mood increased following the video treatment. Interestingly, no significant difference in mean mood scores was found between the two exercise treatments. These data suggest that short bouts of physical exercise have psychological benefits for children.     

Radical views on cognition and the dynamics of scientific change

Radical views on cognition are generally defined by a cluster of features including non-representationalism and vehicle-externalism. In this paper, I concentrate on the way radical views on cognition define themselves as revolutionary theories in cognitive science. These theories often use the Kuhnian concepts of “paradigm” and “paradigm shift” for describing their ambitions and the current situation in cognitive science. I examine whether the use of Kuhn’s theory of science is appropriate here. There might be good reasons to think that cognitive science is in a situation of foundational crisis, but that does not entail that the classical paradigm (computationalism) is currently displaced to the benefit of a new paradigm. Larry Laudan’s theory of research traditions is more enlightening than Kuhn’s theory for describing the scope and ambitions of radical views on cognition, and their relations with an anti-intellectualist tradition in philosophy.

     

Personality change profiles and changes in cognition among middle-aged and older adults

Research on the relationship between personality traits and cognitive abilities has primarily used cross-sectional designs and considered personality traits individually in relation to cognitive dimensions. This study (N = 2652) examined the relationship between Big Five personality change profiles and change in cognitive factors, episodic memory and executive functioning. Latent profile analysis was used to capture patterns of change across the Big Five traits. Three profiles of personality change were defined: Decreasers, Maintainers, and Increasers. The Decreasers declined more in episodic memory compared to the Increasers and Maintainers. Also, the Decreasers declined more in executive functioning compared to the Increasers, but not the Maintainers. The findings advance our understanding of the links between patterns of personality change and cognitive aging.     

Repeated assessment of cognition in children and the measurement of performance change.

There is limited understanding of the problems associated with repeated neuropsychological assessment in children, including the statistics used to guide decisions about cognitive change. This study investigated the utility of a computerized assessment battery that was specifically designed for the repeated assessment of cognitive function in children. Eighty-seven participants aged 8 to 12 years completed the battery four times within a 2-hour testing session. The results support the application of this assessment battery for measuring cognitive change in children. A novel method for calculating measurement error is employed, and its use in the detection of cognitive change in individual children is discussed. An estimate of the measurement error within each of the tests is provided, and recommendations are made regarding the application of this assessment battery for measuring cognitive change in children.     

Return of fear in a human differential conditioning paradigm caused by a stimulus change after extinction

In a human fear conditioning experiment, 32 participants were trained in a differential conditioning procedure with geometrical shapes as CS+ and CS- (four presentations each), and an electric shock as US. Measures of conditioned responding were skin conductance response (SCR) and retrospective US-expectancy ratings. For half of the participants (Generalization Group, GG), the subsequent extinction phase consisted of four nonreinforced presentations of generalization stimuli (GS+ and GS-). Participants from the Extinction control Group received an equal amount of nonreinforced presentations of the CSs. Finally, all participants were tested with the original CSs. The results from both measures clearly show an increase in the size of the discrimination upon the stimulus change after extinction in the GG. Because this pattern is not observed in the Extinction control Group, extinction performance appears to be somehow restricted to the perceptual characteristics of the extinction stimulus. Interestingly, the size of the conditioned SCR discrimination in the GG is not influenced by the stimulus change after acquisition. This observation points to a differential impact of stimulus change after acquisition vs. extinction treatment. The findings are discussed from the theoretical perspective of renewal and the clinical perspective of Return of Fear.     

The effect of type of behavior on behavior change caused by type of upcoming food substance

Previous research suggests that rats will decrease their consumption of a low-valued substance if a high-valued one will soon be available (anticipatory contrast), but will increase their rate of operant responding for a low-valued substance if a high-valued one will soon be available (positive induction). The present experiments tested whether rats would increase their operant rate of licking or lever pressing for 1% liquid-sucrose reinforcement when 32% sucrose reinforcement was upcoming in the same session. Results indicated that upcoming 32% sucrose increased rates of lever pressing for 1% sucrose, but did not produce similar increases in rates of licking. In fact, upcoming 32% sucrose significantly reduced lick rates in Experiment 2. The present results suggest that the different changes in behavior may be linked to the specific response that the subjects must engage in to obtain the reward (i.e., licking vs. lever pressing), and not to the function of the behavior (i.e., consummatory vs. operant) or to how frequently the substances are available (i.e., continuously vs. intermittently).     

Mood change and marathon running: A pilot study using a Swedish version of the POMS test

Regular exercise is said to have positive effects on mood, especially if the exercise intensity is low to moderate. However, the acute effects resulting from participation in a strenuous competition, such as a marathon race, have been studied less. The present investigation used the Profile of Mood States (POMS) test to measure mood, before and after the 1989 Stockholm Marathon. A total of 106 male runners (mean age 40.0 years), with finishing times between 3h and 3h 45 min participated as subjects. Results showed great changes between pre- and post-marathon scores, most of them significant at the p less than 0.001 level. Furthermore, differences between a faster and a slower group of runners were demonstrated with regard to mood states, even though plasma glucose levels were comparable. It is concluded that participation in a marathon race greatly effects mood, mainly in a more negative way than low to moderately intense exercise does.     

Performance variability is related to change in cognition: evidence from the Victoria Longitudinal Study

Performance variability across repeated task administrations may be an important indicator of age-related cognitive functioning. In the present investigation, the authors examined whether age differences and change in inconsistency were related to 6-year (3 occasion) cognitive change. Inconsistency scores were computed from 4 reaction time tasks performed by 446 older adults (54-89 years). Replicating previous cross-sectional results, greater inconsistency was observed for older participants even after controlling for differences in response speed. New longitudinal results demonstrated (a) associations between inconsistency at baseline measurement and 6-year change in cognitive performance; (b) longitudinal change in inconsistency; and (c) intraindividual covariation between 6-year change in inconsistency and 6-year change in level of cognitive function. These findings support the view that performance variability serves as a marker of cognitive aging.     

Temporal Changes in Mood Repair Through Music Consumption: Effects of Mood,Mood Salience,and Individual Differences

Prior research on mood management through media consumption has encountered mixed results. This study seeks to address these discrepancies by incorporating time of measurement into the examination of regulatory outcomes and by identifying trait-like cognitive moderators that presumably are involved in the regulation of negative moods. Results showed that sad mood initially fostered longer listening to mood-compatible music but such preference decreased over time, suggesting the merits of considering temporal changes in the mood-repair process. In addition, ruminative trait was found to be a significant factor in how people cope with their sad moods, whereas mood salience was not.     

Mood state-Dependent Retrieval: The Effects of Induced Mood on Memory Reconsidered

Analysis of studies investigating mood-state-dependent retrieval identifies methodological problems that may have contributed to the controversy surrounding the reliability of the effect-in particular, the possible confounding of encoding and retrieval in previous studies. Five experiments are reported investigating the effects of mood on learning and recall. Mood-state-dependent retrieval was observed in Experiment 1a (using Velten's Mood Induction Procedure); Experiment 1b (using a music MIP); and Experiment 1c (using Velten's MIP at encoding and a music MIP at retrieval). Subjects who learned and recalled in different moods had significantly greater decrements in recall than did subjects in the same moods. Experiments 2 and 3 investigated the effect of observable retrieval cues on moodstate-dependent retrieval. In Experiment 2, the presence of observable retrieval cues at recall overrode state-dependent retrieval. In Experiment 3, by manipulating the presence or absence of observable cues at recall, both the occurrence and the erasure of the mood-state dependency was demonstrated.Moodstate during learning andcued recallwas also shownto affect performance in a third session under conditons of free recall.     

Mood Swings and Creativity

ABSTRACT:

This article evaluates recent evidence for an association between creativity and bipolar mood disorders. Eminent creativity and everyday creativity are distinguished, with high rates of major mood disorders‐particularly bipolar disorders— appearing among eminent creators in the arts. However, among everyday persons, including the 4–5% of the population that may develop a bipolar “spectrum”; disorder and their relatives, it is those with relatively milder mood disorders and normalcy who may show the greatest creative advantage. These seemingly conflicting results are reconciled through comparison of research designs and the creativity and diagnostic variables studied. Evidence regarding mood states that enhance creativity is also considered, both for eminent and everyday creators, and some preliminary results from a study of patients are presented. Here, milder mood elevations were tied most closely to the experience of creativity, although other patterns can exist. Three patterns are examined in terms of 23 mood, cognitive, and behavioral features that Jamison (1989) studied in eminent creators.     

数量认知和密度认知的关系

数量和密度认知的关系是数量认知研究的关键问题。相关研究在三个方面存在不足：首先, 先前实验研究缺乏对两种加工的有效操控和区分; 其次, 现有理论或认为“数量和密度加工完全独立”, 或认为“数量加工是对密度进行推论的结果”, 比较片面; 第三, 已有理论模型抽象, 不重视功能模块的解释。基于数量认知的多阶段加工特点, 未来研究可以讨论数量认知进行基于密度认知的整合加工的可能性, 提出整合数量和密度加工的理论构想。     

Diagnosis of Mood Disorders

This article provides an overview of mood disorders according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria and other relevant information. Differential diagnosis is facilitated through discussion of differences and similarities among mental disorders, age and gender-related patterns of mood disorders, and useful diagnostic tools.     

Mood and belief-value correlation

This is an investigation of belief-value distortion as measured by the correlation between sets of beliefs and values for a given attitude object. Correlations were computed for each subject separately. Initial mood levels and mood changes subsequent to ratings of attitudes to nuclear power were investigated in the first two studies. In Study 1 mood changes were positively correlated with attitude. In Study 2, mood levels were positively correlated both with attitude, optimism, and tendency towards extreme belief-value correlations (belief-value distortion). In a third study, attitudes were studied both towards nuclear power and alcohol. There were no clear relations between the two fields of contents. Mood changes were small and inconsistent. However, tendency to act correlated with both optimism and belief-value distortion, also with the level of attitude kept constant. A model relating mood, optimism, belief-value distortion, and action is suggested.     

Mood and Prospective Memory

This study considered the relationship between mood states, prospective memory, and retrospective memory among a non-clinical sample of undergraduate students. Multiple regression analyses with simultaneous entry of variables were undertaken to examine the unique contributions of the alternate memory test and the emotional states to memory test performance. As expected, retrospective free recall performance and anxiety made unique and significant contributions to performance on the prospective memory task. However, only prospective memory performance emerged as a significant predictor of retrospective free recall. It is suggested that none of the mood measures emerged as a significant predictor of retrospective memory performance because they do not account for unique variance. In contrast, the relationship between anxiety and prospective memory appears to be due to factors uniquely associated with anxiety, and unrelated to depression.