Effets de l’expression écrite d’un événement positif et négatif sur le niveau d’anxiété d’étudiants de différentes disciplines

This study concerns the field of writing and its influence on the emotional state of writers (Pennebaker, 2002). In this field of research, participants are usually requested to express their feelings and emotions following the occurrence of negative events. It is thus important to collect data concerning the influence of positive experiences. By contrast, our study aimed at exploring the impact of expressive writing in two opposite contexts. One context concerns a negative experience (exam's failure) and the other context refers to a positive experience (exam's success). Expressive writing is usually studied in relation to mental (mostly depression) and physical health of the participants. The impact of expressive writing affect on the writers’ anxiety has more rarely been investigated. This is the reason why we have examined the effect of writing on the levels of anxiety of writers. Writing expertise has also been shown to depend on academic disciplines. To fulfill these different goals, undergraduate students (n = 119) belonging to three different university discipliones (arts, sciences and psychology students) responded to the S-Anxiety scale and when then required to write about their feeling concerning the positive or negative topics. The level of anxiety was again measured afterwards. The main question under investigation is to know if emotion regulation (in the sense of Lepore et al., 2002) would vary as a function of the nature of the described event. We hypothesize that variations in anxiety would depend on these events and that impact of emotional regulation would also differ according to the students’ curses. The results show that sciences students are not as verbose (measures in terms of verbal volume) than arts and psychology students. Moreover, emotional content of writing has been analyzed with Emotaix-Tropes (Piolat and Bannour, 2009a). Whatever the course, students produced both positive and negative lexicon for the two topics. However, positive lexicon was proportionally more important in the Success and an inverse result was observed in the Failure situation. The anxiety level was higher following the use of negative valence lexicon and was lower following the use of lexicon of positive valence. The short term beneficial effect of disclosure is thus not observed in case of a negative event. In addition, students with a scientific curse showed more variations in their emotional state.     

Régulations endogène et exogène des émotions : des processus complémentaires et indissociables

Studies dealing with emotion regulation have known a fast expansion during the last twenty years. Yet, they are most often based on models centered on endogenous cognitive and behavioral processes as well as the pursuit of welfare, and do not consider the social aspect of emotions and emotion expression which elicit exogenous emotion regulation processes from social interaction partners. The goal of this article is to show that both endogenous and exogenous emotion regulation processes are complementary and indivisible, and to suggest working hypotheses about how they connect. In the first part of this document, after a quick reminder of the different theoretical approaches of (individual) endogenous emotion regulation, we emphasize works about social approach behaviors (social affiliation) in emotional situations. These studies report that social interactions are sometimes sought as they would allow for the endogenous implementation of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies, especially by means of emotion expression. Individual and interpersonal endogenous emotion regulation processes would then complementarily modify the emotions experienced by an individual faced with a critical situation. The second part of this article underlines that social interaction partners actually are operators of exogenous emotion regulation processes rather than passive reservoirs of resources an individual may pick up to regulate their emotions. For that purpose, we especially consider the ways relatives (directly or indirectly, explicitly or implicitly) constrain the social affiliation behaviors and emotion expressions of an individual who experiences emotions. Thus, we argue that those behaviors are strongly influenced not only by the nature and intensity of emotions, but also by: firstly, social learning about how to feel, what to express and how to regulate emotions in a specific situation; secondly, features of the social environment as well as social expectations and demands about sharing emotions versus inhibiting their expression; and thirdly, the exogenous emotion regulation strategies a partner may use to regulate an individual's emotions. This set of studies entices us to consider endogenous and exogenous emotion regulation processes as acting jointly to promote not only the adaptation to emotional situations, but also the quality of social bonds between members of a social network. Social integration is thus central in the study of emotion regulation processes.     

Développement de la reconnaissance des émotions chez l'enfant avec trisomie 21

We proposed a matching task consisting of pairing an emotional sound and a human face and, after that a noise with an animal. Down syndrome children do not differ with other children in emotional recognition abilities of human faces pictures. Results are compared with those of children with mental retardation and typical children matched on developmental age (K ABC, non-verbal scale). Results do not validate Kasari's presumption concerning with emotional recognition deficit in Down children of 4 years of developmental age mental.     

Les caractéristiques émotionnelles des enfants à haut potentiel

Most theoretical accounts of giftedness now include an emotional as well as an intellectual component. Yet the multi-dimensional nature of giftedness has often been overlooked in the field of education. According to practitioners, gifted children not only think differently but also feel in other ways. From this point of view, the intellectual complexity interacts with emotional intensity to provide a qualitatively different way of experiencing the world, which leads to the production of the gifted child’s greater potential for high achievement. This paper will focus on emotional features of gifted individuals, and how they could be used to complete current measures and to enrich the concept of giftedness.     

La fonction évaluative de la personnologie, vers la mise en évidence de deux dimensions de la valeur : la désirabilité sociale et l'utilité sociale

It is now widely recognized that Evaluation is a very powerful and fundamental dimension underlying trait structures, but what is Evaluation? In this paper we review various models (and empirical data) related to the signification of the Evaluative factor in personality traits. This review will lead us to defend the hypothesis that personality traits communicate two dimensions of value: (1) social desirability (SD) which refers to affective valence or motivation and (2) social utility (SU) which corresponds to the fundamental principle of evaluation in a society. We'll present empirical data supporting this conception.     

La répression émotionnelle et son rôle en psychopathologie

In the context of studies on mechanisms of emotional treatment and regulation in affective blunting, this paper focalizes on those whose objective is to disminish awareness of subjective emotional experience. The cognitive mechanism of repression is first presented, defined as a coping strategy which, used in a habitual way, is conceptualised as a personality dimension. Its role on the whole panel of emotional components and the researches on its underlying cognitive mechanisms, in particular those which may explain the observed memory deficits for negative emotional events, are developed. The paper also presents models of maturation of emotional awareness, differentiating several hypothetic ways of emotional treatment which determine specific emotional subjective experiences. In regard of studies which have explored these modes of emotional treatment in alexithymia, hypotheses on their role in the blunting of affect process and on the quality of subjective experience are proposed.     

EMOVAL : évaluation automatique de la valence et de l’activation émotionnelles des textes à l’aide d’une méta-norme de 5656 mots-racines

EMOVAL: automatic evaluation the emotional valence and arousal of texts using a 5656 root-words metanorm. EMOVAL is an emotional valence and arousal analysis model of texts. EMOVAL draws from linguistic tradition the hypothesis that every word has a denotative aspect (“meaning”) and a connotative aspect (“affective halo”). It uses a meta-analysis of seven French norms and one English norm with the objective to characterize the emotional valence of texts, paragraphs, or sentences in a pleasant or unpleasant way. The meta-analysis indicates that the seven French norms data are highly correlated in between (0.82 to 0.99), and highly correlated with the Affectiv Norm for English Words (Bradley et Lang, 1999) (0.81 to 0.97). Arousal values taken from Affective Norm for English Words (ANEW) (Bradley et Lang, 1999) and the Leleu (1987) norm are significately correlated (0.55). The metanorm has 5656 words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) characterized in valence (−1 to +1), and 3265 words characterized in arousal. These items are used by EMOVAL for valence judgments of texts. Two types of texts are proposed: the evaluation of the whole (702) or of extracts (110) of a corpus of sentences judged in a seven-point scale (−3 very unpleasant to +3 very pleasant) (Bestgen et al., 2004), and of 12 texts positively valenced (happiness and good surprise) and negatively valenced (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, and bad surprise). These two types of tests confirm the psychological pertinence of EMOVAL. Limits regarding the arousal dimension are discussed. The metanorm presented in this article can be obtained from the authors.     

Inférences émotionnelles et compréhension de textes narratifs : lorsque la perspective du lecteur diverge de celle du protagoniste

This study deals with the emotional inferences readers generate during the reading of narrative texts. The objective was to show that the accessibility of the representation of the emotional state of the protagonist depends on the reader's and the protagonist's knowledge of the situation. In the texts we used, the reader and the protagonist either shared the same amount of knowledge of the situation, or the protagonist was described as being ignorant of relevant situational information. The main result indicated that, in the presence of a difference between the protagonist and the reader, regarding their situational knowledge, the accessibility of the representation of the protagonist's emotion slowed down. In other words, the protagonist's emotion was more accessible when it was coherent with the situational knowledge of both the reader and the protagonist.     

Les effets de l’ingestion aiguë d’alcool sur le jugement d’expressions faciales émotionnelles spontanées et dynamiques

This study is interested in the link between acute alcohol consumption and the perception of dynamic and spontaneous emotional facial expressions (EFE). The noxious effects of alcohol on EFE recognition are now well demonstrated (Attwood et al., 2009a). Studies showed that alcohol drinking impairs the judgment of facial expressions, especially of negative ones (EFE of anger and disgust notably). However, such effects have been observed for the judgment of artificial material (static/posed/morphed/EFE). Yet, everyday EFE are far from the archetypes used in the lab. Therefore, the present study aims at completing previous observations, this time for the identification of dynamic and spontaneous EFE. Dynamic and spontaneous EFE of amusement, interest, irritation, anxiety, and neutral were judged by 63 normal male drinkers. Buck et al.’s (1972) paradigm was adopted since it is recommended for the study of nonverbal behavior in the process of communication ( [Buck, 1990] , [Wagner, 1990] , [Wagner et al., 1986] and [Zuckerman et al., 1976] ). The emotion to be identified is the one self-reported by the EFE sender. On the pretext of tasting drinks, participants were randomly assigned to one out of six experimental conditions. Two conditions are concerned with the nature of the drink (alcohol or non-alcohol drink). Three other conditions relate to the participant's experimentally manipulated belief regarding the nature of the drink (non-alcohol drink, slight alcohol drink, hard alcohol drink). Results confirm the emotion identification impairment due to alcohol usually noted, thus showing that the effects of alcohol are also observed for the perception of spontaneous and natural facial expressions. Indeed, the comparison of participants who drank alcoholic drinks versus those who did not drink alcohol shows that the formers identify less well emotions than the latter. Moreover, results show that beliefs do not play a role in this deficit since participants’ identification errors are not linked to the belief they hold regarding the nature of the drink (with/without alcohol). Finally, the confusion matrix analysis brings to light the existence of recurrent confusions amongst alcoholized participants, confusions that do not appear amongst sober participants. Thus, results show that, to the exception of EFE of amusement, participants who drank alcohol recurrently assess stimuli as displaying anxiety. To conclude, it comes out that acute alcohol drinking alters the capacity to accurately identify spontaneous emotions expressed by faces, which capacity is essential to the smooth unfolding of human interactions.     

Compréhension et appréciation de l’humour : approche cognitivo-émotionnelle

According to Suls (1972), humor relies on the simultaneous perception of a situation from the perspective of two self-consistent but normally incompatible frames of reference, namely incongruity. The subsequent resolution of the incongruity triggers positive emotional states such as mirth. The aim of the present question review is to highlight that Suls’ theory, though crucial, is insufficient, because it does not sufficiently allow to identify the various assessment processes and the range of emotion that may arise. The present question review is based on four parts. The first part presents the Incongruity-Resolution's model and the supporting research. The second presents four sets of results, which cannot be interpreted in the narrow framework of Suls’ theory. The third part presents empirical research on emotion, highlighting the importance of surprise, as well as positive and negative emotions triggered by humor process. Finally, in the fourth part, we propose a cognitivo-emotional model established on the main results described in this article in order to both complete Suls’ theory and to promote the study of the relationship between the cognitive and emotional aspects of humor.     

Influence de la composition de la fratrie sur les pratiques éducatives parentales déclarées et sur la représentation de l'éducation chez les préadolescents

The aim of our study is to analyze the influence of the make up of the siblings on the parents' educational practices and also on the meaning of education to preadolescents. The results gathered from a sample of 88 preadolescents and their mothers show a difference of parental educational practices according to the make up of the siblings (relaxation of the practices with the youngest). The study of the meaning of education to preadolescents shows that only children are the most in accordance with their mothers. Children from large families imagine a future education further from mothers' educational practices.     

Psychologie, épistémologie et théorie de la représentation : fondation analogique et données séminales

Our scientific systems mirror our mental constraints: the limits of our mental representations lead us to a better reconstitution of the world by some scientific theories. Thus, the ways of representation by a mental system provide a fruitful paradigm for epistemology. To tackle this point, we start from an experiment of psychology on the impact of seed data on the representation of geography. We try to generalize the concept of seed data in the framework of the theory of analogical foundation of representations. A parallel is outlined between: 1) the integration of a piece of information into a mental system; 2) the integration of data into a scientific system. We bring up some consequences about the fonction of experimentation.     

Le cycle journée/nuit : étude du développement des connaissances chez l’enfant français et comparaison de méthodes

The aim of this work is to study the knowledge development process about night and day cycle during ontogeny, by comparing two diverging theoretical and methodological approaches, on 178 elementary school children (6-7 years old, 8-9 years old and 10-11 years old). We hypothesis that the dimension (2D/3D) of the representation, the question type (open versus forced choice) and the age of the student have an effect on the amount of correct answers and on the coherence between the answers. The results show that the knowledge acquisition process regarding night and day cycle follows a gradual path during ontogeny and that the method used has a significant effect on the number of correct answers given by the children. Indeed, heliocentric model is given minority when children are asked with open questions (only 31% of the children). On the contrary 76% of them choose the heliocentric perspective when asked with forced-choice questions. The support's dimension (2D/3D) has no effect.     

Psychologie sociale et perception du temps : l'estimation temporelle des stimuli sociaux et émotionnels

Two experiments using a temporal bisection task investigated the influence of the social meaning of stimuli on the estimation of their duration. The results showed that: a) the duration of faces expressing diverse emotional states was overestimated relative to the duration of neutral faces; b) the duration of faces representing elderly people was underestimated relative to the duration of faces representing young people. In both cases, this influence was found to appear at the earliest stage of the estimation process, modulating the rhythm of the estimator's internal clock. In the discussion, we suggest three different perspectives to account for the observed link between social and temporal perception.     

Motivation autodéterminée, perceptions de conflit et d'instrumentalité et assiduité envers la pratique d'une activité physique : une étude prospective sur six mois

Exercising regularly represents a challenging public health issue. The purpose of this study was to extend prior research based on self-determination theory by considering perceptions of conflict-instrumentality with regard to physical activity. A 6-month prospective study was conducted among 62 adults. In January, their self-determined motivation toward exercise and work was assessed by questionnaire, as well as their perceptions associated to the role of exerciser. Their presence was then controlled until the end of the season. The analyses revealed a negative relationship between self-determined motivation and role conflicts, and between this variable and observed assiduity. Those results are discussed with regard to their practical implications for exercise adherence.     

L’alexithymie aujourd’hui : essai d’articulation avec les conceptions contemporaines des émotions et de la personnalité

More than thirty years after his introduction and despite many criticisms, the alexithymia concept is giving rise to a growing body of research and interest. Today, it is thought to reflect a deficit in the cognitive processing and regulation of emotion. After a brief historical introduction, this paper proposes an exploration of the links between the alexithymia construct, the multicomponent emotion theories and the five-factor model of personality. Specifically, the potential associations between alexithymia and emotion regulation are examined, referring to recent studies in psychology of emotions, neurobiology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and psychology of personality.     

Rapports au travail, contrôle et santé dans les centres de gestion de la relation-client

The main objective of the present research was to analysis the organizational work and health in call centre. In facts, it proves that this specific professional activity produces so much effects on the level call centre agents (violence, perceived stress, perceived health, musculoskeletal disorder symptoms, intention to quit, satisfaction), that at the organizational level (turnover, lower quality, lowers performances). So, the evolution of the career, the organizational support, the participation in the decisions or the type of management produce a positive effects at the same time, on the worker and the organization (job satisfaction, implication, better real or perceived performances well-being, job involvement, better quality of life, lower turnover or absenteeism…). Lastly, we propose a model of analysis of strain at the work which integrates emotional exhaustion and the depersonalization.     

Optimisme comparatif dans le milieu professionnel : l'influence de la fréquence et de la gravité sur la perception des risques d'accident du travail

The aim of this study is to test if people express comparative optimism when they evaluate their risk of being confronted to various work accidents compared to their colleagues. We also test the assumption according to which individuals are as much more optimistic as the event is threatening. Thus, an accident which is serious and probable (and consequently more threatening) should generate a maximum of comparative optimism. Our population is composed by employees of a mirror manufacture company. The latter evaluated their personal risk and that of one of their colleagues to be confronted with a severe /rare, severe/frequent, non severe/rare or non severe/frequent accident. Our results reveal the presence of an optimistic bias and this particularly for the severe and frequent accident. These data are discussed in terms of defensive bias and self esteem maintenance.     

Effets comportementaux et cognitifs de l'engagement dans un acte préparatoire activant un élément central versus périphérique de la représentation du don d'organes

We render an account of a research programme that links two fields of study usually unconnected: the field of the freely agreed submission and the field of social representations. Two hypothesis are tested in the foot-in-the door paradigm: participants that agree to perform an initial request (to sign a petition) that selects a core element of the representation of organ donation: a) will be more inclined to agree to perform the target request (to sign a donor card); and b) will have an attitude more favourable about organ donation than participants that agree to perform an initial request that selects a peripheral element. The two experiments presented confirm these hypotheses.