The affective regulation of cognitive priming

Semantic and affective priming are classic effects observed in cognitive and social psychology, respectively. The authors discovered that affect regulates such priming effects. In Experiment 1, positive and negative moods were induced before one of three priming tasks; evaluation, categorization, or lexical decision. As predicted, positive affect led to both affective priming (evaluation task) and semantic priming (category and lexical decision tasks). However, negative affect inhibited such effects. In Experiment 2, participants in their natural affective state completed the same priming tasks as in Experiment 1. As expected, affective priming (evaluation task) and category priming (categorization and lexical decision tasks) were observed in such resting affective states. Hence, the authors conclude that negative affect inhibits semantic and affective priming. These results support recent theoretical models, which suggest that positive affect promotes associations among strong and weak concepts, and that negative affect impairs such associations (Clore & Storbeck, 2006; Kuhl, 2000).     

Disruption of temporally organized behavior by morphine

Four pigeons pecked keys in two different procedures commonly used in the study of timing, or temporal discrimination. Sessions consisted of 40 trials. During half of the trials, two keys were presented for 50 s. Left-key pecks were reinforced according to a variable-interval 67.86-s schedule during the first 25 s of the trial, and right-key pecks were not reinforced. During the second 25 s of the trial, right-key pecks were reinforced according to the same schedule, and left-key pecks were not reinforced. In the other half of the 40-trial session, the center key was presented. The majority of these trials arranged fixed-interval 2.5-s schedules. Occasionally a probe, or peak-interval, trial was presented. These trials were 100 s in duration and terminated without reinforcement. These two procedures were used to examine the effects of morphine on indexes of timing and on patterns of responding. Morphine altered behavior in a race-dependent manner in both procedures. Low baseline (saline) response rates were increased following morphine administration, and high baseline rates were either unaffected or decreased slightly. Rate-dependent effects appeared as leftward shifts in the timing index for two-key trials and decreases in the index of curvature for fixed-interval trials. Despite large changes in response rates, no consistent shift of the peak time was observed during peak-interval trials. These results are discussed primarily in terms of rate dependency; that is, rates of responding following drug administration tend to be determined in large part by rates of responding under baseline conditions.     

Testosterone increases analgesia,anxiolysis, and cognitive performance of male rats

Preliminary evidence suggests that testosterone (T) may have anxiety-reducing and cognitive-enhancing properties in animals and people. Performance in a number of affective and cognitive behavioral tasks was examined in intact, T-depleted, and T-depleted and T-replaced male rats. Rats that were gonadally intact (n = 33), gonadectomized (GDX; n = 30), or GDX with silastic capsules of T implanted (n = 28) were tested through a battery of affective tasks (horizontal crossing, open field, elevated plus-maze, emergence, holeboard, social interaction, tailflick, pawlick, and defensive burying) and in the inhibitory avoidance task for cognitive performance. An additional 6 rats per group had plasma androgen concentrations measured and were determined to be physiological for intact rats, supraphysiological for T-implanted rats, and near the nadir for GDX rats. Testosterone implants produced analgesia as shown by the increased tailflick latencies of the GDX rats with silastic capsules of T implanted, relative to intact or GDX rats. Testosterone also produced anxiolysis. Intact rats spent more time interacting with a conspecific and less time burying an electrified prod than did the GDX or T-implanted rats. Intact rats or GDX rats with T implants also spent more time on the open arms of the elevated plus-maze than did GDX rats. Testosterone also enhanced cognitive performance in the inhibitory avoidance task. Intact rats had longer crossover latencies in the inhibitory avoidance task relative to GDX rats; GDX rats with T implants had longer crossover latencies relative to GDX or intact rats. Together, these data demonstrate that endogenous T or administration of T produced analgesia and enhanced affect and cognitive performance of adult male rats.     

Diagnosis and training of basic cognitive performance in children with encephalopathy-typical behavior

This paper reports on the application in practice of a program for diagnosis and basic cognitive achievement training. The program concentrates on performance and its growth in children with encephalopathy-typical behavior. It is demonstrated how deficient cognitive performance may be influenced by level-raising training and transfer effects.     

Stress modulation of cognitive and affective processes

This review summarizes the major discussion points of a symposium on stress modulation of cognitive and affective processes, which was held during the 2010 workshop on the neurobiology of stress (Boulder, CO, USA). The four discussants addressed a number of specific cognitive and affective factors that are modulated by exposure to acute or repeated stress. Dr David Morilak discussed the effects of various repeated stress situations on cognitive flexibility, as assessed with a rodent model of attentional set-shifting task, and how performance on slightly different aspects of this test is modulated by different prefrontal regions through monoaminergic neurotransmission. Dr Serge Campeau summarized the findings of several studies exploring a number of factors and brain regions that regulate habituation of various autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to repeated audiogenic stress exposures. Dr Kerry Ressler discussed a body of work exploring the modulation and extinction of fear memories in rodents and humans, especially focusing on the role of key neurotransmitter systems including excitatory amino acids and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Dr Israel Liberzon presented recent results on human decision-making processes in response to exogenous glucocorticoid hormone administration. Overall, these discussions are casting a wider framework on the cognitive/affective processes that are distinctly regulated by the experience of stress and some of the brain regions and neurotransmitter systems associated with these effects.     

The interactive effects of affective demeanor, cognitive processes, and perspective-taking focus on helping behavior

The author manipulated affective demeanor (positive or negative) and cognitive processes (positive or negative) displayed by a target person, along with the perspective-taking focus (affect or cognitions) of participants, to assess the unique and interactive effects of those variables on the participants' helping behavior, operationalized as time volunteered to help other students. An ethnically diverse sample (N = 109) of U.S. working adults (mean age = 31.56 years, SD = 8.21) viewed a videotape of a female target talking about returning to college. Participants adopting an affective perspective-taking focus volunteered more time than did those who adopted a cognitive perspective-taking focus. Also, a significant interaction between participants' perspective-taking focus and target's affective demeanor revealed that participants who focused on the target's feelings and who viewed a warm, cheerful target volunteered more time than did the other groups. Moreover, a significant interaction between participants' perspective-taking focus and target's cognitive processes revealed that the participants who focused on the target's feelings and who viewed a confused and unfocused target volunteered more time than did the other groups. The author also discusses the relationship between empathy, personal distress, and helping.     

Relationships among affective and cognitive factors in humor

One hundred and twenty-five college students rated a total of 74 jokes, chosen by stratified sampling, on funniness and on 13 other scales suggested by humor theories. Highly similar factor structures were found with two sets of jokes. Ratings of surprise, resolution, and originality correlated strongly with funniness and helped define a factor on which funniness ratings loaded. Scales pertaining to painfulness, anxiety, or importance of joke topic were positively correlated with funniness but defined a factor essentially independent of it. Partial correlations suggested that these scales were related to funniness through their common relationship with incongruity and resolution scales. Ratings of how much a joke made subjects “feel free” correlated much more highly with ratings of incongruity and resolution than with ratings of painfulness, anxiety, or importance of joke topic. Results were interpreted as providing support for an incongruity-resolution theory of humor, and for the interdependency of affective factors with incongruity-resolution mechanisms.     

Electroencephalographic correlations of temporally spaced responding and avoidance behavior

This study was undertaken to determine whether any EEG changes occurred during a multiple schedule of reinforcement consisting of repeated periods of avoidance behavior, a time-out (TO) period, and a period of differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL). The two monkeys were permanently implanted with bipolar electrodes in various subcortical areas. The EEG was recorded from these electrodes for several weeks before any behavioral training was undertaken. Training was then begun in the multiple schedule, and EEG recordings were taken frequently throughout the training period. When a stable performance level was achieved, drugs (dl-amphetamine and sodium pentobarbital) were introduced which disrupted the DRL performance but had little or no effect on avoidance behavior. The EEG recordings continued throughout these drug studies.

The data indicate that the marked behavioral differences noted in each component of the schedule were not reflected in the EEG. However, the EEG did correlate with the general level of alertness of the animals during the various components. The drugs which differentially affected the behavior in the components of the schedule did not differentially affect the EEG, but they did change the brain-wave activity equally in all components. Finally, EEG changes correlated with the complex motor response of lever pressing were not observed.

     

Positive affective and cognitive states in borderline personality disorder

The aim of the current study was to compliment previous studies identifying negative states present in borderline personality disorder (BPD) by investigating the presence of positive affective and cognitive states. Ninety-six patients with criteria-defined borderline personality disorder and 24 axis II comparison participants completed the Positive Affect Scale, a 50-item self-report measure designed to assess positive states thought to be characteristic of and discriminating for BPD. Seventeen positive states (4 affective, 10 cognitive, and 3 mixed) were found to be significantly more common among axis II comparison participants than borderline patients. Twelve of these states were common to both borderline patients and axis II comparison participants. Furthermore, four positive states, when co-occurring together, were particularly strongly associated with borderline personality disorder (three negatively and one positively): (a) Fond of myself, (b) That things around me are real, (c) That I've forgiven others, and (d) Assertive. Finally, the overall mean score on the PAS significantly distinguished patients with borderline personality disorder from axis II comparison participants. Taken together, these results suggest that borderline patients are far less likely to report experiencing positive states of an affective, cognitive, and mixed nature than axis II comparison participants. They also suggest that being assertive is a positive state particularly discriminating for borderline personality disorder.     

高绩效要求与亲组织不道德行为:基于社会认知理论的视角

通过确立较高的绩效目标以提升组织绩效被普遍认为是一项有效的管理措施。然而,学术界对它的负面影响却缺乏研究。本文提出了高绩效要求将启动员工道德推脱机制为其随后进行的亲组织不道德行为开脱,即道德推脱在高绩效要求与亲组织不道德行为之间起到了中介作用。为了检验这一观点,本研究提出两种不同效应的调节变量:感知的市场竞争正向调节变量之间的间接关系,而道德认同则负向调节这一间接关系。通过对某零售企业225名员工的两阶段调查,本研究提出的调节-中介模型获得了观察数据的支持。本研究的发现有利于进一步了解亲组织不道德行为发生的中介心理机制和边界条件,指导管理者采取恰当的管理措施,以期有效地管控亲组织不道德行为的出现。     

Driver performance effects of simultaneous visual and cognitive distraction and adaptation behavior

Driver distraction has become a major concern for transportation safety due to increasing use of infotainment systems in vehicles. To reduce safety risks, it is crucial to understand how fundamental aspects of distracting activities affect driver behavior at different levels of vehicle control. This study used a simulator-based experiment to assess the effects of visual, cognitive and simultaneous distraction on operational (braking, accelerating) and tactical (maneuvering) control of vehicles. Twenty drivers participated in the study and drove in lead-car following or passing scenarios under four distraction conditions: without distraction, with visual distraction, with cognitive distraction, and with simultaneous distraction. Results revealed higher perceived workload for passing than following. Simultaneous distraction was most demanding and also resulted in the greatest steering errors among distraction conditions during both driving tasks. During passing, drivers also appeared to slow down their responses to secondary distraction tasks as workload increased. Visual distraction was associated with more off-road glances (to an in-vehicle device) and resulted in high workload. Longer headway times were also observed under visual distraction, suggesting driver adaptation to the workload. Similarly, cognitive distraction also increased driver workload but this demand did not translate into steering errors as high as for visual distraction. In general, findings indicate that tactical control of a vehicle demands more workload than operational control. Visual and cognitive distractions both increase driver workload, but they influence vehicle control and gaze behavior in different ways.     

The effects of affective and cognitive elaborations from Facebook posts on consumer attitude formation

This research investigates the effects of affect and cognition in consumers' information processing of branded content on Facebook pages. A model was suggested to delve into the elaboration process leading to consumer attitude formation. A 2 (purchase‐decision involvement: low versus high) × 2 (product categories: hedonic versus utilitarian) × 2 (sources of Facebook posts: brand posts versus consumer posts) between‐subjects experiment was conducted online. The validated model demonstrates the main effects that affective elaboration significantly supersedes cognitive elaboration in forming attitudes toward the posts and attitudes toward the brand. Post hoc analyses show further evidence of the interaction effects that affective elaboration is the dominant influencer when consumers process brand‐related information in Facebook posts across situations. Theoretical implications for future research and managerial suggestions for social media marketing are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Posttraining increases in REM sleep intensity implicate REM sleep in memory processing and provide a biological marker of learning potential

Posttraining rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been reported to be important for efficient memory consolidation. The present results demonstrate increases in the intensity of REM sleep during the night of sleep following cognitive procedural/implicit task acquisition. These REM increases manifest as increases in total number of rapid eye movements (REMs) and REM densities, whereas the actual time spent in REM sleep did not change. Further, the participants with the higher intelligence (IQ) scores showed superior task acquisition scores as well as larger posttraining increases in number of REMs and REM density. No other sleep state changes were observed. None of the pretraining baseline measures of REM sleep were correlated with either measured IQ or task performance. Posttraining increases in REM sleep intensity implicate REM sleep mechanisms in further off-line memory processing, and provide a biological marker of learning potential.     

Manual behavior, lateralization of manual skills and cognitive performance of preschool children

Direction and degree of manual specialization (functional asymmetry between the hands) on a pegboard task, and fine motor ability (total number of pegs inserted) of both hands were correlated with verbal and visuospatial performances for 47 preschool children. No significant differences were found between right-, and left-, and mixed-handers even though the best motor skills were shown by the 6 mixed-handed subjects, who also had the highest scores on cognitive tasks. Verbal and visuospatial performances were not correlated with degree or direction of manual specialization. They were instead correlated with the level of motor ability of both hands. Motor maturation should be viewed, then, as a process that implies a richer motor performance of both hands and could be interpreted as a more specific diagnostic parameter than the traditional indices of handedness in cognitive fields.     

Sensitivity to the cognitive and affective qualities of odours

This study examined cognitive and emotional responses to odours in the laboratory in relation to everyday attitudes toward odours. A total of 136 subjects completed a questionnaire about the role of Odours in Everyday Life (OELQ) and their responses were summed to develop an index of overall responsiveness to odours: 36 subjects, who were in the top and bottom quartiles on this index, rated pleasant (e.g., rose) and unpleasant (e.g., synthetic sweat) odours in the laboratory on 7-point scales. Separate factor analyses were done for the OELQ items and the laboratory ratings, and these factors were intercorrelated. The factor analysis on the OELQ data yielded three primary factors, encompassing the Sexual Role of Bodily Odours, Ecological Odour Sensitivity, and Odour-evoked Memories, as well as three secondary factors. Two factors were derived from the laboratory ratings contrasting Cognitive (sensations, images, memories) and Affective (pleasant, soothing, energising) Responses. Correlations among the factors showed that Ecological Odour Sensitivity in everyday life was correlated with strong Cognitive but weak Affective Responsiveness to the laboratory odours. In contrast, the Sexual Role of Bodily Odours (OELQ) was positively correlated with Affective Responses to the odours in the laboratory. These data underscore the dual role of odours in stimulating cognitive and affective reactions both in everyday life and in the laboratory.