Hardiness and stress moderation: a test of proposed mechanisms

High and low hardy male and female undergraduates completed an evaluative threat task that was manipulated to influence appraisals of the task in a manner consistent with hardiness theory. High hardy subjects displayed higher frustration tolerance, appraised the task as less threatening, and responded to the task with more positive and less negative affect than did low hardy subjects. Although all subjects displayed increased heart rate (HR) in response to the experimental task, high hardy men displayed lower HR elevations during the task than did low hardy men. Hardiness did not influence HR responses among women. Manipulations of task appraisal revealed a similar pattern where men in the high hardiness appraisal conditions displayed lower levels of physiological arousal during the task than did men in the low hardiness appraisal conditions. Appraisal manipulations had either no effect or the opposite effect among women.     

Dispositional Hardiness And Women'S Well-Being Relating To Gender Discrimination: The Role Of Minimization

Three studies examined whether personality-based hardiness would be associated with mental health benefits in contexts of gender discrimination. Hardy women encountering both a laboratory simulation and a hypothetical scenario of discrimination showed greater self-esteem and less negative affect than low hardy women. However, these benefits were mediated by the use of specific attributions, suggesting that well-being in hardy women may have been achieved through minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination. The third study showed this mediation pattern occurred only for participants exposed to higher threat scenarios versus lower threat scenarios of discrimination. Thus, minimizing the pervasiveness of discrimination may have been a threat-reducing tool for high hardy women. Bandura's (1997) self-efficacy theory was used as a possible explanation for this finding.     

Eye movements during REM sleep: the influence of personality and presleep conditions.

Male subjects scoring high (n=17) or low (n=14) on the Maudsley Neuroticism scale were randomly assigned to a positive (n=17) or negative (ego threat) (n=14) presleep condition and then slept a single night in the laboratory. The negative condition elicited significantly more rapid eye movement activity (REM density) than did the positive condition (pless than.03). There was a significant interaction for Groups X Conditions (pless than.007) indicating that low neuroticism subjects had greater REM density in the negative condition, and less REM density in the positive condition, compared to high neuroticism subjects under either condition. The low neuroticism subjects in the negative condition showed a discrepancy between greater REM density but less admission of stress on a presleep mood questionnaire compared to high neuroticism subjects. These results support the hypothesis that REM density is a correlate of stress-induced arousal that is subject to the modifying effects of individual differences.     

Physiological arousal, dissonance, and attitude change: evidence for a dissonance-arousal link and a "don't remind me" effect

Two experiments replicated and extended research by Croyle and Cooper (1983) indicating that cognitive dissonance involves physiological arousal. In Experiment 1, subjects wrote counterattitudinal essays under conditions of high or low choice, and, to assess arousal effects owing to effort, with or without a list of arguments provided by the experimenter. In high-choice conditions only, and regardless of effort, subjects showed both arousal (heightened galvanic skin response) and attitude change. Arousal, however, did not decline following attitude change. The more effortful task (no arguments provided) produced increased arousal but not greater attitude change. In Experiment 2, the opportunity to change one's attitude following a freely chosen counterattitudinal essay was manipulated. As in Experiment 1, arousal increased following the essay but did not decline following a postessay attitude change opportunity. When subjects were not given an attitude change opportunity, however, arousal did decline. Thus, dissonance seems to create arousal, but attitude change sustains rather than reduces the arousal. It is suggested that if dissonance is a drive state, drive reduction typically may be accomplished through gradual cognitive change or forgetting.     

Appraisal of life change, depression, and illness in hardy and nonhardy women

A survey study of adult women was conducted to examine whether psychological hardiness buffers people against stressful life change through the appraisal and interpretation of life experiences. Hardy and nonhardy participants reported life events for the previous year, physical illness for the previous 6 months, and current levels of depression and rated each reported event in terms of its desirability. Results indicate that, although hardiness is not associated with the likelihood of reporting any specific life event, nonhardy subjects appraise a significantly higher proportion of their life experiences as undesirable than do hardy subjects and report that each negative event requires greater adjustment. Discussion focuses on nonhardiness as a correlate of the trait of negative affectivity rather than hardiness as a reflection of special resiliency to stress.     

刻板印象威胁对城市出生流动儿童认知表现的积极效应及机制

本研究通过两个子研究考察刻板印象威胁对城市出生流动儿童认知任务表现的影响及其机制。研究1考察刻板印象威对城市出生流动儿童认知任务表现的影响。研究2考察专注与自尊在刻板印象威胁影响认知任务表现中的作用。结果发现,刻板印象威胁正向预测认知任务表现,而自尊调节专注在其中的中介效应：刻板印象威胁通过提升专注促进低自尊儿童认知任务的表现;专注的中介作用在高自尊儿童中不显著。     

The pupillary response as an indicator of arousal and cognition

Psychological research on the pupillary response since 1960 has focused on an arousal interpretation and a cognitive interpretation. Experiment 1 was an attempt to manipulate some arousal factors while controlling the cognitive demands of the task. Pupil size was cinematographically recorded while subjects who had different degrees of reported fear of snakes listened to passages describing imagined interactions with a snake in different proximities. There was also a set of control passages that made no mention of snakes but were otherwise semantically and syntactically identical to the aversive passages. The pupillary response showed no influence of the arousal manipulations, but rating and behavioral data indicated that the arousal variables had been effective. The cognitive demands of the task were clearly indicated by the pupillary response. In Experiment 2 two types of tasks were used: one that employed both arousal (incentive) and cognitive factors and another that had an arousal manipulation (threat of shock) but no explicit cognitive demands. The pupil response was recorded as well as heart rate, skin conductance, and EMG. The pupillary response showed an effect of the arousal manipulations only when cognitive demands were minimal. The results of both experiments are consistent with the view that cognitive demands take priority over arousal factors in affecting the pupillary response. Heart rate did show arousal effects that were not preempted by cognitive demands.     

Individual differences in cognition: Some relationships between personality and memory

Individual differences in cognition were studied in the form of the hypothesis that arousal, as indexed by personality measures of extraversion and neuroticism, affects the way in which verbal material is organized in memory. Subjects pretested on measures of these personality variables participated in either a paired-associates learning or a free-recall experiment. On the paired-associates task, subjects who were thought to be high on arousal made fewer errors when response terms were semantically similar than low arousal subjects. On the other hand, subjects thought low on arousal made fewer errors when response words were phonetically similar than high arousal subjects. On the free-recall task, low arousal subjects were found to cluster words together on the basis of semantic category at a higher rate than high arousal subjects. These results were taken to support the view that high arousal (as indexed by personality measures) leads to a focus on the physical aspects of verbal material, whereas low arousal leads to a memory organized around semantic aspects. The implications of these findings for other views of memory are discussed.     

Affiliation and self disclosure in a specific ego threat situation

This study presents findings about affiliative reactions to a specific ego threat in a real life situation. Subjects exposed to a personal and cognitive evaluation were asked about their preference for sharing this experience with others or experiencing it individually. They were compared with subjects offered the same choice in a neutral non-evaluative situation. The actual self disclosure of the subjects was also evaluated. As hypothesized, the subjects in the evaluative condition reacted with higher levels of emotional arousal and preferred isolation rather than affiliation. The hypothesis that emotional arousal due to a specific ego threat would restrict self disclosing behavior was only partly confirmed.     

Anxiety‐induced performance catastrophes: Investigating effort required as an asymmetry factor

Two studies are reported that test the hypothesis that previous support for the cusp catastrophe model of anxiety and performance, and the hysteresis effect in particular, could have been due to a complex interaction between cognitive anxiety and effort required rather than between cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal. We used task difficulty to manipulate effort required in a letter transformation task. Experiment 1 (N=32) used high levels of trait anxiety together with a competitive environment to induce state anxiety. Experiment 2 (N=20) used a competitive environment with social pressure and ego threat instructions to induce high levels of worry. Both studies revealed significant three‐way interactions as hypothesized with follow‐up tests showing some support for the hysteresis hypothesis in Study 1, and strong support for the hysteresis hypothesis in Study 2. The findings support a processing efficiency theory explanation of anxiety‐induced performance catastrophes and indicate that two cusp catastrophe models of performance may exist; one that incorporates the interactive effects of cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal upon performance and the other that incorporates the interactive effects of cognitive anxiety and effort required upon performance.     

Effects of displacing aggression by annoyed and nonannoyed subjects

Low hostility-guilt subjects were either annoyed or not annoyed by an experimental confederate and given the opportunity to (a) displace aggression against a second confederate in a memory task, (b) go through a similar task but not aggress, or (c) sit quietly for a comparable period of time. All subjects were subsequently allowed to aggress against their annoyer in a “creativity” task. While displacement following annoyance did not reduce physiological arousal, it did reduce the amount of subsequent aggression against the annoyer. Conversely, the expression of aggression in subjects who were not annoyed resulted in an increase in physiological arousal, but not in subsequent aggression. No significant relationships were found between physiological arousal and subsequent aggression.     

Effects of depression on sensory/motor vs. central processing in visual mental imagery

Actual anger response styles during anger encounters may well diverge from self-reported habitual anger response styles, such as anger - in, anger - out, or anger control. Also, the relationship of actual anger response styles to broad personality traits is not well known. We obtained anger self - reports, physiological reactivity (diastolic blood pressure, skin temperature at the forehead, and EMG extensor digitorum), and ratings of facial anger expression, and defined actual anger response style dimensions of “intensity”, “suppression”, “repression”, and “denial” as particular patterns of discrepancies among these responses. A total of 80 female subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment (Tr) and a control (Co) group. Anger was induced through real - life provocations. Compared to Co, Tr subjects showed larger physiological responses and reported more anger. Habitual anger response styles did not predict actual styles, whereas extraversion and neuroticism did. Control subjects scoring low on extraversion or high on neuroticism reacted with high denial, that is, with stronger physiological and behavioural than experiential anger, whereas the opposite pattern of low denial was found for treatment subjects low on extraversion or high on neuroticism. These results suggest that both the particular situation and broad but not narrow personality traits exert an influence on actual anger response styles.     

Effects of paced respiration and expectations on physiological and psychological responses to threat.

While waiting to receive electric shocks, 105 males either (a) regulated their breathing at one half the normal rate, (b) regulated their breathing at the normal rate, or (c) did not regulate their breathing rate. Half of the subjects in each breathing condition were told that their breathing task would aid them in relaxing, whereas the other half were not given that expectation. Subjects in a no threat condition were not threatened with shocks, did not regulate their breathing, and were not provided with expectations. The results indicated that slowing respiration rate reduced physiological arousal as measured by skin resistance and finger pulse volume (but not heart rate) and reduced self-reports of anxiety. Expectations did not influence arousal. These data provide evidence for the effectiveness of paced respiration as a coping strategy, and they resolve the conflicting findings of previous investigations.     

The Role of Hardiness in Moderating the Relationship Between Global/Specific Attributions and Actions Against Discrimination

In this study, we proposed that individual differences in hardiness may moderate the relationship between global attributions and actions against discrimination. Specifically, global attributions were expected to predict decreased endorsement of actions to combat discrimination among low hardy women. In contrast, global attributions were expected to predict increased endorsement of actions among high hardy women. High and low hardy women were exposed to a laboratory situation of discrimination, and their attributions for, and responses to, discrimination were then assessed. Results showed the expected interaction, but in the opposite direction: among low hardy women, global attributions predicted stronger endorsement of action. Among high hardy women, specific attributions predicted stronger endorsement of action. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

情绪效价和唤醒对熟悉性和回想的不同影响

本研究检验了情绪的效价和唤醒对记忆提取阶段熟悉性过程和回想过程的影响及其心理机制。结果发现,编码阶段无分心任务时,积极图片的高、低自信再认准确率均高于消极图片,而唤醒对于高自信再认准确率的影响只限于消极图片;在编码阶段设置分心任务时,发现积极和消极的高唤醒图片的高自信再认准确率显著高于低唤醒图片。这些结果说明情绪的效价影响了熟悉性和回想两类记忆过程,而唤醒只影响回想过程,效价效应是编码阶段被试调用认知资源对积极图片进行精细加工的结果,而唤醒对回想过程的影响是自动编码高唤醒刺激细节的结果。     

人格特质对选择性加工偏向的影响

采用词性辨别和注意探测任务,考察了神经质和外倾性对选择性加工偏向的影响。结果表明：（1）放试在选择信息时存在特质一致性倾向;（2）在单一刺激条件下,当刺激词呈现时间为0．5s时,高神经质对所有效价词的RT均快于低神经质;而当呈现时间为1．0s时,外倾者比内倾者的反应潜伏期更短4（3）双重刺激条件下的选择性加工偏向比单一刺激条件更明显;（4）在词性辨别任务中．刺激词呈现时间只影响了神经质被试对情绪词的RT;在注意探测任务中,呈现时间对内外倾被试的加工偏向影响不显著。     

Hardiness: a review of theory and research.

Although a large body of research on hardiness (a personality construct with dimensions of commitment, control, and challenge) has accumulated, several fundamental issues remain unresolved. Although there are several hardiness scales, the properties of these scales have not been compared. There is debate as to whether hardiness is one or several characteristics. Research studying the pathways through which hardiness exerts its effects has not been comprehensively evaluated. Whereas critics have argued that hardiness does not buffer stress, others have suggested that hardiness buffers for working adults, for males, and in prospective analyses. There is also growing concern that hardiness is related to neuroticism. A review of the literature supports the following conclusions: The Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS) has several advantages over alternative scales; DRS items form three factors that are consistent with hardiness theory; hardiness dimensions generally show low to moderate intercorrelations; the most common way of categorizing subjects as high or low in hardiness is not consistent with hardiness theory; hardiness does not buffer stress, and it does not buffer stress for working adults, for males, or in prospective analyses; both old and new hardiness scales inadvertently measure neuroticism. Recommendations for future research are provided.     

Cognition and mood in relation to the performance of squash tasks

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the role of cognition and mood in the performance of squash tasks, with particular reference to attention and self-reported arousal and stress. Volunteer male subjects (n = 40), divided into three ability groups, 'skilled', 'average' and 'novice', were required to perform two squash tasks with different degrees of difficulty. Order of presentation of the tasks was controlled. Results indicated that subjects completing the easier squash task first performed better on the subsequent difficult task than those subjects who completed the more difficult task first. No differences in scores across tasks were found for subjects completing the tasks in reverse order. Performance was related to level of skill. Furthermore, significant differences in attentional style were revealed when average subjects were compared with skilled and novice players. Skilled players were also found to exhibit significantly different personality characteristics from novice players. Specifically, skilled players exhibited higher levels of extraversion and appeared less neurotic. For the average and novice groups, reports of high levels of stress accompanied those of high levels of arousal and these remained constant throughout the experiment. By contrast, for the skilled group low levels of stress accompanied high levels of arousal. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of these cognitive and mood factors on performance and a suggested direction for future research is offered.     

Links between neuroticism, emotional distress, and disengaging attention: evidence from a single-target RSVP task

Anxiety and depression are often associated with attention control deficits, but few studies have explored whether neuroticism can account for these links. In the present study, undergraduate students (n=146) completed self-report measures of neuroticism, worry, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression and also completed a visual attention task in which they were asked to identify a red target letter embedded within a rapid sequence of items. Neuroticism was associated with detection of the target when it was preceded by a distracter with which it shared a feature in common (a green letter). Specifically, these distracters produced longer attentional blinks in individuals with elevated levels of neuroticism. In contrast, target detection was not significantly associated with worry, anxious arousal, or anhedonic depression. We discuss the implications of this link between neuroticism and attention for cognitive models of emotional distress and disorders.     

The effects of cognitive style and training on performance ratings' validity

This study investigated how personal cognitive style and training effect rating validity with two different rating tasks. Male undergraduate volunteers (n = 53) served as raters and rated videotaped lecturers. Using the Embedded Figures Test to measure cognitive style, two groups of raters were formed: those who tend to structure information presented (articulated) and those who do not (global). Half of each cognitive style received observational training designed to be congruent with the behavioral rating task. All raters completed two rating tasks: one requiring an evaluative judgment and one requiring a judgment of behavior frequency. It was hypothesized that with the evaluative rating task, cognitive style would be and training would not be a significant predictor of validity, because the training was not relevant to the task. It was also hypothesized that with the observational task training would improve rating validity (overcoming cognitive style), because the training was relevant to the rating task. Both hypotheses were supported.I wish to thank Dr. Kevin Murphy for the use of the videotapes.