Emotional processing of individuals high in psychopathic traits

One of the most important clinical features of psychopaths is their differential emotional response style. The present study examined the modulating effect of negative mood induction on the processing of emotional information and its relation to psychopathy. The sample of 105 participants were randomly assigned to two types of mood induction conditions (negative vs neutral) and viewed three types of visual stimuli (positive, neutral, negative). Psychopathic Personality Inventory‐R (PPI‐R; Lilienfeld & Andrews) was employed to measure their psychopathic traits. It was hypothesized that individuals high on PPI‐II (i.e., self‐centered impulsivity) would show greater response latencies to emotionally negative pictures when they were induced into a negative mood compared to individuals high on PPI‐I (i.e., fearless dominance). In general, individuals high on PPI‐II showed greater response latencies to emotionally negative pictures, but their responsivity did not vary as a function of mood manipulation or task demands. When controlling the influence of other PPI factors, PPI‐I predicted reaction time (RT) facilitation to positive pictures in general (i.e., faster RT), and when interacting with a negative mood induction, it predicted longer viewing time of and more difficulty disattending from positive pictures (i.e., slower RT). These results were discussed within emotional processing theory associated with psychopathy.     

情绪对延迟折扣的影响：现状、机制与展望

延迟折扣研究领域日益重视情绪的影响作用。本文基于三类研究取向对情绪与延迟折扣关系研究进行了回顾。情绪效价和唤醒度均影响延迟折扣,但是研究结果并不一致;具体情绪类型不同,其对延迟折扣影响也存在差异。除此之外,本文就情绪信息理论、情绪动机维度理论和评估倾向理论如何解释延迟折扣进行了详细阐述。未来的研究需要进一步深入考察情绪影响延迟折扣的认知神经机制,从而为延迟折扣的负性情绪效应的干预提供可靠的科学依据。     

Inhibitory control and affective valence processing in dementia of the alzheimer type

Emotional and traditional Stroop effects were contrasted in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and age‐equated, non‐demented individuals to examine (a) differences in the speed of processing emotional versus neutral words; and (b) the extent to which the emotional valence influences interference effects. Individuals with moderate AD experienced larger traditional Stroop interference effects than did healthy elderly or individuals with mild AD. Emotional Stroop effects were evident among individuals with moderate AD and significantly greater than elderly and individuals with mild AD who exhibited minimal effects. For negative words, significant differences were only observed between individuals with moderate AD and healthy elderly. Emotional Stroop effects among individuals with AD were not statistically different for positive and negative words. The impact of stimulus intensity level and AD‐associated changes to the prefrontal cortex and amygdala on emotional Stroop effects requires further investigation.     

Emotional reactions and regulatory responses to negative and positive events: Associations with attachment and gender

In two studies, we examined inter-individual variability in responses to both negative and positive events. In the first study, participants (119 college students) reported on negative and positive events from their own lives. The second was an experiment in which participants (133 college students) were given either negative or positive feedback about their personality. With negative events, more insecure individuals, especially anxiously attached, evidenced more intense negative emotional reactions and greater processing of (i.e., ruminating on) negative experiences. With positive events, securely attached individuals and less anxiously attached engaged in greater processing of positive experiences (maximized), whereas more insecure individuals tended to minimize positive experiences. Gender differences for emotion regulation were moderated by either attachment or event type. Findings for negative events generally coincide with prior research, and those for positive events provide new evidence that attachment style could affect how people react to positive events and emotions.     

儿童期遭受心理虐待个体的自我加工特点

儿童期心理虐待会导致个体形成消极自我,这种消极自我还会影响个体行为。与以往研究采用自我报告方法不同,本研究采用知觉匹配范式,用客观量化方法,以自我加工优势（自我关联会自动增强刺激的加工,表现为人们总是对自己相关信息加工又快又好）来评估儿童期遭受心理虐待个体的自我加工能力。结果发现,儿童期遭受心理虐待个体依然存在自我加工优势,且朋友加工优势得到增强;在消极情绪条件下遭受心理虐待个体自我优势稳定存在,在积极情绪条件其自我优势消失。结论：儿童期遭受心理虐待个体自我整合功能并不稳定,消极情绪维持其自我加工能力,积极情绪则降低其自我加工能力。     

How do you choose and how well does it work?: the selection and effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies and their relationship with borderline personality disorder feature severity

There is little research examining whether the selection of emotion regulation strategies is compromised among individuals characterised by emotion dysregulation. In a sample of 149 undergraduates, we examined the selection and effectiveness of 2 emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal or distraction) in response to emotionally evocative stimuli, and their relationship with emotion dysregulation, measured by borderline personality disorder (BPD) feature severity. Stimulus intensity and self-reported negative emotional intensity were also compared as predictors of strategy selection. Results indicated that self-reported negative emotional intensity was a stronger predictor of strategy selection than stimulus intensity, and participants generally selected reappraisal over distraction. However, increases in self-reported negative emotional intensity was associated with an increased likelihood of choosing distraction, particularly among individuals higher in BPD features. In general, distraction exhibited less effectiveness than reappraisal, and higher BPD features did not differentially impact such effectiveness. Our findings indicate that individuals higher in emotion dysregulation prefer to use distraction as self-reported negative emotional intensity increases, a strategy which, overall, may not be as effective as reappraisal. Selection, rather than effectiveness of emotion regulation strategy might be a key feature of individuals characterised by emotion dysregulation.     

Low alpha power (7.5–9.5 Hz) changes during positive and negative affective learning

There is evidence that the positive and the negative word lists of the Affective Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AAVL) are useful with regard to mood induction. To date, however, changes in brain activation, as indicated by quantitative electroencephalographic recording, have not been examined. Thus, changes in low alpha power (7.5-9.5 Hz) were examined during and after completion of the positive or the negative learning list of the AAVL among 37 undergraduate men and women. Three primary findings from the study include the following: (1) Previously reported recall patterns were replicated; (2) participants who completed the negative list reported a significant decline in mood state at the end of the session; and (3) participants who completed the negative word list evidenced a significant reduction in low alpha power (in comparison with baseline) within the parietal regions. The findings noted above are seemingly counter to contemporary theories of mood regulation (i.e., asymmetrical changes in anterior activity, rather than changes in parietal regions). Although the AAVL may have limited utility as a tool for mood induction, it may serve as a functional tool for examination of the cerebral processes associated with affective verbal memory.     

The experience of positive emotion is associated with the automatic processing of positive emotional words

The current study examines the relationship between attention bias for positive emotional words and self-reported emotional experience. Previous research suggests that the experience of positive emotion momentarily broadens cognitive processes, potentially allowing individuals to build an array of enduring personal resources. However, it is unknown whether the experience of positive emotion also broadens emotional information processing. Participants included 60 healthy undergraduate students who completed measures of psychopathology, self-reported emotional experience, and an emotional Stroop task designed to measure attentional bias to positive and negative emotional information. Results indicate significant associations between reaction times for high-intensity happiness words and self-reported high levels of positive emotion and low levels of negative emotions. These associations were not present for low intensity happiness words. Findings suggest that individuals who experience high levels of positive emotion and low levels of negative emotion demonstrate an attention bias for positive information and, from an information processing perspective, provide insight into the manner in which positive emotions broaden cognitive processes.     

Emotion at the expense of cognition: psychopathic individuals outperform controls on an operant response task

The impact of emotional stimuli on a simple motor response task in individuals with psychopathy and comparison individuals was investigated. Psychopathy was assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (Hare, 1991). Participants were presented with the Emotional Interrupt Task, in which they responded with left and right button presses to shapes that were temporally bracketed by positive, negative, and neutral visual images taken from the International Affective Picture System. The comparison group showed increased response latencies if the shape was temporally bracketed by either a positive or negative emotional stimulus relative to a neutral stimulus. Individuals with psychopathy did not show this modulation of reaction time for either positive or negative emotional stimuli. Results are discussed with reference to current models regarding the modulation of attention by emotion and the emotional impairment seen in individuals with psychopathy.     

服务消费中多次情绪感染对消费者负面情绪的 动态影响机制

在深入剖析情绪感染心理机制的基础上,深入研究了在服务消费中多次情绪感染对消费者负面情绪的动态影响。作者采用实验法,使用真实情景录像作为刺激物,验证了在服务消费中,正向情绪感染和负向情绪感染都是真实存在的,并且服务人员的情绪、语言和行为都会对消费者负面情绪产生持续的动态影响,同时证实了情绪感染敏感度对情绪感染过程产生明显的调节作用。     

Mood repair and processing mode in depression

Recalling positive autobiographical memories is a powerful emotion regulation strategy that can be used to repair low mood and alleviate negative affect. Unlike healthy individuals, those with current or past depression do not experience an improvement in mood as a consequence of recalling positive memories. We tested whether differences in processing mode might account for this impairment. Following mood induction procedures designed to ensure equivalence of mood state, depressed (n = 35) and recovered depressed (n = 33) participants were instructed to recall a positive memory and focus on it while adopting either an abstract or a concrete mode of processing. Participants in the abstract processing condition experienced no change in mood, while those in the concrete processing condition showed improved mood after memory recall. This research illustrates that the process by which positive autobiographical memories are recalled is important in determining their emotional impact and suggests that psychological interventions for depression may be improved by explicitly targeting processing mode.     

Attentional bias and anxiety in individuals with coronary heart disease

This study examined whether in an emotional Stroop task, individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) would show greater attention towards the threatening words related to their disease than healthy persons, and if such an attentional bias is associated with anxiety. An emotional Stroop task with threatening words related to CHD as well as positive, negative and neutral words was administered to 35 individuals with CHD and 35 healthy controls. Additionally, the original Stroop task, the Beck anxiety inventory and the state-trait anxiety inventory were administered. The results indicated an attentional bias towards threatening words related to CHD in the individuals with CHD. They experienced higher interference than healthy participants from threatening words related to CHD but not from positive or negative words. Moreover, the level of interference was associated with their level of anxiety, and a vicious circle may exist in this association. In addition, results indicated a possible deficit of executive functioning among individuals with CHD. Attentional bias, as well as its association with anxiety, and an indication of deficit in executive functioning among individuals with CHD might be the risk factors for these individuals’ quality of life and for further development of their disease.     

A preliminary investigation of cognitive flexibility for emotional information in major depressive disorder and non-psychiatric controls

Clinical research suggests that individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) are cognitively inflexible, exhibiting ruminative, rigid, and automatic thoughts within a negative schema. However, existing neuropsychological research on cognitive flexibility in this population has not employed emotional stimuli. Because research suggests that the performance of individuals with MDD is modulated when emotional stimuli are used, this study investigates the impact of emotional stimuli on cognitive flexibility performance through a novel emotional modification of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Controls were less flexible when stimuli were positive and individuals with MDD were less flexible when stimuli were negative relative to the controls. These divergent styles of responding to emotional information may contribute to the relative risk or protection from depressed mood.     

社会网络视角的团队情绪智力

据估计, 60%的团队都没有达到它们的目标, 这给学术界提出了重要且具有挑战性的研究课题。情绪智力(emotional intelligence)是在人际关系基础上发展起来的重要概念。研究发现, 基于微观个体或宏观整体的团队情绪智力在团队成功达到目标过程中起到重要作用。然而, 当前尚无研究探讨基于团队局部成员间情绪智力行为交换而产生的团队情绪智力对团队的影响。为此, 本课题从配对层次(一对一关系中两个人, 即actor-target)这一新角度探讨团队情绪智力, 通过把它看做团队过程中一种产生的状态(emergent state), 在整合团队成员交换理论和社会网络方法基础上对它进行研究。具体围绕团队内配对单元存在的交换关系(指目标者感受到行动者对其实施的情绪智力行为)在团队中形成的网络所代表的团队情绪智力开展实证研究, 以期从理论上揭示团队内情绪智力行为交换的特征, 情绪智力自下而上(bottom-up)由个体发展到团队的过程, 以及配对基础的团队情绪智力的影响效应, 从而为团队管理实践提供具体的改善建议。     

Cognitive emotion regulation in adulthood and old age: positive gaze preferences across two strategies

While positive emotional functioning may be enhanced across adulthood and old age, research is mixed as to the types of regulatory strategies that are more or less beneficial for facilitating well-being. The goal of the present study was to examine how specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies assumed to rely on varying levels of effortful processing (selective attention vs. reappraisal) would impact regulatory behaviors (via eye gaze deployment) and resultant affective outcomes. Participants viewed a series of positive, negative, and neutral film clips while their eyes were tracked across three conditions: passive viewing, selective attention, and reappraisal. Results revealed that (a) both younger and older adults displayed positive fixation preferences and showed mood improvement across both regulatory conditions and (b) there was a marginal association between positive fixation and post-regulation mood. Implications for linking positivity to emotion regulation and well-being across adulthood are discussed.     

Emotional stimuli, divided attention, and memory

The emotion-memory literature has shown that negative emotional arousal enhances memory. S. A. Christianson (1992) proposed that preattentive processing could account for this emotion-memory relationship. Two experiments were conducted to test Christianson's theory. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to neutral and negative arousing slides. In Experiment 2, participants were exposed to neutral, negative arousing, and positive arousing slides. In both experiments, the aforementioned variable was factorially combined with a divided-attention or non-divided-attention condition. The authors predicted that, in contrast to the nondivided condition, dividing attention would adversely impact neutral and positive stimuli more than negative stimuli. The hypothesis was supported; participants recalled more high negative-arousal slides than positive or neutral slides when their attention was divided rather than nondivided.     

视角在自我评价早期阶段的调节作用

在自我评价过程中存在着自我积极偏差。已有研究表明,采用第三人称视角进行反射性自我评价可以减少自我积极偏差,这种调节作用主要表现在自我评价的后期,而评价早期是否就受到视角采择的调节尚不清楚。为了探讨视角采择在自我评价早期对积极偏差的调节作用,采集并分析了被试以第一人称和第三人称视角分别对积极、消极特质形容词进行自我描述判断时的脑电时域、频域数据。结果发现,在第三人称视角下,加工消极词比积极词在额叶区域诱发了更大的P2 (120-200ms)波幅,在左侧内侧前额叶有更显著的激活;在Theta (3-6Hz)、以及Gamma (30-45Hz)节律上有显著高的能量增加,而Alpha (8-13Hz)节律则有显著高的能量降低。说明在自我评价的早期,人们更容易注意到以第三人称为视角的自我相关消极信息,即通过他人视角采择对自我积极偏差的调节在自我评价的早期阶段就已经发生了。     

情绪加工中杏仁核的效价特异性

杏仁核是情绪信息加工的关键脑区。近年来心理学和神经科学领域发现了杏仁核情绪加工的效价特异性现象,并且整体存在左侧杏仁核对正性情绪、右侧杏仁核对负性情绪以及双侧杏仁核负性偏好的特异性趋势,且受到材料突出特征、个体差异、任务条件的调节。未来可进一步探索注意对杏仁核情绪效价特异性的调节作用,探究动态情绪刺激加工时杏仁核的活动特点,考察心理障碍患者加工负性情绪时的杏仁核激活模式,并确定杏仁核的效价特异性在思维、计划、决策等高级认知过程中的表现。     

Positive schizotypy and emotion processing

This study examined whether emotion processing traits and task performance are associated with positive schizotypy. Positive schizotypy individuals (n=34, assessed with the Magical Ideation and Perceptual Aberration Scales) reported greater attention to emotions but less emotional clarity than controls (n=56). Moreover, a significantly larger percentage of the schizotypy group was classified as emotionally overwhelmed. Positive schizotypy individuals also exhibited absent affective priming and increased incongruent errors at a short stimulus onset asynchrony and an absence of an effect of emotion on recognition memory, but an increased memory response bias for negative words. Results could not be accounted for by level of neuroticism or current mood. These results suggest that positive schizotypy is associated with the processing of emotional information.     

Masked emotional priming beyond global valence activations

An immense body of research demonstrates that emotional facial expressions can be processed unconsciously. However, it has been assumed that such processing takes place solely on a global valence-based level, allowing individuals to disentangle positive from negative emotions but not the specific emotion. In three studies, we investigated the specificity of emotion processing under conditions of limited awareness using a modified variant of an affective priming task. Faces with happy, angry, sad, fearful, and neutral expressions were presented as masked primes for 33 ms (Study 1) or 14 ms (Studies 2 and 3) followed by emotional target faces (Studies 1 and 2) or emotional adjectives (Study 3). Participants’ task was to categorise the target emotion. In all three studies, discrimination of targets was significantly affected by the emotional primes beyond a simple positive versus negative distinction. Results indicate that specific aspects of emotions might be automatically disentangled in addition to valence, even under conditions of subjective unawareness.