More than a body: mind perception and the nature of objectification

According to models of objectification, viewing someone as a body induces de-mentalization, stripping away their psychological traits. Here evidence is presented for an alternative account, where a body focus does not diminish the attribution of all mental capacities but, instead, leads perceivers to infer a different kind of mind. Drawing on the distinction in mind perception between agency and experience, it is found that focusing on someone's body reduces perceptions of agency (self-control and action) but increases perceptions of experience (emotion and sensation). These effects were found when comparing targets represented by both revealing versus nonrevealing pictures (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) or by simply directing attention toward physical characteristics (Experiment 2). The effect of a body focus on mind perception also influenced moral intuitions, with those represented as a body seen to be less morally responsible (i.e., lesser moral agents) but more sensitive to harm (i.e., greater moral patients; Experiments 5 and 6). These effects suggest that a body focus does not cause objectification per se but, instead, leads to a redistribution of perceived mind.     

The object of my aggression: Sexual objectification increases physical aggression toward women

Objectification involves reducing someone to a sexual object, rather than seeing them as a full person. Despite numerous theoretical claims that people are more aggressive toward the objectified, and empirical evidence that objectification is linked to high willingness to aggress, rape proclivity, and aggressive attitudes, no research has examined a causal link between objectification and physical aggression, particularly in the context of provocation. In two experiments, we examined this predicted link. In Experiment 1, using a 2 (objectification: no/yes) × 2 (provocation: no/yes) factorial between‐subjects design, we investigated the effects of objectification, induced via body focus during a face‐to‐face interaction, and provocation on physical aggression toward a female confederate. Our results revealed a significant main effect of provocation, a marginal main effect of objectification, and a significant interaction between these variables. In the absence of a provocation, focusing on a woman's body increased aggression toward her. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using a video of a target woman instead of a face‐to‐face interaction. Again, our results showed a significant two‐way interaction between objectification and provocation, wherein objectification increased aggression in the absence of provocation. Overall, this research indicates that objectification can lead to heightened physical aggression toward objectified women.

     

Failure to loose fear: The impact of cognitive load and trait anxiety on extinction

Exposure therapy is an effective technique for fear reduction. However, whether effective exposure requires attentional allocation to the feared situation remains a debated clinical issue. In the present study, the impact of attention allocation in extinction was investigated in an experimental conditioning study. Through a between-subjects manipulation of cognitive load, we created a condition in which participants could allocate their attention to the feared stimulus during extinction (low load condition), and a condition in which attentional allocation was impaired (high load condition). The influence of cognitive load on extinction was examined by comparing electrodermal responses and verbal ratings for the conditioned stimuli in the two extinction load conditions. The results show less successful extinction in the high load condition than in the low load condition. However, this effect was found only in low anxious participants, and it was prominent only on the skin conductance responses. The present results suggest that extinction is not automatic but requires cognitive resources.     

Loss-aversion or loss-attention: The impact of losses on cognitive performance

Losses were found to improve cognitive performance, and this has been commonly explained by increased weighting of losses compared to gains (i.e., loss aversion). We examine whether effects of losses on performance could be modulated by two alternative processes: an attentional effect leading to increased sensitivity to task incentives; and a contrast-related effect. Empirical data from five studies show that losses improve performance even when the enhanced performance runs counter to the predictions of loss aversion. In Study 1–3 we show that in various settings, when an advantageous option produces large gains and small losses, participants select this alternative at a higher rate than when it does not produce losses. Consistent with the joint influence of attention and contrast-related processes, this effect is smaller when a disadvantageous alternative produces the losses. In Studies 4 and 5 we find a positive effect on performance even with no contrast effects (when a similar loss is added to all alternatives). These findings indicate that both attention and contrast-based processes are implicated in the effect of losses on performance, and that a positive effect of losses on performance is not tantamount to loss aversion.     

I was always on my mind: The self and temporary forgetting

Previous research has demonstrated that the act of remembering can prompt the temporary suppression of related items in memory—that is,retrieval-induced forgetting (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). In extending work of this kind, the present research sought to identify some important boundary conditions of this effect. As expected, temporary forgetting was eliminated under task conditions that elicited distinctive encoding operations—specifically, when material was relevant to the self. This result is noteworthy since it identifies spontaneous processing operations that protect information from temporary forgetting, a finding that has important implications both for the emergence of this inhibitory effect in everyday life and for theoretical treatments of memory function.     

Dream recall and sleep duration: state or trait factor

Previous research regarding the relationship between habitual sleep duration and frequency of dream recall yielded conflicting results, whereas experimental manipulation of sleep duration showed a significant effect on dream recall. In this study analyzing both effects simultaneously, the findings from diaries kept by the 196 participants over 28 to 111 days indicated that intra-individual fluctuations in sleep duration were significantly related to dream recall whereas interindividual differences in dream recall were not associated with differences in sleep duration. Sleep inertia might be an explanation for this finding.     

Assessing the associations among trait and state levels of deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering

Recent research has demonstrated that mind wandering can be subdivided into spontaneous and deliberate types, and this distinction has been found to hold at both the trait and state levels. However, to date, no attempts have been made to link trait-level spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering with state-level assessments of these two subtypes of mind wandering. Here we evaluated whether trait-level deliberate and spontaneous mind wandering map onto state levels of these subtypes of mind wandering. Results showed correspondence between trait-level reports of spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering and their state-level counterparts, indicating that people’s reports on the intentionality of their mind wandering in the laboratory correspond to their reports of the intentionality of mind wandering in everyday life. Thus, the trait- and state-level scales of mind wandering were found to validate each other: Whereas the state-level measures provided some construct validity for the trait-level measures, the trait-level measures indicated that the state-level measures may be generalizable to everyday situations.     

The relationship between women's body satisfaction and self-image across the life span: the role of cognitive control

The authors examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-image across the life span. A sample of 106 women between the ages of 20 and 65 years completed questionnaire measures of body dissatisfaction, body importance, cognitive control over the body, self-concept, and self-esteem. The authors found that body dissatisfaction and body importance did not differ among the groups of women who were younger, middle aged, and older. Although body dissatisfaction was related to self-concept and self-esteem for the entire sample, the strength of that relationship reduced with increasing age and increasing perceptions of cognitive control. The authors concluded that the cognitive strategies of women who were older protect their self-concept and self-esteem from the influence of body dissatisfaction.     

Sex differences in the impact of state and trait fatigue on gait variability

Conditions requiring greater attention or cognitive control, such as fatigue, lead to changes in the motor performance of a task. Perceived fatigue refers to subjective feelings of fatigue, can be expressed as a state variable or trait characteristic and is influenced by demographic factors, such as sex. The purpose of this study was to determine how sex interacts with state and trait physical fatigue (PF) and mental fatigue (MF) to influence gait variability. METHODS: 123 healthy adults (77 female, 46 male), aged 18–36 years, completed the Mental and Physical State and Trait Energy and Fatigue Scale. Using a median split for each fatigue variable, participants were placed into “low” or “high” fatigue categories. Gait variability was defined as the asymmetry of lateral step variability (ALSV) and coefficient of variation (CV) of gait speed, stride length and double limb (DL) support during overground walking. RESULTS: Males with low state PF had greater ALSV than females with low state PF (p = 0.05, η²_p = 0.07) and males with high state PF (p = 0.007, η²_p = 0.15). Females with high trait MF had greater CV of gait speed than females with low trait mental fatigue (p = 0.02, η²_p = 0.08). Males with low trait MF had greater CV of gait speed (p = 0.01, η²_p = 0.10) and stride length (p = 0.002, η²_p = 0.17) than females with low trait MF. CV of DL support did not vary based on fatigue level or sex (p ≥ 0.11). CONCLUSIONS: There are sex-specific differences in the impact of state PF on asymmetry of lateral step variability and trait MF on the variability of gait speed and stride length.     

儿童心理理论能力中特质理解的研究

特质是可以概括、预测和解释行为的稳定的内部特征,包含了人的理智、情绪和社会方面的特征。特质理解是心理理论研究中的一个重要研究领域,它对于社会能力的促进和发展具有重要意义。文章概述了国内外该研究领域的主要研究成果及研究动态,包括儿童自由描述中特质词的使用、特质稳定性的理解、特质心理因果性的理解及与特质理解相关的其他方面的理解的研究。     

Extended mind and cognitive enhancement: moral aspects of cognitive artifacts

This article connects philosophical debates about cognitive enhancement and situated cognition. It does so by focusing on moral aspects of enhancing our cognitive abilities with the aid of external artifacts. Such artifacts have important moral dimensions that are addressed neither by the cognitive enhancement debate nor situated cognition theory. In order to fill this gap in the literature, three moral aspects of cognitive artifacts are singled out: their consequences for brains, cognition, and culture; their moral status; and their relation to personal identity.     

The multidimensionality of state and trait anxiety

Abstract.— The two major problems investigated were ( a ) the multidimensionality of trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety, and ( b ) the relationship between A-Trait and A-State under neutral conditions, using two measures of A-Trait (SR-GTA and STAI-T) and two measures of A-State (BRQ and STAI-S). These scales were administered to a sample of Swedish university students (54 males and 105 females). Factor analyses of the GTA situational scales yielded an interpersonal ego threat A-Trait factor and a physical danger A-Trait factor. Factor analyses of the GTA reaction scales and STAI-T reaction scales yielded, respectively, two and three factors providing evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Results of variance components analyses of the GTA scales provided further evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Factor analyses of the BRQand STAI-S measures yielded four and three factors, respectively, indicating the multidimensionality of A-State. The correlations between trait and state measures were higher than the correlations between the two state measures, and a factor analysis of the trait and state scales did not yield separate state and trait factors, questioning the proposition that A-Trait and A-State are distinct concepts. Via latent profile analysis, it was possible to compare A-State differences for different A-Trait profiles. Problems for further research were discussed.     

The interplay of trait worry and trait anxiety in determining episodic retrieval: The role of cognitive control

Worrying is a key concept in describing the complex relationship between anxiety and cognitive control. On the one hand, cognitive control processes might underlie the specific tendency to engage in worrying (i.e., trait worry), conceptualized as a future-oriented mental problem-solving activity. On the other hand, the general tendency to experience the signs and symptoms of anxiety (i.e., trait anxiety) is suggested to impair cognitive control because worrisome thoughts interfere with task-relevant processing. Based on these opposing tendencies, we predicted that the effect of the two related constructs, trait anxiety and trait worry, might cancel out one another. In statistics, such instances have been termed suppressor situations. In four experiments, we found evidence for such a suppressor situation: When their shared variance was controlled, trait worry was positively whereas trait anxiety was negatively related to performance in a memory task requiring strategic, effortful retrieval. We also showed that these opposing effects are related to temporal context reinstatement. Our results suggest that trait worry and trait anxiety possess unique sources of variance, which differently relate to performance in memory tasks requiring cognitive control.     

Theory of mind: The state of the art*

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on theory of mind as a field (ToM), how it has developed over the years, and focally on the state of current research and theory. Having begun with preschoolers’ understanding of beliefs and desires, the field now includes research from infancy through late life, contributions and contributors from around the world, research on behavior, conversation, neural correlates, gene-environment contributions, evolution, and the social-behavioral antecedents and consequences of the unfolding trajectories of ToM understanding. Several topics in particular portray the current state of the art and my sense of where theory-of-mind research is likely to head in the near future: progressions of theory of mind achievement; cultural experiences plus experiential influences that shape developmental trajectories; developmental cognitive neuroscience; infant ToM insights; research on ToM developments beyond preschool, including children’s increasing interest in and wrestling with extraordinary minds, such as those of God and super-heroes.     

Stigma on my mind: Individual differences in the experience of stereotype threat

Stereotyped individuals vary in how chronically self-conscious they are of their stigmatized status, which Pinel (1999) has dubbed stigma consciousness. The current study investigated whether individual differences in stigma consciousness moderate the impact of gender stereotypes on the math performance of women. Results indicated that, under conditions designed to evoke stereotype threat (Steele, 1997), women high in stigma consciousness scored worse than women low in stigma consciousness on a math test. In the control (low threat) condition, stigma consciousness was unrelated to test performance. Possible mechanisms underlying this moderation are discussed.     

The psychological impact of reproductive difficulties on women's lives

Little is known about the long-term impact of reproductive experiences on women's lives. This paper uses questionnaire data collected from 107 White female college graduates, when they were approximately 47 years old. More than half the sample had experienced at least one type of reproductive difficulty (abortion, miscarriage, or infertility). The stress and coping model of life difficulties (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984) was used to examine the relationship between the women's reproductive difficulties and emotional sequelae, politicization, and orientation to motherhood at midlife. As predicted, emotional responses to the reproductive difficulties varied according to the particular nature of each experience. In addition, women who had abortions and no other difficulties were more politicized at midlife than other women. Women whose reproductive experiences were especially likely to arouse feelings of not being in control of their life (those who had miscarriages or infertility) described a more agentic orientation to motherhood when compared with other women.