Emotional awareness,gender, and suspiciousness

We investigated the causal relation between emotional awareness (EA) and suspiciousness, and whether this relation is moderated by gender. After inducing an unpleasant mood, we manipulated EA by having participants read one of two versions of a story (the high EA condition provided cues to what the participant was feeling and why, whereas the low EA condition did not). Following the manipulation, one sample of participants completed a measure of suspiciousness, and a second, independent sample of participants described their emotional state. Emotional Awareness Condition×Gender effects were obtained for suspiciousness and EA. Men in the low EA condition reported significantly higher levels of suspiciousness and lower levels of EA than men in the high EA condition. Women in both conditions reported equally high levels of EA, which were greater than those of men in both conditions, and the manipulation did not affect their levels of suspiciousness.     

An exploratory analysis of American Indian children's cultural engagement, fluid cognitive skills, and standardized verbal IQ scores

This exploratory cross-sectional study examined fluid cognitive skills and standardized verbal IQ scores in relation to cultural engagement amongst Tohono O'odham children (N = 99; ages 7 to 12 years). Guardians with higher socioeconomic status engaged their children in more cultural activities, and participation in more cultural activities contributed to higher standardized verbal IQ scores. Mean cognitive skill scores varied as a function of age and Tohono O'odham language knowledge. Children who understood and/or spoke Tohono O'odham started out with lower average scores than did children with no language knowledge, but mean scores generally increased in the older age groups such that they were equal to or higher than those of nonspeakers by age 9. Children with higher fluid cognitive skill scores had higher standardized verbal IQ scores than did children with lower scores.     

Happiness in Everyday Life: The Uses of Experience Sampling

This paper uses the Experience Sampling Method data drawn from a national sample of American youth. It examines the proximal environmental factors as well as behaviors and habits that correlate to personal happiness. Momentary-level scores show that reported happiness varies significantly both by day of week and time of day. Furthermore, particular activities are associated with varying degrees of happiness. School activities rate below average scores in happiness, while social, active and passive leisure activities are above average. Particular companions also correlate to differing level of happiness. Being alone rates the lowest levels of happiness, while being with friend corresponds to the highest. Person-level averages of happiness suggest that both higher social class and age correlate with lower levels of happiness, while gender and race do not. Paradoxically, youth who spend more time in school and social activities are happier than those who spend less. Unexpectedly, students who spend more time pleasure reading report lower levels of happiness. Finally, feeling good about the self, excited, proud, sociable, active as well as being in the conditions for flow experience are the strongest predictors of trait happiness.     

Evaluating the influence of time of day on activity engagement in persons with dementia

Dementia is a serious disease affecting a growing number of people. With the onset of dementia comes a decline in social activity engagement that can negatively impact multiple aspects of a person's life. Research suggests that time of day may influence a person with dementia's behavior, including activity engagement, but such research is limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of time of day on engagement in activities in persons diagnosed with dementia. An alternating treatments design was used with three participants to measure activity engagement during two times of day, morning and afternoon, and during two activities, a moderately preferred and a low preferred. Results showed no differentiation in engagement between morning and afternoon activities for all three participants, with high levels of engagement during both times of day. For two participants, results showed no differentiation in engagement between moderately preferred and low preferred activities. For one participant, levels of engagement were higher during moderately preferred activities than during low preferred activities.     

Dynamic spatial performance and general intelligence

A computerized video-game-like dynamic spatial ability measure and a paper-and-pencil group test of intelligence were administered to 94 university students. The purpose of the study was threefold: (a) to evaluate the reliability of the dynamic spatial measure; (b) to investigate the extent to which the dynamic spatial measure is saturated with variance associated with traditional measures of fluid and crystallized intellectual ability; and (c) to explore the possibility that dynamic computer based performance measures define factors that are distinct from those associated with traditional paper-and-pencil measures. The number of times the participant hit a moving target served as the dependent variable for the dynamic spatial measure. Number of hits proved to be correlated with Performance IQ, but was not significantly correlated with Verbal IQ. Maximum likelihood factor analysis revealed that the dynamic spatial measure did not load substantially on a factor of general intellectual ability but provided additional evidence that it is related to a performance component.     

The Moral Careers of Militia Group Participants: A Case Study

This article is a case study examining the moral careers of members of a constitutional militia group in a Deep South state. Data for this study were gathered through participant observation and interviews with members at meetings, gun shows, shooting ranges, and other activities engaged in by members of this group. This research focuses on how group participants come to identify themselves as members. A typology of true believers, verbal converts, and fellow travelers was developed based on levels of involvement, the potential for violence is discussed, and the findings are framed within the sociological literature.     

A comparison of various forms of reinforcement with and without extinction as treatment for escape-maintained problem behavior

The present investigation compared the effects of reinforcing compliance with either positive or negative reinforcement for a participant who displayed escape-maintained problem behavior. The results indicated that positive reinforcement in the form of a highly preferred edible or leisure item produced higher levels of compliance and lower levels of problem behavior when compared to negative reinforcement in the form of escape from demands. In addition, an extinction procedure was unnecessary to achieve high levels of compliance.     

How can you resist? Executive control helps romantically involved individuals to stay faithful

In the present research, we examined why some people have more difficulty than others in staying faithful to their romantic partners. Three studies supported our main prediction that executive control is associated with romantically involved individuals' ability to stay faithful. Study 1 showed that participants with a higher level of executive control reported less difficulty in staying faithful to their partners than did those with lower levels of executive control. In Study 2, romantically involved male participants were placed in a waiting room together with an attractive female confederate. Results showed that participants with a higher level of executive control showed less flirting behavior with the confederate than did those with lower levels of executive control. Study 3 demonstrated that a higher level of executive control was related to a lower expressed desire to meet an attractive other, but only for romantically involved participants. Together, these studies showed that executive control helps romantically involved individuals to deal with the lure of attractive alternatives.     

Teamwork and flow proneness mitigate the negative effect of excess challenge on flow state

Flow theory postulates that flow experience is the most intense under high-challenge/high-skill conditions, whereas an excess of challenge is aversive. This study explores potential moderators that may offset the negative impact of overly high challenge on flow state. The literature suggests that a situational factor, teamwork, and a dispositional factor, flow proneness, may moderate the relationship between challenge and flow state. We tested these moderators with Hong Kong Chinese students whose optimal condition for experiencing flow was biased toward low-challenge/high-skill. A total of 128 participants played puzzles in three challenge levels both alone and in pairs. Although challenge level was negatively associated with flow state, dyadic (team) game (compared with solitary game) and flow proneness mitigated the negative relationship between challenge and flow state. These findings shed light on factors that promote enjoyment in challenging activities even among people in cultures that are prudent about challenges.     

智力和元认知技能在发现学习中的作用:任务复杂性的影响

采用自编的计算机模拟发现学习任务,以49名大学生为被试,探讨了在简单和复杂发现学习任务中,智力、元认知技能和学习成绩三者之间的关系。结果发现:在简单任务中,三者关系基本符合混合模型;进行过多的元认知活动,并不能提高学习效果。在复杂任务中,智力对学习成绩起主要预测作用。随着任务复杂性的增加,智力对学习的影响也随之变化,符合难度阈限理论的假设。任务复杂性不同时,智力、元认知技能和发现学习成绩之间的关系也不同,在一定程度上验证了难度阈限扩展理论。     

Creative Self-Efficacy: Correlates in Middle and Secondary Students

ABSTRACT: This study examined correlates of creative self-efficacy (i.e., self-judgments of creative ability) in middle and secondary students (N = 1,322). Results indicate that students' mastery- and performance-approach beliefs and teacher feedback on creative ability were positively related to students' creative self-efficacy. Creative self-efficacy was also linked to student reports of their teachers not listening to them and sometimes feeling that their teachers had given up on them. Students with higher levels of creative self-efficacy were significantly more likely to hold more positive beliefs about their academic abilities in all subject areas and were significantly more likely to indicate that they planned to attend college than students with lower levels of creative self-efficacy. Finally, students with higher levels of creative self-efficacy were significantly more likely to report higher levels of participation in after-school academics and after- school group activities. Implications for creativity research and practice are discussed.     

Individual differences in religiosity as a function of cognitive ability and cognitive style

The current study examines the degree to which individual differences in cognitive ability and cognitive style (rational thinking vs. experiential thinking) uniquely and jointly account for differences in religiosity. Using an array of measures of religiosity, results show that cognitive ability has a medium to large negative effect on various aspects of religiosity. Though also negatively related to religiosity, rational thinking style did not add significant unique effects, nor did it convey a significant indirect effect from cognitive ability. Experiential thinking was generally unrelated to ability but was positively related to some aspects of religiosity. Overall the results confirm that those with higher cognitive ability are less likely to accept religious doctrine or engage in religious behaviors and those with lower ability are more likely to accept religious doctrine and exhibit higher levels of fundamentalism. Cognitive style appears to play a lesser role in explaining individual differences in religiosity than cognitive ability.     

Evaluation of a “mental effort” hypothesis for correlations between cortical metabolism and intelligence

Previous research indicates that low scores on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) test are associated with increased cortical glucose utilization during problem solving. We hypothesized that previous results may reflect the neurophysiological consequences of patterns of effort requirements; that is, high-effort expenditure from lower aptitude participants (for whom the problems are hard) and low-effort expenditure from higher aptitude participants (for whom the problems are easy). In this experiment, positron emission tomography (PET) data were gathered on participants (N = 28) who solved easy and hard problems that were tailored to the participants' own ability levels, thereby eliminating aptitude group differences in effort requirements. Contrary to previous results, high aptitude was associated with high cortical glucose use. Average aptitude participants showed diminished glucose use in the hard condition. A significant Group X Condition X Hemisphere Effect was also noted, with greater right hemisphere activation in the hard condition for the high-aptitude group. These results demonstrate that the relation of cerebral glucose use and cognitive ability is sensitive to participant and task selection.     

Cerebral blood flow and anxiety in older men: an analysis of resting anterior asymmetry and prefrontal regions

Asymmetric resting blood flow in prefrontal and hemispheric regions, assessed by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), was examined as a potential biological marker for enhanced trait and state anxiety in 30 older men (ages 55-81). Average and asymmetric perfusion in dorsolateral, medial, and orbital regions of the prefrontal lobes was also assessed. Results indicated a significant association between lower levels of resting dorsolateral blood flow and greater state anxiety responses to a series of stressful provocations (measured on a separate occasion). A significant curvilinear (U-shaped) relation between asymmetric dorsolateral perfusion and state anxiety was also identified; increased asymmetric blood flow favoring either the right or the left dorsolateral region related to higher levels of state anxiety. However, this association was attenuated by age and systolic blood pressure. Resting perfusion in the dorsolateral region may represent a more reliable biological marker for state anxiety than trait anxiety in older men.     

Level of cognitive performance as a correlate and predictor of health behaviors that protect against cognitive decline in late life: The path through life study

There is a lack of information on how cognitive ability relates to both health behaviors and change in health behaviors over time. This study examined verbal ability and processing speed as predictors of health behaviors in the PATH Through Life Study that includes cohorts aged in their 20s, 40s and 60s. Higher cognitive scores were associated with higher levels of physical activity, greater likelihood of taking vitamin and mineral supplements, reduced likelihood of current smoking and not abstaining from alcohol. However, lower level of verbal ability and processing speed were associated with higher levels of use of cholesterol lowering medication in the 60s cohort. Physical activity, consumption of vitamins and minerals and taking cholesterol lowering and antihypertensive medication over the four-year follow-up period increased in this cohort. The likelihood of adopting healthier behaviors was greatest for those with the lowest cognitive scores. We conclude that while higher levels of cognitive performance are associated with health promoting behaviors, improvements in health behavior are more likely to be due to non-cognitive, contextual and societal factors.     

Trust in the medical profession and patient attachment style

Attachment style is a person’s approach to interpersonal relationships, which develops from early experiences with primary caregivers and can remain stable into adulthood. Depending on a person’s attachment style, the amount of trust one has in others can vary when forming relationships, and trust is important in formation of the patient–physician relationship. The purpose of this study was to see if there is an association between attachment style and trust in physicians in general. Participants were recruited from an emergency department (ED) and an online university participant pool, and completed short questionnaires assessing attachment style and trust in the medical profession. Results revealed that individuals with a fearful attachment style reported significantly lower levels of trust in the medical profession than those with a secure attachment style. ED participants also reported higher levels of trust in the medical profession in comparison to student participants. This study provides a better understanding of trust in the medical profession, and insight into future care for patients who have low trust.     

The moderation of conscientiousness by cognitive ability when predicting workplace safety behavior

Research and industry practice emphasize the usefulness of personality-based assessment, particularly measures of conscientiousness, for predicting workplace rule compliance and safety behavior. However, recent research suggests that it may also be valuable to consider potential moderators of the personality – safety relationship. Accordingly, this study uses a field sample (N = 219) to examine the degree to which cognitive ability moderates conscientiousness when predicting workplace safety behavior. As hypothesized, we found that those individuals with higher levels of cognitive ability were more likely to demonstrate higher safety behavior regardless of level of conscientiousness. In contrast, conscientiousness was a stronger predictor of safety behavior for individuals with lower levels of cognitive ability. Implications for understanding the way cognitive ability and conscientiousness interact are discussed.     

Quantitative amino acid determination in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid in endogenous depressions

The levels of 20 amino acids were measured in the plasma and cerbrospinal fluid of 41 patients with endogenic depressions. The plasma levels of 12 amino acids were found to be significantly lower in the patients than in the control group, but cerebrospinal fluid levels were significantly lower only in the case of taurine, glutamine, phenylalanine and aginine. Comparison of the same amino acid levels in treated and non-treated patients showed that serine and alpha-aminobutyric acid serum concentrations were higher in the nontreated patients. The tyrosine and phenylalanine levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of the patients who had received medicamentous treatment were higher than in the other group.     

Empathic understanding: Benefits of perspective-taking and facial mimicry instructions are mediated by self-other overlap

The current study sought to better understand the utility of two strategies—perspective-taking and facial mimicry—proposed to increase empathic responding. Thirty-seven female participants were presented an interpersonal situation (a betrayal) that would elicit the use of empathic responding to achieve conflict resolution between friends. Each participant was given instructions to partake in either perspective-taking, facial mimicry, or to remain neutral (control condition). The results demonstrated that individuals who engaged in perspective-taking reported significantly higher state empathy than the control condition, but there was no significant difference in state empathy between the mimicry and control condition. Also, those who engaged in either strategy reported significantly higher self-other overlap relative to those not instructed to engage in a particular strategy. Importantly, self-other overlap mediated the association between the instructional sets and state empathy. Both strategies are arguably means of enhancing interpersonal understanding.     

Recalling Positive Events at Work Makes Employees Feel Happier,Move More,but Interact Less: A 6-Week Randomized Controlled Intervention at a Japanese Workplace

Simple self-administered activities, such as practicing gratitude or kindness, have been shown to increase happiness, yet only self-report measures have been used so far. Our study, conducted with a Japanese workplace sample, incorporated a novel technology to gather precise behavioral data reflecting participant movement and social interactions. Employees were randomly assigned to either recount three positive events at work (a positive activity) or list work tasks they completed (control) weekly for 6 weeks; furthermore, they reported their happiness levels and wore sociometric badges that recorded their behavior. Relative to controls, participants who considered good things at work not only reported relatively greater happiness over time but moved more upon arriving to work, engaged in less social interaction, and left the office earlier. Most of the findings were moderated by participant effort, such that those who put more effort into the positive activity also showed greater changes.