Videogame play and events are related to unhealthy emotion regulation in the form of low fading affect bias in autobiographical memory

The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) is faster fading of unpleasant affect than pleasant affect. The FAB is negatively related to unhealthy outcomes and positively related to healthy outcomes. As videogames elicit strong emotions in players, we used retrospective methodology to examine the relation of the FAB to healthy and unhealthy variables for videogame and non-videogame events. We found robust FAB effects that were negatively related to unhealthy variables, which supported contemporary emotion regulation theories. Furthermore, the FAB was larger for non-videogame events than for videogame events, and frequent videogame play related to low FAB for videogame events; these results connected videogame play with poor emotion regulation. Unexpectedly, high levels of both gaming addiction and depression yielded high FAB. The complex FAB effects and the fact that rehearsal mediated them replicated past FAB findings across various events, and they extended these results to the context of videogames.     

Rehearsal partially mediates the negative relations of the fading affect bias with depression,anxiety, and stress

The fading affect bias (FAB) is defined by unpleasant affect fading faster than pleasant affect. The FAB persists across several cultures and event types, and it is positively related to healthy outcomes and negatively related to unhealthy outcomes. Although the notion of the FAB as a healthy process fits well with contemporary theoretical perspectives, such as self‐enhancement theory, few studies have (a) examined and established reliable relations between the FAB and psychological distress variables and (b) established overall rehearsal as a mediator of these relations. We examined and found reliable, negative relations between psychological distress and the FAB for combined data from several studies examining different event types. We also examined and showed that overall rehearsal partially mediated these relations. These findings help legitimize the relation of psychological distress and FAB as a reliable scientific phenomenon, show that the FAB results from cognitive mechanisms, and support therapeutic emotional memory reinterpretation.     

An exploration of the relationship among valence,fading affect,rehearsal frequency,and memory vividness for past personal events

The affect associated with negative (or unpleasant) memories typically tends to fade faster than the affect associated with positive (or pleasant) memories, a phenomenon called the fading affect bias (FAB). We conducted a study to explore the mechanisms related to the FAB. A retrospective recall procedure was used to obtain three self-report measures (memory vividness, rehearsal frequency, affective fading) for both positive events and negative events. Affect for positive events faded less than affect for negative events, and positive events were recalled more vividly than negative events. The perceived vividness of an event (memory vividness) and the extent to which an event has been rehearsed (rehearsal frequency) were explored as possible mediators of the relation between event valence and affect fading. Additional models conceived of affect fading and rehearsal frequency as contributors to a memory’s vividness. Results suggested that memory vividness was a plausible mediator of the relation between an event’s valence and affect fading. Rehearsal frequency was also a plausible mediator of this relation, but only via its effects on memory vividness. Additional modelling results suggested that affect fading and rehearsal frequency were both plausible mediators of the relation between an event’s valence and the event’s rated memory vividness.     

The fading affect bias shows positive outcomes at the general but not the individual level of analysis in the context of social media

Unpleasant affect fades faster than pleasant affect (e.g., Walker, Vogl, & Thompson, 1997); this effect is referred to as the Fading Affect Bias (FAB; Walker, Skowronski, Gibbons, Vogl, & Thompson, 2003a). Research shows that the FAB is consistently related to positive/healthy outcomes at a general but not at a specific level of analysis based on event types and individual differences (e.g., Gibbons et al., 2013). Based on the positive outcomes for FAB and negative outcomes for social media (Bolton et al., 2013; Huang, 2010), the current study examined FAB in the context of social media events along with related individual differences. General positive outcomes were shown in the form of robust FAB effects across social media and non-social media events, a larger FAB for non-social media events than for social media events, negative correlations of FAB with depression, anxiety, and stress as well as a positive correlation of FAB with self-esteem. However, the lack of a negative correlation between FAB and anxiety for social media events in a 3-way interaction did not show positive outcomes at a specific level of analysis. Rehearsal ratings mediated the 3-way interaction. Implications are discussed.     

Individual differences in emotional processing and autobiographical memory: interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in the fading affect bias

The capacity to perceive internal bodily states is linked to emotional awareness and effective emotional regulation. We explore individual differences in emotional awareness in relation to the fading affect bias (FAB), which refers to the greater dwindling of unpleasant compared to pleasant emotions in autobiographical memory. We consider interoceptive awareness and alexithymia in relation to the FAB, and private event rehearsal as a mediating process. With increasing interoceptive awareness, there was an enhanced FAB, but with increasing alexithymia, there was a decreased FAB. Further, the effects of interoceptive awareness were partially mediated by private rehearsal of pleasant events. We provide novel evidence that capacity for emotional awareness and thus effective processing is an important factor predictive of the FAB. Moreover, our results imply an important role for maintaining positive affect in the FAB. Our findings offer new insights into the effects of interoception and alexithymia on autobiographical memory, and support concepts of the FAB emerging as a result of adaptive emotional regulation processes.     

Narcissism Distorts the Fading Affect Bias in Autobiographical Memory

The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) occurs when the affect associated with personal events fades differentially across time: Positive affect fades slower than negative affect. Three studies examined whether the magnitude of the FAB is moderated by narcissism. Results from Study 1 (diary method, N = 26) showed that low narcissism participants evidenced a large FAB, but high narcissism participants evidenced a reversed FAB. Results from Study 2 (retrospective recall method, N = 110) showed that low narcissism participants evinced a large FAB and that the FAB diminished or dissipated as narcissism increased. Results from Study 3 (retrospective recall method, N = 83) showed that high narcissists evinced a FAB when they recalled achievement‐themed autobiographical events but evinced a reversed FAB when they recalled communal‐themed events. These findings occurred independently of event rehearsal frequency. Results are discussed in terms of the idea that emotion regulation efforts may be disrupted in narcissists. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trait anxiety reduces affective fading for both positive and negative autobiographical memories

The affect associated with negative events fades faster than the affect associated with positive events (the Fading Affect Bias; the FAB). The research that we report examined the relation between trait anxiety and the FAB. Study 1 assessed anxiety using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; Studies 2 and 3 used the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Studies 1 and 2 used retrospective procedures to probe positive event memories and negative event memories while Study 3 used a diary procedure. The results of all 3 studies showed that increased anxiety was associated with both a lowered FAB and lower overall affect fading for both positive events and negative events. These results suggest that for people free of trait anxiety, the FAB reflects the operation of a healthy coping mechanism in autobiographical memory that is disrupted by trait anxiety.     

Relationships between core ideological motives,social and economic conservatism,and religiosity: Evidence from a Turkish sample

The “conservatism as motivated social cognition” approach posits two core ideological motives underlying political conservatism across cultures. However, there is a scarcity of tests from non‐Western cultures, and much research has failed to distinguish between social and economic conservatism. Using a relatively large undergraduate sample from a non‐Western, predominantly Muslim country (Turkey), we tested the associations among resistance to change and opposition to equality motives, social and economic conservatism, right‐wing political orientation, and religiosity. In line with the “conservatism as motivated social cognition” account, we found that (a) social conservatism is more strongly related to resistance to change (rather than opposition to equality), (b) economic conservatism is more strongly related to opposition to equality (rather than resistance to change), (c) social conservatism is the strongest predictor of right‐wing political orientation among other conservatism measures, and (d) political orientation and religiosity had divergent effects: While right‐wing political orientation was related to economic conservatism, religiosity was inversely related to the latter, providing support for previous work indicating a resemblance between leftists and Islamists in Turkey. The results generally support the motivated social cognition approach to conservatism while also highlighting the importance of distinguishing between social and economic conservatism.     

Emotions experienced at event recall and the self: Implications for the regulation of self-esteem,self-continuity and meaningfulness

The intensity of positive affect elicited by recall of positive events exceeds the intensity of negative affect elicited by recall of negative events (fading affect bias, or FAB). The research described in the present article examined the relation between the FAB and three regulatory goals of the self: esteem, continuity and meaningfulness. The extent to which an event contributed to esteem (Study 1), continuity (Study 2) or meaningfulness (Study 3) was related to positive affect at event recall provoked by positive memories and to negative affect at event recall provoked by negative memories. The relation between affect experienced at recall and the three regulatory goals was bidirectional. The results showcase how individuals use recall for self-regulatory purposes and how they implement self-regulatory goals for positive affect.     

Chronic job stressors and job control: Effects on event‐related coping success and well‐being

The present study investigates how chronic work characteristics relate to situational work characteristics, and their effect on outcomes such as well‐being, problem solving, and calming down. It also examines how the relationship between situational work characteristics and coping strategies affect these outcomes. Based on an event‐sampling approach, 23 employees of a counselling agency reported 120 stressful events over 7 days, yielding 92 work‐related and 28 private events. Multi‐level analyses revealed that with regard to chronic conditions, job control was positively associated with successful calming down and problem solving in stressful situations, whereas job stressors were negatively related to immediate well‐being. Chronic stressors and job control can be seen as ‘background’ variables that influence the response to stressful events. For situational factors, stressfulness was negatively associated and controllability was positively associated with immediate well‐being and problem solving. In addition, problem‐focused coping predicted positively situation‐related success in calming down and problem solving. An effect on well‐being was found when situational controllability was high, confirming the active coping rule of Perrez and Reicherts (1992) . Palliative coping was positively related to successful calming down.     

Mothers' affect dysregulation,depressive symptoms,and emotional availability during mother–infant interaction

Maternal affect dysregulation and maternal depressive symptoms were examined as predictors of maternal emotional availability (EA) during mother–infant interaction in a nonclinical sample. In particular, we investigated if affect dysregulation predicts EA and is more important than are depressive symptoms in predicting EA. Questionnaire measures and 30 min of free play were obtained from 46 mothers of 4‐ to 5‐month‐old infants. Mothers' self‐reported affect dysregulation was inversely related to EA, but mothers' depressive symptoms were not related to EA. More specifically, mothers' tendency to use unhealthy externalizing behaviors to reduce tension and distress predicted less EA. These results suggested that even in relatively low‐risk samples, mothers' self‐reported affect dysregulation, particularly the tendency to act out inappropriately in response to tension and distress, may be a more proximal predictor of EA than are depressive symptoms.     

State emotional clarity and attention to emotion: a naturalistic examination of their associations with each other,affect, and context

ABSTRACT

Despite emotional clarity and attention to emotion being dynamic in nature, research has largely focused on their trait forms. We examined the association between state and trait forms of these two constructs, and how they are related to affect intensity and two contextual variables: Social context and significant event occurrence. Seventy-nine adults recruited from the community reported eight times a day for a week on the extent to which they were clear about their emotions, attended to their emotions, levels of affect intensity, the number of people with whom they were interacting, and whether a significant event had occurred. State clarity and attention were positively associated, demonstrating a moderate relation similar to that of their trait forms. Trait and state attention, but not trait and state clarity, were significantly positively associated. Positive and negative affect were quadratically associated with clarity and attention, with the highest levels of affect intensity reported at high levels of clarity and attention. Clarity and attention were positively associated with increasing numbers of people with whom people were interacting. Attention and clarity were elevated when significant events occurred – especially during positive events. We discuss the findings in the context of functional adaptation theories of emotion.     

Why are conservatives happier than liberals? Comparing different explanations based on system justification,multiple group membership,and positive adjustment

This study examined the relation between conservatism and life satisfaction. Analyses based on data from a representative German survey (ALLBUS 2010) revealed a positive relation between conservatism and self‐reported life satisfaction, thus supporting prior claims of this link. Different accounts have been proposed for this relationship, suggesting system justification, positive adjustment, or multiple group membership as potential mediators. Going beyond prior research, this study allowed for a comparison between these different mechanisms. Analyses revealed that system justification and one of the three examined constructs related to positive adjustment (i.e., religiosity) were significant mediators of the positive relationship between political conservatism and life satisfaction. Comparable results were obtained after controlling for a number of sociodemographic variables. The present findings indicate (i) that conservatives report to be more satisfied with their lives than liberals and (ii) that this difference is in part due to conservatives' system justification and religiosity.     

Fading of Affect Associated with Negative Child‐Related Memories Varies by Parental Child Abuse Potential

Positive memories tend to hold their affective intensity across time better than negative memories, a phenomenon referred to as the fading affect bias (FAB). An initial study explored this bias in the context of parents' affective responses to memories involving their children. Specifically, parents (N = 90 for Study 1) were asked to recall three positive events and three negative events involving their children. Next, parents rated how positively or negatively they felt when each event occurred and at recall. Results revealed that parents at high risk of physical child abuse showed a smaller FAB than low‐risk parents. The smaller FAB effect observed among high‐risk parents occurred largely because affect associated with negative child‐related events faded minimally over time. This risk moderation effect did not emerge in a second study in which parents (N = 90 for Study 2) recalled general events that were not limited to events involving children. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Relationship of Authoritarianism and Related Constructs to Attitudes Toward Homosexuality1

Two studies examined the relationships of right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), dogmatism, social dominance orientation (SDO), and political‐economic conservatism (PEC) to attitudes toward homosexuality. Study I, a meta‐analysis, found that all 4 variables were related to attitudes toward homosexuality, with RWA having the largest relationship. Study 2 examined the relationships of the 4 variables to attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in a college‐student sample. Although all 4 variables had zero‐order correlations with these attitudes, RWA and SDO were the primary predictors, with RWA having the larger relationship. In addition, the zero‐order correlations of PEC and dogmatism could be explained by their overlap with SDO and RWA, and SDO partially mediated the gender difference found in attitudes toward gay men.     

Political Conservatism and Left–Right Orientation in 28 Eastern and Western European Countries

The relationship between political conservatism and left–right orientation was examined in 15 Western European and 13 former communist Central and Eastern European countries using the data from European Social Survey Round 3 (N = 46,103) and Round 4 (N = 50,601). Cross‐culturally validated values were used to measure the two potential aspects of conservatism: resistance to change and acceptance of inequality. Both of these aspects were positively related to right‐wing orientation in Western countries. In the former communist countries, the relationships were positive, negative, and nonexistent; they differed between the countries and varied between 2006 and 2008. The results indicate that conservatism can be related to left‐wing or right‐wing orientation depending on the cultural, political, and economic situation of the society in question. The results also show that despite the shared communist past, former communist Central and Eastern Europe is a diverse region that should be treated as such also in research.     

Conservatism as motivated avoidance of affect: Need for affect scales predict conservatism measures

We propose that individual differences in the motivation to avoid emotions are related to political conservatism. We argue that because conservatism is concerned with managing uncertainty and emphasizes ego-control, conservative ideologies match with the motivational concerns of those individuals who find emotions to be uncertainty-enhancing and dysfunctional. In a group of 267 participants, positive associations were found between emotion avoidance and right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and support for conservative policies. Negative associations were found between emotion approach and conservatism measures.     

Relationships between leaders' and subordinates' emotion regulation and satisfaction and affect at work

The study examined relationships between leaders' emotion regulation and leaders' and subordinates' work-related outcomes. Fifty-one school directors and 281 teachers reported on their strategies of emotion regulation (reappraisal, suppression), job satisfaction, and affect at work. For subordinates, suppression was negatively related to job satisfaction and was positively related to negative affect and emotional exhaustion, and reappraisal was positively related to job satisfaction and negatively to negativ affect. In contrast, multilevel analyses found that directors' use of reappraisal was neg atively related to subordinates' job satisfaction, and directors' use of suppression wa positively related to subordinates' positive affect. Leaders' suppression interacted wit group cohesion to predict subordinates' negative affect. This is one of the first studies to find evidence for the possible tension between leaders' emotion regulation competencie and organizational-role interests.     

Dogmatism in relation to sub-types of conservatism: Some Australian data

An examination of the relation between authoritarianism and conservatism is made using newly developed balanced forms of the ‘D’ and ‘F’ scales together with scales to measure political, social, moral and economic conservatism. Neither ‘BD’ nor ‘BF’ scales predicted voting preference. The ‘BD’ scale was significantly, positively related to the political, social and moral conservatism scales but was non-significantly, negatively related to economic conservatism. It was concluded that both the ‘BD’ and ‘BF’ scales are equally good measures of general authoritarianism among supporters of Australian political parties and that while it is in general true that dogmatic people tend to be ideologically conservative, an exception must be made for economic conservatism. This exception is seen to be inferable from the theory of ‘working class authoritarianism’ advanced by Lipset (1960).