Cognitive bias modification: induced interpretive biases affect memory

Previous research has shown that it is possible to experimentally induce interpretive biases using ambiguous scenarios. This study extends past findings by examining the effects of cognitive bias modification for interpretation on subsequent scenario recall. Participants were trained to interpret emotionally ambiguous passages in either a positive or negative direction. Transfer of the training to novel scenarios was tested. After training, participants were also asked to recall details from these novel scenarios. The results indicate that the training was effective in inducing the intended group differences in interpretive bias. Importantly, participants exhibited memory biases that corresponded to their training condition. These results suggest that manipulating interpretive biases can result in corresponding changes in memory. Findings from this study highlight the importance of future research on the relation among cognitive biases and on the possibility of modifying cognitive biases in emotional disorders.     

The causal role of interpretive bias in anxiety reactivity

Elevated anxiety vulnerability is associated with a tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening, but the causal basis of this relationship has not been established. Recently, procedures have been developed to systematically manipulate interpretive bias, but the impact of such manipulation on anxiety reactivity to a subsequent stressor has not yet been examined. In the present study, training procedures were used to induce interpretive biases favoring the threatening or nonthreatening meanings of ambiguous information in a sample of 48 undergraduate students. Following this interpretive training, participants' emotional reactions to a stressful video were assessed. The finding that the manipulation of interpretive bias modified emotional reactivity supports the hypothesis that interpretive bias can indeed play a causal role in anxiety vulnerability.     

Adolescent problem behavior: The effect of peers and the moderating role of father absence and the mother-child relationship

Examined the effect of peer problem behavior, the absence of a father or equivalent in the home, and the mother-adolescent relationship as predictors of adolescent problem behavior in a sample of 112 African American adolescents. Statistical analyses compared a moderator model to a mediational model and a cumulative risk model. As predicted, the moderator model was superior to the alternative models. Specifically, whereas the mediational model predicted that the effect of father absence and the mother-child relationship upon adolescent problem behavior would be mediated by peer problem behavior, neither effected peer problem behavior or adolescent problem behavior. Similarly, a cumulative risk index did not predict either child or parent reports of problem behavior and was not sensitive to specific contingencies that existed between the predictor variables. In contrast, an interactive, moderator model described the data quite well. This model suggested that father or equivalent absence magnifies the negative impact of peer problem behavior, while a positive mother-adolescent relationship attenuates this risk. A strong mother-adolescent relationship also served to protect adolescents in father-absent homes from the risk of peer problem behavior. This research was supported by a grant (NICHHD: HD24056) awarded to A. M. Cauce. The authors thank Nydia Ordonez, Tanya Aguilar, and Laurie Deppman for their assistance on the project, and Cliff Lunneberg for suggestions regarding resampling procedures. Portions of this paper were presented at the meetings of the Western Psychological Association, April 1992.     

Medication barriers and anti-hypertensive medication adherence: the moderating role of locus of control

Locus of control as a moderator of the relationship between medication barriers (e.g., side-effects, forgetting to take medication, and keeping track of pills) and anti-hypertensive medication adherence was examined. Baseline data were obtained from 588 hypertensive veterans. In general, fewer medication barriers, higher internal locus of control and lower external locus of control was associated with better hypertensive medication adherence. Furthermore, internal locus of control served as a moderator (beta = -.74, p < .01) for the relationship between medication barriers and medication adherence; effect size was large. Decomposition of the interaction revealed that the relationship between medication barriers and medication adherence was strongest when internal control was high (b = -.24, p < .01). Higher internal locus of control was beneficial when barriers to medication adherence are low, but at high perceived barriers, locus of control plays less of a role in medication adherence. Future efforts to improve medication adherence should consider the patient's perceived level of medication barriers in conjunction with their locus of control.     

Emotional intelligence and OCB: The moderating role of work locus of control

This study sought to identify linkages between Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso’s (2008) four dimensions of emotional intelligence (EI) and organizational citizenship behavior, and the moderating influence of locus of control. Using a sample of 290 employed students, the present study examines the effects of the dimensions of EI on OCB directed at individuals (OCB-I) and OCB directed at the organization (OCB-O). Emotionally intelligent individuals were hypothesized to engage in more organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) than individuals with lower EI. Work locus of control was hypothesized to moderate the emotional intelligence—OCB linkage, with high internals having a stronger emotional intelligence to OCB linkage. Results indicate that the EI dimensions of perceiving, understanding, and managing emotions had positive effects on OCB-I and OCB-O. Using emotions was not linked to OCB. Locus of control strengthened the EI to OCB-I link, but had no effect on the OCB–O linkage.     

Choice and ego-depletion: the moderating role of autonomy

The self-regulatory strength model maintains that all acts of self-regulation, self-control, and choice result in a state of fatigue called ego-depletion. Self-determination theory differentiates between autonomous regulation and controlled regulation. Because making decisions represents one instance of self-regulation, the authors also differentiate between autonomous choice and controlled choice. Three experiments support the hypothesis that whereas conditions representing controlled choice would be egodepleting, conditions that represented autonomous choice would not. In Experiment 3, the authors found significant mediation by perceived self-determination of the relation between the choice condition (autonomous vs. controlled) and ego-depletion as measured by performance.     

疼痛恐惧相关的注意偏向及其矫正

疼痛恐惧是影响和维持慢性痛的重要因素。不同材料和被试类型情况下, 疼痛恐惧均主要作用于个体对疼痛相关信息的早期注意加工阶段, 表现为注意警觉模式。该注意模式使个体将注意维持在疼痛上, 从而干扰了对非疼信息的注意能力。矫正疼痛恐惧相关注意偏向可以改善疼痛体验。未来研究应采用更具生态效度的任务测量疼痛恐惧相关的注意偏向及其神经基础, 进一步考察矫正疼痛恐惧相关注意偏向能否改善慢痛患者的忧郁和功能丧失等问题。     

Perceived threat and depression among patients with cancer: the moderating role of health locus of control

Illness perception was found to be a better predictor of psychological outcome among cancer patients than the objective characteristics of illness. The current study explored the association between the perceived threat of illness (a major aspect of illness perception) and depression among cancer patients. We examined the hypothesis that this association will be higher for persons with low External (others) or internal (self) Health Locus of Control (HLC) than for those with high HLC. The study took an exploratory approach regarding the role that different sources of control (external and internal) may assume. Fifty-seven cancer patients completed self-report measures of Perceived Life Threat (PLT), HLC and Depression. The possible moderating role of HLC on the relationship between PLT and Depression was examined. A significant relationship between perceived threat and depression was found only among participants reporting low levels of internal locus of control. The results support the hypothesis that perception of cancer as life threatening is important factor in determining the level of depression among cancer patients. The results also support the differentiation between internal and external HLC and suggest that internal HLC may be more relevant than external HLC in managing perceived threat. Internal locus of control can be interpreted as having a sense of agency and mastery which is important in managing the cognitive perception of the threat of illness. Further research is needed in order to determine the role of external HLC in managing perceived or actual threats.     

Stress and mood: the moderating role of activity inhibition

The present research tested the hypothesis that activity inhibition (as measured by the picture story exercise) moderates the relationship between stress and mood. Based on prior research that shows that (a) individuals high in activity inhibition restrain emotional and motivational impulses and (b) inhibiting negative emotion may lead to further emotional impairments, we assumed that individuals high in activity inhibition show evidence of increased negative mood when they are confronted with stressful events. Study 1 found evidence of increased negative mood-relevant thought among individuals high in activity inhibition who were confronted with the threat of social rejection. Study 2 found high negative mood among individuals high in activity inhibition who experienced many daily hassles. Also, participants high in activity inhibition reported a disproportionally higher amount of daily hassles in the middle (but not at the beginning) of a university semester. We suggest that this pattern of results can be accounted for by Wegner's (1994) theory of ironic effects of the suppression of thought and emotion.     

Hope and dysphoria: the moderating role of defense mechanisms

It was hypothesized that the adaptive value of hope cognitions would be dependent upon the quality of an individual's defense style. Undergraduate students completed measures of hope, defense mechanisms, and dysphoria in two studies. As predicted, defense mechanisms significantly moderated the relation between hope and dysphoria. In addition, both hope and defense mechanisms predicted dysphoria as main effects. Individuals who had low hope and an immature defense style had particularly high levels of dysphoria. Low hope was not maladaptive for individuals with a mature defense style, suggesting that a subtype of low hope ("defensive hopelessness") may exist that is analogous to defensive pessimism. Individuals with high hope had low levels of dysphoria regardless of defense style. Overall, the present study suggests that an integration of psychodynamic and cognitive perspectives on hope may be productive.     

The association between implicit and explicit prejudice: the moderating role of motivation to control prejudiced reactions

The main aim of the present research was to assess the relationship between implicit and explicit ethnic attitude measures and to examine the impact of motivation to control prejudiced reactions on this relation. Implicit ethnic prejudice was assessed by a response latency measure, and a self-report modern prejudice scale was used to assess explicit prejudice. The results showed that an association between implicit and explicit attitudes was observed only when the explicit attitude measure was corrected for motivational bias. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research reporting either association or dissociation between implicit and explicit attitude measures.     

The effects of preoperative preparation on postoperative outcomes: the moderating role of control appraisals.

OBJECTIVE: To test the proposal that external health locus of control and self-efficacy would moderate the effects of a psychological preparation for surgery on outcomes for surgical heart patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress, pain, serum cortisol, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. DESIGN: A total of 80 coronary artery bypass graft patients were given standard care plus a psychological preparation or standard care alone using a single-blind methodology with random assignment. Data on psychological and biological functioning were collected at admission (baseline) and discharge. RESULTS: As predicted, external health locus of control and self-efficacy moderated the effect of the preparation on all outcomes. Results indicated that for high external health locus of control, the preparation was related to lower distress for people with high self-efficacy compared with those with low self-efficacy. When external health locus of control was low, the preparation was related to lower distress for those with lower self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: These findings caution against the use of preparations and education for surgical patients without accounting for control appraisals.     

Empathy-motivated helping: the moderating role of group membership

In this article, the authors present two laboratory experiments testing a group-level perspective on the role of empathy in helping. Experiment 1 tested the authors' predictions in an intercultural context of helping. Confirming their specific Empathy x Group Membership moderation hypothesis, empathy had a stronger effect on helping intentions when the helper and the target belonged to the same cultural group than when they belonged to different groups. Experiment 2 replicated these findings in a modified minimal group paradigm using laboratory-created groups. Moreover, this second experiment also provides evidence for the hypothesized psychological mechanisms underlying the empathy-(ingroup) helping relationship. Specifically, analyses in the ingroup condition confirmed that the strength of the empathy-(ingroup) helping relationship systematically varied as a function of perceived similarities among ingroup members. The general implications of these findings for empathy-motivated helping are discussed.     

From automatic antigay prejudice to behavior: the moderating role of conscious beliefs about gender and behavioral control

Two experiments tested whether the relation between automatic prejudice and discriminatory behavior is moderated by 2 conscious processes: conscious egalitarian beliefs and behavioral control. The authors predicted that, when both conscious processes are deactivated, automatic prejudice would elicit discriminatory behavior. When either of the 2 processes is activated, behavioral bias would be eliminated. The authors assessed participants' automatic attitudes toward gay men, conscious beliefs about gender, behavioral control, and interactions with gay confederates. In Experiment 1, men's beliefs about gender were heterogeneous, whereas women's beliefs were mostly egalitarian; men's responses supported the predictions, but women's responses did not. In Experiment 2, the authors recruited a sample with greater diversity in gender-related beliefs. Results showed that, for both sexes, automatic prejudice produced biased behavior in the absence of conscious egalitarian beliefs and behavioral control. The presence of either conscious process eliminated behavioral bias.     

Prosocial emotions and helping: the moderating role of group membership

In this article, the authors introduce and test a group-level perspective on the role of empathy and interpersonal attraction in helping. In line with our predictions, Study 1, a longitudinal field study of 166 AIDS volunteers, confirmed that empathy was a stronger predictor of helping when the recipient of assistance was an in-group member than when that person was an out-group member. Also as hypothesized, attraction was a stronger predictor of helping when the recipient was an out-group member than when that person was an in-group member. Study 2 replicated and further extended these results in a laboratory experiment on spontaneous helping of a person with hepatitis. Strengthening the validity of the findings, in both studies the effects of empathy and attraction held up even when the authors statistically controlled for potential alternative predictors of helping. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for helping in intergroup contexts are discussed.     

Visual aesthetics in store environment and its moderating role on consumer intention

• The paper goal is to answer the following questions: What are the factors of centrality of visual aesthetic design (CVSA) in store environment? What factor explains better the construct? Is there a relationship between CVSA and consumers' intentions, such as loyalty, satisfaction, minutes, item, and $ spent inside store? What is the moderating role of store visual aesthetic design on consumer intentions? The research design was a 2 × 2 design, between subjects, which we manipulated store arousal (high vs. low) and CVSA (high vs. low) in two studies. The findings supported the theory that there are three CVSA dimensions; that there is a positive relationship between CVSA and consumer satisfaction, loyalty, items bought, minutes visiting the store, and $ spent; and that high (vs. low) CVSA consumers were more discriminating in their intentions, when the environment had a high arousal. The original value is to support the notion that consumers also evaluate, beyond products, visual aesthetic components in retail and that it plays a moderating role on consumer intention.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stereotype activation and control of race bias: cognitive control of inhibition and its impairment by alcohol

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that alcohol increases race-biased responding via impairment of self-regulatory cognitive control. Participants consumed either a placebo or alcohol and then made speeded responses to stereotypic trait words presented after White and Black face primes while behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) data were recorded. Alcohol did not affect stereotype activation in either experiment. Experiment 2 showed that alcohol significantly impaired the ability to inhibit race-biased responses but did not reliably influence control of counterstereotypic responses. This disinhibition appears driven by impairment of regulative cognitive control, as indexed by amplitude of the negative slow wave ERP component. These findings suggest that controlling racial bias can be a function of effective implementation of basic self-regulatory processes in addition to the motivational processes identified in other research.     

创业进展与创业努力的多层次关系：创业自我效能的中介与调节定向的调节作用

基于动机性自我调节框架,通过两项独立研究,探讨前期创业努力对随后创业进展的影响及其内在机理——创业自我效能的中介与调节定向的调节作用。对115名新创业者进行为期6个月(研究1)和对70名新创业者进行为期15个月的追踪调查(研究2),分别构建多层次跨期中介效应检验模型和多层线性回归模型进行数据分析。结果发现:(1)创业自我效能在前期创业进展对随后创业努力的影响中起中介角色;(2)从总体上看(即不考虑调节定向作用时),前期创业进展通过正向影响创业自我效能,负向影响随后创业努力;(3)促进定向水平越高,创业自我效能对随后创业努力产生越强的负向影响,从而前期创业进展与随后创业努力的间接负相关关系越强;(4)预防定向水平越高,创业自我效能对随后创业努力产生越弱的负向影响,从而前期创业进展与随后创业努力的间接负相关关系越弱。这一结果弥合了过往创业自我调节过程研究的混淆结论,拓展了创业情境下的动机性自我调节框架与调节定向观研究,对于揭示创业过程的动态性、复杂性具有积极作用。     

Anxiety-related threat bias in recognition memory: the moderating effect of list composition and semantic-similarity effects

Individuals with high anxiety show bias for threatening information, but it is unclear whether this bias affects memory. Recognition memory studies have shown biases for recognising and rejecting threatening items in anxiety, prompting the need to identify moderating factors of this effect. This study focuses on the role of semantic similarity: the use of many semantically related threatening words could increase familiarity for those items and obscure anxiety-related differences in memory. To test this, two recognition memory experiments varied the proportion of threatening words in lists to manipulate the semantic-similarity effects. When similarity effects were reduced, participants with high trait anxiety were biased to respond “new” to threatening words, whereas when similarity effects were strong there was no effect of anxiety on memory bias. Analysis of the data with the drift diffusion model showed that the bias was due to differences in processing of the threatening stimuli rather than a simple response bias. These data suggest that the semantic similarity of the threatening words significantly affects the presence or absence of anxiety-related threat bias in recognition memory. The results indicate that trait anxiety is associated with a bias to decide that threatening stimuli were not previously studied, but only when semantic-similarity effects are controlled. Implications for theories of anxiety and future studies in this domain are discussed.