Do tests of executive functioning predict ability to downregulate emotions spontaneously and when instructed to suppress?

Behavioral regulation is a hallmark feature of executive functioning (EF). The present study investigated whether commonly used neuropsychological test measures of EF (i.e., working memory, Stroop, trail making, and verbal fluency) were related to ability to downregulate emotion both spontaneously and when instructed to suppress emotional expressions. To ensure a wide range of EF, 24 frontotemporal lobar degeneration patients, 7 Alzheimer's patients, and 17 neurologically normal controls participated. Participants were exposed to an acoustic startle stimulus (single aversive noise burst) under three conditions: (1) unwarned, (2) warned with no instructions (to measure spontaneous emotion downregulation), and (3) warned with instructions to suppress (to measure instructed emotion downregulation). Results indicated that higher verbal fluency scores were related to greater emotion regulation (operationalized as reduction in body movement and emotional facial behavior when warned of the impending startle) in both regulation conditions. No relationships were found between emotion regulation in these conditions and the other EF measures. We conclude that, of four commonly used measures of EF, verbal fluency best indexes the complex processes of monitoring, evaluation, and control necessary for successful emotion regulation, both spontaneously and following instructions to suppress.     

Working harder to obtain more snack foods when wanting to eat less

This study investigates individual differences in the reinforcing value of snack food. More specifically, it was investigated whether differences in restraint status are associated with differences in working for high-caloric snack food. Thirty-six unrestrained non-dieters, twenty restrained non-dieters and fifteen current dieters performed a concurrent schedules task in which they had the option to work for points for either snack food or fruit and vegetables. By progressively increasing the “price” of the snack foods (i.e., the amount of work required to obtain extra snack points) the relative reinforcing value of snack food was determined. As hypothesized, restrained non-dieters worked harder and current dieters worked less hard to obtain snack food as compared to unrestrained non-dieters.     

Assessment Center Graduate Selection: Decision Processes,Validity, and Evaluation by Candidates

In this contribution, results are presented of research on the predictive validity of a procedure for the career-oriented selection of graduates in The Netherlands. After selection on account of applicant letter, the selection procedure consists of four selective steps: interview with a ‘recruitment officer’, mental test, interview with line manager, and an assessment center comprising two situational exercises. Performance indicators investigated are present salary, average annual changes in function, appraisal of performance, appraisal of management potential, and average annual salary progression. We report on the relationships between the predictors, between the criteria, and between predictors and criteria. The assessment center, together with other steps from the selection procedure, appear to be valid for a number of performance indicators. The correlation between the overall assessment center rating and present salary, corrected for restriction in range, equals 0.55. Stepwise regression indicates that elements from all procedure steps contribute to the prediction of the criterion of average annual salary progression. The disturbing influence of possible ‘crown prince’ -effects on these results, are discussed. Also, the decision process taking place during the end meeting of the assessors is investigated. Finally, the evaluation of the procedure, both by accepted and by rejected candidates, is discussed. These and other results are compared to what is generally known about assessment centers.     

Media Effects and Communication Bias in Diverse Groups

This paper extends research on factors influencing effective communication in diverse groups. The effects of social group membership on attention and influence were examined using 17 groups of three men and three women. Each group discussed a controversial topic face-to-face or using either an anonymous or an identified group support system environment. Social group membership biased both attention and influence; these effects were eliminated when discussions were conducted electronically—even when social group membership of participants was identifiable in the electronic media.     

In-school in-service training for tutors

The deficiencies of existing patterns of external in-service training for teachers are examined. Possible approaches to internal training are described, with particular reference to a training course run for 57 staff concerned with pastoral care and social education in one school.     

Relationship of internal-external locus of control,self-concept,and masculinity-femininity to fear of success in Black freshmen and senior college women

The concepts of locus of control, self-concept, masculinity-femininity, and their relationship to fear of success in Black college women were explored. Scores were obtained from stories written in response to six verbal cues designed to assess fear-of-success imagery. Tabulations ranging from zero (denoting absence of fear) to six (denoting most fear) were correlated with Gurin's I-E Scale, the Modified Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale, and the Modified Gough Masculinity-Femininity Scale. There was no significant mean difference between freshmen and seniors on fear of success. However, an analysis of variance revealed that externals showed significantly more fear-of-success imagery than internals. Significant inverse correlations were located between the measure of self-concept and certain cues eliciting fear of success. Femininity was not shown to be related to any of the fear-of-success measures.     

Participation in competitive amateur sports as a function of psychological androgyny

Previous research has indicated that women who participate in competitive sports tend to score low on traditional measures of femininity, and such women have been characterized as masculine (Harris, 1975). These studies used the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974) to measure the degree of sex-typing in 25 male and 23 female competitors in a national racquetball tournament and 24 male and 27 female competitors in local badminton, squash, and handball tournaments. Results for the first study indicated that a larger percentage of androgynous women as compared to traditionally feminine or masculine women entered the racquetball tournament, whereas the largest percentage of male entrants were in the masculine role category. Results for the second study indicated that among contestants who cited a competitive reason for entering the tournament, a larger percentage of both men and women were sex-typed as androgynous or masculine rather than feminine. These results were subsequently reanalyzed according to an alternate procedure suggested by Bem (1977) in order to compare the behavior of subjects who score high on both masculinity and femininity and those who scored low on both. While the percentages of masculine, feminine, and androgynous subjects were changed by the new categorization procedure, there were no differences found between high—high and low—low scorers. Implications of these results for the traditional characterization of women participants in competitive sports and for the usefulness of the BSRI in predicting nonlaboratory behavior are discussed.Portions of this article are based on an honors thesis submitted by the senior author to the University of Winnipeg. The authors are indebted to Stephen Davis and Wayne Andrew for their comments on the data analysis and their constructive criticisms of an earlier draft of this article.