Emotion,Evaluation, Desire,Behavior and Goals: a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eudaimonistic</Emphasis> View

In this essay I examine the conceptual relation between emotions and their corresponding evaluations, desires, behavior and goals. Such conceptual relation is of the utmost importance in order to account for the unity or oneness of emotion, for if the different aspects of emotion are linked conceptually, then to have one such aspect would imply having all the others. After I discuss how emotions are related to their corresponding evaluations, desires and behavior, I show how each aspect of emotion is related to the others. Next, I argue that indeed there is such conceptual or quasi-conceptual relation between emotions, evaluations and conative or desiderative states (i.e. desires or wishes). However, while intentional behavior in terms of actions is conceptually related to some emotions, other times the emotion-specific desires are either non-forward-looking, and thus do not give rise to intentional actions, or they may be overridden, and the resultant behavioral manifestations are not conceptually related to emotion. Next, I argue that emotions are eudaimonistic, in the sense that they are essentially concerned with important goals, concerns and attachments that comprise our conception of the good life and well-being. Finally, I examine the conceptual relation between emotions and their respective goals, and argue that while emotions logically presuppose such goals, the reverse is not the case.     

The Dimensions of Generalized Prejudice within the Dual-Process Model: the Mediating Role of Moral Foundations

In our study we investigated how individualizing and binding moral foundations partially mediate the relationship between the attitudinal clusters of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO), and the dimensions of generalized prejudice. We found that binding moral foundations partially mediate the association between RWA and negative attitudes towards dissident and dangerous groups, while individualizing moral foundations had a positive relationship with the evaluations of all three clusters of dissident, dangerous, and derogated outgroups, and partially mediated the effects of both SDO and RWA. Based on these results we claim that intergroup attitudes are at least partly determined by moral concerns, and different personal needs activate or inhibit different moral concerns. Furthermore, while individualizing moral foundations seem to have a universal prejudice reducing effect, the effect of binding foundations is selective, increasing prejudice principally against dangerous and derogated outgroups that threaten one’s personal need for security and certainty.     

Rule-violations sensitise towards negative and authority-related stimuli

Rule violations have usually been studied from a third-person perspective, identifying situational factors that render violations more or less likely. A first-person perspective of the agent that actively violates the rules, on the other hand, is only just beginning to emerge. Here we show that committing a rule violation sensitises towards subsequent negative stimuli as well as subsequent authority-related stimuli. In a Prime-Probe design, we used an instructed rule-violation task as the Prime and a word categorisation task as the Probe. Also, we employed a control condition that used a rule inversion task as the Prime (instead of rule violations). Probe targets were categorised faster after a violation relative to after a rule-based response if they related to either, negative valence or authority. Inversions, however, primed only negative stimuli and did not accelerate the categorisation of authority-related stimuli. A heightened sensitivity towards authority-related targets thus seems to be specific to rule violations. A control experiment showed that these effects cannot be explained in terms of semantic priming. Therefore, we propose that rule violations necessarily activate authority-related representations that make rule violations qualitatively different from simple rule inversions.     

Math Intervention For Latino Parents and Kindergarteners Based on Food Routines

Family food routines are important contexts through which children develop math knowledge and skills. The Food For Thought (FFT) program teaches Latino parents strategies to develop their kindergarten children's math abilities during family food routines such as grocery shopping and cooking. We examined whether attendance to FFT was related to children's math outcomes at post-test (right after program completion). Sixty-eight low-income Latino parents and their kindergarten children (M?=?71 months) participated in the four-week program taking place in schools. Children's math skills (counting, numeral recognition and cardinal understanding) were assessed at pre- and post-test. The association between parents' attendance to FFT meetings and children′s math outcomes at post-test depended on children's initial levels of math skills (i.e., math skills at pre-test). Children with lower initial math skills whose parents attended more FFT meetings had more advanced math outcomes at post-test, than children with lower initial math skills whose parents attended fewer FFT meetings. The effect size of this interaction was moderate, d?=?0.46. Limitations and future directions of this early math intervention targeting Latino families are discussed.     

The Association Between Self-Critical Rumination and Parenting Stress: The Mediating Role of Mindful Parenting

Self-critical rumination is a type of rumination focused on the content of self-critical thoughts. Although self-criticism and rumination are two maladaptive psychological processes with a negative effect on parenting, including parenting stress, the role of self-critical rumination on parenting outcomes has never been explored. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of self-critical rumination on parenting stress and examine whether mindful parenting dimensions (listening with full attention, compassion for the child, non-judgmental acceptance of parental functioning, emotional awareness of the child, and self-regulation in parenting) mediate this association. The moderating role of child’s age in the direct and indirect effects was also examined. A sample of 265 Portuguese mothers of children/adolescents from the general community completed measures of self-critical rumination, mindful parenting, and parenting stress. Self-critical rumination was negatively associated with all mindful parenting dimensions and positively associated with parenting stress. However, only non-judgmental acceptance of parental functioning and emotional awareness of the child dimensions were significant mediators of the relationship between self-critical rumination and parenting stress. The link between self-critical rumination and parenting stress as well as the indirect effects were not moderated by the child’s age. This study identifies an important maladaptive psychological process (self-critical rumination) that explains individual differences in parenting and a mechanism that may account for the link between self-critical rumination and parenting stress, which can both be modified through intervention.     

Emotional Intelligence Profiles in College Students and Their Fathers’ and Mothers’ Parenting Practices

The present study has two objectives: first, to analyze whether the dimensions that make up emotional intelligence (attention, clarity, and repair) give rise to different profiles of university students, and secondly, to determine whether these different profiles are differentially associated with the parenting practices that students report with regard to their fathers and mothers. Results obtained indicate the existence of different profiles of college students. The profile that corresponds to adequate emotional skills presents a lower score in attention, but higher scores in clarity, and especially in mood repair. The other two profiles are inadequate, in the first case because a higher score in emotional attention is accompanied by low scores in mood repair, and in the second case because low scores are presented in all three dimensions. Likewise, we verified the existence of significant differences in the educational practices of parents, the adequate profile is characterized by greater use of parenting dimensions considered to be positive, and at the same time, lower scores on dimensions considered to be negative. One of the dysfunctional profiles is associated with higher scores in positive practices, and is also associated with higher scores in practices considered to produce a negative effect. The second dysfunctional profile is associated with higher scores on the dimensions considered to be negative and lower scores on positive dimensions.     

Be a Mom: Formative Evaluation of a Web-Based Psychological Intervention to Prevent Postpartum Depression

A formative evaluation (consisting of two phases: a scoping literature review and a focus group with mental health professionals) was conducted to inform the design of a web-based intervention to prevent postpartum depression, in terms of its characteristics and content: the Be a Mom program. The results showed that the web-based intervention should be short-term, delivered postnatally, and grounded in cognitive-behavior therapy principles. Moreover, the intervention should include weekly sessions targeting basic contents: motherhood changes, reorganizations and emotional experience; cognitions, self-criticism, and self-compassion; parenting values, social support, and assertive communication skills; couple relationship, negotiation and conflict resolution skills; and postpartum depression signs and professional help-seeking. These results may improve the Be a Mom’s adequacy, implementation success, and effectiveness.     

Serial dependence in position occurs at the time of perception

Observers perceive objects in the world as stable over space and time, even though the visual experience of those objects is often discontinuous and distorted due to masking, occlusion, camouflage, or noise. How are we able to easily and quickly achieve stable perception in spite of this constantly changing visual input? It was previously shown that observers experience serial dependence in the perception of features and objects, an effect that extends up to 15 seconds back in time. Here, we asked whether the visual system utilizes an object’s prior physical location to inform future position assignments in order to maximize location stability of an object over time. To test this, we presented subjects with small targets at random angular locations relative to central fixation in the peripheral visual field. Subjects reported the perceived location of the target on each trial by adjusting a cursor’s position to match its location. Subjects made consistent errors when reporting the perceived position of the target on the current trial, mislocalizing it toward the position of the target in the preceding two trials (Experiment 1). This pull in position perception occurred even when a response was not required on the previous trial (Experiment 2). In addition, we show that serial dependence in perceived position occurs immediately after stimulus presentation, and it is a fast stabilization mechanism that does not require a delay (Experiment 3). This indicates that serial dependence occurs for position representations and facilitates the stable perception of objects in space. Taken together with previous work, our results show that serial dependence occurs at many stages of visual processing, from initial position assignment to object categorization.     

Optimizing Exposure Therapy for Pathological Health Anxiety: Considerations From the Inhibitory Learning Approach

Exposure therapy has demonstrated its efficacy in the treatment of pathological health anxiety—however, psychotherapy research reveals that many patients do not show a clinically significant change. Therefore, improvements are necessary to optimize psychotherapy for pathological health anxiety. Most treatment rationales refer to habituation during exposure as the central mechanism of change. However, there is evidence that extinction learning is mediated by inhibitory learning processes. Targeting these processes may help to improve treatment outcomes in pathological health anxiety. The aim of this review was to adapt, from the inhibitory learning approach and empirical findings, the most promising strategies for the exposure-based treatment of pathological health anxiety. The exposure-optimizing strategies adapted are expectancy violation, combination, variability in contexts and stimuli, affect labeling, and removal of safety signals. A case example illustrates how to implement these methods for patients with pathological health anxiety.