Subjective Well-Being and Hedonic Editing: How Happy People Maximize Joint Outcomes of Loss and Gain

Hedonic editing refers to the decision strategy of arranging multiple events in time to maximize hedonic outcomes (Thaler in Market Sci 4:199–214, 1985). The present research investigated the relationship between subjective well-being and hedonic editing. In Study 1, we gave participants pairs of social or financial events and asked them to indicate their preferences regarding the sequence and interval length between the two events. Compared to participants with lower subjective well-being, those with higher subjective well-being preferred to experience a social gain (e.g., chatting with a close friend) temporally closer to a financial loss, suggesting that happy individuals are more inclined than less happy individuals to use positive social events as cross-domain buffers against loss. In Study 2, participants were asked to select the type of positive event they would want to experience after a negative event. Happy individuals displayed a stronger preference for social events. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Does personality matter in exercise participation?

This research extends previous work by demonstrating how the relationships between social cognition and exercise are influenced by different personality types. The theory of planned behaviour forms the basis of our theoretical model, and the Big Five personality framework was used to determine personality types. Data were collected from a quota sample of 512 Malaysian adults. The results suggest that an individual's personality can prevent him or her from exercising. For example, an extrovert is likely to be driven by affect and self‐confidence in their capability to exercise, and thus are more likely to participate in exercise. Those who are more conscientious (and less neurotic) feel more in control and thus possess a greater ability to exercise in comparison with their less conscientious and more neurotic counterparts. Our findings demonstrate the importance of considering personality factors in exercise research and caution us about underestimating the relationship between perceived control, attitude and its potential behavioural outcomes that could lead to a misinterpretation of its true impact. Our core contribution lies in identifying the underlying causes of social cognition differences in a moderating capacity, which has potential to yield important theoretical and practical implications. This study sets the ground for social marketers to improve their understanding of exercise behaviour and, in turn, consumer welfare. Ultimately, they could be in a better position to develop effective health intervention and educational programmes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coping strategies and first year performance in postsecondary education

Coping was hypothesized to explain additional variance in first year grade point averages (GPAs) controlling for cognitive ability and conscientiousness. First year GPAs were assessed as criterion for performance in the first year. Results indicate active coping, denial, behavioral disengagement, and alcohol disengagement are related to first year GPA. Denial and alcohol disengagement coping strategies were significant predictors and negatively related to first year GPA in the final regression equation controlling for cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Latent growth modeling analysis demonstrated cognitive ability predicted both the intercept and slope of first year GPA. Conscientiousness was a predictor of initial GPA but not change. Lastly, coping was a significant predictor of change in GPA. Implications for research and theory are discussed.     

INTEGRAL MEDICINE AND HEALTH

Integral Science provides the empirical rigor needed to shift medicine's worldview. The shift in science will give rise to Integral Medicine, which will emerge from the integration and transformational change of biomedicine, psychosocial approaches, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and other reform movements. The root metaphor of Integral Medicine is a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. At its heart are mind–body holism and collaborative learning. Healing and the creation of health will emphasize educational, self-care, and community support models. Implications are discussed for practice, research, and education.     

The perception of emotions by ear and by eye

Emotions are expressed in the voice as well as on the face. As a first step to explore the question of their integration, we used a bimodal perception situation modelled after the McGurk paradigm, in which varying degrees of discordance can be created between the affects expressed in a face and in a tone of voice. Experiment 1 showed that subjects can effectively combine information from the two sources, in that identification of the emotion in the face is biased in the direction of the simultaneously presented tone of voice. Experiment 2 showed that this effect occurs also under instructions to base the judgement exclusively on the face. Experiment 3 showed the reverse effect, a bias from the emotion in the face on judgement of the emotion in the voice. These results strongly suggest the existence of mandatory bidirectional links between affect detection structures in vision and audition.     

Cognitive-neuropsychological function in chronic physical aggression and hyperactivity

Histories of violence and of hyperactivity are both characterized by poor cognitive-neuropsychological function. However, researchers do not know whether these histories combine in additive or interactive ways. The authors tested 303 male young adults from a community sample whose trajectories of teacher-rated physical aggression and motoric hyperactivity from kindergarten to age 15 were well defined. No significant interaction was found. In a 1st model, both histories of problem behavior were independently associated with cognitive-neuropsychological function in most domains. In a 2nd model controlling for IQ, general memory, and test motivation, the 3 working-memory tests (relevant to executive function) remained associated with physical aggression, and 1 remained associated with hyperactivity. These results support an additive model.     

Can practice overcome age-related differences in the psychological refractory period effect?

Can dual-task practice remove age-related differences in the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect? To answer this question, younger and older individuals practiced 7 blocks of a PRP design, in which Task 1 (T1) required a vocal response to an auditory stimulus and Task 2 (T2) required a manual response to a visual stimulus (Experiment 1). The results showed that practice did not reduce, but rather increased, age-related differences in PRP interference. Using the trained individuals, the introduction of a less complex new T1 (Experiment 2) or a less complex new T2 (Experiment 3) with the task previously practiced reduced the PRP interference but only in older adults. The authors propose that older adults suffer from a large task-switch cost that is more sensitive to task complexity than to the amount of practice.     

Do self‐presentation concerns moderate the relationship between implicit and explicit homonegativity measures?

This study investigated whether the relation between implicit and explicit homonegativity measures is affected by self-presentation concerns, since previous research in this area has been inconclusive. In Experiment 1, 70 high-school students made evaluative ratings of pictures of homosexual and heterosexual couples. Self-presentation was manipulated by either instructing participants that the study concerned attitudes regarding sexual orientation (socially sensitive) or attitudes regarding age (less sensitive). The age-instruction led to increased homonegativity but not to a stronger correlation with an Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998) with homo/heterosexual couples. Concerns regarding the construct validity of the present implementation of the IAT were alleviated in Experiment 2, where heterosexual (n= 30) but not homosexual (n= 30) participants showed implicit homonegativity. The current findings are problematic for the interpretation of low correspondence between implicit and explicit attitude measures as being primarily an effect of self-presentation concerns.     

Speech and nonspeech sequence skill learning in adults who stutter

Two studies compared the speech and nonspeech sequence skill learning of nine persons who stutter (PWS) and nine matched fluent speakers (PNS). Sequence skill learning was defined as a continuing process of stable improvement in speed and/or accuracy of sequencing performance over practice and was measured by comparing PWS's and PNS's performance curves of accuracy, reaction time, and sequence duration, as well as retention and transfer. In experiment one, participants completed a 30-trial finger tapping sequence and in experiment two, a 30-trial read-aloud sequence of nonsense syllables. Significant between-group differences were found in the speed of sequencing performance after practice, and on retention and transfer tests. These results partially supported the inference that PWS demonstrated differences in early stages of sequence skill learning compared to PNS. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: As a result of this activity the participant will be able to: (1) define skill learning and the important indicators of skill learning; (2) summarize the reviewed literature concerning the performance of PWS on speech and nonspeech sequencing tasks over practice; and (3) explain the implication of reaction time differences over practice between PWS and PNS.