Cognitive operations associated with individual differences in affect intensity

There are wide individual differences in the characteristic intensity of affective response to the same emotion-evoking event. The processes whereby individuals come to experience strong or mild emotional responses when exposed to the same affect-provoking stimuli are still unclear. In these studies, we propose that individual differences in affect intensity are associated with certain cognitive operations used during exposure to emotion-relevant stimuli. Specifically, cognitive operations that involve personalizing, generalizing, and selective abstraction were hypothesized to discriminate subjects high and low in affect intensity. Two studies replicated support for the hypothesis that subjects high on the affect-intensity dimension engage in more personalizing/empathic and more generalizing/elaborative cognitive operations than do subjects low on the affect-intensity dimension. The same cognitive operations discriminated groups high and low in affect intensity in response to both positive and negative emotional stimuli. Also, the cognitions that discriminated subjects high and low in affect intensity occurred only in response to affective stimuli; neutral stimuli did not evoke divergent cognitive operations for these two groups. Finally, a high degree of consistency was found in the use of emotion-relevant cognitive operations across positive and negative affective stimuli.     

Vertical reversal and lateral reversal as components of inversion in recognition memory for upside-down faces

Subjects viewed upright photographs of faces, then attempted to recognize them unchanged, vertically reversed or inverted. In two of four conditions, hit scores were lower for inverted than vertically reversed faces, suggesting that lateral reversal is a meaningful component of inversion. The effect was not sufficiently strong, however, to overcome a generally high false-alarm rate for upside-down faces.     

Visual dominance in olfactory memory

The object of the present study was to verify the emergence of a 'visual dominance' effect in memory tests involving different sensory modes (sight and smell), brought about the preattentive mechanisms which select the visual sensory mode regardless of the recall task.     

A FIELD STUDY OF APPLICANT REACTIONS TO EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: DOES THE RECRUITER MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Previous cross-sectional field and laboratory research has provided mixed results as to whether recruiter characteristics and behaviors influence applicant reactions to employment opportunities. The present research was conducted to examine the effect of recruiter characteristics using a pre-post study design in a naturally occurring setting. In addition, the effects of several potential moderators on recruiter influence were tested. Results indicated that recruiter characteristics had an impact on perceived job attributes, regard for job and company, and likelihood of joining the company. There was little evidence that the effect of recruiter characteristics was moderated by selected applicant, job, or interviewer variables.     

Temporal pattern of agonist-antagonist EMG activity during rapid limb movements in man

Analysis of elbow-extension movements, executed at maximal velocity, show positive correlations of timing of agonist-antagonist EMG activity with both movement velocity and displacement. Results indirectly support the notion that the antagonist musculature provides a braking force to arrest rapid limb movements.     

Social support versus companionship: effects on life stress, loneliness, and evaluations by others

In recent years, much interest has focused on delineating and contrasting specific functions of social relationships that contribute to psychological well-being. Five studies contrasted the roles of companionship and social support in buffering the effects of life stress, in influencing feelings of loneliness and social satisfaction, and in affecting others' judgments. Study 1 analyzed data from a community survey and found that companionship had a main effect on psychological well-being and a buffering effect on minor life stress, whereas social support had only a buffering effect on major life stress. Studies 2, 3, and 4 analyzed data from two college student samples and a different community survey to evaluate how companionship and social support contributed to relationship satisfaction and feelings of loneliness. The results of these studies indicated that companionship was the strongest predictor of these dimensions of social satisfaction. Study 5 used an experimental design to test the hypothesis that a deficit of companionship elicits more negative reactions from others than does a deficit of social support. This hypothesis received partial support. Considered together, the results of these studies suggest that companionship plays a more important and more varied role in sustaining emotional well-being than previous studies have acknowledged.