Positive emotion modulates cognitive control: An event‐related potentials study

There is substantial evidence to indicate that negative emotion can modulate cognitive control processing. However, only a few studies have investigated this effect with positive emotion. Therefore, the present study explored the electrophysiological correlates of the impact of positive emotional stimuli on cognitive control, using event‐related potentials (ERPs). Sixteen healthy young adults completed a modified Simon task (Simon, 1969). Behavioral data indicated that reaction times were faster for positive emotional stimuli than for neutral emotional stimuli in the incongruent condition, but not in the congruent condition, which suggested that positive emotion expedited conflict resolution. The ERP data showed that two negative ERP components (N300–400 and N450–550) were associated with the positive emotional stimuli in the incongruent minus congruent condition. It is suggested that these components may respectively be related to the conflict monitoring (N300–400) and response selection (N450–550) stages of cognitive control processing. Overall, our results indicated that positive emotion could facilitate cognitive control processing. These results are in line with the neuropsychological theory, according to which, positive emotion could modulate cognitive control mediated by increased dopamine levels in frontal brain areas.     

Where did you park your car? Analysis of a naturalistic long-term recency effect

Abstract

Three experiments studied the long-term retention of parking locations. In Experiment 1, members of the Applied Psychology Unit (MU) attempted to recall where they had parked during the morning and afternoon of each of the previous 12 working days. A marked recency effect was observed. In Experiment 2, members of the APU Subject Panel were invited for a single test session, and asked where they had parked after a delay of 2 hours, 1 week or 1 month. Recall was excellent and did not differ as a function of delay, allowing a simple trace decay interpretation to be ruled out. A third experiment invited subjects to attend on two occasions separated by a 2-week interval. The subjects were then required to recall their parking locations some 4 weeks after either their first visit or their second visit. Performance in both groups was inferior to that observed in Experiment 2, and declined over time. A temporal discrimination model, based on laboratory studies of both long-term and short-term recency in free recall, offers a plausible explanation of our results.     

Asian Couples in Negotiation: A Mixed‐Method Observational Study of Cultural Variations Across Five Asian Regions

The purpose of this study was to explore variations in how contemporary couples from five different Asian regions negotiate disagreements. Video recordings of 50 couples (10 each from Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) discussing unresolved disagreements provided raw data for quantitative and qualitative analyses. First, teams of coders from each region used a common protocol to make quantitative ratings of content themes and interaction patterns for couples from their own region. An interregional panel of investigators then performed in‐depth qualitative reviews for half of these cases, noting cultural differences not only in observed patterns of couple behavior but also in their own perceptions of these patterns. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed clear regional differences on dimensions such as overt negativity, demand‐withdraw interaction, and collaboration. The qualitative results also provided a richer, more nuanced view of other (e.g., gender‐linked) conflict management patterns that the quantitative analyses did not capture. Inconsistencies between qualitative and quantitative data and between the qualitative observations of investigators from different regions were most pronounced for couples from Korea and Japan, whose conflict styles were subtler and less direct than those of couples from the other regions.     

Impact pattern of dialectical thinking on perceived leadership training outcomes

This research examined the impact of dialectical thinking (DT) on perceived training outcomes in commercial leadership training using a quasi‐experimental design. Study 1 found that high‐DT individuals had better perceived on‐site training outcomes when compared with individuals with low DTs, regardless of training methods. But there was no significant difference between low and high DTs on subsequent behavioral improvements. It was also found that self‐reported training outcomes were consistent with others' observation. To further validate the on‐site effect of DT, we introduced a cognitive style manipulation prior to training to increase DT levels among trainees in Study 2. Individuals following the cognitive style manipulation reported significantly better perceived training outcomes. The implications of this research for field training are discussed.     

The Reading Maturity Survey: Steps Toward Instrument and Construct Validation with College-Level Readers

There is a need to promote growth past basic reading proficiency toward the more substantial idea of reading maturity. The reading maturity construct has a history of being valued, at least in principle. However, it is a complex construct, and this makes its measurement challenging. The present research study addressed aspects of this challenge by using data collected from an instrument called The Reading Maturity Survey, administered twice to 382 college students, to help validate the instrument and to add one piece of validation evidence to the internal structure of the reading maturity construct. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to identify the latent literacy constructs and to examine the relationships between these constructs. The findings contribute to further psychometric validation of The Reading Maturity Survey, and add one new piece of quantitative evidence supporting the theory-based construct of reading maturity. Because this study provides some preliminary evidence of viable ways to both measure and define this construct, our hope is that the findings would move the reading field one step closer to being able to better recognize an overarching unified construct of reading maturity, perhaps eventually (re)establishing it as a goal that literacy education could pursue.     

A socioeconomic dimension of the therapeutic relationship the analyst's perspective

Abstract

Gojman de Millan S. A Socioeconomic Dimension Of Therapeutic Relationship. The Analyst's Perspective. Int Forum Psychoanal 1997;6:241—249. Stockholm. ISSN 0808-706X.

Two clinical vignettes are described. I wish to show how much an open recognition of the social conditions of both participants in a treatment process may enrich the analyst's understanding of the transference-countertransference dynamics. I claim that although analysts intuitively integrate this aspect of the therapeutic relationship they commonly do it without a specific formulation.

In an explicit and systematic manner, Fromm emphasized the social dimensions of human experience. His background knowledge of the social sciences framed his therapeutic practice. The clinical implications which derive from this perspective will be illustrated.

The clinical material which I present shows how today's psychoanalytic attention to the dynamic interaction between analyst and patient while it enables us to deal with the complexity and different layers of the treatment process can also include the social dimension. The benefits and difficulties of developing our consciousness about our own social roles and our involvement in the social milieu deserve our careful and critical attention.     

测谎中反馈加工的认知神经机制：一项ERP研究

在一个模拟“杀人——侦探”游戏情境中,被试先完成模拟杀人任务,在随后的测谎阶段使用有反馈的ERP测谎范式,以反馈的形式告知被试测谎结果（“+0.5”或“-2”,分别代表“撒谎逃过检测”或“撒谎被发现”）时的脑内时程动态变化。结果发现,在反馈出现后的200～300ms时间段,表示“撒谎被抓住”比“撒谎逃过检测”的反馈信息诱发了一个更正性的ERP成分（P200-300）,在300～400ms时间段,两种反馈诱发的ERP成分（P300）没有差异,而在450～500ms时间段, “撒谎逃过检测”比“撒谎被抓住”的反馈信息诱发了一个更负性的ERP成分（N500）,负性反馈没有诱发FRN。这些结果表明：P200-300、P300和N500都是与加工测谎结果信息有关的ERP成分。P200-300可能对测谎结果的效价（正性或负性）敏感;P300可能反映被试对测谎结果主观意义大小的评价;而N500可能反映测谎结果所导致的大脑皮层兴奋程度。     

The contrasting effects of negative word of mouth in the post-consumption stage

We explore the effects of negative word of mouth (NWOM) from worse-off or similar others in the post-consumption stage. In four experiments, we show that the ramifications of NWOM are more complex than portrayed in the literature. Specifically, we demonstrate that attribute-based NWOM has a negative (i.e., aggravating) effect on dissatisfied consumers, whereas experience-based NWOM has a positive (i.e., alleviating) effect. Thought-listing data reveal distinct processes underlying the contrasting effects. On one hand, these results are consistent with the predictions of attitude polarization and downward comparison research. On the other hand, they are explainable in terms of the disconfirmation model.     

Odor preference learning and memory modify GluA1 phosphorylation and GluA1 distribution in the neonate rat olfactory bulb: testing the AMPA receptor hypothesis in an appetitive learning model

An increase in synaptic AMPA receptors is hypothesized to mediate learning and memory. AMPA receptor increases have been reported in aversive learning models, although it is not clear if they are seen with memory maintenance. Here we examine AMPA receptor changes in a cAMP/PKA/CREB-dependent appetitive learning model: odor preference learning in the neonate rat. Rat pups were given a single pairing of peppermint and 2 mg/kg isoproterenol, which produces a 24-h, but not a 48-h, peppermint preference in the 7-d-old rat pup. GluA1 PKA-dependent phosphorylation peaked 10 min after the 10-min training trial and returned to baseline within 90 min. At 24 h, GluA1 subunits did not change overall but were significantly increased in synaptoneurosomes, consistent with increased membrane insertion. Immunohistochemistry revealed a significant increase in GluA1 subunits in olfactory bulb glomeruli, the targets of olfactory nerve axons. Glomerular increases were seen at 3 and 24 h after odor exposure in trained pups, but not in control pups. GluA1 increases were not seen as early as 10 min after training and were no longer observed 48 h after training when odor preference is no longer expressed behaviorally. Thus, the pattern of increased GluA1 membrane expression closely follows the memory timeline. Further, blocking GluA1 insertion using an interference peptide derived from the carboxyl tail of the GluA1 subunit inhibited 24 h odor preference memory providing causative support for our hypothesis. PKA-mediated GluA1 phosphorylation and later GluA1 insertion could, conjointly, provide increased AMPA function to support both short-term and long-term appetitive memory.