The impact of salient self-identities on relative deprivation and action intentions

Salient self-identities and their impact upon feelings of relative deprivation (RD) and subsequent action intentions were examined. Eight experimental conditions (Personal/Group Salience × Large/Small Intragroup Inequalities × Large/Small Intergroup Inequalities) were created utilizing a role-play design. Significant main effects for both salience and social inequalities were found to influence both RD and action intentions. In accordance with self-categorization theory, when group compared to personal identities were made salient, stronger feelings of group RD and greater likelihood of collective action intentions were reported. Alternatively, when personal compared to group identities were made salient, greater likelihood of individual actions were reported. In accordance with relative deprivation theory, when intergroup inequalities were large compared to small, stronger feelings of group RD and less likelihood of collective action were reported. Alternatively, when intragroup inequalities were large compared to small, stronger feelings of personal RD were reported.     

Motivational states influence effort-based decision making in rats: The role of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens

Decision-making policies are subject to modulation by changing motivational states. However, so far, little is known about the neurochemical mechanisms that bridge motivational states with decision making. Here we examined whether dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) modulates the effects of motivational states on effort-based decision making. Using a cost–benefit T-maze task in rats, we examined the effects of AcbC DA depletions on effort-based decision making, in particular on the sensitivity of effort-based decision making to a shift from a hungry to a sated state. The results demonstrated that, relative to sham controls, rats with AcbC DA depletion in a hungry as well as in a sated state had a reduced preference for effortful but large-reward action. This finding provides further support for the notion that AcbC DA regulates how much effort to invest for rewards. Importantly, our results further revealed that effort-based decision making in lesioned rats, as in sham controls, was still sensitive to a shift from a hungry to a sated state; that is, their preferences for effortful large-reward actions became lower after a shift from a restricted to a free-feeding regimen. These finding indicate that AcbC DA is not necessarily involved in mediating the effects of a shift in motivational state on decision-making policies.     

Eye movements and brain electric potentials during reading

The development of theories and computational models of reading requires an understanding of processing constraints, in particular of timelines related to word recognition and oculomotor control. Timelines of word recognition are usually determined with event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded under conditions of serial visual presentation (SVP) of words; timelines of oculomotor control are derived from parameters of eye movements (EMs) during natural reading. We describe two strategies to integrate these approaches. One is to collect ERPs and EMs in separate SVP and natural reading experiments for the same experimental material (but different subjects). The other strategy is to co-register EMs and ERPs during natural reading from the same subjects. Both strategies yield data that allow us to determine how lexical properties influence ERPs (e.g., the N400 component) and EMs (e.g., fixation durations) across neighboring words. We review our recent research on the effects of frequency and predictability of words on both EM and ERP measures with reference to current models of eye-movement control during reading. Results are in support of the proposition that lexical access is distributed across several fixations and across brain-electric potentials measured on neighboring words.     

The Relationship Between Ability-Based Emotional Intelligence and Contextual Performance and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: A Test of the Mediating Effects of Job Satisfaction

This article investigated the mediating role of job satisfaction between four ability-based emotional intelligence (EI) dimensions and contextual performance and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), and controlled for Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness. Based on data collected from 222 employees, results supported the hypothesized partial mediation model. Job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between (a) the ability-based EI dimension, regulation of emotion, and contextual performance, and CWB-I and CWB-O; (b) the ability-based EI dimension, selfemotion appraisal, and CWB-I and CWB-O; (c) the ability-based EI dimension, use of emotion and contextual performance; and (d) between Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Conscientiousness and contextual performance and CWBs. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Sex differences in face cognition

Although there is abundant evidence for female superiority in Face Cognition (FC), a number of questions regarding sex differences remain to be addressed. Here we report a reanalysis of data on the level of latent factors, modeled on the basis of an extensive test battery applied to three samples of over 800 adults in all. In independent samples the measurement structure of FC was invariant for both sexes, indicating that the measurement of the construct does not depend on the context variable sex, and investigating mean performance differences will not be biased by measurement issues — a neglected aspect in previous studies. We confirmed female superiority for face perception (FP) and face memory (FM). For the first time we could show that these sex differences prevailed after accounting for sex differences in broadly measured general cognitive functioning and in object perception. Across adult age, sex differences in FM increased due to the rapid decline of this ability in men, whereas performance in women remained stable across adult age. Self-reported social involvement and things-oriented activities moderated sex-differences in FM. Results show that sex differences are salient at the level of specific FC constructs and that they can be partially explained by social involvement.     

Evaluating the contribution of different item features to the effect size of the gender difference in three-dimensional mental rotation using automatic item generation

In complex three-dimensional mental rotation tasks males have been reported to score up to one standard deviation higher than females. However, this effect size estimate could be compromised by the presence of gender bias at the item level, which calls the validity of purely quantitative performance comparisons into question. We hypothesized that the effect of gender bias at the level of distinct item design features could lead to either an over- or underestimation of reported effect sizes of the gender difference in three-dimensional mental rotation. Using automatic item generation we conducted a series of psychometric experiments in which we independently manipulated one out of four different item design features that have exhibited a gender bias in the previous studies (study 1). This was done in a between-subjects design. The results indicated that gender bias caused by item design features linked to the perceptual stadium of mental rotation led to an overestimation of the effect size of the gender difference while item design features associated with the encoding and transformational stadium resulted in an underestimation of the effect size of the gender difference. In study 2 we tested the hypothesis that the gender difference still remains while controlling for the item design features causing gender bias. The results suggest that a significant portion of the gender difference may be attributable to perceptual and encoding processes involved in mental rotation.     

Is Semantic Processing During Sentence Reading Autonomous or Controlled? Evidence from the N400 Component in a Dual Task Paradigm

The present study contributes to the discussion on the automaticity of semantic processing. Whereas most previous research investigated semantic processing at word level, the present study addressed semantic processing during sentence reading. A dual task paradigm was combined with the recording of event-related brain potentials. Previous research at word level processing reported different patterns of interference with the N400 by additional tasks: attenuation of amplitude or delay of latency. In the present study, we presented Spanish sentences that were semantically correct or contained a semantic violation in a critical word. At different intervals preceding the critical word a tone was presented that required a high-priority choice response. At short intervals/high temporal overlap between the tasks mean amplitude of the N400 was reduced relative to long intervals/low temporal overlap, but there were no shifts of peak latency. We propose that processing at sentence level exerts a protective effect against the additional task. This is in accord with the attentional sensitization model (Kiefer & Martens, 2010), which suggests that semantic processing is an automatic process that can be enhanced by the currently activated task set. The present experimental sentences also induced a P600, which is taken as an index of integrative processing. Additional task effects are comparable to those in the N400 time window and are briefly discussed.     

Emotional enhancement effect of memory: removing the influence of cognitive factors

According to the modulation hypothesis, arousal is the crucial factor in the emotional enhancement of memory (EEM). However, the multifactor theory of the EEM recently proposed that cognitive characteristics of emotional stimuli, e.g., relatedness and distinctiveness, also play an important role. The current study aimed to investigate the individual contribution of arousal to the neural correlates of the EEM by controlling for these additional cognitive factors. We observed the characteristic neuronal correlates of the EEM, in particular enhanced activity in the amygdala and hippocampus, which provides evidence for an arousal-driven EEM in the amygdala as proposed by the modulation hypothesis.     

The appraisal of facial beauty is rapid but not mandatory

Facial attractiveness is an important source of social affective information. Here, we studied the time course and task dependence of evaluating attractive faces from a viewer’s perspective. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants classified color portraits of unfamiliar persons according to gender and facial attractiveness. During attractiveness classification, enhanced ERP amplitudes for attractive and nonattractive faces relative to faces of intermediate attractiveness were found for an early component around 150 msec and for the late positive complex (LPC). Whereas LPC enhancement conforms to previous studies employing various types of affective stimuli, the finding of an early effect extends earlier research on rapid emotion processing to the dimension of facial attractiveness. Dipole source localization of this early ERP effect revealed a scalp distribution suggesting activation of posterior extrastriate areas. Importantly, attractiveness-related modulations of brain responses were only marginal during the gender decision task, arguing against the automaticity of attractiveness appraisal.     

Why Do You Regulate What You Eat? Relationships Between Forms of Regulation, Eating Behaviors, Sustained Dietary Behavior Change, and Psychological Adjustment

In 3 studies, the authors examined how autonomous and controlled forms of motivation for the regulation of eating behaviors were related to self-reported eating behaviors, and sustained dietary behavior change. Studies 1 and 2 supported the factorial structure and the psychometric properties of a scale designed to measure different forms of regulation as defined by Self-Determination Theory. A motivational model of the regulation of eating behaviors suggested that an autonomous regulation was positively associated with healthy eating behaviors whereas a controlled regulation was positively associated with dysfunctional eating behaviors and negatively associated with healthy eating behaviors. In Study 3, long-term adherence to healthier dietary behaviors in a population at risk for coronary artery disease was examined over a 26-week period. A general measure of self-determined motivation assessed at week 1 was found to be a reliable predictor of the level of self-determination for eating behaviors 13 weeks later. In turn, self-determination for eating behaviors was a significant predictor of dietary behavior changes at 26 weeks. Finally, the dietary behavior measures were related to improvements in weight and blood lipid parameters (LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides). Results are discussed in terms of their implication for the integration and maintenance of a successful healthy regulation.