Smile intensity in social networking profile photographs is related to greater scientific achievements

Theory and research indicates that individuals with more frequent positive emotions are better at attaining goals at work and in everyday life. In the current study we examined whether the expression of genuine positive emotions by scientists was positively correlated with work-related accomplishments, defined by bibliometric (e.g. number of citations) and sociometric (number of followers for scholarly updates) indices. Using a sample of 440 scientists from a social networking site for researchers, multiple raters coded smile intensity (full smile, partial smile, or no smile) in publicly available photographs. We found that scientists who presented a full smile had the same quantity of publications yet of higher quality (e.g. citations per paper) and attracted more followers to their updates compared to less positive emotionally expressive peers; results remained after controlling for age and sex. Thin-slicing approaches to the beneficial effects of positive emotionality offer an ecologically valid approach to complement experimental and longitudinal evidence. Evidence linking positive emotional expressions to scientific impact and social influence provides further support for broaden and build models of positive emotions.     

When is a lie acceptable? Work and private life lying acceptance depends on its beneficiary

In this article we show that when analyzing attitude towards lying in a cross-cultural setting, both the beneficiary of the lie (self vs other) and the context (private life vs. professional domain) should be considered. In a study conducted in Estonia, Ireland, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden (N = 1345), in which participants evaluated stories presenting various types of lies, we found usefulness of relying on the dimensions. Results showed that in the joint sample the most acceptable were other-oriented lies concerning private life, then other-oriented lies in the professional domain, followed by egoistic lies in the professional domain; and the least acceptance was shown for egoistic lies regarding one’s private life. We found a negative correlation between acceptance of a behavior and the evaluation of its deceitfulness.     

Extending Contact Across Generations: Comparison of Direct and Ancestral Intergroup Contact Effects on Current Attitudes Toward Outgroup Members

There is a growing body of evidence that intergroup relations are affected not only by direct contact with outgroup members, but also by extended contact: the mere knowledge that an ingroup member has a positive relationship with an outgroup. The present article focuses on the transgenerationally transmitted effects of contact, namely the impact of knowledge about ancestors’ contact with outgroup members on descendants’ attitudes toward the outgroup. A correlational study in the Polish–Ukrainian borderland region (N = 288) shows that ancestral intergroup contact – independently from direct intergroup contact – plays a crucial role in the process of improving intergroup attitudes. The mediating mechanisms of perceived similarity of the outgroup to the self and of perspective taking are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional disrupt‐then‐reframe technique of social influence

Davis and Knowles proposed a social influence technique, which they named disrupt‐then‐reframe (DTR). In a series of four experiments, they demonstrated that compliance could be increased by a subtle disruption to the sales request, followed immediately by a reframing that provided additional reasons for purchasing the goods. The DTR technique is strictly cognitive in nature: The person, hearing simple argumentation during the short state of her or his cognitive disorganization, becomes more inclined to fulfill the requests made of her or him. In three experiments presented in this article, it is shown that a similar effect can be obtained when the fear‐then‐relief state, which could be seen as an emotional disruption, is followed by an argument.     

The link between anger and admiration toward governmental actions and self-reported preventive behaviour in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, across six correlational studies in four different countries (total N = 4937), we examined the link between citizens' anger with and admiration for the government's actions and decisions (i.e., system-based anger and admiration) and engagement in preventive behaviour. The internal meta-analyses showed that individuals who admired the government's actions were more likely to adopt personal hygiene and social distancing behaviour. Yet, the link between emotions and preventive behaviour differed concerning the target of emotions, especially for anger. Specifically, anger about restrictions imposed by the government was negatively related to preventive behaviours, but this relationship was not significant when the target of anger was the government's overall handling of the pandemic. Our findings emphasise the importance of citizens' emotions and the targets of those emotions during the crisis.     

Sex differences in trauma symptoms,body image and intensity of pain in a Polish sample of patients suffering from chronic pain

The main goal of the current study was to investigate sex differences in the relationship between the level of trauma symptoms appearing in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and intensity of pain in a sample of 300 Polish patients suffering from chronic pain, specifically rheumatoid arthritis and lower back pain. We also focused on participants’ body image with body esteem as a mediator. To assess the intensity of pain among participants, we used the Numerical Rating Scale. The level of trauma symptoms was assessed with the PTSD Factorial Version Inventory. To measure body image among participants, we used the Body Esteem Scale. The results of our study suggest that trauma symptoms and body image dimensions were significant predictors of pain intensity among men suffering from chronic pain. Moreover, trauma symptoms and age were significant predictors of pain intensity among women suffering from chronic pain. Finally, we demonstrated that sex differentiates the reaction to chronic pain.     

Voice-based assessments of trustworthiness,competence, and warmth in blind and sighted adults

The study of voice perception in congenitally blind individuals allows researchers rare insight into how a lifetime of visual deprivation affects the development of voice perception. Previous studies have suggested that blind adults outperform their sighted counterparts in low-level auditory tasks testing spatial localization and pitch discrimination, as well as in verbal speech processing; however, blind persons generally show no advantage in nonverbal voice recognition or discrimination tasks. The present study is the first to examine whether visual experience influences the development of social stereotypes that are formed on the basis of nonverbal vocal characteristics (i.e., voice pitch). Groups of 27 congenitally or early-blind adults and 23 sighted controls assessed the trustworthiness, competence, and warmth of men and women speaking a series of vowels, whose voice pitches had been experimentally raised or lowered. Blind and sighted listeners judged both men’s and women’s voices with lowered pitch as being more competent and trustworthy than voices with raised pitch. In contrast, raised-pitch voices were judged as being warmer than were lowered-pitch voices, but only for women’s voices. Crucially, blind and sighted persons did not differ in their voice-based assessments of competence or warmth, or in their certainty of these assessments, whereas the association between low pitch and trustworthiness in women’s voices was weaker among blind than sighted participants. This latter result suggests that blind persons may rely less heavily on nonverbal cues to trustworthiness compared to sighted persons. Ultimately, our findings suggest that robust perceptual associations that systematically link voice pitch to the social and personal dimensions of a speaker can develop without visual input.     

A belief in trend reversal requires access to cognitive resources

There are two research traditions studying people's reactions to random binary events: one concerns serial choice reaction times, the other concerns predictions of events in a series. The present studies focused on comparing expectations between these two approaches. We formed and tested a general hypothesis that, regardless of the type of task, when an individual faces a sequence of events they initially expect trend continuation. Only when people assume that a sequence is random might they override the default and expect trend reversal instead. In a series of experiments we found that limitation of access to cognitive resources enhances expectations of trend continuation. Our interpretation of this finding is that an expectation of trend continuation is the default for the human cognitive system and that a belief in trend reversal requires access to cognitive resources to overcome the tendency to expect trend continuation.