The sunny side of fairness: preference for fairness activates reward circuitry (and disregarding unfairness activates self-control circuitry)

Little is known about the positive emotional impact of fairness or the process of resolving conflict between fairness and financial interests. In past research, fairness has covaried with monetary payoff, such that the mental processes underlying preference for fairness and those underlying preference for greater monetary outcome could not be distinguished. We examined self-reported happiness and neural responses to fair and unfair offers while controlling for monetary payoff. Compared with unfair offers of equal monetary value, fair offers led to higher happiness ratings and activation in several reward regions of the brain. Furthermore, the tendency to accept unfair proposals was associated with increased activity in right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a region involved in emotion regulation, and with decreased activity in the anterior insula, which has been implicated in negative affect. This work provides evidence that fairness is hedonically valued and that tolerating unfair treatment for material gain involves a pattern of activation resembling suppression of negative affect.     

Rapid acquisition of preference in concurrent chains: effects of d-amphetamine on sensitivity to reinforcement delay

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of d-amphetamine on choice controlled by reinforcement delay. Eight pigeons responded under a concurrent-chains procedure in which one terminal-link schedule was always fixed-interval 8 s, and the other terminal-link schedule changed from session to session between fixed-interval 4 s and fixed-interval 16 s according to a 31-step pseudorandom binary sequence. After sufficient exposure to these contingencies (at least once through the pseudorandom binary sequence), the pigeons acquired a preference for the shorter reinforcement delay within each session. Estimates of the sensitivity to reinforcement immediacy were similar to those obtained in previous studies. For all pigeons, at least one dose of d-amphetamine attenuated preference and, hence, decreased estimates of sensitivity to reinforcement immediacy; in most cases, this effect occurred without a change in overall response rates. In many cases, the reduced sensitivity to reinforcement delay produced by d-amphetamine resulted primarily from a decrease in the asymptotic level of preference achieved within the session; in some cases, d-amphetamine produced complete indifference. These findings suggest that a reduction in the sensitivity to reinforcement delay may be an important behavioral mechanism of the effects of psychomotor stimulants.     

The BAI–PC as a Screen for Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD in Primary Care

Despite the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in medical settings, mental health problems often go undetected and patients do not receive appropriate treatment. The main goal of this study is to provide additional information about the Beck Anxiety Inventory – Primary Care (BAI–PC), a brief instrument that screens for patients with anxiety. This study provides information on the performance of the BAI–PC as a screening instrument for depression and PTSD in addition to its original purpose as a screening instrument for anxiety. This efficient tool can identify patients who can benefit from effective psychological treatments and facilitate referrals to psychologists working in medical settings.     

Head Over the Heart or Heart Over the Head? Cognitive Experiential Self‐Theory and Extralegal Heuristics in Juror Decision Making1

Cognitive experiential self‐theory (CEST), which maintains that information can be processed in both an experiential (emotional) and a rational mode. Experiential processing fosters a reliance on heuristic cues. Previous research has demonstrated that juror verdicts are influenced by a variety of extralegal heuristics, including a defendant attractiveness cue. This research examined whether experiential processing would produce a defendant‐attractiveness/leniency effect. Before awarding monetary damages in a civil trial, participants were motivated to think either rationally or experientially and were shown a photograph of either a high‐ or low‐attractiveness defendant. Experiential mode participants awarded significantly lower damages to the plaintiff when the defendant was attractive, but the attractiveness‐leniency effect was not operative for rational mode participants.     

Mathematics self-efficacy: stereotype threat versus resilience

Children’s academic self-efficacy is one of the strongest predictors of achievement (Wigfield and Eccles, Contemporary Educational Psychology 25(1): 68–81, 2000). The present research examined mathematics self-efficacy and the relationship of racial context from the perspective of two competing bodies of research. Stereotype threat theory would predict that, under conditions where negative stereotypes are salient, self-efficacy would decrease. So, Black/African American students in primarily White classrooms would be predicted to report lower self-efficacy. However, other research suggests that Black/African American students demonstrate fortitude even under disadvantage (e.g., Graham, Review of Educational Research, 64(1): 55–117, 1994). We examined the mathematics self-efficacy of 170 fifth-grade students. In contrast to stereotype threat theory, results suggested that Black/African American students’ self-efficacy remained stable regardless of the racial breakdown of the class. However, White students demonstrated elevated self-efficacy when in predominantly Black/African American classrooms. These results could not be explained by differences in classroom environments. Results are discussed in terms of resilience, ethnic identity and White identity.     

Using Neuroscience to Broaden Emotion Regulation: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Behavioral research on emotion regulation thus far has focused on conscious and deliberative strategies such as reappraisal. Neuroscience investigations into emotion regulation have followed suit. However, neuroimaging tools now open the door to investigate more automatic forms of emotion regulation that take place incidentally and potentially outside of participant awareness that have previously been difficult to examine. The present paper reviews studies on the neuroscience of intentional/deliberate emotion regulation and identifies opportunities for future directions that have not yet been addressed. The authors suggest a broad framework for emotion regulation that includes both deliberative and incidental forms. This framework allows insights from incidental emotion regulation to address open questions about existing work, and vice versa. Several studies relevant to incidental emotion regulation are reviewed with the goal of providing an empirical and methodological groundwork for future research. Finally, several theoretical issues for incidental and intentional emotion regulation are discussed.