Fear Versus Humor: The Impact of Sensation Seeking on Physiological,Cognitive, and Emotional Responses to Antialcohol Abuse Messages

This study investigates the differences in physiological, cognitive, and emotional responses to existing emotional antialcohol abuse advertisements (fear vs. humor appeal) between high and low sensation seekers. A 2 (Message Type) × 2 (Sensation-Seeking Tendency) × 4 (Message Repetition) mixed-model experiment with repeated measures was conducted with 71 college students. The results, based on self-reports, indicated that fear messages generated more interest and perceived danger of excessive drinking regardless of sensation-seeking tendency, whereas humorous messages were rated as more likeable than fear messages, and the difference was bigger among low sensation seekers than among high sensation seekers. One interesting finding was that for both fear and humor appeals, low sensation seekers showed greater emotional responses (greater corrugators activities and greater zygomatic activities) than high sensation seekers overall. The implications of the current study as well as suggestions for future study were discussed.     

JUMPING TOGETHER: A WAY FROM SOCIOBIOLOGY TO BIO‐SOCIO‐HUMANITIES

Sociobiology is a grand narrative of evolutionary biology on which to build unified knowledge. Consilience is a metaphorical representation of that narrative. I take up the same metaphor but apply it differently. I evoke the image of jumping together, not on solid ground but on the strong, flexible canvas sheet of a trampoline, on which natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities jump together. This image overlaps with the traditional East Asian way of understanding—that is, the “Heaven‐Earth‐Person Triad.” Using recent insights from cognitive science—metaphor, embodiment, and conceptual blending—I propose the alternative way of “bio‐socio‐humanities” to understand and experience the world.     

Personality, Meta-Mood Experience, Life Satisfaction, and Anxiety in Australian versus Singaporean Students

This study explores two issues concerning the relationships between personality, meta-mood experience, life satisfaction, and anxiety. First, it explored the incremental value of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience in predicting the three components of meta-mood experience (that is, attention to feelings, emotional clarity, clarity of feelings and mood repair), after controlling for demographic variables across Australia and Singapore. Second, it explored the incremental value of the three meta-mood experience components in predicting life satisfaction and anxiety, after controlling for demographic variables and personality variables across the two countries. One hundred and eighty nine tertiary students from Australia and 243 tertiary students from Singapore participated in this study. First, hierarchical regression analyses for both samples suggested that Agreeableness and Neuroticism are the two most important personality predictors of meta-mood experience, emotional attention, and emotional repair. Second, hierarchical regression analyses for both samples suggested that emotional repair was a significant predictor for life satisfaction and anxiety, even after controlling for demographic variables and personality variables. These results have implications for therapeutic interventions with life satisfaction versus anxiety. Funding for this research is facilitated partially by a research grant from the National Institute of Education.     

How does culture influence the degree of romantic loneliness and closeness?

A culture promoting a strong desire for romantic relationships can greatly influence feelings of romantic loneliness and of closeness. In this study, the authors hypothesized that when not in a romantic relationship, U.S. young adults experience greater degrees of romantic loneliness because of a high desire for romantic relationships, compared with Korean young adults. The authors also predicted that when in a romantic relationship, U.S. young adults experience greater closeness to their romantic partner than do Korean young adults. Results revealed that in a sample of 227 U.S. and Korean students, U.S. students reported significantly higher levels of romantic loneliness than did Koreans when not in a romantic relationship and significantly lower levels of romantic loneliness when in a stable romantic relationship. U.S. students also reported a greater degree of closeness in romantic relationships than did Korean students. The results suggest that Western cultures' strong emphasis on the importance of romantic relationships may unduly amplify individuals' levels of loneliness.     

When is educational specialization heterogeneity related to creativity in research and development teams? Transformational leadership as a moderator

The authors examined conditions under which teams' educational specialization heterogeneity was positively related to team creativity. Using a sample of 75 research and development teams, the authors theorized and found that transformational leadership and educational specialization heterogeneity interacted to affect team creativity in such a way that when transformational leadership was high, teams with greater educational specialization heterogeneity exhibited greater team creativity. In addition, teams' creative efficacy mediated this moderated relationship among educational specialization heterogeneity, transformational leadership, and team creativity. The authors discuss the implications of these results for research and practice.     

Emotional competencies and maladjustment in Singaporean adolescents

This study explores the relationships between four emotional competencies (i.e., intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, adaptability skills, and stress management skills) and four factors of maladjustment (i.e., antisocial behavior, anger control problems, emotional distress, and negative self problems) in 217 students from Singapore. Multiple regression findings indicated that stress management skills significantly predicted overall maladjustment, antisocial behavior, anger control problems, emotional distress, and negative self problems. With regard to the three remaining emotional competencies, interpersonal skills significantly predicted negative self problems, while intrapersonal skills and adaptability skills were not predictive of any of the four factors of maladjustment. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

An examination of ethnic identity and self-esteem with diverse populations: exploring variation by ethnicity and geography

The current study examined the relationships among ethnic identity and self-esteem across multiple ethnic groups within two distinct geographical locations (N = 1,344). In the current study, for same ethnic group members, the components of ethnic identity (i.e., exploration, resolution, and affirmation) were differentially related to self-esteem based on geographical context. Furthermore, within each geographical context, the strength of the relation between each ethnic identity component and self-esteem varied based on group membership, suggesting that the variables may be more or less influential on self-esteem depending on one's group membership. Based on these results, the exploration and resolution subscales of the Ethnic Identity scale (EIS) appear to be valid and reliable with diverse samples, whereas support for the affirmation subscale of the EIS is more tenuous. Finally, these findings suggest that ethnic identity may have varying salience and meaning for same ethnic group members in different geographical contexts (e.g., Asian Americans in California vs. Asian Americans in the Midwest).     

A functional MRI study of human amygdala responses to facial expressions of fear versus anger

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the human brain was used to compare changes in amygdala activity associated with viewing facial expressions of fear and anger. Pictures of human faces bearing expressions of fear or anger, as well as faces with neutral expressions, were presented to 8 healthy participants. The blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) fMRI signal within the dorsal amygdala was significantly greater to Fear versus Anger, in a direct contrast. Significant BOLD signal changes in the ventral amygdala were observed in contrasts of Fear versus Neutral expressions and, in a more spatially circumscribed region, to Anger versus Neutral expressions. Thus, activity in the amygdala is greater to fearful facial expressions when contrasted with either neutral or angry faces. Furthermore, directly contrasting fear with angry faces highlighted involvement of the dorsal amygdaloid region.