Effective regulation of affect: An action control perspective on emotion regulation

The present review adopts an action control perspective on emotion regulation, contextualising the gap between emotion control goals (e.g., I want to remain calm) and emotional outcomes (e.g., anger, anxiety, and aggression) in terms of the broader literature on goal pursuit. We propose that failure to effectively regulate emotions can result from difficulties with the self-regulatory tasks of (i) identifying the need to regulate, (ii) deciding whether and how to regulate, and (iii) enacting a regulation strategy. Next we review evidence that a technique traditionally associated with regulating behavioural goals (forming implementation intentions or “if-then” planning) can help to overcome these difficulties. Meta-analysis indicated that forming implementation intentions is effective in modifying emotional outcomes, with a large effect relative to no regulation instructions (k = 21, N = 1306 d ₊ = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.20) and a medium-sized effect relative to goal intention instructions (k = 29, N = 1208, d ₊ = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.65). Our conclusion is that research on emotion regulation might benefit from an action control perspective and the interventions that this perspective offers.     

Individualized Challenge Point Practice as a Method to Aid Motor Sequence Learning

We conducted two studies to investigate if and how: (1) the rate of skill acquisition was related to motor performance at retention of a serial RT task (Study 1); and (2) whether rate of skill acquisition and baseline performance could be used to design schedules of practice related to contextual interference (CI) to enhance motor learning (Study 2). In Study 1, a slower rate of skill acquisition of repeating sequences in practice was related to faster response times at retention. Based on performance in Study 1, three levels of individualized CI were created for Study 2. Compared to low and moderate levels of CI, the higher CI practice condition led to faster response times in retention. We conclude that an individualized ‘challenge point’, which generates high CI enhances motor learning by optimizing challenge.     

A Qualitative Study of Faith Leaders’ Perceptions of Health and Wellness

The effectiveness of faith-based health and wellness interventions is moderated by the attitudes, perceptions, and participation of key leaders within faith-based organizations. This qualitative study examined perceptions about the link between health, spirituality, and religion among a volunteer sample of faith leaders (n = 413) from different denominations. The major themes included: influences on health and wellness promotion and a relationship between spirituality and health. The results indicated that perceptions about the link among health, spirituality, and religion vary among faith leaders, regardless of denomination. Future faith-based interventions should be developed with consideration for denomination as a socially and culturally relevant factor.     

Spaced Retrieval Enhances Memory for a Name–Face–Occupation Association in Older Adults With Probable Alzheimer's Disease

The authors trained 4 older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease to recall a name–face–occupation association using the spaced retrieval technique. Six training sessions were administered over a 2-week period. On each trial, participants selected a target photograph and stated the target name and occupation at increasingly longer retention intervals, contingent upon successful recall. Two transfer tasks were included to determine whether the trained association transferred to the person whose picture served as the training stimulus. Results yielded a positive effect of spaced retrieval on memory for the trained association. Analyses of errors revealed that participants remembered the target person's occupation more often than his or her name. There was modest evidence of transfer of the name–face–occupation association to the actual person. Implications of these data for memory remediation and quality of life in cognitively impaired older adults are considered.     

The new social psychology of France: The Girardian School

Like Lacan, Girard's thought is centered not on appetite for objects but on the relation between the self and the subjectivity of the other, in this case by way of what Girard calls ‘mimesis’, a tendency to imitate not only the actions but also the inward attitudes, and especially the desires, of others; prompted by a sense of deficiency, we seek out something to desire, hoping to attain through it the ontological plenitude symbolized for us by the (god‐like) ‘mediator’ or model of our desire. Girard's theory of social origins is rooted in the idea that mimesis leads to generalized conflict which becomes resolved through a ‘victimizing mechanism’ culminating in a ‘sacrifice’. Girardian political economists, such as Paul Dumouchel, Jean‐Pierre Dupuy, and André Orléan, have drawn on these ideas in analyzing market mechanisms and the concepts of wealth and value. Jean‐Michel Oughourlian, a psychiatrist, has applied them to the analysis of suggestion and hypnosis, hysteria, and possession. The Girardian economists’ unmasking of the idea of wealth as an idol symbolizing our fascination with images of ontological plenitude adds a new element to the traditional Christian critique of avarice as well as the Buddhist critique of desire, and Oughourlian's analysis of the phenomena of possession and sorcery throws a new light both on traditional Wester demonology and on rituals of possession.     

Combating the Suicide Epidemic: The Effects of Leisure Engagement on the Incidence of Depression and Poor Life Satisfaction in Soldiers

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship of leisure engagement to levels of depression and life satisfaction in U.S. Army Soldiers. The relationship between overall time engaging in leisure, as well as categories of physically active and sedentary leisure, on the incidence of depression and poor life satisfaction were examined. Results from self-report survey of 230 soldiers revealed higher amounts of time spent engaged in leisure correlated with reported lower levels of depression and higher life satisfaction. The categories physically active and sedentary leisure did not demonstrate a distinct relationship to levels of depression, but both positively related to life satisfaction.