The distinctiveness of emotion concepts: a comparison between emotion, abstract, and concrete words

Are the concepts represented by emotion words different from abstract words in memory? We examined the distinct characteristics of emotion concepts in 3 separate experiments. The first demonstrated that emotion words are better recalled than both concrete and abstract words in a free recall task. In the second experiment, ratings of abstract, concrete, and emotion words were compared on concreteness, imageability, and context availability scales. Results revealed a difference between all 3 word types on each of the 3 scales. The third experiment investigated priming in a lexical decision task for homogeneous (abstract-abstract and emotion-emotion) and heterogeneous (abstract-emotion and emotion-abstract) associated word pairs. Priming occurred only for the homogeneous and heterogeneous abstract-emotion word pair conditions. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed in terms of the circumplex, hierarchical, and semantic activation models. The results are most consistent with the predictions of the semantic activation model.     

A six-factor structure of personality-descriptive adjectives: solutions from psycholexical studies in seven languages

Standard psycholexical studies of personality structure have produced a similar 6-factor solution in 7 languages (Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish). The authors report the content of these personality dimensions and interpret them as follows: (a) a variant of Extraversion, defined by sociability and liveliness (though not by bravery and toughness); (b) a variant of Agreeableness, defined by gentleness, patience, and agreeableness (but also including anger and ill temper at its negative pole); (c) Conscientiousness (emphasizing organization and discipline rather than moral conscience); (d) Emotionality (containing anxiety, vulnerability, sentimentality, lack of bravery, and lack of toughness, but not anger or ill temper); (e) Honesty-Humility; (f) Intellect/Imagination/Unconventionality. A potential reorganization of the Big Five factor structure is discussed.     

Effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory for lists shown at RSVP and STM rates

This article reports 3 experiments in which effects of orthographic and phonological word length on memory were examined for short lists shown at rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) and short-term memory (STM) rates. Only visual-orthographic length reduced RSVP serial recall, whereas both orthographic and phonological length lowered recall for STM lists in Experiment 1. Word-length effects may arise from output processes or from the temporal duration of output in recall. In 2 further experiments, output demands were reduced through the use of a recognition test. Recognition accuracy was impaired only by orthographic length for RSVP lists and by phonological length for STM lists in both experiments. The results demonstrate 2 item length effects not simply attributable to increased output time in recall, and implications for theories of STM are considered.     

Gender intensification of peer socialization during puberty

Gender differences are a provocative subject with good reason: they are implicated as contributors to important societal problems. Gender differences in math achievement contribute to limited career options for women (Center for Early Adolescence, 1984; Stipp, 1992), which may in turn affect their economic self-sufficiency. Gender differences in social norms about competition and closeness contribute to power and communication problems in female-male relationships, with consequences for family stability and domestic violence (Leaper, 1994). Understanding the origins of gender differences, therefore, has important societal implications.     

Perceptions of Ethical Behaviour among Business Faculty in Canada

Faculty members at Canadian business schools were surveyed regarding their ethical perceptions of behaviours related to undergraduate instruction. Fifty-five behavioural statements were listed and respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they felt each behaviour was ethical or unethical. The only item that respondents endorsed as unequivocally unethical (90% indicated it was definitely unethical) was Becoming sexually involved with an undergraduate in one of your classes. We also compared the results of our sample to those of an American sample. Overall, an interesting pattern of differences emerged between the responses obtained in Canada and the U.S. In general, the direction of the significant differences was such that Canadian professors viewed the behaviours in question as less ethical than did their American counterparts.     

Do age of onset and course of illness define biologically distinct groups within atypical depression?

Illness course separates patients with atypical depression into tricyclic responders and nonresponders as does perceptual asymmetry. The authors therefore investigated whether the course-of-illness parameters would define groups within atypical depression differing in brain laterality. Patients with atypical depression were assessed for illness course and brain laterality. Two patient groups were defined, 1 with onset prior to age 20 plus a very chronic course, and a 2nd group having later onset or less chronic illness. Patients reporting early onset of very chronic dysphoria showed significantly less right-ear (left-hemisphere) accuracy and also differed in characteristic perceptual asymmetry when compared to patients with later onset or less chronicity. Course of illness may usefully define more homogeneous depressive subgroups within atypical depression.     

Citation trends of applied journals in behavioral psychology 1981-2000

One variable with which to evaluate scientific journals is how often their articles are cited in the literature. Such data are amenable to longitudinal analysis and can be used as a measure of a journal's impact on research within a discipline. We evaluated multiple citation measures for a number of applied journals in behavioral psychology from 1981 to 2000. The results indicate a relatively consistent impact across these journals, with some evidence of growth.     

The tripartite model of anxiety and depression: symptom structure in depressive and hypertensive patient groups

The structure of self-reported symptoms representative of the tripartite model was examined using data drawn from the Medical Outcomes Study (Tarlov et al., 1989). Participants were persons who had been diagnosed 48 months previously as suffering from either depression (N = 315) or hypertension (N = 403). Results of confirmatory factor analyses were broadly consistent with the tripartite model (L. A. Clark & Watson, 1991). Factors emerged corresponding to each of the 3 posited first-order dimensions of negative affect, positive affect, and physiologic arousal. Nonetheless, some discrepancies were found between the observed data and the hypothesized tripartite model. First, the obtained physiologic arousal factor was best viewed as reflecting nonspecific somatic distress rather than physiologic arousal. Finally, although differentiable in the strictest statistical sense, all three domains were significantly correlated (.36 to.86, absolute value). In particular, contrary to the tripartite model, positive and negative affect covaried markedly (-.81 to -.86). Findings raise issues concerning the utility of the tripartite model as a heuristic framework for enhancing understanding of individual differences in normal mood as well as mood disorders.     

Tooth color: effects on judgments of attractiveness and age

Tooth whitening has become a very popular procedure. Advertisements for whitening products imply that whiter teeth are more attractive than yellower teeth. We tested this idea empirically by manipulating the tooth color of pictures of male and female targets. Participants' ratings of attractiveness were not influenced by tooth color. Exp. 2 yielded a negative correlation between attractiveness and age ratings: targets judged to be older were rated as less attractive. Unless whiter teeth help in some other way, e.g., improved self-esteem or confidence, it seems that tooth whitening procedures or products are not associated with increased attractiveness to others.