Using art for comparison and distraction: Effects on negative emotions and judgements of satisfaction

Abstract

Two studies examined whether emotional comparison and distraction with emotion congruent and incongruent art would improve the well-being of dysphoric undergraduates. In both studies, subjects: (1) imagined a sad event; (2) compared their mood to that expressed by incongruent art (upward comparison) or congruent art (downward comparison); or focused on technical features of incongruent art (incongruent distraction) or congruent art (congruent distraction); and (3) rated their emotions and life satisfaction. The incongruent distraction group reported feeling more positive and more satisfied, and the downward comparison group reported feeling more satisfied, than the upward comparison or congruent distraction groups. Thus, comparison and distraction can improve well-being when directed towards emotion congruent and incongruent art, respectively.     

Effect of a mid-series anchor on absolute judgments of duration by schizophrenics, neurologically impaired, and normals.

36 normal, 36 schizophrenic, and 36 neurologically impaired Ss were compared for their ability to temporally discriminate brief auditory stimuli. The experimental task was the absolute judgment of 3, 5, or 9 stimuli ranging in duration from 0.10 to 1.90 sec. Half of the Ss in each group were "assisted" by the presentation of a repeated mid-series anchor. The interval between the presentation of the anchor and the variable stimuli was varied. With the addition of a mid-series anchor, normal Ss demonstrated an increase in information transmission and a decrease in response stereotypy; schizophrenics demonstrated a slight decrease in information transmission and a slight increase in response stereotypy; neurologically impaired Ss were essentially unaffected. Changes in interstimulus interval on the anchored judgment task did not influence information transmission.     

Motivation, Cognition, and Action: An Analysis of Studies of Task Goals and Knowledge

This paper begins by analysing the nature of cognition and of motivation, especially as they relate to the operation of the subconscious. The interdependence of cognition and motivation is demonstrated. This interdependence is then illustrated through an analysis of studies on goal setting and task strategies (task knowledge) in relation to task performance. Three types of relationships have been found: direct, separate effects of goals and strategies; interactions between goals and strategies (moderation); and the mediation of goal effects by strategies. It is argued that there is really one underlying model that accounts for all of these findings. There are two paths to performance, one motivated by goals and another motivated by other factors. Each is or can be associated with relevant task knowledge. 'Direct' goal effects occur when the subjects already possess relevant task knowledge, but that knowledge is not measured. (If it were measured, there would be mediation.) Direct strategy effects occur when subjects are motivated to discover or use relevant strategies by (unmeasured) motives that are not a product of the performance goal. Moderation occurs when there is no task knowledge tied to the goals but knowledge derives from other sources, which combines with goals to produce performance. Mediation occurs when goals produce measured task knowledge, which, when controlled, vitiates the goal effect. This model suggests ideas for further research.     

体育馆比赛厅观众席距离与视觉辨认的关系

問題 深入地探討体育館內观众席的视觉效果問題,是保証观众“看得好”的首要因素,是合理分布观众席、决定比賽厅平面形式(如圓形、椭圓形、方形、矩形等)的必备前提。决定观众席视觉效果的两大因素是观察距离及观察方位。关于这两个問題,国內外先后都进行过研究,但距离、方位与观众席分区方法的关系等問題,一般多局限在理論方面的討論,不能完全符合于实际情况。要对这些問題进行更深入的探討,必需进行视知觉心理学方面的实驗和研究,非仅靠建筑学知識所能解决,本研究卽试图通过知觉心理学的研究方法,对体育館比賽厅观众席距場地距离与視觉辨认的关系进行一些探索。     

Sharenting: Pride,affect and the day‐to‐day politics of digital mothering

The coming together of parenting and routine posting on social networking sites has become a visible and recognisable theme, and the term “sharenting” has found a place in everyday talk to describe some forms of parental digital sharing practices. However, while social media has undoubtedly provided a space for parents to share experiences and receive support around parenting, sharenting remains a contestable issue. Thus, one reading of sharenting would be as a display of good parenting as mothers “show off” their children as a marker of success. However, the term also can be used pejoratively to describe parental oversharing of child‐focused images and content. In this paper, we explore the practice of sharenting in terms of pride, affect and the politics of digital mothering in a neoliberal context to conclude that sharenting can be best understood as a complex affective and intersectional accomplishment that produces motherhood and family as communicative activities within digital social practices.     

New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory

ABSTRACT— Goal-setting theory is summarized regarding the effectiveness of specific, difficult goals; the relationship of goals to affect; the mediators of goal effects; the relation of goals to self-efficacy; the moderators of goal effects; and the generality of goal effects across people, tasks, countries, time spans, experimental designs, goal sources (i.e., self-set, set jointly with others, or assigned), and dependent variables. Recent studies concerned with goal choice and the factors that influence it, the function of learning goals, the effect of goal framing, goals and affect (well-being), group goal setting, goals and traits, macro-level goal setting, and conscious versus subconscious goals are described. Suggestions are given for future research.     

Emergent Control of Manual and Vocal-Motor Activity in Relation to the Development of Speech

Babbling typically precedes, resembles, and conceivably facilitates development of speech, and yet there is no accepted neurobiological characterization of babbling. Here we report a study of infants′ developing control of vocal behavior in relation to manual activity performed under differing conditions of audibility. We hypothesized that babbling is associated with the onset of left-lateralized motor control, as expressed in repetitive right-handed activity, and that audibility facilitates such activity, Sixty-one normally developing infants were seen before (N = 21) or at various intervals following (N = 40) the onset of babbling. In experimental trials, audible or inaudible rattles were placed in left or right hands equally often. Analysis of manual activity revealed little shaking movement in the youngest and vocally least differentiated infants, and a sharp increase in shaking in slightly older infants who had recently begun to babble. Surprisingly, audibility only marginally enhanced shaking activity. A dextral bias was evident in the shaking of infants who had recently begun to babble, but not in younger or older infants. These and other findings suggest that the left cerebral hemisphere may be disproportionately involved in the production of repetitive vocal-motor activity as occurs in babbling.     

MANIPULATION OF POTENTIAL PUNISHMENT PARAMETERS IN THE TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURY1

The self-injurious behavior (SIB) of a blind, profoundly retarded male was observed within a field setting as multiple forms of punishment were applied. The effects of hair-tug punishment were first systematically examined, then hair-tug and electric shock punishment were administered in varing ratios (of punishment deliveries per SIB response) supplemented by continuous restraint contingencies and made contingent on recurrent antecedents of SIB cycles. Treatments were applied over six months of consecutive daily sessions ranging from 30 min to 8 hr duration. Posttreatment followup observations were taken 12, 24, and 34 months after treatment. Partial suppression was produced as a direct function of hair-tug punishment in the initial phase. A generally progressive decrement was produced on already lowered SIB rates with the succeeding components of the treatment package. Extended periods of total SIB suppression occurred as punishment was rendered contingent on antecedent components of each SIB response cycle. Followup observations of nearly 3 yr duration indicated total suppression generalized over all settings in which the subject functioned. The findings were related to the contrasting limits prevailing in most reports of punishment-based SIB suppression.     

体育馆比赛厅观众席方位与视觉效果的关系

問題 体育馆內的比赛场地为长方形,观众席多沿场地四周布置,由于场地形状及比赛的主要进行方向等因素的影响,所以不同方位的观众席视觉效果卽不相同。 有关观众席方位的划分,国內外都曾有过一些研究,各持不同见解,结论也不一致。如有人凭经验来划分,显得依据不足;有人按场地几何关系来划分,则不足以说明空间