Evaluations of Outcome Sequences

We extend the literature on intertemporal choice by investigating how possession of knowledge related to the present value of future outcomes (PV knowledge) affects the extent to which individuals weight certain attributes when evaluating outcome sequences. While PV-knowledgeable individuals can ascribe value to attributes according to their PV relevance (or irrelevance), unknowledgeable individuals cannot do so. Such knowledge, therefore, likely interacts with outcome-sequence attributes to affect the extent to which individuals exhibit impatience when evaluating outcome sequences. The main experimental findings indicate that higher PV knowledge increases the extent to which individuals value impatience (as opposed to improvement). However, these findings also reinforce a need to distinguish among impatience, improvement, and PV because some higher PV knowledge participants willingly sacrifice PV while exhibiting impatience (while others do so in order to gain improvement). Overall, PV considerations appear central, but not determinative, in higher PV-knowledgeable individuals' evaluations of outcome sequences.     

Critical role of nitric oxide-cGMP cascade in the formation of cAMP-dependent long-term memory

Cyclic AMP pathway plays an essential role in formation of long-term memory (LTM). In some species, the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP pathway has been found to act in parallel and complementary to the cAMP pathway for LTM formation. Here we describe a new role of the NO-cGMP pathway, namely, stimulation of the cAMP pathway to induce LTM. We have studied the signaling cascade underlying LTM formation by systematically coinjecting various "LTM-inducing" and "LTM-blocking" drugs in crickets. Multiple-trial olfactory conditioning led to LTM that lasted for several days, while memory induced by single-trial conditioning decayed away within several hours. Injection of inhibitors of the enzyme forming NO, cGMP, or cAMP into the hemolymph prior to multiple-trial conditioning blocked LTM, whereas injection of an NO donor, cGMP analog, or cAMP analog prior to single-trial conditioning induced LTM. Induction of LTM by injection of an NO donor or cGMP analog paired with single-trial conditioning was blocked by inhibitors of the cAMP pathway, but induction of LTM by a cAMP analog was unaffected by inhibitors of the NO-cGMP pathway. Inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNG channel) or calmodulin-blocked induction of LTM by cGMP analog paired with single-trial conditioning, but they did not affect induction of LTM by cAMP analog. Our findings suggest that the cAMP pathway is a downstream target of the NO-cGMP pathway for the formation of LTM, and that the CNG channel and calcium-calmodulin intervene between the NO-cGMP pathway and the cAMP pathway.     

From classical to eclectic psychodrama: conceptual similarities between psychodrama and psychodynamic and interpersonal group treatments.

A study was conducted to explore the hypothesis that contemporary U.S. psychodramatists evince a shift from strict adherence to the conceptual frame of reference espoused by classical psychodrama toward a degree of sharing concepts with those valued by psychodynamic and interpersonal group therapists. Sixty-two senior psychodramatists ranked a form comprised of 44 concepts. Their rankings were compared to the results of a study by Dies (1992). In general, the results supported the hypothesis.     

Methodological requirements to test a possible in-group advantage in judging emotions across cultures: comment on Elfenbein and Ambady (2002) and evidence

H. A. Elfenbein and N. Ambady's (2002) conclusions concerning a possible in-group advantage in judging emotions across cultures are unwarranted. The author discusses 2 methodological requirements for studies to test adequately the in-group advantage hypothesis and an additional requirement in reviewing multiple judgment studies and examining variance in judgment effects across those studies. The few studies that Elfenbein and Ambady reported that support the in-group advantage hypothesis need to be examined for whether they meet the criteria discussed; if they do not, their data cannot be used to support any contention of cultural differences in judgments, let alone the in-group advantage hypothesis. Furthermore, the role of signal clarity needs to be explored in possibly moderating effects across studies; however, this was not done.     

Divergent consequences of success and failure in japan and north america: an investigation of self-improving motivations and malleable selves

Self-enhancing and self-improving motivations were investigated across cultures. Replicating past research, North Americans who failed on a task persisted less on a follow-up task than those who succeeded. In contrast, Japanese who failed persisted more than those who succeeded. The Japanese pattern is evidence for a self-improving orientation: Failures highlight where corrective efforts are needed. Japanese who failed also enhanced the importance and the diagnosticity of the task compared with those who succeeded, whereas North Americans did the opposite. Study 2 revealed that self-improving motivations are specific to the tasks on which one receives feedback. Study 3 unpackaged the cultural differences by demonstrating that they are due, at least in part, to divergent lay theories regarding the utility of effort. Study 4 addressed the problem of comparing cultures on subjective Likert scales and replicated the findings with a different measure.     

Evidence for universality in phenomenological emotion response system coherence

The authors reanalyzed data from Scherer and Wallbott's (Scherer, 1997b; Scherer & Wallbott, 1994) International Study of Emotion Antecedents and Reactions to examine how phenomenological reports of emotional experience, expression, and physiological sensations were related to each other within cultures and to determine if these relationships were moderated by cultural differences, which were operationally defined using Hofstede's (2001) typology. Multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses produced several findings of note. First, the vast majority of the variance in ratings was within countries (i.e., at the individual level); a much smaller proportion of the total variance was between countries. Second, there were negative relationships between country-level means and long- versus short-term orientation for numerous measures. Greater long-term orientation was associated with lowered emotional expressivity and fewer physiological sensations. Third, at the individual (within-culture) level, across the 7 emotions, there were consistent and reliable positive relationships among the response systems, indicating coherence among them. Fourth, such relationships were not moderated by cultural differences, as measured by the Hofstede dimensions.     

American-Japanese cultural differences in intensity ratings of facial expressions of emotion

Findings from a recent study by Ekmanet al. (1987) provided evidence for cultural disagreement about the intensity ratings of universal facial expressions of emotion. We conducted a study that examined the basis of these cultural differences. Japanese and American subjects made two separate intensity ratings of Japanese and Caucacian posers portraying anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. The Americans had higher mean intensity ratings than the Japanese for all emotions except disgust, regardless of the culture or gender of the poser. Americans gave happy and angry photos the highest intensity ratings, while Japanese gave disgust photos the highest ratings. But there was considerable cross-cultural consistency in the relative differences among photos.This study was conducted as part of a doctoral dissertation by the first author, under the supervision of the second author. David Matsumoto was supported by a minority fellowship from the American Psychological Association, under a Clinical Training Grant from NIMH (MH13833), and by a Regents Fellowship from the University of California, Berkeley. Paul Ekman was supported by a Research Scientist Award from NIMH (MH06092).We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Wallace V. Friesen to the development of the facial stimuli used in this study, Tsutomu Kudoh for his aid in collecting the Japanese data, and Wallace Friesen and Maureen O'Sullivan for their aid during data analysis.