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.     

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 Judgements of Expression Intensity and Subjective Experience

A number of studies have reported cultural differences in intensity ratings of facial expressions of emotion. In the previous research, however, observers made only a single intensity rating; thus, it was not clear whether observers rated the external display, or made an inference about the subjective experience of the poser. In this study, we obtained these two intensity ratings separately from American and Japanese observers. Results indicated that Americans perceived greater intensity in display, but Japanese inferred greater intensity of subjective experience. When examined within-culture, Americans rated display more intensely than subjective experience, whereas there was no difference between the two ratings for the Japanese. We discuss these findings in relation to the concept of cultural decoding rules, and outline an agenda for future research that examines the exact nature of these rules, the relationship between decoding, display rules and self-construals, and the role of context in judging emotion.     

Emergence of response‐response relations

The present study examined whether bidirectional response‐response relations could be established without direct reinforcement. In AB training for 12 undergraduates, higher rates of touches to a white circle on the monitor screen (A1) produced two stimuli (B1 and B2) on half of the trials, whereas lower rates (A2) produced the same effect on the other half. Choosing one of the two stimuli was reinforced according to the preceding responding (A1B1 and A2B2). In BC training, touching a stimulus (B1 or B2) produced three white circles lined up horizontally on the screen, after which one of two different response sequences to the circles (left‐center‐right, C1 or C2, and right‐center‐left, C2 or C1) were reinforced, depending on the stimulus presented (B1C1 and B2C2). After AB and BC relations were established, 11 of 12 participants showed the emergence of untrained relations (BA, CB, AC, and CA) throughout five test sessions, and the remaining participant showed it in the first four test sessions. These response‐response relations were replicated with five other undergraduates and different trained relations.     

Evidence for training the ability to read microexpressions of emotion

Microexpressions are extremely quick facial expressions of emotion that appear on the face for less than ½ a s. To date, no study has demonstrated that the ability to read them can be trained. We present two studies that do so, as well as evidence for the retention of the training effects. In Study 1 department store employees were randomly assigned to a training or comparison group. The training group had significantly higher scores than the comparison group in microexpression reading accuracy at the end of the training; 2 weeks later the training group had better third-party ratings of social and communicative skills on the job. Study 2 demonstrated that individuals trained in reading microexpressions retained their ability to read them better than a comparison group tested 2–3 weeks after initial training. These results indicated that the ability to read microexpressions can be trained and are retained.     

Effects of self-relevant cues and cue valence on autobiographical memory specificity in dysphoria

Reduced autobiographical memory specificity (rAMS) is a characteristic memory bias observed in depression. To corroborate the capture hypothesis in the CaRFAX (capture and rumination, functional avoidance, executive capacity and control) model, we investigated the effects of self-relevant cues and cue valence on rAMS using an adapted Autobiographical Memory Test conducted with a nonclinical population. Hierarchical linear modelling indicated that the main effects of depression and self-relevant cues elicited rAMS. Moreover, the three-way interaction among valence, self-relevance, and depression scores was significant. A simple slope test revealed that dysphoric participants experienced rAMS in response to highly self-relevant positive cues and low self-relevant negative cues. These results partially supported the capture hypothesis in nonclinical dysphoria. It is important to consider cue valence in future studies examining the capture hypothesis.