Mood and the subjective risk of future events

Abstract

In three experiments we investigated the relationship between mood and risk estimation. In Experiment 1, mood was changed by having subjects imagine a series of either positive or negative events. Judgements of future event likelihoods were biased in a global fashion; i.e. events which were used in the mood manipulation did not change to a greater degree than similarly valenced events not used in the manipulation. The results of Experiments 2 and 3 suggest that the failure to find specific biasing for those events used to change mood state is most likely due to interference resulting from presentation of multiple stimuli. It is concluded that events which influence mood can have both global and specific priming effects, consistent with expectations based on an activation/availability model.     

The face of fear: Effects of eye gaze and emotion on visual attention

We investigated whether a fearful expression enhances the effect of another's gaze in directing the attention of an observer. Participants viewed photographs of faces whose gaze was directed ahead, to the left or to the right. Target letters then appeared unpredictably to the left or right. As expected, targets in the location indicated by gaze were detected more rapidly. In nonanxious volunteers the effects of fearful gaze did not differ from neutral gaze, but fearful expression had a more powerful influence in a selected high anxious group. Attention is thus more likely to be guided by the direction of fearful than neutral gaze, but only in anxiety-prone individuals.     

Worry: A critical analysis of some theoretical approaches

Abstract

It is suggested that worry has not been given serious academic attention due to problems of definition, and a prevailing belief that it is an unnecessary addition to the theorists vocabulary given the term “anxiety”. However, an increasing awareness of the importance of cognitive factors in emotional disorders makes the study of worry a necessary endeavour. Furthermore, inclusion of worry in DSM III-R as the principle diagnostic index of Generalised Anxiety Disorder has given the term clinical credibility. Three theoretical approaches to the subject of worry are considered: the test anxiety literature, which has focused on the effects of worry on performance, and two largely clinical accounts, a tripartite theory of worry and anxiety proposed by Borkovec, Metzger, and Pruzinsky (1986), and the model of anxious apprehension proposed by Barlow (1988). All approaches are critically evaluated, and suggestions made for future formulations.     

Influences on life aspirations among adolescents in a low-income community in Cape Town,South Africa

The aim of this study was to determine the influences on adolescents’ aspirations from a low-income community in Cape Town. A sequential mixed method exploratory design was used following two distinct phases. The qualitative phase comprised focus group interviews with 118 grade 12 learners attending a school in a low-income community (age range: 16–19 years) and focused on identifying factors influencing life aspirations. The quantitative phase with 191 adolescents (males?=?54.45 %, females?=?45.55 %); age range: 14–18 years) from the same community aimed to ascertain the influences of personal attributes on self-aspirations. Participants completed the Expectations/Aspirations measure, the New General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. Quantitative data were analysed using multiple regression. The findings revealed that self-efficacy, self-esteem and social support were the most critical factors influencing adolescents’ aspirations. Self-efficacy was a major determinant of life aspirations among the adolescents. Life skills programmes with youth from disadvantaged communities should seek to incorporate training aimed at developing adolescents’ self-efficacy.     

Asian culture in transition: is it related to reported parenting styles and transitivity of simple choices?

Does culture shape reported parenting styles and cognitive processes like transitive reasoning, of choosing A over B, B over C, and then A over C (transitivity)? Asian‐American, Caucasian‐American, and Indian university students differed significantly in transitivity and in reported parental styles. India participants were more intransitive and, contrary to traditional findings in the literature, reported their parents as more laissez‐faire, individualistic, and competitive than did Caucasian‐Americans. Recent technological and industrial advances in India likely explain some of these obtained differences. Predictions from Adlerian theory and work of Kurt Lewin, that parenting styles would relate to transitivity of choices, were indirectly supported. Stronger evidence was found that culture impacts both reported parental styles and transitivity of simple choices.     

Experimental modification of attribution processes

Attributional style is hypothesized to be a causative factor in depression vulnerability; however, no studies to date have examined whether manipulation of attributional style influences depressed mood. The purpose of this study was to determine whether computer-based cognitive bias modification (CBM) procedures could modify attributional style and influence stress vulnerability. Participants were provided with multiple training trials that were intended to promote the use of either a positive or a negative attributional style. Compared with individuals in the negative attributional style condition, individuals in the positive attributional style condition showed decreased tendency to make self-deficient causal attributions for poor performance on a difficult anagram test. Furthermore, individuals in the positive attributional style condition reported less depressed mood in response to this academic stressor. These results suggest that attributional style is not invariable and can potentially be modified with CBM approaches.     

Magical thinking and memory: distinctiveness effect for tv commercials with magical content

The aim of this study was to examine whether memorizing advertised products of television advertisements with magical effects (i.e., talking animals, inanimate objects which turn into humans, objects that appear from thin air or instantly turn into other objects) is easier than memorizing products of advertisements without such effects, by testing immediate and delayed retention. Adolescents and adults viewed two films containing television advertisements and were asked to recall and recognize the films' characters, events, and advertised products. Film 1 included magical effects, but Film 2 did not. On a free-recall test, no differences in the number of items recalled were noted for the two films. On the immediate recognition test, adolescents, but not adults, showed significantly better recognition for the magical than the nonmagical film. When this test was repeated two weeks later, results were reversed: adults, but not adolescents, recognized a significantly larger number of items from the magical film than the nonmagical one. These results are interpreted to accentuate the role of magical thinking in cognitive processes.     

Parent‐implemented behavioral skills training of social skills

Impairment in social skills is a primary feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Research indicates that social skills are intimately tied to social development and negative social consequences can persist if specific social behaviors are not acquired. The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on teaching four parents of children with ASDs to be social skills trainers. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across parent–child dyads was employed and direct observation was used to assess parent and child behaviors Results demonstrated substantial improvement in social skills teaching for all participants for trained and untrained skills. Ancillary measures of child performance indicated improvement in skills as well. High levels of correct teaching responses were maintained at a 1 month follow‐up. This study extends current literature on BST while also providing a helpful, low‐effort strategy to modify how parents can work with their children to improve their social skills.     

Knowing your face: A componential analysis of self-perceived facial attractiveness

Facial attractiveness (FA) is a highly agreed upon and socially important characteristic, but contemporary research has not fully investigated individuals’ enhancement of their FA. We used the social relations model (SRM) to analyze data from 187 participants. In face-to-face groups of four, participants rated their own and others’ FA. We assessed the degree of FA enhancement using unconfounded measures of both self-insight and social comparison. Results indicated African Americans and men enhanced more than Caucasians and women. Race effects were mediated by psychological adjustment, while gender effects were related to meta-perceptions. Men tended to view themselves through a “frog prince” lens, such that they accurately predicted others’ lesser views of them but persisted in overly positive self-perceptions of FA. Findings suggest further consideration of SRM measures, meta-perceptions, and a focus on sample diversity in the study of self-enhancement.