The impact of task-irrelevant emotional stimuli on attention in three domains

Whether task-irrelevant emotional stimuli facilitate or disrupt attention performance may depend on a range of factors, such as emotion type, task difficulty, and stimulus duration. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the influence of these factors on attention performance. Sixty-three adults, scoring within a normative range for mood and anxiety symptoms, completed either an easy or difficult version of an attention task measuring three aspects of attention performance: alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Results showed that in the easy task only, threatening versus nonthreatening task-irrelevant emotional faces facilitated orienting regardless of stimulus duration. These effects were no longer significant during the difficult condition. When the easy and difficult conditions were examined together, duration effects emerged such that stimuli of longer durations lead to greater interference, although effects were nonlinear. Findings illustrate that threat-relevant emotional stimuli facilitate attention during tasks with low cognitive load, but underscore the importance of considering a range of task parameters. Results are discussed in the context of adaptive and maladaptive emotion-attention interactions.     

Predicting problematic Internet use in men and women: the contributions of psychological distress, coping style, and body esteem

Problematic Internet use (PIU) is becoming a prevalent and serious problem among college students. Rates of PIU are higher in men, which may be due to psychological variables, such as comorbid psychological disorders and beliefs about one's body. We examined the ability of psychological distress, coping style, and body esteem to predict levels of PIU in men and women in a sample of 425 undergraduate students (46.8 percent male; mean age?=?19.0, SD?=?1.7). For men, phobic anxiety, wishful thinking, and overweight preoccupation were significant predictors of increased PIU. For women, depression, keeping to oneself, and decreased tension reduction were associated with increased PIU. The findings suggest that men and women may have different psychological reasons for excessive Internet use, including different types of psychological distress and coping styles. Unlike women, men may use the Internet because of weight concerns.     

The accidental transgressor: morally-relevant theory of mind

To test young children’s false belief theory of mind in a morally relevant context, two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, children (N = 162) at 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5 years of age were administered three tasks: prototypic moral transgression task, false belief theory of mind task (ToM), and an “accidental transgressor” task, which measured a morally-relevant false belief theory of mind (MoToM). Children who did not pass false belief ToM were more likely to attribute negative intentions to an accidental transgressor than children who passed false belief ToM, and to use moral reasons when blaming the accidental transgressor. In Experiment 2, children (N = 46) who did not pass false belief ToM viewed it as more acceptable to punish the accidental transgressor than did participants who passed false belief ToM. Findings are discussed in light of research on the emergence of moral judgment and theory of mind.     

A Pilot Study of Psychotherapist Trainees' Alpha-Amylase and Cortisol Levels During Treatment of Recently Suicidal Clients With Borderline Traits

Psychotherapists often experience stress while providing psychotherapy, in particular when working with difficult presentations such as suicidality. As part of a larger study on the treatment of recently suicidal college students with borderline traits, 6 therapists in training collected their own salivary samples for alpha-amylase (AA) and cortisol (C) analyses immediately before and after sessions with 2 selected clients. On average, samples were collected for the same therapist-patient dyad throughout the year-long study to ensure that data reflected therapist responses across stages of treatment. Therapists also completed a working alliance questionnaire and rated perceived session difficulty immediately after each selected session. Contrary to expectations, therapists demonstrated elevated levels of stress as measured by AA and C at presession relative to postsession levels. Greater session difficulty was related to more pronounced declines in AA, whereas a stronger working alliance was linked to more pronounced reductions in C. Results suggest that physiological stress responses while working with recently suicidal clients with borderline traits occur primarily in terms of session anticipatory anxiety, whereas AA and C changes may be affected differently by factors such as session difficulty and working alliance. This is a pilot study, limited by its sample size, but the design, findings, and inclusion of physiological measures present an initial step in an essential line of research.     

Bare’ing it all for the Camera: Women’s Experience of Having Erotic Photographs Taken

One area in which a change in women’s sexual behavior has been observed is in the growing number of women who are having erotic photographs taken of themselves by professional photographers. The current research is an attempt to learn more about this unstudied phenomenon. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 women who have had erotic photographs taken by a professional photographer. The interviews were subjected to thematic analysis. The women described the erotic photography experience as having positive implications, such as increased body esteem and feelings of empowerment, as well as giving the women the ability to see themselves as sexual and an opportunity to celebrate their bodies. Having erotic photos taken also provided women with the opportunity to create a sexual image in a photograph on their own terms. The findings provide insight into the changing nature of attitudes about women’s sexuality.     

Piloting the Geographic Information System (GIS) Methodology as an Analytic Tool for Subjective Wellbeing Research

This article introduces the Geographic Information System (GIS) methodology to Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) research. The interactive mapping and analysis tools of GIS are combined with SWB to demonstrate an alternative method of data analysis and presentation encompassing spatial context. The SWB of the Victorian population was measured using a representative state wide telephone survey conducted for the wider Community Indicators Victoria project. GIS methodology is used for the presentation and analysis of population SWB collected from 24,000 Victorians and mapped according to 79 Local Government Areas. The advantages of the alternative method of data presentation are discussed and the wellbeing of the state considered within geographical context. Future applications for the use of GIS and SWB are discussed, including diagnostic and outcome measures for government policy and planning.     

Prevention-focused self-regulation and aggressiveness

The present research examined the relationship between individual differences in self-regulatory mechanisms as outlined in regulatory focus theory (promotion- and prevention-focused self-regulation) and aggressiveness. Two studies revealed that the more individuals’ habitual self-regulatory orientation is dominated by a prevention-focus, the more likely they are to score high on measures of cynical hostility, reciprocity norm endorsement, and aggressiveness. An additional study involving the manipulation of perceived violation of a reciprocity norm showed that predominantly prevention-focused participants were particularly sensitive to the experience of a norm violation and reacted in a hostile and aggressive manner following the norm violation experience. Findings indicate that a prevention-focused style of self-regulation is associated with aggressiveness and suggest that endorsement of (negative) reciprocity norms and sensitivity to norm violations are relevant factors that help explain the differences in aggressiveness observed among individuals with a predominantly prevention-focused style of self-regulation.     

Self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, and body dissatisfaction in older European American women: exploring age and feminism as moderators

This study examined the influence of feminist attitudes on self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, and body dissatisfaction in middle age and older women. The participants were 138 European American heterosexual women ranging in age from 40 to 87 years old. Consistent with previous research, self-objectification and habitual body monitoring were positively correlated with body dissatisfaction and, self-objectification and habitual body monitoring remained stable across the lifespan. While age did not moderate the relationship between self-objectification and body dissatisfaction, age was found to moderate the relationship between habitual body monitoring and body dissatisfaction such that the relationship was smaller for older women than for middle-aged women. Interestingly, feminist attitudes were not significantly correlated with body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, or habitual body monitoring, and endorsement of feminist attitudes was not found to moderate the relationship between self-objectification or habitual body monitoring and body dissatisfaction. Potential implications for older women are discussed.