When does event valence affect unrealistic optimism?

"Unrealistic optimism" (UO) has been found to be greater for negative (i.e. undesirable) than for positive (i.e. desirable) events. In two studies, we tested whether this "valence effect" is explicable in terms of motivational processes. In each case, participants were students (n = 159 in Study 1, n = 90 in Study 2), UO for the same health event was measured, and valence was manipulated by framing the event either negatively or positively. The degree to which the event would be expected to evoke concern was varied by manipulating the ease with which it could be avoided (Study 1) or the severity of its consequences (Study 2). A similar pattern of results was found in each study: the valence effect was exhibited in the condition where the event would have evoked concern, but not in the condition where it would have evoked little concern. The findings are in accord with an explanation of the valence effect in motivational terms. Implications for health education are discussed.     

Emotions in reading: Disgust, empathy and the contextual learning hypothesis

Emotion effects in reading have typically been investigated by manipulating words' emotional valence and arousal in lexical decision. The standard finding is that valence and arousal can have both facilitatory and inhibitory effects, which is hard to reconcile with current theories of emotion processing in reading. Here, we contrasted these theories with the contextual-learning hypothesis, according to which, sensitivity to a specific emotion - disgust in the present study - rather than valence or arousal affects lexical decision performance. Participants were divided into two groups (high versus low disgust sensitivity). Results showed that participants with high disgust sensitivity showed an inhibitory effect, whereas participants with low-disgust sensitivity showed a facilitatory effect. Individual differences in lexical decision performance were predicted by disgust sensitivity but not valence, arousal, or general emotion sensitivity. These findings highlight the need to focus on individual differences both in studies and theories of emotion processing in reading.     

Menopausal Symptoms: Is Spirituality Associated with the Severity of Symptoms?

The aim of this study was to explore whether spirituality was associated with menopausal symptoms. Menopausal symptoms, spirituality, health and menopausal status, and socio-demographic variables were assessed in a community sample of 710 peri- and postmenopausal women. A structural model was explored using structural equation modeling. The results evidence spirituality as a significant contributor regarding the severity of most menopausal symptoms. Among others, spirituality had a significant weight in depressive mood (β = ?.414; p < .001), anxiety (β = ?.308; p < .001), cognitive impairment (β = ?.287; p < .001), aches/pain (β = ?.148; p < .001), vasomotor (β = ?.125; p = .005) and sexual symptoms (β = ?.211; p < .001). Some socio-demographic variables, as well as perceived health, also predicted the menopausal symptoms’ severity. Therefore, spirituality can have a positive impact on the menopausal symptoms’ reporting.     

The Abbreviated Dysregulation Inventory: Dimensionality and Psychometric Properties in Portuguese Adolescents

Psychological dysregulation is a complex and multidimensional construct encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions. Research on psychological dysregulation emphasizes its importance in relation to several psychological disorders. However, assessing psychological dysregulation is often problematic because many of the existing instruments address a specific dysregulation dimension at a time, predominantly emotional dysregulation. The Abbreviated Dysregulation Inventory (ADI) was developed to assess three dimensions of psychological dysregulation: emotional, cognitive and behavioral. This study’s goal was to analyze the factor structure, internal consistency, and validity in relation to external variables of the Portuguese version of the ADI in a sample of 511 adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years old. The 3-factor solution was confirmed, and high internal consistency was found for the three subscales. Peculiar findings on the cognitive dysregulation subscale raised issues addressed in the discussion section. Results indicated that dysregulation associates positively with aggressive behavior and negatively with quality of life. Age and gender presented small influence on the cognitive and behavioral subscales scores, respectively. Findings suggested that ADI can be a valuable self-report measure to assess cognitive, behavioral or emotional dysregulation in youths, within research and psychological intervention settings.