The role of situational goals and audience on self‐reported emotion experience and expression: Dutch and South Korean children compared

Previous research demonstrates that cultural concerns affect emotional lives. However, the question remains to what extent salient cultural concerns influence emotion experience and expression. In the present study, the role of (i) individualistic versus collectivistic goals and (ii) presence of an authority figure (father) versus an equal status figure (peer), were systematically investigated in 24 Dutch and 23 South Korean children's (a) negative emotion experience and (b) emotion expression and motives using hypothetical conflict situations. The results reveal that for children from both cultures emotion experience did not vary between situational goals and the audience present, however their emotion expression did. More specifically, cultural differences in how negative emotions would be expressed appeared in ‘father’ situations and not in ‘peer’ situations. Cultural differences in children's motives for emotion expression were revealed in situations with a collectivistic goal and not when an individualistic goal was presented. Moreover, within group analyses indicate that Dutch children's emotion expressions were more context‐sensitive than those of South Korean children. These results indicate that some situational features corresponding to cultural concerns partly explained cultural differences, whereas other features did not, helping to improve our understanding about variation in the emotional lives of different cultural groups. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Limb-specific emotional modulation of cervical spinal cord neurons

Emotional stimuli receive prioritized attentional and motoric processing in the brain. Recent data have indicated that emotional stimuli enhance activity in the cervical spinal cord as well. In the present study, we used fMRI to investigate the specificity of this emotion-dependent spinal cord activity. We examined whether the limb depicted in a passively viewed image (upper vs. lower) differentially influenced activity in the cervical segments that innervate the upper limbs, and whether this effect was enhanced by emotion. Participants completed four fMRI runs: neutral–upper limb, neutral–lower limb, negative–upper limb, and negative–lower limb. The results indicated main effects of limb and emotion, with upper limbs and negative stimuli eliciting greater activity than lower limbs and neutral stimuli, respectively. For upper-limb runs, negative stimuli evoked more activity than did neutral stimuli. Additionally, negative stimuli depicting upper limbs produced stronger responses than did negative stimuli depicting lower limbs. These results suggest that emotional stimuli augment limb-specific responses in the spinal cord.     

The functional independence of trait self-knowledge: Commentary on Sakaki (2007)

In a recent paper, Sakaki (2007) proposed that Klein and Loftus's conclusion that semantic and episodic trait self-knowledge are functionally independent (e.g., Klein, Babey, & Sherman, 1997; Klein & Loftus, 1993a; Klein, Loftus, Trafton, & Fuhrman, 1992b) was based on questionable assumptions and not supported by the available evidence. In this paper we show that Sakaki (2007) has misinterpreted our position on the independence of self-knowledge, omitted mention of large portions of the relevant research at odds with her contention, and conducted her studies with procedures we explicitly warned against due to interpretive ambiguities associated with their use.     

Attitudes to doctors and medicine: The preliminary development of a new scale

Abstract

The preliminary development of a new scale to measure attitudes towards medicine and doctors is described. The scale comprises four factors: “positive attitude towards doctors,” “positive attitude towards medicine,” “negative attitude towards doctors,” and “negative attitude towards medicine.” Alpha coefficients for the four scales were satisfactory, ranging from 0.69 to 0.76. Test re-test reliabilities ranged from 0.69 to 0.81. Evidence of criterion-related validity was obtained from comparison of the attitudes of five groups involved in health care: nurses, medical students, patients, and sociologists and psychologists who are teachers in medical schools. Patients and medical students held significantly more positive attitudes towards doctors and medicine that did nurses and behavioural scientists. While nurses were as negative towards doctors as sociologists and psychologists, they were significantly less negative about medicine.     

Understanding responses to predictive genetic testing: A grounded theory approach

Abstract

In view of the absence of data concerning the understanding and experience of families in which one or more members have undergone predictive genetic testing, a pilot study using a qualitative methodology was conducted with members of families at risk for the late-onset genetic disease, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Semistructured interviews were conducted to elicit illness representations, with responses tape-recorded and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Several themes emerged. The most striking was that when genetic testing indicated an extremely low risk of developing the disease, there was a desire to continue regular bowel screening, even though it was experienced as extremely aversive. Possible explanations draw upon both other themes of the interviews, and psychological models. The role of “functional pessimism” and “uncertain wellness” in maintaining a high threat from the disease, and the role of reinforcement and the nature of tests in providing bowel screening with a high value are discussed.     

Parents attributions of blame for the birth of a child with down syndrome: A pilot study

Abstract

Attributing blame to others for negative events is consistently associated with poor adjustment. We report here a study assessing whether failure to detect a problem on screening, in this case Down syndrome not detected during prenatal screening, is associated with blame and poor adjustment in parents. Twenty eight mothers and 23 fathers of children with Down syndrome were interviewed. Although no parent blamed themselves or their partner, eight fathers and five mothers blamed health professionals or the health care system in general for not preventing the birth of their children with Down syndrome prenatally. None of the parents who declined testing were blaming. Six of the 11 parents who received a negative test and seven of the 34 not offered a test blamed others. Both mothers and fathers who blamed others reported significantly higher parenting stress. Mothers, but not fathers, who blamed others were significantly more angry and depressed than those who did not.     

The Influence of Participation, Gender and Organizational Sense of Community on Psychological Empowerment: The Moderating Effects of Income

This study explored the influence of participation, gender and organizational sense of community (SOC) on both the intrapersonal and interactional components of psychological empowerment (PE). Participants were residents (n = 562) involved in community organizing efforts in five U.S. communities. Measures of participation and SOC were tailored to community organization contexts. SOC assessed three dimensions: (1) connection of members to the organization; (2) perceptions about the organization as a bridge to other groups and organizations in the broader community; and (3) bond or attachment to the community at large. Income (low, middle and high-income) was tested as a moderator of these relationships. Results showed significant moderating effects of income on the relationship between participation, gender and SOC on both components of PE. Participation was positively related with intrapersonal empowerment across income levels, but positively related with interactional empowerment only for low-income individuals. Gender was only associated with intrapersonal empowerment, and only for low-income individuals. SOC, as expressed through bridging to the broader community, was positively related with interactional PE for all income levels, but with intrapersonal PE for only low and middle-income individuals. In contrast, member connection to the organization was not related to interactional empowerment and significantly related to intrapersonal empowerment only for individuals with higher income. The importance of participation, gender and SOC for different types of empowerment and the impact of income on the SOC-empowerment relationship are discussed.     

Evaluating the Pilot of Strong Girls: A Life Skills/Physical Activity Program for Third and Fourth Grade Girls

The purpose of this investigation was to report on a pilot study of a physical activity/positive life skills program called Strong Girls. The program was framed within the theoretical tenets of achievement goal perspective theory. Evaluation consisted of the participants’ perceptions of the climate (i.e., caring, task- and ego-involving), and pre-post scores for their self-perceptions and goal orientations. Results revealed participants perceived the environment to be high caring and task-involving and low ego-involving. Participants also reported a positive increase in task-orientation. Results suggest that Strong Girls is a feasible, effective youth development program, ready for larger-scale evaluation or dissemination.     

Codependency,Perceived Interparental Conflict,and Substance Abuse in the Family of Origin

Codependency has been found to originate in many different environments, namely the family of origin. The most popularly researched environment is the family of origin that exhibits substance abuse. However, little research has clearly demonstrated that codependency is most prevalent in children of substance abusers. Previous research has not examined how codependency is correlated with perceived interparental conflict. This study examined the relationships among codependency, interparental conflict, and substance abuse in the family of origin. Results of this study found that codependency in adulthood was related to perceived interparental conflict in the family of origin, but was not related to the family of origin that exhibited substance abuse.     

On derived embodiment: a response to Collins

In derived embodiment, intangible phenomena become as-if tangible as a result of their almost promiscuous borrowing of corporeality from experiences of real objects.