Somatic markers,working memory,and decision making

The somatic marker hypothesis formulated by Damasio (e.g., 1994; Damasio, Tranel, & Damasio, 1991) argues that affective reactions ordinarily guide and simplify decision making. Although originally intended to explain decision-making deficits in people with specific frontal lobe damage, the hypothesis also applies to decision-making problems in populations without brain injury. Subsequently, the gambling task was developed by Bechara (Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994) as a diagnostic test of decision-making deficit in neurological populations. More recently, the gambling task has been used to explore implications of the somatic marker hypothesis, as well as to study suboptimal decision making in a variety of domains. We examined relations among gambling task decision making, working memory (WM) load, and somatic markers in a modified version of the gambling task. Increased WM load produced by secondary tasks led to poorer gambling performance. Declines in gambling performance were associated with the absence of the affective reactions that anticipate choice outcomes and guide future decision making. Our experiments provide evidence that WM processes contribute to the development of somatic markers. If WM functioning is taxed, somatic markers may not develop, and decision making may thereby suffer.     

Expressed emotion attitudes and individual psychopathology among the relatives of bipolar patients

This study investigated the relationships between expressed emotion (EE) and individual psychopathology among 82 biological and non-biological relatives of 66 patients with bipolar I disorder. Relatives' psychopathology was assessed via the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Patient Version (SCID-P) and the General Behavior Inventory (GBI), a self-report measure of lifetime subsyndromal mood disturbances. We hypothesized that relatives who held high-EE critical, hostile, and/or overinvolved attitudes toward their bipolar family member, as measured via the Camberwell Family Interview, would be more likely to have DSM-III-R Axis I diagnoses on the SCID, as well as more mood and temperamental disturbances on the GBI, than those who held low-EE attitudes. The findings did not support a significant relationship between overall EE status and psychopathology in family members. However, relatives without significant Axis I pathology scored significantly higher than those with Axis I pathology on one measure of EE, emotional overinvolvement. The findings are discussed with reference to explanations for the genesis of high-EE attitudes.     

Effects of pain on functioning and well-being in older adults with osteoarthritis of the knee

The effects of pain on functioning and well-being were examined in 367 older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The relationship of OA-related pain to depressive symptoms and perceived health was hypothesized to be direct as well as mediated by physical and social functioning. Results showed that OA-related pain was related to poorer physical and social functioning, had a direct effect on depressive symptoms, and direct and indirect effects on perceived health. Lower social functioning was related to more depressive symptoms, and both lower social and physical functioning predicted worse perceived health. Thus, distinguishing between physical and social functioning when examining the costs of OA-related pain is useful. Moreover, existing pain-psychological well-being models can be generalized to perceived health.     

Psychometric analysis of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) with female inmates

This study evaluated the reliability, internal structure, and validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) among female inmates (n = 153) housed at a multilevel prison facility. Findings from this research suggested both strengths and weaknesses associated with PPI psychopathy assessment. Reliability of the PPI was supported by internal consistency analyses of scale and subscale item sets, and test-retest reliability was supported by findings obtained with a subsample (n = 36) retested an average of 49 days after initial test administration. Validity of the PPI total score was also supported by moderate to very high correlations with other self-report measures of psychopathy. Relative weaknesses of the PPI were evident by the low or negative associations among many of the PPI subscales, moderate associations that PPI total scores demonstrated with response set indexes, and the similarity of PPI total scores among female inmates and undergraduates. Findings from this research are considered in relation to possible sex differences in the expression of psychopathy and challenges associated with the assessment of the psychopathy construct with self-report methods.     

Context effects on the judgment of basic emotions in the face

This article reports on three experiments on the controversial topic of context effects in the judgment of emotion from the face. In Experiment 1 (N=169) subjects were shown either a happy, sad, or angry anchor face as context followed by a target slide of a neutral face. In Experiment 2 (N=119) subjects were shown an anchor of a happy or angry face as context and a sad face as target. In Experiment 3 (N=180) subjects were shown an anchor of a happy, sad, or surprised face as context and an angry face as target. All experiments used facial expressions from Ekman and Friesen'sPictures of Facial Affect (1976). Dependent measures included intensity ratings of pleasure and arousal dimensions (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974); a judgment of the intensity of six specific emotions expressed (happy, sad, angry, afraid, disgusted, and interested); and categorical judgments of emotions. Significant context effects were observed for the neutral target and, with smaller effects, for the angry and sad targets on dimensional and intensity ratings. The magnitude of the context effect depended on both the target and anchor facial expressions. Greater categorical agreement of emotion was obtained for the target when another face was provided as a context than when the target face was shown alone. These results provide an independent replication and extension of recent research (Russell, 1991; Russell & Fehr, 1987) on the relativity of facial affect judgment.This research was supported by the Faculty Development Grant from Hofstra University to the first author.     

Social loafing on cognitive tasks: An examination of the “sucker effect”

This study addresses the causes and potential mediators of social loafing on tasks which require active cognitive effort. Contrary to previous research, social loafing did occur despite the use of a task which was thought-provoking, personally involving, and provided the opportunity for unique contributions. The results suggest that equity theory, which has been supported as a reason for social loafing on physical tasks, may also be the basis for loafing on cognitive tasks. No significant loafing occurred when the subjects believed their partners would not loaf.     

Sex Differences in Visual Recognition Memory: Support for a Sex-Related Difference in Attention in Adults and Children

The selectivity hypothesis of Meyers-Levy (1989) proposes that cognitive sex differences reflect underlying differences in information processing between males and females. Males are considered to be more likely to organize information in a self-related manner, whereas females are more likely to adopt a comprehensive approach to information processing. We tested this hypothesis in children (10–15 years) and adults using recognition memory tasks. Tests were devised which employed male-oriented objects, female oriented objects, or random objects. In both the child and adult samples, females performed significantly better than males on tests using random and female-oriented objects. Males performed at the level of females only when tested for recognition of male-oriented objects. These results demonstrate that this sex difference is present prior to puberty and support the concept of sex differences in information processing.     

Prerequisite vs. in vivo acquisition of self-feeding skill

Separating the acquisition of prerequisite skills from the learning of skills in vivo may be a more efficacious procedure for self-help training of low functioning developmentally delayed children. Two procedures for training independent use of a fork at meals were compared using two equivalent groups of three subjects each, in multiple baseline design. Using previously accepted procedures, one group was trained during meals while the experimental group received prerequisite training making use of simulated food (styrofoam pieces). Data during training, generalization-to-meal, and follow-up were collected. For 6 months following training, the efficacy of prerequisite training was upheld. The complexity of individual responses to the singular or conjunctive use of social and edible reinforcement for the purpose of self-feeding skill generalization and maintenance, is discussed.     

Social Support in Seventh-Day Adventists and Their Neighbors

Certain structural and functional aspects of social networks and support were compared among 157 middle-aged male Seventh-day Adventists and male neighbors of the same age range. The Adventist men were 11.2% more likely to be married (p<0.05), had 15% more trusted friends (p<0.10) and 31% more trusted relatives (p<0.005) than their neighbors. Of the Adventists and neighbors, 74% and 52% respectively reported feeling frequently cared for by others (p<0.001). At least weekly church attendance was practiced by 84% of the Adventists and 30% of the neighbors (p<0.001). It is speculated that some of the favorable mortality experience of Adventists may be causally related to these increased levels of social support.     

Leader Member Exchange in Leaders’ Support for Voice: Good Relationships Matter in Situations of Power Threat

While previous research underscores the role of leaders in stimulating employee voice behaviour, comparatively little is known about what affects leaders’ support for such constructive but potentially threatening employee behaviours. We introduce leader member exchange quality (LMX) as a central predictor of leaders’ support for employees’ ideas for constructive change. Apart from a general benefit of high LMX for leaders’ idea support, we propose that high LMX is particularly critical to leaders’ idea support if the idea voiced by an employee constitutes a power threat to the leader. We investigate leaders’ attribution of prosocial and egoistic employee intentions as mediators of these effects. Hypotheses were tested in a quasi-experimental vignette study (N = 160), in which leaders evaluated a simulated employee idea, and a field study (N = 133), in which leaders evaluated an idea that had been voiced to them at work. Results show an indirect effect of LMX on leaders’ idea support via attributed prosocial intentions but not via attributed egoistic intentions, and a buffering effect of high LMX on the negative effect of power threat on leaders’ idea support. Results differed across studies with regard to the main effect of LMX on idea support.