Mindfulness and negative affectivity in real time: a within-person process model

ABSTRACT

To extend our understanding of the proximal etiology of personality pathology, this study examined the dynamic, in-the-moment relations between mindfulness and negative affectivity (NA; emotional lability, anxiousness, separation insecurity) as defined by the alternative model for personality disorders. We tested predictions based upon the Monitor and Acceptance Theory that when people monitored their attention judgmentally, their state NA would be higher than usual; by contrast, when they monitored their attention nonjudgmentally, their state NA would be lower than usual. Sixty-five undergraduates participated in an experience sampling study wherein they completed five reports per day for eight days about their states of mindfulness and NA. Multi-level models revealed an interaction wherein participants exhibited more state NA when they monitored their attention judgmentally than when they monitored their attention nonjudgmentally. Analyses of simple slopes revealed that participants exhibited more state NA than usual when they monitored their attention judgmentally. These findings emerged for only one of two attention monitoring processes, however: monitoring relations between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, but not monitoring sensory stimuli. Analyses including non-reactivity instead of nonjudgment replicated these findings. Implications for theory, research, and treatment are discussed.     

Dielectric behavior of aerosol-deposited Mn-modified PZT–PZN thick films

We report the dielectric and ferroelectric behavior of thick films, ～10 µm, synthesized by aerosol deposition. The base composition of the films was selected to be 0.9Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃–0.1Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (PZT–PZN), which was modified with Mn to 0.9Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃–0.1Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3) O₃–0.52 wt% MnO₂ (PZT–PZN–Mn) in order to induce hardening. The polarization dynamics of the synthesized films was modeled using the theory developed for magnetic glassy systems. It was found that the substitution of Mn significantly (1) enhances the relaxation time, (2) reduces the magnitude of dielectric constant and dielectric loss, and (3) enhances the internal bias field. The results indicate the presence of domain wall pinning by the formation of defect dipoles.     

Affective flexibility and generalized anxiety disorder: valence-specific shifting difficulties

ABSTRACT

Background: Growing evidence suggests that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with poor affective flexibility, defined as the ability to switch between emotional aspects and non-emotional aspects of a situation. However, it is unclear whether affective inflexibility is valence-specific in GAD.

Methods: Participants with GAD (n?=?21) and non-clinical control participants (n?=?28) were tested on an Affective Switching Task during which participants were asked to categorize pictures either by the valence or by the number of humans present in the pictures.

Results: Individuals with GAD, but not healthy controls, exhibited greater difficulty shifting from emotional aspects of negative material compared to emotional aspects of positive material and shifting to the emotional aspects of positive material compared to emotional aspects of negative material.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that GAD is associated with valence-specific affective flexibility biases. The relevance of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

“No More” leads to “Want More,” but “No Less” leads to “Want Less”: Consumers' counterfactual thinking when faced with quantity restriction discounts

The current research examines the impact of point‐of‐purchase (POP) discounts on consumers' counterfactual thinking (CFT). Study 1 reveals that consumers tend to engage in upward CFT (what might have been better) rather than downward CFT (what might have been worse) in response to POP discounts. Study 2 shows that upward CFT depends on how the discount information is framed. A discount with a lower‐quantity restriction (e.g., “X % off if you buy at least Y items”) leads consumers to counterfactually wish to buy more, but a discount with an upper‐quantity restriction (“X % off – limit Y items per customer”) leads consumers to wish to buy less. Study participants in both conditions report they would buy the same POP‐suggested amount, but for completely opposite reasons. In Study 3, this convergence effect in purchase quantity disappears when the maximum and minimum restrictions are lifted, suggesting that quantity restrictions in POP discounts guide quantity decisions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social connectedness, discrimination, and social status as mediators of acculturation/enculturation and well-being

The present study proposed and tested a conceptual model of acculturation/enculturation and subjective well-being (SWB) by including social connectedness in mainstream society, social connectedness in the ethnic community, perceived discrimination, and expected social status as mediators. Survey data from 273 Asian American college students in the midwest were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that the effect of acculturation on SWB was mediated by social connectedness in mainstream and ethnic communities and expected social status, whereas the effect of enculturation on SWB was mediated by social connectedness in the ethnic community and expected social status. Contrary to the authors' hypothesis, perceived discrimination did not mediate the relation of acculturation and SWB, but indirectly influenced SWB via a lowered sense of connectedness to mainstream society. Approximately 46% of the variance in SWB was accounted for by the variables included in this model. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Cognition and lobar morphology in full mutation boys with fragile X syndrome

The aims of the present study are twofold: (1) to examine cortical morphology (CM) associated with alterations in cognition in fragile X syndrome (FXS); (2) to characterize the CM profile of FXS versus FXS with an autism diagnosis (FXS + Aut) as a preliminary attempt to further elucidate the behavioral distinctions between the two sub-groups. We used anatomical magnetic resonance imaging surface-based morphometry in 21 male children (FXS N = 11 and age [2.27-13.3] matched controls [C] N = 10). We found (1) increased whole hemispheric and lobar cortical volume, cortical thickness and cortical complexity bilaterally, yet insignificant changes in hemispheric surface area and gyrification index in FXS compared to C; (2) linear regression analyses revealed significant negative correlations between CM and cognition; (3) significant CM differences between FXS and FXS + Aut associated with their distinctive behavioral phenotypes. These findings are critical in understanding the neuropathophysiology of one of the most common intellectual deficiency syndromes associated with altered cognition as they provide human in vivo information about genetic control of CM and cognition.     

Post-Evaluative Biases Toward Somatic Stimuli and Cardiovascular Responses in Social Anxiety

Cognitive models of social anxiety emphasize the role of an attentional shift toward cues related to somatic state in social anxiety. We examined attentional biases to somatic cues and cardiovascular reactivity in response to a social evaluative task. Participants performed an impromptu speech during which they received standardized negative evaluative comments. Participants then completed a dot-probe task with social evaluative, somatic, and anger-related words. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were assessed in 1-minute intervals during baseline, the speech task, and the dot-probe task. Despite the fact that a high social anxiety group reported higher levels of anxiety, high and low social anxiety groups did not differ in their speech task-evoked BP or HR responses. Furthermore, the high social anxiety group, compared to the low social anxiety group, exhibited greater attentional biases to somatic words, suggesting greater attention directed toward information pertinent to somatic arousal.     

Validation of Social Connectedness in Mainstream Society and the Ethnic Community Scales

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Connectedness in Mainstream Society (SCMN) and the Social Connectedness in the Ethnic Community (SCETH) Scales in two groups of ethnic minorities. We especially examined their theoretical/conceptual and empirical viability in relation to other established constructs of general social connectedness, acculturation, and enculturation. Analyses of two sets of survey data from 200 Mexican American students in California and 134 Asian international students in Minnesota supported (a) construct validity of the SCMN and the SCETH as related but distinct structures, (b) convergent and discriminant validity in relation to acculturation and enculturation, and (c) high reliability. The examination of incremental validity in predicting subjective well-being further supported their distinctive utility in addition to other established constructs of general social connectedness, acculturation, enculturation, ethnic identity, and other group orientation. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Mentoring,job satisfaction,gender, and the legal profession

We examine the prevalence of mentoring among lawyers and the effect mentoring has on their employment situations, with special attention to gender differences. The data come from a 1989 cross-sectional survey of 1132 Georgia lawyers (80% white and 18% black). No significant difference in having mentors was found across racial categories. Results initially show female lawyers are more likely than males to have mentors, but this is due to gender differences in type of law practice and position in them; among associate-level lawyers in law firms there is no gender difference in having a mentor. Having a mentor improves lawyers' job satisfaction; and the size of this benefit is the same for both sexes.A revision of a paper presented at the 1992 annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 12.