Semantic and affective manifestations of ambi (valence)

ABSTRACT

People sometimes report both pleasant and unpleasant feelings when presented with affective stimuli. However, what is reported as “mixed emotions” might reflect semantic knowledge about the stimulus (Russell, J. A. (2017). Mixed emotions viewed from the psychological constructionist perspective. Emotion Review, 9(2), 111–117). The following research examines to what degree self-reported mixed emotions represent actual feelings compared to knowledge about the stimulus. In a series of three experiments, participants reported either their feelings or their knowledge in response to affective stimuli. In Experiment 1, we sampled the entire IAPS pictorial space and examined the proportion of mixed emotion ratings using feelings-focused and knowledge-focused self-reports. We found a higher degree of mixed emotions under knowledge-focused than feelings-focused self-reports. In Experiment 2, we used a priori selected pictures to elicit mixed emotions. The proportion of mixed emotions was again higher under knowledge-focused instructions. In Experiment 3, we used movie clips that were previously used to elicit mixed emotions. In contrast to Experiments 1 and 2, there was no difference between feelings-focused and knowledge-focused self-reports. The results suggest a strong semantic component and a weak experiential component of self-reports in the case of pictorial stimuli. However, ambivalent movie clips elicited a stronger experiential component, thus supporting the existence of mixed emotions at the level of feelings.     

Individual and Community Resilience Factors Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Queer and Questioning Youth and Adults in Israel

Drawing on resilience theories, this study examined the individual and community factors of Israeli lesbians, gays, bisexuals, queers, and questioning (LGBQs) that contribute to positive mental health and the degree to which individual and community protective factors mitigate the adverse effect of risk factors for poor mental health. Differences in resilience factors between LGBQ youth and adults were explored. Data were collected on 890 LGBQ youth and adults. Findings emphasize the role of community‐level resilience factors in the lives of LGBQs, and that these support systems differ slightly between the two age groups. Among youth, family support was both a strong predictor for well‐being and a protective factor for mental distress. Although family support was found as a resilience factor among adults as well, other community‐level factors (friends’ support, LGBT connectedness and having steady partner) were found as protective factors for poorer mental health. These findings suggest for efforts on fostering familial support for LGBQ youth and a multi‐level system that offers support at the familial, peer, relationship and community levels for both LGBQ youth and adults.     

The timing deficit hypothesis of dyslexia and its implications for Hebrew reading

Vast amounts of neuropsychological evidence have been collected in recent years in support of the hypothesis that developmental dyslexia is caused not only by phonological deficits, but also by timing deficits that affect all senses (e.g., Tallal, Miller, & Fitch, 1995; Stein & Walsh, 1997). In parallel, recent developments in the study of Hebrew reading place heavy emphasis on root awareness in the mental lexicon and early root extraction in the process of word identification (e.g., Frost, Forster, & Deutch, 1997). The present study creates a link between the timing hypothesis and the special demands of Hebrew reading. The performance of dyslexics and normally reading children is compared on tasks requiring visual extraction of trigrams that approximates extracting roots out of Hebrew words. Partial findings show that dyslexics take longer and make more errors while performing trigram extractions on all levels examined, and that sequentiality in the task affects dyslexics and skilled readers in different ways.     

The hostile‐world scenario among Israeli homosexual adolescents and young adults

This study identified relevant themes within the hostile‐world scenario (HWS) concept among lesbian and gay adolescents and young adults. The HWS refers to an image of major threats to one's physical and mental integrity, and thus presents a meaningful structure of stressors that may be particularly aggravated among stigmatized minorities. An Israeli sample of 219 homosexuals (136 men, 83 women; mean age 20.9) was compared with 219 matched heterosexuals. Results showed gays and lesbians as more concerned with HWS themes of victimization (by crime and discrimination), lack of social and family support, poor health condition, disrupted relationships, and aging. This study specifies ingredients of vulnerability among homosexuals in face of challenging life conditions.     

Reactive Kripke models and contrary to duty obligations. Part A: Semantics

This paper introduces a new method for modelling contrary to duty obligations (CTD). Given a contrary to duty obligation structure CTDs presented in English, there is the problem of offering a logical system in which it can be coherently formalised. There are several formal systems in the literature attempting to do so, such as SDL (Standard Deontic Logic), various dyadic operators and other kinds of formalised normative systems. The difficulties encountered by such systems is that they end up with counter intuitive results for some CTD linguistic structures, referred to as paradoxes (for the offered formalising logic). We use reactive Kripke models as the semantics and a reactive extension of SDL, with one additional reactive modality as syntax for such CTD. Reactive Kripke models change their accessibility relation as we move from node to node during the semantic evaluation process. This change is made to correspond to the change implicit in the intuitive meaning of the contrary to duty obligations. The reactive Kripke semantics is stronger semantics than ordinary Kripke models and therefore allows for more fine tuning of our modelling process.     

The Effect of Perceived Advantage and Disadvantage on Performance: The Role of External Efficacy

This experiment examined how perceptions of advantage and disadvantage determine performance in a competitive context. We distinguished between internal and external efficacy, and manipulated external efficacy by inducing perceptions of advantaged or disadvantaged starting positions in a competition, keeping the actual positions equal. The treatment increased the performance of the advantaged party and decreased the performance of the disadvantaged party. In addition, measured external and internal efficacy had qualitatively different effects on performance. The results are explained by the idea that losses loom larger than gains.