Gender Differences in the Social Cost of Affective Deviance

The current study tested whether men and women receive different degrees of social punishment for violating norms of emotional expression. Participants watched videos of male and female targets (whose reactions were pre-tested to be equivalent in expressivity and valence) viewing either a positive or negative slideshow, with their emotional reaction to the slideshow manipulated to be affectively congruent, affectively incongruent, or flat. Participants then rated the target on a number of social evaluation measures. Displaying an incongruent emotional expression, relative to a congruent one, harmed judgments of women more than men. Women are expected to be more emotionally expressive than men, making an incongruent expression more deviant for women. These results highlight the importance of social norms in construing another person’s emotion displays, which can subsequently determine acceptance or rejection of that person.     

囚徒困境博弈中对手面部表情对合作行为的影响及其作用机制

3个实验逐步深入地考察了囚徒困境博弈中, 对手的高兴、中性和愤怒面部表情对个体合作行为的影响及相关变量的中介和调节作用。实验1的结果表明, 对手的高兴表情比愤怒表情诱发了更高的合作水平, 且高兴和中性表情均比愤怒表情产生了更高的合作预期, 合作预期中介了面部表情与合作行为的关系; 实验2引入指导语操纵被试的直觉或理性决策模式, 发现实验1的结果仅出现在直觉条件下, 却未出现在理性条件下, 且整体而言直觉决策模式下比理性决策模式下更合作; 实验3采用更加严格的时间压力范式操纵被试的直觉或理性决策模式, 发现除了高兴表情比中性表情也诱发了更多的合作行为外, 其他几乎复制了实验2的结果。基于这些结果, 建立了有调节的中介模型, 以期揭示他人面部表情、合作预期、合作行为及个体决策模式之间的复杂关系。     

Healthy high-hostiles evidence low-alpha power (7.5-9.5Hz) changes during negative affective learning

The present experiment was designed to better understand the impact of positive and negative emotional processing among low- and high-hostile individuals. Based on previous research which found increased sympathovagal balance among low-hostiles to the negative version of the Affective Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AAVL), it was hypothesized that low-hostiles would experience increased cortical arousal to this stimulus whereas their high-hostile counterparts would not. As expected, low-hostiles experienced significantly reduced low-alpha power (7.5-9.5Hz) relative to high-hostiles during the presentation of the negative AAVL. In a replication of prior research, significant primacy and recency effects were noted for the negative and positive word lists, respectively. Results are discussed in terms of cerebral activation theory and the potential impact of emotional processing among high-hostile individuals and their likelihood to develop coronary heart disease.     

场景对面孔情绪探测的影响：特质性焦虑的调节作用

本研究采用面孔情绪探测任务, 通过状态-特质焦虑问卷筛选出高、低特质性焦虑被试, 考察场景对不同情绪效价以及不同情绪强度的面部表情加工的影响, 并探讨特质性焦虑在其中所发挥的作用。结果发现：(1)对于不同情绪效价的面部表情, 场景对其情绪探测的影响存在差异：对于快乐面部表情, 在100%、80%和20%三个情绪层级上, 在场景与面孔情绪性一致情况下, 被试对面孔情绪探测的正确率显著高于不一致情况; 对于恐惧面部表情, 在80%、60%、40%和20%四个情绪层级上, 均发现一致条件比不一致条件有着更高的情绪探测正确率。(2)对于高特质性焦虑组, 一致条件和不一致条件中的面孔情绪探测正确率并没有显著差异, 即高特质性焦虑组并未表现出显著的场景效应; 而低特质性焦虑组则差异显著, 即出现显著的场景效应。该研究结果表明：(1)对于情绪强度较低的面部表情, 快乐与恐惧面孔情绪探测都更容易受到场景的影响。(2)相比于中等强度快乐面孔, 场景更容易影响中等强度恐惧面孔情绪的探测。(3)特质性焦虑的个体因素在场景对面孔情绪探测的影响中发挥调节作用, 高特质性焦虑者在情绪识别中较少受到场景信息的影响。     

中性抽象词和具体词情绪信息获得的差异

采用词汇迫选学习范式考察不同类型词汇获得情绪信息的认知机制。结果发现：（1）在迫选过程中与积极图片匹配的具体词汇喜好度显著高于与消极图片匹配的喜好度,而抽象词学习并未表现出这样的效应。（2）积极图片下被选择词汇的喜好度显著高于未被选择词汇的喜好度,而消极图片下被选择词汇与未被选择词汇的喜好度差异不显著。该结果表明具体词相较于抽象词更易获得相应情绪信息,积极情绪比消极情绪信息更易被习得。     

Sound Predicts Meaning: Cross-Modal Associations Between Formant Frequency and Emotional Tone in Stanzas

Research on the relation between sound and meaning in language has reported substantial evidence for implicit associations between articulatory–acoustic characteristics of phonemes and emotions. In the present study, we specifically tested the relation between the acoustic properties of a text and its emotional tone as perceived by readers. To this end, we asked participants to assess the emotional tone of single stanzas extracted from a large variety of poems. The selected stanzas had either an extremely high, a neutral, or an extremely low average formant dispersion. To assess the average formant dispersion per stanza, all words were phonetically transcribed and the distance between the first and second formant per vowel was calculated. Building on a long tradition of research on associations between sound frequency on the one hand and non-acoustic concepts such as size, strength, or happiness on the other hand, we hypothesized that stanzas with an extremely high average formant dispersion would be rated lower on items referring to Potency (dominance) and higher on items referring to Activity (arousal) and Evaluation (emotional valence). The results confirmed our hypotheses for the dimensions of Potency and Evaluation, but not for the dimension of Activity. We conclude that, at least in poetic language, extreme values of acoustic features of vowels are a significant predictor for the emotional tone of a text.     

Approach motivation and cognitive resources combine to influence memory for positive emotional stimuli

Inspired by the elaborated intrusion theory of desire, the current research tested the hypothesis that persons higher in trait approach motivation process positive stimuli deeply, which enhances memory for them. Ninety-four undergraduates completed a measure of trait approach motivation, viewed positive or negative image slideshows in the presence or absence of a cognitive load, and one week later completed an image memory test. Higher trait approach motivation predicted better memory for the positive slideshow, but this memory boost disappeared under cognitive load. Approach motivation did not influence memory for the negative slideshow. The current findings support the idea that individuals higher in approach motivation spontaneously devote limited resources to processing positive stimuli.     

Measurement invariance across gender and ethnicity on the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0

This study investigated the measurement invariance of the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 across gender and ethnic groups in South Africa. The sample consisted of 1 144 working adults (female = 49.8%. black = 36.2%, white = 29.8%; other = 34%; age range = 18 to 74 years). Multiple group factor analysis was conducted to test for configural, metric, and scalar invariance. Results suggest that the assessment is largely invariant at configural and metric levels across gender and ethnic groups. At scalar level, full invariance was achieved for ten of the fifteen scales across gender and one scale across ethnicity. Partial scalar models were explored for all other scales. Overall, the evidence seems to suggest that the scores from the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 scales had similar meanings for different gender and ethnic groups. However, for a few scales across gender, and more so for ethnicity, it seems that participant responses might also be influenced by factors other than the underlying latent constructs. Thus, while the scales of the assessment appears to be largely invariant at the configural and metric levels, a more nuanced picture emerged at scalar level with partially invariant models, especially across ethnic groups.     

Does emotional reasoning change during cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety?

Emotional reasoning refers to the use of subjective emotions, rather than objective evidence, to form conclusions about oneself and the world. It is a key interpretative bias in cognitive models of anxiety disorders and appears to be especially evident in individuals with anxiety disorders. However, the amenability of emotional reasoning to change during treatment has not yet been investigated. We sought to determine whether emotional reasoning tendencies change during a course of routine cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Emotional reasoning tendencies were assessed in 36 individuals with a primary anxiety disorder who were seeking treatment at an outpatient clinic. Changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as emotional reasoning tendencies after 12 sessions of CBT were examined in 25 individuals for whom there was complete data. Emotional reasoning tendencies were evident at pretreatment assessment. Although anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased during CBT, only one of six emotional reasoning interpretative styles (pertaining to conclusions that one is incompetent) changed significantly during the course of therapy. Attrition rates were high and there was not enough information regarding the extent to which therapy specifically focused on addressing emotional reasoning tendencies. Individuals seeking treatment for anxiety disorders appear to engage in emotional reasoning, however routine individual CBT does not appear to result in changes in emotional reasoning tendencies.