Performance of an unpleasant task: Effects of over- vs under-payment on perception of adequacy of rewards and task attractiveness

Subjects who came to an experiment expecting to receive a moderate amount of money for performing a task were then told, either before or after performing it, that their pay would be higher than, equal to, or less than they had expected. When the actual payment was announced after the task was performed, subjects' evaluations of the task increased with the amount they were paid; however, they estimated a higher rate of pay to be appropriate if they received either more or less than they expected than if they received what they expected. When the actual payment was announced before the task was performed (and before subjects made their decision to perform it), a different pattern emerged. Subjects rated the task more attractive when they were offered either more or less than the expected amount, while their judgments of the appropriateness of the pay offered increased with the amount of the offer. Implications of the results for incentive and dissonance theories as well as self-perception and equity theories are discussed.     

Looking where you listen: visual cues and auditory attention

In the non-laboratory environment, we are generally able to see the source of the sounds to which we are attending. In a preliminary examination of how and to what degree we might use this visual information, subjects shadowed one of two female voices when able to see the persons speaking (Experiment I) or when able to see, and thus precisely localize, the auditory loudspeakers (Experiment II). Selective performance was improved by being able to see the lip movements of the people whose voices were heard, and by being able to localize visually the sources of the voices.     

Oral behavioral patterns in facial pain, headache and non-headache populations

Patterns of oral behavior have been suggested as factors leading to head and facial pain. The present study evaluated the frequency with which certain oral habits were self-reported by five groups of Ss: Facial Pain. Tension Headache, Migraine Headache, Combined Migraine and Tension Headache and No Pain. Four oral behavior patterns were found to be significantly different among groups. These were diurnal bruxism. thrusting the jaw forward, cupping the chin in the hand and resting the hand on the side of the face. When Ss were reclassified into those reporting no facial pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, or a combination of TMJ and jaw muscle pain, the variables of diurnal bruxism and resting the hand on the side of the face were found to predict significantly both pain groups. However, the resting the hand factor was negatively weighted for the TMJ Pain group only. One other factor, nocturnal bruxism. was found to be self-reported at a significantly higher frequency in the Combined Facial Pain group compared to the No Facial Pain and TMJ Pain groups. Discussion focuses on the implications of the present findings on research in the facial pain and headache areas.     

Savoring interventions for mothers of young children: Mechanisms linking relational savoring and personal savoring to reflective functioning

Parenting interventions can improve parenting outcomes, with widespread implications for children's developmental trajectories. Relational savoring (RS) is a brief attachment-based intervention with high potential for dissemination. Here we examine data from a recent intervention trial in order to isolate the mechanisms by which savoring predicts reflective functioning (RF) at treatment follow-up through an examination of the content of savoring sessions (specificity, positivity, connectedness, safe haven/secure base, self-focus, child-focus). Mothers (N = 147, M_age = 30.84 years, SD_age = 5.13; Race: 67.3% White/Caucasian, 12.9% other or declined to state; 10.9% biracial/multiracial, 5.4% Asian, 1.4% Native American/Alaska Native, 2.0% Black/African American; Ethnicity: 41.5% Latina) of toddlers (M_age = 20.96 months, SD_age = 2.50; 53.5% female) were randomized to four sessions of RS or personal savoring (PS). Both RS and PS predicted higher RF, but through different means. RS was indirectly associated with higher RF through greater connectedness and specificity of savoring content, while PS was indirectly associated with higher RF through greater self-focus in savoring content. We discuss the implications of these findings for treatment development and for our understanding of the emotional experience of mothers of toddlers.