On emotional innumeracy: Predicted and actual affective responses to grand-scale tragedies

The present research demonstrates that people overestimate the intensity of their emotional responses to grand-scale tragedies. Participants predicted that they would feel significantly worse if thousands of people were killed in a disaster than if only a few people were killed, and yet they exhibited an “emotional flatline,” feeling equally sad regardless of the number of people killed. This unforeseeable emotional flatline was demonstrated in response to deaths stemming from human violence and natural disasters, both close to home and far away (including hurricanes in the United States, a forest fire in Spain, and the Iraq War). Participants’ actual emotional responses were calibrated with fatalities only when abstract death tolls were translated into concrete images. We argue that affective forecasts and emotional experiences may arise from separate systems, leading to reliable forecasting errors, as well as influencing subsequent judgments.     

SENSITIVITY OF CONDITIONAL-DISCRIMINATION PERFORMANCE TO WITHIN-SESSION VARIATION OF REINFORCER FREQUENCY

The present experiment developed a methodology for assessing sensitivity of conditional-discrimination performance to within-session variation of reinforcer frequency. Four pigeons responded under a multiple schedule of matching-to-sample components in which the ratio of reinforcers for correct S₁ and S₂ responses was varied across components within session. Initially, five components, each arranging a different reinforcer-frequency ratio (from 19 to 91), were presented randomly within a session. Under this condition, sensitivity to reinforcer frequency was low. Sensitivity failed to improve after extended exposure to this condition, and under a condition in which only three reinforcer-frequency ratios were varied within session. In a later condition, three reinforcer-frequency ratios were varied within session, but the reinforcer-frequency ratio in effect was differentially signaled within each component. Under this condition, values of sensitivity were similar to those traditionally obtained when reinforcer-frequency ratios for correct responses are varied across conditions. The effects of signaled vs. unsignaled reinforcer-frequency ratios were replicated in two subsequent conditions. The present procedure could provide a practical alternative to parametric variation of reinforcer frequency across conditions and may be useful in characterizing the effects of a variety of manipulations on steady-state sensitivity to reinforcer frequency.     

片段再认任务在内隐序列学习研究中的有效性检验

内隐序列学习到底能习得何种知识呢？已有研究从任务分离范式发展到加工分离程序试图来捕获习得的知识。本研究根据信号检测论原理把三元素再认测验的成绩离析成击中率和虚报率, 再试图运用加工分离程序的思想来分离习得的意识知识和无意识知识, 为示区别将这种测验命名为片段再认任务, 并以序列生成任务为效标, 通过两个实验来检验片段再认任务的效度和敏感性。实验1以反应–刺激间隔(RSI)为自变量来检验片段再认任务和序列生成任务在测量习得知识上的效度, 结果显示前者的效度高于后者; 实验2进行测验的敏感性分析, 以参与度为自变量, 结果表明前者更为灵敏所以测量效度高。总之, 与序列生成任务相比, 片段再认任务是一种高效而灵敏的测量工具。     

Dyscontrol Experiences Questionnaire: Development, Reliability and Validity

This paper describes development of a retrospective measure of childhood exposure to parental dyscontrol related to specific conditions such as a parent's drinking, anger, or other negative emotional states (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression). A 45-item questionnaire, the Dyscontrol Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), was designed to assess individuals' childhood experiences with parental loss of control. Two student samples (n = 465 and n = 536) completed a battery of self-report measures. Responses were used to examine the psychometric properties of the DEQ. Factor analysis revealed three lower-order factors accounting for 54.4% of the variance in DEQ item scores. Cronbach's coefficient alphas indicated acceptable internal consistency. Moderate intercorrelations with two other retrospective measures of childhood experiences suggested construct validity. Moderate intercorrelations with two measures of psychological distress suggested predictive validity. In summary, initial psychometric testing of the DEQ suggests it is a reliable and valid tool for investigating an important developmental antecedent of adult psychological distress.     

Children’s multiplicative transformations of discrete and continuous quantities

Recent studies have documented an evolutionarily primitive, early emerging cognitive system for the mental representation of numerical quantity (the analog magnitude system). Studies with nonhuman primates, human infants, and preschoolers have shown this system to support computations of numerical ordering, addition, and subtraction involving whole number concepts prior to arithmetic training. Here we report evidence that this system supports children’s predictions about the outcomes of halving and perhaps also doubling transformations. A total of 138 kindergartners and first graders were asked to reason about the quantity resulting from the doubling or halving of an initial numerosity (of a set of dots) or an initial length (of a bar). Controls for dot size, total dot area, and dot density ensured that children were responding to the number of dots in the arrays. Prior to formal instruction in symbolic multiplication, division, or rational number, halving (and perhaps doubling) computations appear to be deployed over discrete and possibly continuous quantities. The ability to apply simple multiplicative transformations to analog magnitude representations of quantity may form a part of the toolkit that children use to construct later concepts of rational number.     

Disgust Sensitivity and Psychopathological Symptoms: Distinctions from Harm Avoidance

The present study examined the relationship between disgust sensitivity and symptoms of somatization, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, anger/hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism in a community sample. Participants (n = 121) completed the Disgust Scale-2, the Symptom Checklist-90, and the harm avoidance subscale of the Temperament and Character Inventory. Disgust sensitivity was found to be correlated with a broad range of psychopathological symptoms. However, results also indicated that these correlations were partially mediated by harm avoidance. That is, when controlling for levels of harm avoidance, the association between disgust sensitivity and psychopathological symptoms was either substantially reduced or became nonsignificant. These findings suggest that the tendency towards behavioral inhibition to avoid punishment and non-reward may partially account for the association between disgust sensitivity and a broad range of psychopathological symptoms.

Equity Sensitivity Revisited: Contrasting Unidimensional and Multidimensional Approaches

Purpose  Past research has shown little support for direct relationships between equity sensitivity and various equity-relevant criteria. Recent work by Davison and Bing (J Manag Issues 20: 131–150, 2008) suggests that equity sensitivity consists of separate input- and outcome-focus dimensions and that these dimensions are associated with such criteria in an interactive fashion. The current study extends this research by theoretically strengthening and empirically testing their two-dimensional model. Design/methodology/approach  We surveyed adults who were working at least 30 h a week at three time periods to temporally separate measurement of predictors and criteria (n = 172). Findings  Results provide support for the two-dimensional model. Input and outcome focus interacted to explain variance in individuals’ satisfaction and self-reported job performance even after controlling for demographic characteristics, personality, and social desirability. By contrast, the original ESI only significantly predicted one of 10 dependent variables. Implications  Whereas a ratio has been historically used as the basis for evaluating equity, employing independent dimensions and investigating their interaction seems more appropriate to assess individuals’ equity sensitivity. The current study suggests a multidimensional measure of equity sensitivity may better reflect the original theoretical underpinnings of the construct. Originality/value  The current study enhances our understanding of equity theory in general, and equity sensitivity in particular, by drawing attention to the multidimensional nature of the equity sensitivity construct. In particular, it extends the work of Davison and Bing (J Manag Issues 20: 131–150, 2008) by revisiting Huseman et al.’s (Acad Manag Rev 12: 222–234, 1987) original conceptualization of equity sensitivity. In doing so, we broaden its utility as a potential unique predictor of organizationally relevant criteria.     

Predicting interest in cosmetic surgery: Interactive effects of appearance-based rejection sensitivity and negative appearance comments

This study investigated effects of appearance-based rejection sensitivity (Appearance-RS) – the dispositional tendency to anxiously expect rejection based on one's appearance – in a sample of 133 American college students. Participants were randomly assigned to write an essay about either a negative or positive appearance comment they had received in the past. Compared to participants with lower Appearance-RS, those with higher Appearance-RS felt more rejected and expressed greater interest in cosmetic surgery after recalling a negative versus positive appearance comment. Content analysis of the essays revealed that negative appearance comments were most often made in reference to one's body weight/shape/size; positive appearance comments were most often made in reference to one's overall appearance. Peers/friends/romantic partners were the most frequently cited source of both positive and negative appearance comments. Overall, this research suggests that the interaction between the person and the situation is important to consider when predicting cosmetic surgery interest.     

Rejection sensitivity as a mediator of the relationship between experienced rejection and borderline characteristics

Experiences of rejection in childhood play an important role in the etiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Additionally, individuals who report borderline symptoms report high levels of rejection sensitivity. The current study aimed to disentangle the relationship between experiences of rejection, rejection sensitivity and borderline characteristics. Therefore, we retrospectively assessed experiences of parental and peer rejection, collected data of self-reported rejection sensitivity and social support and prospectively investigated borderline characteristics in a sample of 193 students. Results indicated that rejection sensitivity fully mediated the previously significant relationship between experiences of parental rejection and borderline characteristics, whereas peer rejection maintained a significant effect on borderline traits. Social support was identified as a protective factor. Results indicated a crucial role of rejection sensitivity in borderline symptomatology.