Emergence of Concrete Operational Concepts

In Piagetian and neo-Piagetian literature, there have been conflicting results of experiments made to predict the order in which the concrete operational concepts of Class Inclusion, Transitive Inference, and Conservation emerge in a child. The present study determined the order in which these concepts emerged among 94 male and 84 female Canadian children between the ages of 5 and 7 (N = 178). Overall results indicated that Class Inclusion emerged first, followed by Transitive Inference, and then Conservation. This was the pattern for 6-year-olds, whereas 5- and 7-year-olds performed Class Inclusion and Transitive Inference at the same level of efficiency. Thus, it is apparent that Class Inclusion is generally the easiest concept to be attained, and Conservation is the most difficult. This study also indicates that the order of emergence varies and depends on the background and previous experience of the subjects.     

The Experimental Delimitation of Neural Structures Essential for Learning: The Attempt to Condition Striped Muscle Responses with Faradization of the Sigmoid Gyri

In looking at motivation as a multifactored trait rather than as a singular trait, a larger portion of the variance in academic achievement is explained. Sixty college students were administered five motivation instruments, each having two components. When the total instruments were used, they explained 23% of the variance, but when they were broken into their component parts, they explained 36%; thus, a schema for approaching motivation as a multifactor trait is presented.     

情绪对注意范围的影响: 动机程度的调节作用

在匹配了情绪刺激的效价和唤醒度后,检验了情绪的动机程度对注意范围的影响。研究采用Navon字母任务,通过被试对整体字母和局部字母的反应考察了注意范围的变化。结果显示,被试在中性状态下出现整体加工偏向;在低动机程度的正性和负性情绪下偏向加强,注意范围扩大;在高动机程度的正性和负性情绪下偏向减弱,注意范围缩小。因此,在同一效价内动机程度的不同仍会影响注意加工,高动机程度窄化注意范围,低动机程度反之。     

Resilience as the ability to bounce back from stress: A neglected personal resource?

The purpose of this study was to examine resilience, as the ability to bounce back from stress, in predicting health-related measures when controlling for other positive characteristics and resources. We assessed resilience, optimism, social support, mood clarity, spirituality, purpose in life, and health-related measures in two large undergraduate samples. In Study 1, resilience was related to both health-related measures (less negative affect and more positive affect) when controlling for demographics and other positive characteristics. In Study 2, resilience was related to all four health-related measures (less negative affect, more positive affect, less physical symptoms, and less perceived stress) when controlling for the other variables. None of the other positive characteristics were related to more than three of the six possible health-related measures when controlling for the other variables. Resilience, as the ability to bounce back, may be an important personal resource to examine in future studies and target in interventions.     

Mindfulness and positive affect: Cross-sectional,prospective intervention,and real-time relations

This study tested trait- and state-mindfulness and trait- and state-positive affect (PA) relations within a cross-sectional study (Study 1; N?=?174, 76% women, Mean (SD)_age?=?24 (2.7) years) and a randomized controlled 4-session mindfulness intervention study (Study 2; N?=?51, 65.4% women, Mean (SD)_age?=?25 (4.3) years). Study 1 : levels of trait-mindfulness and trait-like PA were related, as theorized, only among participants with meditation experience. Study 2 : Study 2 is a secondary analysis of a mindfulness intervention study [Tanay, Lotan, & Bernstein (2012). Salutary proximal processes and distal mood and anxiety vulnerability outcomes of mindfulness training: A Pilot preventive intervention. Behavior Therapy, 43, 492–505]. Unexpectedly, reduced levels of trait-like PA were observed pre- to post-intervention across conditions. No significant between-group mean differences were observed post-intervention. However, as expected, change in trait-mindfulness from pre- to post-intervention predicted change in trait-like PA among the intervention but not control condition. Second, levels of state-mindfulness during mindfulness meditation were positively related to levels of state-PA. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings for mindfulness and PA are discussed.     

Processing fluency,positive affect,and judgments of meaning in life

This study examined the effects of processing ease on judgments of meaning in life (MIL), employing a common manipulation of fluency, font styles. One hundred and three adults completed a questionnaire assessing MIL with items printed in one of four fonts that differed in readability. We predicted that those who rated MIL items printed in easy-to-read fonts would report higher MIL than those who rated items presented in difficult-to-read fonts. Participants also completed a measure of the proposed mechanism for these effects, positive affect (PA). Results showed that, as predicted, easy reading led to higher MIL than difficult reading and these effects were explained by PA. Results not only extend the influence of processing fluency to such profound judgments as life’s meaningfulness, but also lend further support to the very strong role of PA in judgments of MIL.     

The buffering effect of awe on negative affect towards lost possessions*

Abstract

Although the positive emotion of awe is of growing interest, past research has not directly examined its buffering effect in negative circumstances. As awe has been theoretically linked to experiences of vastness and spirituality, the present study proposes that awe helps individuals alleviate their negative affect, in the context of possession loss. Study 1 manipulated awe and examined participants’ responses in an imagined situation in which they lost a cherished possession. Study 2 manipulated awe and happiness and compared their effects on participants’ response to an actual loss in the form of points obtained and deducted during a laboratory task. In Study 3, daily experiences of awe, other positive emotions, and affect in response to actual loss, were measured using event sampling. In all studies, awe predicted lower negative affect towards loss of possessions. Implications of the function of awe in coping with loss and other future directions are discussed.     

It’s good to do good and receive good: The impact of a ‘pay it forward’ style kindness intervention on giver and receiver well-being

Despite the popularity of the ‘pay it forward’ (PIF) concept in textbooks and popular culture, to date, no study has tested the effectiveness of a brief, one-time PIF activity on the well-being of those who do good and those who receive good. To test this, 83 undergraduates (‘givers’) performed random kind acts for 1.5 h. PIF resulted in a wide range of well-being benefits for givers (e.g. greater positive and lower negative affect), with females showing greater positive affect benefits. Receivers of kindness (N = 1014) also benefited as evidenced by greater smiling behavior and more sincere smiles vs. controls (N = 251). Of the 48 receivers who completed a follow-up online questionnaire, the majority indicated that they would also PIF, with almost 40% indicating that they already had. Results indicate that a one-time brief PIF intervention can have broad benefits for those involved.     

Rose-colored priming effects: Life satisfaction and affective priming

The authors hypothesized that individual differences in life satisfaction would be systematically related to memory networks favoring positive to negative affective priming. To examine this prediction, three studies involving a total of 198 undergraduate participants were conducted. Four tasks were used in the three studies, and each task was fairly distinct in nature. In all tasks, positive and negative affective priming effects were calculated by examining facilitation in relation to consecutive positive stimuli (i.e., a positive priming effect) vs. consecutive negative stimuli (i.e., a negative priming effect). In all studies, life satisfaction interacted with the relative magnitude of positive and negative priming effects, such that higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with a larger positive priming effect and a smaller negative priming effect. The studies significantly extend the view that there is an intimate relationship between life satisfaction and the mental organization of positive vs. negative concepts in memory.     

Feeling safe and content: A specific affect regulation system? Relationship to depression,anxiety, stress,and self-criticism

Recent work in the neuroscience of positive affect has suggested that there may be two different types of positive affect. One is linked to a drive/seeking system (and may be dopaminergic mediated) and the other is a soothing-contentment system (and may be opiate/oxytocin mediated). This study sought to develop a self-report scale that could tap these positive affects in regard to characteristic feelings individuals may have. Results from 203 students suggested three (rather than two) underlying factors: activated positive affect, relaxed positive affect, and safe/content positive affect. It was the safe/content positive affect that had the highest negative correlations with depression, anxiety and stress, self-criticism, and insecure attachment. Hence, greater clarity on the different types and functions of positive affect may demystify the relationship between positive emotions and well-being.