Colour fluctuations in grapheme‐colour synaesthesia: The effect of clinical and non‐clinical mood changes

Synaesthesia is a condition that gives rise to unusual secondary sensations (e.g., colours are perceived when listening to music). These unusual sensations tend to be reported as being stable throughout adulthood (e.g., Simner & Logie, 2007, Neurocase, 13, 358) and the consistency of these experiences over time is taken as the behavioural hallmark of genuineness. Our study looked at the influence of mood states on synaesthetic colours. In Experiment 1, we recruited grapheme‐colour synaesthetes (who experience colours from letters/digits) and elicited their synaesthetic colours, as well as their mood and depression states, in two different testing sessions. In each session, participants completed the PANAS‐X (Watson & Clark, 1999) and the BDI‐II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996, Manual for Beck Depression Inventory‐II), and chose their synaesthetic colours for letters A‐Z from an interactive colour palette. We found that negative mood significantly decreased the luminance of synaesthetic colours. In Experiment 2, we showed that synaesthetic colours were also less luminant for synaesthetes with anxiety disorder, versus those without. Additional evidence suggests that colour saturation, too, may inversely correlate with depressive symptoms. These results show that fluctuations in mood within both a normal and clinical range influence synaesthetic colours over time. This has implications for our understanding about the longitudinal stability of synaesthetic experiences, and of how mood may interact with the visual (imagery) systems.     

Illusions of Learning: Irrelevant Emotions Inflate Judgments of Learning

People use assessments of how much they have learned to choose and recommend instructors, seminars, and weekend trips. How do people assess how much they have learned? Recent theorizing has depicted emotion as a cue for learning, and so people may be misled by recent emotional states to infer that they have learned more than they actually have. Four studies showed that people associated emotion with learning and believed, often falsely, that they learned more when in an emotional than unemotional state. Factual lessons were coupled with manipulations of arbitrary, irrelevant emotional states. Participants rated that they learned more after an emotion had been induced than in emotionally neutral control conditions. These differences remained significant after controlling for actual learning as measured by objective tests, which was unaffected by emotion. This illusion of learning caused by emotion was robust with respect to changes of procedure and sample, including whether the emotion came before or after the information to be learned. Alternative explanations were ruled out, including that emotion would intensify ratings generally, that emotion would make incoming information seem particularly personally relevant, that emotion increased engagement in the research, and that illusory learning would depend on retrospective exaggeration of one's prior ignorance. Because irrelevant emotions can increase people's judgments that they have learned something, incidental emotional experiences could increase a person's likelihood of deciding to take another class with a particular instructor, to sign up for another leadership seminar, or to engage in a risky (but emotion‐filled) excursion. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

晚期正成分的时间-空间迁移模式在情绪调节发展研究中的应用

近二十年,使用认知神经科学手段探讨情绪调节成为了研究的热点。晚期正成分(Late Positive Potential,LPP)是情绪调节脑电研究中的一个典型成分,在不同的时间窗中分析LPP的波幅的变化及其优势激活脑区的迁移能够反映情绪调节加工过程中个体由对情绪刺激的感知到相应的认知调控过程的转变。LPP的时间-空间迁移模式被应用于情绪调节的发展研究,揭示从童年到青少年再到成年期个体情绪的潜在神经机制。研究者关注幼儿期、童年期、青少期、成人期个体在情绪调节加工过程中LPP波幅的变化及其时间-空间迁移模式特征,把不同年龄段个体情绪调节的发展特点与其大脑关键脑区(主要是前额叶)发育状况进行联系,为儿童身体发育和心理发展的主题提供更多的证据支持。未来的研究应加强对LPP在异常发展研究中应用,关注大脑发育与激素变化对LPP变化的影响,并加强对LPP调节效应的个体差异等问题的探讨。     

主观时间流逝速度调节情绪效价的特异性

本研究在中国情绪图片系统中随机选取200张情绪图片,并在不同的主观时间流逝速度下,对其进行效价和唤醒度评分,探讨主观时间流逝速度对不同的情绪维度(效价和唤醒度)以及情绪的不同水平的调节效应是否一致。研究结果表明,主观时间流逝速度增加时,人们对中性和正性情绪图片的评价更加积极,但主观时间流逝速度不能调节人们对负性情绪图片的评价,也不能调节人们的唤醒水平。结果提示"时间飞逝时,我更快乐"效应具有效价特异性。     

A systematic review of the intrapersonal correlates of motivational climate perceptions in sport and physical activity

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to systematically review and appraise the achievement goal literature (1990–2014) with a view to identifying the intra-individual correlates of motivational climate perceptions, and to identify research gaps and avenues in need for further development.DesignSystematic review.MethodFour databases were searched, leading to 104 published studies being sampled (121 independent samples) that met inclusion criteria. Correlates were grouped into 17 categories and qualitative analysis focussed on identifying the associations predicted by achievement goal theory. Effect sizes were calculated using the Hunter-Schmidt method for correcting sampling error.ResultsA total population size of 34,156 (χ = 316.3, σ = 268.1) was sampled in the analysis, with the published mean ages ranging from 10.0 to 38.2 years (χ = 16.5 years, σ = 4.7). Perceptions of a task or mastery climate were consistently associated with a range of adaptive motivational outcomes including perceived competence, self-esteem, objective performance, intrinsic forms of motivational regulation, affective states, practice and competitive strategies and moral attitudes, and the experience of flow. Perceptions of an ego or performance climate were positively associated with extrinsic regulation and amotivation, negative affect, maladaptive strategy use, antisocial moral attitudes and perfectionism, but negatively associated to positive affect and feelings of autonomy and relatedness.ConclusionsAfter reviewing the sum total of research in this topic area, the authors appraise the options for future research to make meaningful progress in developing understanding of the social determination of motivation in sport and physical activity settings.     

Cross-Cultural Competence: The Role of Emotion Regulation Ability and Optimism

Cross-cultural competence (3C) is critical for military personnel to understand and perform effectively in complex cultural environments and to interact with individuals from other cultures. The knowledge, skills, and abilities that make up 3C can result in clearer communication, build trust, and strengthen relationships in cross-cultural social contexts ( Selmeski, 2009 Selmeski, B. (February, 2009). Military Cross-cultural competence: Core concepts and individual development. Proceedings from the 7th Biennial Equal Opportunity, Diversity, and Culture Research Symposium. Patrick Air Force Base, FL. [Google Scholar]). This research investigated the role of emotional regulation and optimism in the development of 3C in military personnel. Results demonstrate that the ability to regulate emotions is positively related to 3C, both directly and through its effect on optimism.     

Theory of Mind and Sensitivity to Teacher and Peer Criticism Among Japanese Children

This study investigated sensitivity to teacher and peer criticism among 89 Japanese 6‐year‐olds and examined the connection between sensitivity to criticism and first‐order and second‐order theory of mind separately. Participants completed a common test battery that included tasks assessing sensitivity to criticism (teacher or peer condition), the Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised, and theory of mind tasks. The results showed that the children with better understanding of second‐order mental states rated their ability negatively after teacher criticism, but they were motivated to keep trying. This phenomenon was found under only the teacher condition, and peer criticism did not significantly affect children's response, irrespective of theory‐of‐mind level. Cognitive and social factors that may have contributed to the children's responses to criticism are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.