Multicultural Personality Dispositions and Trait Emotional Intelligence: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between multicultural personality dispositions and trait emotional intelligence. The sample included 152 graduate education students enrolled at a university in a large northeastern city of the United States. The multicultural personality dispositions of Cultural Empathy and Social Initiative predicted variance in trait emotional intelligence above and beyond the variance accounted for by gender and potential socially desirable responding. Study limitations are highlighted, and suggestions for follow-up quantitative and qualitative research are presented.     

The relationship of positive and negative expressiveness to the processing of emotion information

The tendency to express emotions non-verbally is positively related to perception of emotions in oneself. This study examined its relationship to perception of emotions in others. In 40 healthy adults, EEG theta synchronization was used to indicate emotion processing following presentation of happy, angry, and neutral faces. Both positive and negative expressiveness were associated with higher emotional sensitivity, as shown by cortical responses to facial expressions during the early, unconscious processing stage. At the late, conscious processing stage, positive expressiveness was associated with higher sensitivity to happy faces but lower sensitivity to angry faces. Thus, positive expressiveness predisposes people to allocate fewer attentional resources for conscious perception of angry faces. In contrast, negative expressiveness was consistently associated with higher sensitivity. The effects of positive expressiveness occurred in cortical areas that deal with emotions, but the effects of negative expressiveness occurred in areas engaged in self-referential processes in the context of social relationships.     

Dysregulated negative emotional reactivity as a predictor of chronic peer victimization in childhood

This study examined the relations of dysregulated negative emotional reactivity, emotional distress, and chronic peer victimization in childhood. A model was proposed whereby dysregulated reactivity was directly and indirectly related to concurrent peer victimization through victimization‐related emotional distress. The model further proposed that dysregulated reactivity directly incrementally predicted longitudinal peer victimization above and beyond the effect of concurrent victimization. Two hundred thirteen 9‐ to 13‐year‐old children and their parents completed measures of dysregulated reactivity and victimization experiences at baseline and 6‐month follow‐up. Children also related narratives of personal victimization experiences at baseline that were coded to assess victimization‐related emotional distress. Model testing strongly supported the direct association of dysregulated reactivity with concurrent victimization and incremental predictive effects of dysregulated reactivity on peer victimization over time. Model testing also provided support for an indirect effect of dysregulated reactivity on concurrent peer victimization through victimization‐related emotional distress. This study demonstrated the powerful role that dysregulated negative emotional reactivity plays in the development of chronic peer victimization over time. Aggr. Behav. 38:414‐427, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An Investigation of the Efficacy of Online Expressive Writing for Trauma-Related Psychological Distress in Hispanic Individuals

This study compared the efficacy of 2 online expressive writing protocols for a traumatic/stressful life event in a Hispanic student sample. Participants who had reported a traumatic event were randomly assigned to either the emotion-focused group or the fact-focused group. The emotion-focused group focused their written accounts on emotions and feelings as well as facts about a stressful/traumatic experience, whereas the fact-focused group focused on facts of a stressful/traumatic event. Both groups completed 3 online writing sessions scheduled for 3 consecutive days, a 1-week online follow-up assessment, and a 5-week online follow-up assessment. Both groups statistically significantly reduced trauma symptoms over time with the emotion-focused group demonstrating statistically significantly greater trauma symptom reductions than the fact-focused group at the 5-week follow-up assessment.     

Development and validation of a revised measure of codependency

This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of a revised instrument, the Composite Codependency Scale (CCS), a 19‐item measure designed to assess codependent traits. Exploratory factor analysis of the CCS, using data from 301 adults from the general population and 49 attending members of Codependents Anonymous (CoDA), yielded three factors: self‐sacrifice, interpersonal control, and emotional suppression. The scale and its subscales exhibited good internal consistency. Consistent with the tenets of the codependency model, higher codependency scores were significantly associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and familial dysfunction and lower levels of narcissistic tendencies, self‐esteem, and emotional expressivity. Furthermore, the revised measure effectively discriminated members of CoDA from those in the general population.     

Time perception in response to ashamed faces in children and adults

The present study investigated the effect of the perception of faces expressing shame on time perception in children aged 5 and 8 years, as well as in adults, as a function of their ability to recognize this emotional expression. The participants' ability to recognize the expression of shame among faces expressing different emotions was tested. They were then asked to perform a temporal bisection task involving both neutral and ashamed faces. The results showed that, from the age of 8 years, the participants who recognized the facial expressions of shame underestimated their presentation time compared to that of neutral faces. In contrast, no time distortion was observed in the children who did not recognize the ashamed faces or in those younger children who did recognize them. The results are discussed in terms of self-conscious emotions which develop to involve an attentional mechanism.     

情绪Stroop效应：威胁驱动还是反应偏差？

为了考查情绪Stroop效应的产生机制是威胁驱动还是反应偏差,本研究进行了两个实验.实验一用一般负性情绪词语和中性词语作为实验材料,实验二用威胁性的情绪图片和中性图片作为实验材料.每个实验均要求一组被试做按键反应,另一组被试做摇杆反应.结果发现,当实验材料为词语时,未出现情绪Stroop效应;当实验材料为威胁性图片时,无论是趋向性反应方式还是回避性反应方式,都出现了情绪Stroop效应.本研究结果支持威胁驱动机制.     

词语后情绪环境对语义和感知加工的影响

词语后情绪环境对其中的事件记忆产生影响,但是事件后情绪环境如何影响记忆加工仍不清楚。不同的情绪环境理论—“唤醒偏向竞争理论”,“拓宽-建构理论”,“记忆中心的积极情绪促进理论”支持情绪促进的不同本质。已有的研究表明,注意在情绪记忆中有重要作用。实验一、实验二分别探讨词语后情绪环境对其语义加工与内源源加工和外源源加工的影响。与中性环境相比,积极与消极情绪环境阻碍了外源源特征的加工; 与中性环境和积极情绪环境相比,消极情绪环境阻碍了内源源特征的加工。实验结果支持“唤醒偏向竞争理论”,同时表明“评估”和“注意放置”在情绪环境影响中的重要作用。     

Beliefs and environmental behavior: The moderating effect of emotional intelligence

Recent decades have seen a proliferation of studies aiming to explain how pro‐environmental behavior is shaped by attitudes, values and beliefs. In this study, we have included an aspect in our analysis that has been rarely touched upon until now, that is, the intelligent use of emotions as a possible component of pro‐environmental behavior. We applied the Trait Meta Mood Scale‐24 (TMMS‐24) and the New Environmental Paradigm scale to a sample of 184 male and female undergraduate students. We also carried out correlation and hierarchical regression analyses of blocks. The results show the interaction effects of the system of environmental beliefs and the dimensions of emotional intelligence on glass recycling attitudes, intentions and behavior. The results are discussed from the perspective of research on how the management of emotions guides thought and behavior.     

3～6岁儿童情绪伪装认知能力发展及其与错误信念理解的关系

个体的情绪伪装能力是其情绪社会化发展极为重要的方面,选取某幼儿园123名3～6岁儿童为被试,通过“区分外表-真实情绪”任务和“错误信念”任务考察3～6岁儿童情绪伪装认知能力的发展特点,进而探讨情绪伪装认知与错误信念理解的关系.结果表明：（1）儿童情绪伪装认知能力随年龄增长而提高,3～5岁为儿童情绪伪装认知能力的快速发展期;（2）儿童在消极情境下区分内外情绪的能力显著高于在积极情境中的表现;同时,对两种情绪伪装动机（社会适应、自我保护）的认知能力无显著差异;（3）儿童情绪伪装认知和错误信念理解能力显著相关,两种错误信念（意外内容、意外地点）理解都能很好地预测情绪伪装认知能力.