Emotion regulation and the temporal dynamics of emotions: Effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression on emotional inertia

The tendency for emotions to be predictable over time, labelled emotional inertia, has been linked to low well-being and is thought to reflect impaired emotion regulation. However, almost no studies have examined how emotion regulation relates to emotional inertia. We examined the effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression on the inertia of behavioural, subjective and physiological measures of emotion. In Study 1 (N = 111), trait suppression was associated with higher inertia of negative behaviours. We replicated this finding experimentally in Study 2 (N = 186). Furthermore, in Study 2, instructed suppressors and reappraisers both showed higher inertia of positive behaviours, and reappraisers displayed higher inertia of heart rate. Neither suppression nor reappraisal were associated with the inertia of subjective feelings in either study. Thus, the effects of suppression and reappraisal on the temporal dynamics of emotions depend on the valence and emotional response component in question.     

Assume a Spherical Chicken: Analytic Constraints,Inertia Tensor Information,and Wielded Rod Length Perception

Information associated with the inertia tensor is the preeminent explanation for haptic perception of object properties, notably wielded rod length. Critics counter that tensorial-based information requires non-tensorial supplementation (mass, torque). However, those critiques omit important constraints. With relevant constraints included, the inertia tensor alone completely specifies rod length. I list constraints inherent (but tacit) in haptic rod length perception, and show that object properties associated with the inertia tensor are invariant, even with constraints removed, by involving (a) longitudinal moment equivalents for rod mass and (b) derivatives of moments with respect to varying rotation axes. Analytic outcomes show tensorial-based information is a robust basis for wielded rod length perception, and suggest open questions for empirical exploration.     

The transference of visual search between two unrelated tasks: Measuring the temporal characteristics of carry-over

Investigations into the persistence of top-down control settings do not accurately reflect the nature of dynamic tasks. They typically involve extended practice with an initial task, and this initial task usually shares similar stimuli with a second task. Recent work shows that visual attention and search can be affected by limited exposure to a preceding, unrelated task, and the current study explored the temporal characteristics of this “carry-over” effect. Thirty-four participants completed one, four, or eight simple letter searches and then searched a natural scene. The spatial layout of letters influenced spread of search in the pictures, and this was further impacted by the time spent in the initial task, yet the carry-over effect diminished quickly. The results have implications for theories of top-down control and models that attempt to predict search in natural scenes. They are also relevant to real-world tasks in which performance is closely related to visual attention and search.     

Inertia of negative emotions at work: Correlates of inflexible emotion dynamics in the workplace*

Emotional inertia is a central feature of emotion dynamics and it refers to the degree to which emotional states are self-predictive and linger over time, describing their resistance to change. It is related to several indicators of maladjustment, yet there is limited research on its correlates in the workplace, where it may be particularly relevant as emotional experiences deeply influence organizational life. In two experience-sampling studies, we studied temporal dependency of negative emotional states at work in terms of emotional inertia. In a first study (n = 128), we investigated the association between exhaustion, the core dimension of burnout, with inertia of negative emotions. In a second study (n = 116), we aimed to replicate findings from the first study and additionally examined the moderating role of inertia of negative emotions in the relationship between negative emotions at work and counterproductive work behaviour. The findings show that exhaustion is consistently associated with inertia of negative emotions, and that inertia of negative emotions aggravates the relation between negative emotions and workers' counterproductive work behaviour.     

Inaction inertia, the sunk cost effect, and handedness: Avoiding the losses of past decisions

Strength of handedness, or the degree to which an individual prefers to use a single hand to perform various tasks, is a neurological marker for brain organization and has been shown to be linked to episodic memory, attribute framing, and anchoring, as well as other domains and tasks. The present work explores the relationship of handedness to both inaction inertia (the inclination to resist an action after previously bypassing a similar action) as well as to the sunk cost effect (the tendency to continue to engage in a behavior after an initial investment of time or money has been made). In Experiment 1, mixed-handers displayed a larger inaction inertia effect than strong-handers. In Experiment 2, they displayed a larger sunk cost effect than strong-handers. Experiments 3 and 4 extended the sunk cost finding into a different domain and explored how mixed- and strong-handers react to additional information designed to increase the comparative advantage of terminating, rather than continuing, a failed project. Overall, we found that mixed-handers were more likely to show inertia effects because of an increased aversion to losses. The results of Experiment 4 suggest that, when provided with additional information that made it clear that continuing a project would be a greater loss than terminating it, mixed-handers no longer showed a larger sunk cost effect than strong-handers, highlighting the importance of carefully considering exactly how sunk cost scenarios are worded and providing additional information on how mixed- and strong-handers differ in belief updating.     

Brain MR kurtosis imaging study: Contrasting gray and white matter

This paper mainly focuses on characterization of different brain tissues such as White and Gray matter (WM and GM) using the relation between Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging parameters. Both Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging are the extension of Diffusion Weighted Imaging, which are widely applied for analysing micro fibre structure of human organs non-invasively. Diffusion Tensor Imaging assumes that the water diffusion is in Gaussian nature and Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging accounts the deviation of the Gaussian nature. This study, conducted a correlation and regression analysis between different parametric maps generated from Diffusion Kurtosis Images. For this we have chosen 200 regions of interest pixels drawn from brain MRIs. From the results, it is observed that there is a significant variation in the correlation results between Axial Diffusion and Kurtosis Fractional Anisotropy maps of Gray matter and White matter tissues. This can be employed for enhancing accuracy in MRI segmentation techniques and also as a potential tool for Neuro degenerative disease detection.