The sweet smell of ... implicit helping: effects of pleasant ambient fragrance on spontaneous help in shopping malls

Some studies have shown that pleasant scent encourages the prosocial behavior of people requested for help. However, the effect of pleasant ambient odor on spontaneous helping has never been tested. Male and female confederates accidentally dropped a glove on the floor while walking in places with pleasant ambient odors (e.g., pastries) and in places with no odor. The confederate continued his/her walk, seemingly unaware of his/her loss. It was found that passers-by helped the confederates more favorably in the pleasant-smelling areas. Positive mood induced by ambient smell was used to explain such results.     

Why are some people more susceptible to ingroup threat than others? The importance of a relative extrinsic to intrinsic value orientation

Whereas an individual differences perspective recently pointed to the importance of a relative extrinsic to intrinsic value orientation in the prediction of outgroup attitudes, the intergroup relations perspective stresses the importance of threat. This study investigates the interplay of both perspectives. A scenario study among high-school students showed that only people who attach greater relative importance to extrinsic values react with a negative attitude towards an outgroup that is portrayed as threatening. A longitudinal study among university students then showed that people with a relatively greater extrinsic value orientation are not only more likely to react to threat but also to perceive threat. Specifically, cross-lagged analyses showed that a relatively greater extrinsic value orientation predicted over-time increases in threat perceptions.     

环境光照对情绪的影响及其作用机制

环境光照作为重要的授时因子, 对多种生理和心理功能存在广泛影响, 其对情绪的非视觉作用尤其引起研究者们的关注。研究发现, 环境光照的照度、色温和波长均是影响情绪的重要物理因素; 短光周期、夜间人工光以及持续光照/黑暗等异常光照模式则会导致情绪障碍; 光照的情绪效应还受到光照时长、时间点、个体特征、主观偏好及基因类型等的调节。光照作用于情绪的路径主要包括两个方面, 一方面视网膜中的内在光敏感神经节细胞将光信号投射至情绪调节相关脑区直接影响情绪; 另一方面光信号通过同步内部生理节律及其调节下的激素分泌、神经传递和睡眠间接影响情绪。未来研究考察短时光照的视觉功效时需要采用更客观多样化的情绪测量技术, 综合非视觉与视觉作用路径深入对比健康与情绪障碍群体的差异性。     

An experimental manipulation of rejection: Effects on children's attitudes and mood depend on rejection sensitivity and relationship history

Guided by rejection sensitivity (RS) theory, the objective of this study was to test whether children's RS was associated with elevated negative emotional responses (less positive in‐group attitudes and more negative mood) following an episode of overt peer rejection or ambiguous rejection, in comparison to acceptance. Also, the role of children's self‐reported history of peer acceptance was examined. Participants were 206 children (7–11 years) who were randomly assigned to experience rejection, ambiguous rejection, or acceptance in a group simulation study. Children's group liking and negative mood depended on the 3‐way interaction of experimental condition, RS and children's history. In the ambiguous condition, as expected, children with higher RS reported more negative mood, and this did not differ in low compared to high accepted children. However, RS was only associated with less positive group attitudes among high accepted children in the rejection condition, and RS was associated with more negative mood among low accepted children only (in both conditions). Findings show the relevance of RS for elevated negative mood when rejection threat is ambiguous, and the combined role of RS and social history in children's emotional responses when situations are less ambiguous.     

Prediction of symptoms of emotional distress by mood regulation expectancies and affective traits

Three studies examined negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) and affective traits as independent predictors of self‐reported symptoms of emotional distress. NMRE represent individuals' beliefs that they can alleviate unpleasant emotional states. Stronger NMRE are associated with more adaptive coping, more positive cognition during negative moods, more effective responses under stress and less emotional distress. Affective traits represent long‐term tendencies toward particular affective experiences; they confer risk for specific symptoms of emotional distress. In Study 1, NMRE, trait negative affect (TNA) and trait positive affect (TPA) were all independently associated with depression among students and staff of a German university. In Study 2, in prospective analyses among U.S. college students traits exhibited hypothesised relationships with anxiety and depressive symptoms, and NMRE uniquely predicted anhedonic depression. Study 3 revealed independent prediction of change in symptoms over time by NMRE among U.S. college students, whereas traits were not associated with change in distress, anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest independent roles for NMRE and traits in the development of depression and anxiety symptoms and highlight the importance of NMRE as a potential target of therapeutic intervention in the process of symptom change.     

Trait Meta-Mood,gender and EEG response during emotion-regulation

Effective emotion-regulation is central to emotional intelligence. Relationships between the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) and wellbeing may reflect individual differences in the strategies used for regulating negative emotions. The present study (N = 136) manipulated emotion-regulation strategy during viewing of a fear-inducing film clip. EEG response was assessed across five frequency bands in reappraisal, suppression and control conditions. The TMMS predicted higher power in theta and gamma bands, a pattern of response that may represent directed attention to emotional processing. Gender differences included elevated theta in females in the reappraisal condition, but effects of gender and Trait Meta-Mood appeared to be dissociable.     

Can third-party observers detect the emotional rewards of generous spending?

Can others detect the emotional consequences of our personal choices? Here, we investigate whether third-party observers can detect the emotional benefits of two factors shown to influence self-reported happiness: the speed with which people make decisions and the generosity of spending choices. Participants were randomly assigned to purchase a goody bag either for themselves or for a sick child, and to choose the contents of this goody bag either as quickly as possible, or by taking as much time as needed. Then, participants reported their current emotional state and were rated for happiness by a research assistant blind to their spending condition. Analyses revealed that purchasing a gift for someone else not only improved participants’ self-reported mood, but that observers could detect these affective differences as well. Observers also rated participants who made their spending decision more quickly as happier, although participants did not report these emotional differences.     

Looking at the eyes of happiness: Positive emotions mediate the influence of life satisfaction on attention to happy faces

Despite significant advancements in the research of subjective well-being (SWB), little is known about its connection with basic cognitive processes. The present study explores the association between selective attention to emotional stimuli (i.e. emotional faces) and both the emotional and cognitive components of SWB (i.e. emotional well-being and satisfaction in life, respectively). Participants (N?=?83) were asked to freely watch a series of 84 pairs of emotional (happy, angry, or sad) and neutral faces from the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces database. Eye-tracking methodology measured first fixations, number of fixations, and the time spent looking at emotional faces. Results showed that both the emotional and cognitive components of SWB were related to a general bias to attend to happy faces and avoid sad faces. Yet, bootstrapping analyses showed that positive emotions, rather than life satisfaction, were responsible for the positive information-processing bias. We discuss the potential functionality of these biases and their implications for research on positive emotions.     

Behavioural characteristics of offenders with mental health disorders in a South African prison population

This exploratory study profiled behavioural characteristics of a non-random sample of 91 offenders with mental illness in a South African correctional facility. The sample is directly related to diagnosed cases from the correctional psychiatrist's case load. The most prevalent mental disorders diagnosed amongst the research participants of this sample specific profile were schizophrenia (33%), major depressive (27.5%), bipolar mood (12.1%) and psychotic disorders (11%).