Splitting the affective atom: Divergence of valence and approach-avoidance motivation during a dynamic emotional experience

Current Psychology - Valence and approach-avoidance motivation are two distinct but closely related components of affect. However, little is known about how these two processes evolve and covary in...     

Social dominance orientation,prejudice, and discrimination: A new computer-based method for studying discriminatory behaviors

A number of studies have shown that the scale of social dominance orientation (SDO), used to measure the degree of preference for inequality among social groups, is a predictive measure of social and political attitudes toward stigmatized outgroups. However, the relationship between SDO and discrimination has received little attention. The main goal of this study was to assess the validity of a new computer-based method used to measure discriminatory behaviors in a laboratory setting. An additional goal was to test the mediating role of prejudice in the relation between SDO and discrimination. The results provide a first validation of this new method and demonstrate that the effect of SDO on discrimination is mediated by prejudice.     

The Lvov–Warsaw School as a Source of Inspiration for Argumentation Theory

The thesis of the paper holds that some future developments of argumentation theory may be inspired by the rich logico-methodological legacy of the Lvov–Warsaw School (LWS), the Polish research movement that was most active from 1895 to 1939. As a selection of ideas of the LWS which exploit both formal and pragmatic aspects of the force of argument, we present: Ajdukiewicz’s account of reasoning and inference, Bocheński’s analyses of superstitions or dogmas, and Frydman’s constructive approach to legal interpretation. This paper does not aim at exhaustive elaboration of any of these topics or their usefulness in current discussions within argumentation theory. Rather, we intend to indicate chosen directions of a potentially fruitful research program for the emerging Polish School of Argumentation which would consist in application of methods and conceptions elaborated by the LWS to selected open problems of contemporary research on argumentation.     

Is Easy Access Related to Better Life? Walkability and Overlapping of Personal and Communal Identity as Predictors of Quality of Life

Two studies (N?=?190 and N?=?447) were conducted to investigate the link between living in walkable neighborhoods and satisfaction with life in a city. Additionally, we explore possible mediators of this relationship. In both studies walkability was a significant predictor of perceived quality of life in a city, and overlap between personal and communal identity (in Study 1 and Study 2) and city identification (Study 2) were mediators of the walkability—quality of life relation. Implications for research on environmental qualities of neighborhoods and on self-concept and communal identity are discussed.     

Exposure to hate speech increases prejudice through desensitization

In three studies (two representative nationwide surveys, N = 1,007, N = 682; and one experimental, N = 76) we explored the effects of exposure to hate speech on outgroup prejudice. Following the General Aggression Model, we suggest that frequent and repetitive exposure to hate speech leads to desensitization to this form of verbal violence and subsequently to lower evaluations of the victims and greater distancing, thus increasing outgroup prejudice. In the first survey study, we found that lower sensitivity to hate speech was a positive mediator of the relationship between frequent exposure to hate speech and outgroup prejudice. In the second study, we obtained a crucial confirmation of these effects. After desensitization training individuals were less sensitive to hate speech and more prejudiced toward hate speech victims than their counterparts in the control condition. In the final study, we replicated several previous effects and additionally found that the effects of exposure to hate speech on prejudice were mediated by a lower sensitivity to hate speech, and not by lower sensitivity to social norms. Altogether, our studies are the first to elucidate the effects of exposure to hate speech on outgroup prejudice.

     

Prenatal stress affects the developmental trajectory of the rat amygdala

The amygdala plays a critical role in generating the emotion of fear, and alterations in amygdala fear processing are thought to underlie the acquisition and maintenance of anxiety disorders. The prenatally stressed (PS) rat displays hormonal, behavioral and brain anatomical similarities to anxious humans and is useful to study the neurobiological underpinnings of pathological anxiety. We studied PS and control male rats at postnatal days 7 (P7), P25, P45 and P60. Using unbiased stereological analyses we examined the volumes, anterior-posterior lengths and total numbers of neurons and glia of the basolateral (BL), central (Ce) and lateral (La) amygdalar nuclei. We found prenatal stress-associated differences in the developmental trajectories of each nucleus. These were apparent in some measures as early as P7, most extensive at P25 and resolved by P45, at least as seen by Nissl staining. These changes were not a result of differential brain growth. This early divergence in developmental trajectories seen here may be the harbinger of PS rat amygdalas that ultimately function very differently in adulthood.     

A point contingency for homework submission in the graduate school classroom

We explored the effects of points versus no points on the submission of homework assignments and quiz performance in a graduate-level course. Students were more likely to submit homework assignments during points weeks, but quiz scores were relatively unaffected.