Effects of distraction on performance of obese and normal subjects.

Conducted 2 experiments with male undergraduates to determine whether, while working on tasks requiring concentration, overweight Ss (n = 60) would be more distracted than normals (n = 60) by competing, irrelevant material. In measures of proof-reading accuracy and reaction-time latency, overweight Ss were more disrupted than normals by interesting, emotionally toned material, while they performed better than normals when there were no distracting events. Overweight Ss also thought about the tasks more than normals when there was no distraction, suggesting that differences in attention to the tasks may have produced the obtained effect. These findings are considered within the context of the heightened responsiveness of the obese to a wide range of external cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences among adult women in sensitivity to infants: Evidence in support of an empathy concept.

Assessed emotional and physiological responsivity to infant signals in Ss who differed markedly in their level of empathy. 18 high-empathy and 20 low-empathy female undergraduates viewed videotaped scenes of smiling, quiescent, and crying 5-mo-olds as the observers' physiological and facial reactions were monitored. Ss then rated their subjective emotional reactions to the scenes and judged the intensity of the infants' need for care. High-empathy Ss had larger electrodermal responses, tended to respond with matching facial expressions, had more extreme happiness and sadness reactions, and indicated stronger desire to pick up the infants. Additionally, the empathic group showed a trend toward greater cardiac responsiveness to the signals. Results support the hypothesis that high-empathy individuals are more emotionally responsive to infant emotional stimuli and hold different values about caregiving behavior. Applications of the findings to the training of caregivers are considered. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Here is looking at you: Emotional faces predominate in binocular rivalry.

Two incompatible pictures compete for perceptual dominance when they are presented to one eye each. This so-called binocular rivalry results in an alternation of dominant and suppressed percepts. In accordance with current theories of emotion processing, the authors' previous research has suggested that emotionally arousing pictures predominate in this perceptual process. Three experiments were run with pictures of emotional facial expressions that are known to induce emotions while being well controlled in terms of physical characteristics. In Experiment 1, photographs of emotional and neutral facial expressions were presented of the same actor to minimize physical differences. In Experiment 2, schematic emotional expressions were presented to further eliminate low-level differences. In Experiment 3, a probe-detection task was conducted to control for possible response-biases. Together, these data clearly demonstrate that emotional facial expressions predominate over neutral expressions; they are more often the first percept and they are perceived for longer durations. This is not caused by physical stimulus properties or by response-biases. This novel approach supports that emotionally significant visual stimuli are preferentially perceived. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pavlovian galvanic skin response conditioning in overweight and normal weight women.

20 overweight and 20 normal weight female undergraduates underwent habituation, classical conditioning, and extinction of the GSR. Overweight Ss were consistently more responsive to the CS (tone) during all 3 phases of the study and were somewhat more responsive to the UCS (shock). Rates of response attenuation and enhancement, however, were not different during any phase. Results are generally consistent with research which demonstrates that overweight Ss are more externally stimulus bound than normals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of degree of obesity, age of onset, and weight loss on responsiveness to sensory and external stimuli.

Four experiments tested responsiveness to external and sensory stimuli in human females who differed in degree of overweight and in age of onset of their obesity. A total of 196 overweight Ss, ranging in age from 12–58 yrs and representing both juvenile- and adult-onset obese groups, served as Ss; in Exps I and IV, a total of 14 normal-weight Ss were used as controls. The effects of weight loss on external responsiveness were assessed by testing Ss before and after weight reduction in order to determine the role of energy deficit and deprivation in mediating heightened responsiveness to external cues. There was no significant positive correlation between degree of overweight and degree of external responsiveness. In general, the age of onset of obesity was also not a factor in the degree of externality. Weight loss did not change responses to visual and cognitive cue salience manipulatons in measures of feeding, emotionality, time perception, and short-term recall, while responsiveness to variations in taste palatability increased following weight reduction. While external cue responsiveness does not appear to result from adiposity per se or from deprivation, responsiveness to taste stimuli may reflect these parameters. The role of external and sensory cues in the development and maintenance of obesity is discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional experience and expression in schizophrenia and depression.

Examined the emotional responses of schizophrenic, depressed, and normal Ss and whether differences in the emotional responding of these groups depended on how emotional responses were elicited or measured. 23 blunted and 20 nonblunted schizophrenics, 17 unipolar depressed Ss, and 20 normal Ss were exposed to a series of affect-eliciting stimuli. The stimuli varied in valence (positive vs negative) and in level of cognitive demand. Ss reported their subjective experiences, and their facial expressions were videotaped. Blunted schizophrenics were the least facially expressive, although their reported subjective experiences did not differ from those of the other groups. The nonblunted schizophrenics were more responsive than the depressed Ss to the positive stimuli, although the 2 groups did not differ in their clinical ratings of affective flatness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of self-body-esteem in overweight youngsters.

97 children in 3 age groups (8.5–11.4, 11.5–14.4, and 14.5–17.4 yrs) were used to examine the development of self-body-esteem in overweight and normal-weight Ss. There were 47 females and 50 males; 48 Ss were overweight (112% or more of their ideal body weight). Ss were administered the Self-Esteem Inventory and a measure of body-esteem. Results show that at the youngest age, overweight and normal-weight Ss had similar self-esteem. At the middle-age, self-esteem was adversely affected in overweight males, but not in overweight females. At the oldest age, self-esteem was affected in overweight females but not in overweight males. At all ages, overweight Ss had lower body-esteem than did normal-weight Ss. Although self-esteem and body-esteem were correlated, relative weight was the best predictor of body-esteem. Independent of relative weight, Ss in the 2 older groups who had low self-esteem tended to have low body-esteem. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responsiveness to affective stimuli by obese and normal individuals.

Conducted 2 experiments to test the hypothesis that the obese are more responsive than normals to both positive and negative affective stimuli. In Exp I, obese and normal high school males (N = 46) gave ratings of positively and negatively arousing slides. In Exp II, the behavior of obese and normal children 1 mo-6 yrs old (N = 79) in a positively and a negatively arousing situation was observed. Obese Ss in both experiments responded more strongly than normals to the positive affective stimuli; obese Ss in Exp I responded more strongly than normals to the negative emotional stimulus. A possible reason for the failure of obese Ss in Exp II to respond more strongly than normals to the negative affective stimulus is discussed. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of facial expressions of emotion during binocular rivalry.

Binocular rivalry is the perceptual alternation between two incompatible stimuli presented simultaneously but to each eye separately. The observer's perception switches back and forth between the two stimuli that are competing for perceptual dominance. In two studies, pictures of emotional faces (disgust and happy) were pitted against each other or against pictures of faces with neutral expressions. Study 1 demonstrated that (a) emotional facial expressions predominate over neutral expressions, and (b) positive facial expressions predominate over negative facial expression (i.e., positivity bias). Study 2 examined individual differences in emotional predominance and positivity bias during binocular rivalry. Although the positivity bias was not affected by the levels of depressive symptoms, results demonstrated that emotional predominance diminished as the level of depressive symptoms increased. These results indicate that individuals who report more depressive symptoms compared to their less depressed counterparts tend to assign more meaning to neutral faces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of external cues on the thinking behavior of obese and normal subjects.

Hypothesized that the thinking behavior of obese Ss is externally controlled to a greater extent than that of normals. 36 normal weight and 36 obese male undergraduates served as Ss. It was predicted that obese Ss would spend more time than normals thinking about an assigned topic of thought if there were topic-relevant external cues available, and less time than normals if there were no topic-relevant external cues available. With thinking measured directly by self-report and indirectly by distraction from pain, these predictions were confirmed. It is concluded that differences in eating behavior between obese and normal Ss can be explained by differences in thinking behavior. Therapeutic implications of the cognitive style of the obese are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Restraint theory and its applicability to overweight individuals.

Tested several aspects of restraint theory using 89 female college students in a 2–3 between-Ss design. The ice cream consumption of overweight and normal-weight restrained and unrestrained eaters was measured during a taste test. Prior to the taste test, half the Ss received a milkshake preload. Results reveal significant Weight by Restraint, Weight by Preload, and Restraint by Preload interactions. Unrestrained eaters consumed less after the preload than without it, whereas restrained eaters ate more. Overweight Ss ate less after the preload than without it, whereas normal-weight Ss ate slightly more. Among overweight Ss, unrestrained eaters ate more than restrained eaters, whereas among normal-weight Ss, the reverse was true. The significant Weight by Preload and Restraint by Preload interactions possibly reflect psychometric problems in the restraint scale. Numerically equivalent scores may indicate less "true" restraint in overweight than in normal-weight Ss. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proprioception in schizophrenics and normals: Effects of stimulus intensity and interstimulus interval.

Obtained weight discrimination thresholds for 18 schizophrenics and 18 normals at various levels of weight intensity and presentation interval. The discrimination performances of all Ss were evaluated in terms of Weber ratio scores and the number of correct discriminations for each test condition. Differential effects attributable to diagnosis were found, with schizophrenics performing with less accuracy than normals at the lowest level of weight intensity. The different presentation intervals did not yield significant differences in discrimination. It is concluded that there is a proprioceptive deficit in schizophrenia which is due to inadequate sensory input and not to insufficient proprioceptive memory. Signal-detection theory is acknowledged as providing a possible alternative explanation of the results. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of external and covert food stimuli on insulin secretion in obese and normal persons.

Exposure to food produces an increase in insulin secretion that is more pronounced in obese than in normal persons. The present study tried to replicate this finding as well as to determine whether insulin secretion could be influenced by thoughts about food and eating. Six normal-weight and 4 obese (120–250% of ideal weight) Ss (mean ages 31 and 30.8 yrs, respectively) were presented in counterbalanced order with an external food stimulus or instructions to think about food and eating. Levels of insulin, salivary output, and hunger ratings were obtained before and after stimulus presentation. All Ss displayed higher insulin levels following stimulus presentation, with the values for the obese higher than for normals. Although the insulin secretion of the obese was greater in response to the covert as opposed to the external stimulus, the difference was not significant. Salivary output following stimulus presentation was higher for the obese than normals, with hunger ratings increasing in both groups. Data support an expanded role of insulin as an appetite-inducing mechanism. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of the experimenter on pupillary dilation to sexually provocative pictures.

2 Es with markedly different personality characteristics and styles of interacting with Ss tested male undergraduates (Ns = 22 and 25) for pupillary dilation to pictures of nude and partially clothed women, as well as to pictures of men, and to control pictures. The Ss of E1, an aloof and businesslike graduate student, dilated equally to male and female pictures. The Ss of E2, a casual outgoing undergraduate, dilated more to pictures of women than to those of men. These results indicate that pupillary dilation to sexually provocative stimuli reflect S's relationship to the E and his view concerning permissible emotional responses to the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and memory for pictures of faces.

The hypothesis that pictorial aspects of face-recognition memory are lower in old age was tested in 2 studies. Young and elderly Ss viewed 48 face pictures, and then took a test containing identical copies of input faces, pictorially changed versions of input faces, and entirely new faces. Replicating prior findings, Experiment 1 showed that false recognitions of entirely new faces were higher among elderly Ss. However, there were no age differences in distinguishing identical from pictorially changed faces. Using a modified test, Experiment 2 showed that although the elderly Ss had good knowledge that changed faces were changed, they had relatively poor knowledge of how they were changed. There appears to be age differences in analytical matching of pictorial information against information in memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal social influence of obese and normal-weight persons.

Measured the influence of obese and normal-weight models on the compliance of 64 obese and 64 normal-weight male undergraduates. Under the guise of an investigation of the effects of distraction on studying efficiency, Ss observed modeling or no modeling of compliance to a request for volunteers. Analysis of results suggested that the obese may not be generally more susceptible to social influence than normals, as might be predicted from S. Schachter's (1971) externality hypothesis. Both obese and normal Ss demonstrated a reciprocal influence on one another with greater imitation of different weight models than similar weight models. This finding is interpreted as resulting from attitudes toward obesity as a form of social deviance. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in the understanding of pictorial representations of sound.

Two studies examined understanding of pictures representing sound production among 112 3–6 yr olds. In Study 1, Ss labeled pictures as either showing sound or not; in Study 2, Ss chose which of a pair of pictures showed sound. Pictures varied as to the extent the representations were designed to be analogous to actual sound production in the environment. Different types of pictorial representation of sound were not equivalent in their ability to evoke a correct interpretation. Ss across the age range tested all understood the pictures that depicted postures associated with sound production in the environment. Pictures that relied on conventional or arbitrary representations of sound, such as lines radiating from a mouth, were less well understood by the younger Ss. Over the preschool years, however, there was substantial improvement in Ss' skill at interpreting these pictures. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Unconscious anxiety": Phobic responses to masked stimuli.

Tested the hypothesis that an unconscious preattentive perceptual analysis of phobic stimuli is sufficient to elicit human fear responses. Selected snake- and spider-fearful Ss, as well as normal controls, were exposed to pictures of snakes, spiders, flowers, and mushrooms. A separate forced-choice recognition experiment established backward masking conditions that effectively precluded recognition of experimental stimuli both for fearful and nonfearful Ss. In the main experiment, these conditions were used to compare skin conductance responses (SCRs) to masked and nonmasked phobic and control pictures among fearful and nonfearful Ss. In support of the hypotheses, snake- and spider-fearful Ss showed elevated SCRs to snake and spider pictures as compared with neutral pictures and with responses of the nonfearful Ss under both masking conditions. Ratings of valence, arousal, and dominance indicated that the fearful Ss felt more negative, more aroused, and less dominant in relation to both masked and nonmasked phobic stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body weight and bulimia as discriminators of psychological characteristics among anorexic, bulimic, and obese women.

Bulimic women from underweight (n?=?20), normal-weight (n?=?31), and overweight (n?=?22) categories were compared with restrictor anorexics (n?=?20), normal controls (n?=?31), and obese Ss (n?=?22). Ss' mean age was 21.13 yrs. Each S was administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1965), and the Semantic Differential scale. Bulimic women in all 3 weight categories exhibited greater psychopathology, more external locus of control, lower self-esteem, and lower sense of personal effectiveness than nonbulimic women at similar weight levels. The highest psychopathology, lowest self-esteem, and most external locus of control were found among the underweight bulimic women. Significant differences between bulimic women of different weight levels suggest the need for some modification of treatment approaches depending on the bulimic woman's weight level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)