Self-verbalization and emotional arousal.

Investigated certain assumptions derived from A. Ellis' theory relating implicit verbalization to emotional arousal. Emotional responses (GSR and respiration changes) of 18 undergraduates instructed to silently read sequences of affectively loaded sentences were compared with those of 9 Ss who read neutral sentences. The relationship between relevance to S of the content of the sentences and level of emotional response was investigated, as was the effect of sentence type (observation, inference, or evaluative conclusion) on level of emotional response. Results were that Ss showed a significantly greater response to affectively loaded than to neutral sentences on 2 out of 3 responses measures. Neither relevance nor sentence type were found to have any significant effect. Results were interpreted as offering only partial support for the theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal in men.

The effect of emotional arousal on subsequent sexual arousal was assessed in 14 18–34 yr old men. Ss initially viewed either 1 of 2 emotionally arousing videotapes (depression-and-anger or anxiety-and-anger producing) or a neutral videotape (a travelogue), each of which was followed by an erotic videotape. Sexual arousal was measured physiologically with a penile strain gauge. Although there were no differences in the level of sexual arousal during the antecedent emotionally arousing or neutral videotapes, sexual arousal during the subsequent erotic videotapes was differentially affected by them. Sexual arousal following the anxiety-and-anger videotape was greater than that following either the depression-and-anger videotape or the travelogue. Prior exposure to the travelogue resulted in greater sexual arousal than did the videotape producing depression and anger. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between androgyny and subjective indicators of emotional well-being.

176 college students were used to evaluate (a) the construct validity of the revised Short Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) with respect to measures of psychological well-being; (b) the validity of the concept of androgyny conceived as an intrinsically interactive concept, endowed as such with "surplus" meaning; and (c) the validity of the traditional assumption that it is the masculine male and feminine female who typify subjective well-being. Three hypotheses were tested concurrently by employing a hierarchical multiple regression analysis with interaction terms. Results across measures of well-being, stress reaction, and alienation taken from the Differential Personality Questionnaire, provide only partial support for S. L. Bem's (1974, 1979) scales as markers of subjective well-being, but no support for androgyny as a concept in its own right with predictive properties distinct from femininity and masculinity. The results of a factor analysis indicate that the Masculinity and Femininity scales of the BSRI occupy quite different locations in the space definied by certain higher-order personality dimensions. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Irrational beliefs and the arousal of emotional distress.

Evaluated the extent to which endorsement of irrational beliefs as measured by the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT) was associated with subjective, physiological, and cognitive indices (e.g., Trait scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire scores) of emotional distress in response to a stressful event delivered in a controlled experiment. 62 undergraduates served as Ss. Beliefs relevant to the stressor were more associated with negative cognitions than was either a belief less relevant to the stressor or general irrational thinking. However, a measure of the fear of negative evaluation was more frequently associated with measures of distress than were irrational beliefs. The equivalent and perhaps greater predictive utility of a more parsimonious, less inferential individual difference variable was interpreted as challenging the construct validity of the IBT and perhaps questioning the necessity of postulating the existence of irrational beliefs in accounts of the arousal of emotional distress. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of irrational beliefs on emotional arousal.

Studied the relationship between the tendency to hold certain irrational beliefs and the likelihood of becoming emotionally aroused in various types of situations. In a correlational study (Exp I), 77 female undergraduates completed a battery of tests including Jones's Irrational Beliefs Test, the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, and Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test. Results show a positive relationship between irrational beliefs and the measures of interpersonal, examination, and public speaking anxiety. Exp II, with 18 female undergraduates who completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist 3 times, focused on 1 specific irrational belief-the overriding importance of social approval-and investigated the likelihood of emotional arousal occurring among individuals who ascribed to this belief. When asked to imagine themselves in social situations that might be interpreted as involving rejection by others, Ss holding this belief reported feeling significantly more anxious and angry than those who did not. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of emotional arousal on the use of coercion between black and union employees.

Predicted that situations capable of inducing negative affective states among supervisors would promote the use of coercion by supervisors. 57 white and 9 black 1st-line supervisors in a steel plant were asked to describe an incident in which they had used delegated powers to correct subordinate behavior. Analysis of these incidents revealed that supervisors used more coercion with black than white subordinates, and with union than nonunion subordinates. It is assumed that in both instances, heightened emotional responses caused by prejudice in the case of black subordinates and resistance to orders in the case of union members induced the use of coercion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The differential association between change request qualities and resistance, problem resolution, and relationship satisfaction.

Although research supports the negative sequelae of the “demand/withdrawal” pattern, research is scant on the impact of “nondemanding” change requests (e.g., specific, increasing, “we” requests). We hypothesize that such change requests will be associated with less partner withdrawal/resistance, better problem resolution, and greater relationship satisfaction. Seventy-two conversations between couples who were recruited through random digit dialing were coded for change request qualities. Results indicate that wife specific and “we” requests led to less husband resistance, and husband increasing and “we” requests led to less wife resistance. Greater percentages of wife and husband specific and “we” requests were related to better problem resolution in the conversation, and greater percentages of wife specific and “we” requests were related to greater wife satisfaction. Research and clinical implications are detailed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between strength of feeling, type of therapy, and occurrence of in-session good moments.

In a study of the relationships between strength of feeling (SOF), type of therapy, and occurrence of in-session good moments (GMs), 12 judges assessed the occurrence of categories of GMs and the level of SOF in recorded sessions representing client-centered, rational-emotive, and experiential psychotherapies. Analyses were conducted on judges' (clinical psychologists, doctoral students in clinical psychology, and research associates) ratings of audiotapes. Overall, both type of therapy and level of SOF had separate and differing effects and occurrences of categories of GMs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The functional relation between depression and problematic interpersonal behavior.

75 depressed patients (mean age 33.9 yrs) were compared with 69 nondepressed high MMPI controls (mean age 25.7 yrs) and 80 normal controls (mean age 29.9 yrs) on self-reported frequency and comfort of various interpersonal events, verbal and nonverbal behavior in group and dyadic interactions, and interpersonal style. Identified as uniquely associated with depression were (a) infrequent engagement, discomfort, and low levels of obtained reinforcement in social activity and in giving and receiving positive responses; (b) discomfort in being assertive and low levels of reinforcement obtained from such behavior; (c) discomfort experienced in conjunction with negative cognitions concerning personal interactions; and (d) self-, peer-, and observer-rated deficiencies in interpersonal style group interactions. On verbal and nonverbal behavior measures, no deficits uniquely associated with depression were identified. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The temporal relationship between emotional distress and cigarette smoking during adolescence and young adulthood.

Empirical evidence regarding the causal nature of the relationship between emotional distress and tobacco use in male and female adolescents provides support for both the distress-to-use and the use-to-distress hypotheses. Using a cross-lagged model with 3 waves of data from 2,961 adolescents followed into young adulthood, the authors tested the hypothesis that this relationship changes over time. As hypothesized, emotional distress in Grade 10 was associated with increased smoking in Grade 12 for both boys and girls. Smoking in Grade 12 was in turn associated with increased emotional distress in young adulthood. The addition of 3 third factors (rebelliousness, deviance, and family problems) to the model did not alter the results. Results suggest that the relationship between tobacco use and emotional distress is a dynamic one in which distress initially leads to use but then becomes exacerbated by it over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of emotional valence and arousal upon memory trade-offs with aging.

Attention can be attracted faster by emotional relative to neutral information, and memory also can be strengthened for that emotional information. However, within visual scenes, often there is an advantage in memory for central emotional portions at the expense of memory for peripheral background information, called an emotion-induced memory trade-off. The authors examined how aging impacts the trade-off by manipulating valence (positive, negative) and arousal (low, high) of a central emotional item within a neutral background scene and testing memory for item and background components separately. They also assessed memory after 2 study–test delay intervals, to investigate age differences in the trade-off over time. Results revealed similar patterns of performance between groups after a short study–test delay, with both age groups showing robust memory trade-offs. After a longer delay, young and older adults showed enhanced memory for emotional items but at a cost to memory for background information only for young adults in negative arousing scenes. These results emphasize that attention and consolidation stage processes interact to shape how emotional memory is constructed in young and older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal levels of emotional arousal in experiential therapy of depression.

Objective: To determine the relationship between length of time spent expressing highly aroused emotion and therapeutic outcome. Method: Thirty-eight clients (14 male, 24 female) between the ages of 22 and 60 years (M = 39.5, SD = 9.71), treated for depression with experiential therapy, were rated on working alliance and expressed emotional arousal (with the Client Expressed Emotional Arousal Scale) in their three highest arousal sessions. Among the clients, 34 were of European ethnicity, 2 were of Asian ethnicity, 1 was of Latino ethnicity, and 1 was of Caribbean–Canadian ethnicity. Clients were administered the short form of the Working Alliance Inventory following their 4th therapy session and also completed, pre- and posttherapy, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Global Severity Index (GSI) of the Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL-90-R), the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: Hierarchical regressions showed that a nonlinear pattern of expressed emotional arousal predicted outcome significantly above the alliance. This combination predicted 30% of outcome variance on the BDI and 24% on the GSI (p     

Social and physical anhedonia and valence and arousal aspects of emotional experience.

Two studies examined whether self-reported anhedonia is associated with 2 facets of emotional experience, valence and arousal. In Study 1, in multiple assessments of emotional experience (e.g., naturalistic and lab contexts and social and nonsocial situations), people with elevated social anhedonia (n = 40) reported less intensity of positive affect than both controls (n = 30) and people with elevated perceptual aberration-magical ideation (n = 29). Social anhedonia was also associated with providing less emotional content when describing what it is like to experience positive situations. In contrast, both social anhedonia and perceptual aberration-magical ideation were associated with increased frequency of negative affect for their daily experiences. Moreover, social anhedonia was not associated with a decrease specifically in high-arousal emotions. In Study 2 (n = 339), social and physical anhedonia (but not perceptual aberration-magical ideation) were again associated with decreased self-reported positive affect to lab stimuli. In these studies, results were not statistically accounted for by personality, current mood, or current distress. Overall, results suggest anhedonia may be associated with a general decrease in self-reported positive affect intensity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of emotional exhaustion to work attitudes, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors.

The authors investigated the negative consequences of emotional exhaustion for individual employees and their employers. On the basis of social exchange theory, the authors proposed that emotional exhaustion would predict job performance, 2 classes of organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover intentions. In addition, the authors posited that the relationship between emotional exhaustion and effective work behaviors would be mediated by organizational commitment. With only a few exceptions, the results of 2 field studies supported the authors' expectations. In addition, emotional exhaustion exerted an independent effect on these criterion variables beyond the impact of age, gender, and ethnicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The repression-sensitization variable and self-reported emotional arousal: effects of stress and instructional set

Investigated the relationship of status on D. Byrne's repression-sensitization dimension to self-reported arousal under stress and nonstress conditions when Ss' perceptions of the appropriateness of appearing emotionally aroused were varied. 56 female and 70 male undergraduates were divided into sensitizer, repressor, and a middle group on the basis of Repression-Sensitization (R-S) scores. Ss viewed either an anxiety-producing industrial accident film or a neutral film. Experimental instructions emphasized either the appropriateness, inappropriateness, or neutrality of emotional expressivity within the experimental context. The 3 * 3 * 2 factorial design enabled the investigation of predictions based on ego-defensive interpretations of repression-sensitization and H. M. Lefcourt's (1966) "attitude toward emotionality" view. Results fail to provide substantive support for either interpretation, even after internal analyses involving social desirability and S sex were performed. The relational fertility of the repression-sensitization construct as defined by status on the R-S Scale is questioned, at least with reference to dependent measures of an objective self-report nature. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Allocation of spatial attention to emotional stimuli depends upon arousal and not valence.

Attentional allocation to emotional stimuli is often proposed to be driven by valence and in particular by negativity. However, many negative stimuli are also arousing leaving the question whether valence or arousal accounts for this effect. The authors examined whether the valence or the arousal level of emotional stimuli influences the allocation of spatial attention using a modified spatial cueing task. Participants responded to targets that were preceded by cues consisting of emotional pictures varying on arousal and valence. Response latencies showed that disengagement of spatial attention was slower for stimuli high in arousal than for stimuli low in arousal. The effect was independent of the valence of the pictures and not gender-specific. The findings support the idea that arousal affects the allocation of attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between attachment, psychopathology, and childhood disability.

Analyzes the literature on 3 aspects of attachment—neurobiological influences, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors, and societal factors—in the psychological development of chronically disabled children. Evidence suggests that neurochemical substances such as cortisol and brain biogenic amine systems reciprocally interact with psychological and psychosocial factors to influence attachment. Interpersonal and intrapersonal factors such as temperamental characteristics of children, severity and type of disability, and family influences interact in the process of attachment. Social perceptions and prejudices about the disabled individual increase parental stress, and diminish parental involvement and resources, which are necessary for attachment. These 3 processes are powerful and interrelated forces in child development, with potential to modify social competence, neurological development, and psychosocial adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of emotional arousal on the retention of film content: A failure to replicate.

This study is an attempt to replicate previous findings that recall after one week is a function of emotional state at the time of exposure. The hypothesis is if children are frustrated just before they see a movie, so that aggressive impulses are aroused, they remember more of the aggressive content of the film than do children who are not frustrated. The Ss were 190 children in 8 fifth and sixth grade school-rooms. By means of experimental techniques half of the Ss were frustrated and half non-frustrated, then a movie was shown. 1 week later the Ss were given a 66-item multiple-choice recognition test in the content of the movie they had seen. There were no significant differences between the frustrated and nonfrustrated groups in their recall of any of the different categories of film content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomic arousal feedback and emotional experience: Evidence from the spinal cord injured.

We interviewed spinal-cord-injured, other handicapped, and nonhandicapped subjects to investigate the relation between the perception of autonomic arousal and experienced emotion. The three groups differed significantly on only one measure of affect intensity, with the spinal-cord-injured subjects more often reporting stronger fear in their lives now compared with the past. In addition, spinal-cord-injured subjects often described intense emotional experiences. Spinal-cord-injured subjects who differed in their level of autonomic feedback differed in intensity on several measures. Subjects with greater autonomic feedback tended to report more intense levels of negative emotions. The findings indicate that the perception of autonomic arousal may not be necessary for emotional experience. There were weak trends in our data, however, suggesting that the perception of arousal may enhance the experience of emotional intensity. The subjective well-being reports of the handicapped groups were comparable to those of nonhandicapped subjects, indicating successful coping with their disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)