Defining dimensions of distinctiveness: Group variability makes a difference to differentiation.

We tested the prediction, derived from an integration of social identity and self-categorization principles, that the relation between in-group distinctiveness and positive differentiation is curvilinear. Moderate distinctiveness is argued to provide the critical combination of intergroup difference (self-categorization theory) and intergroup similarity ( social identity theory ) to elicit intergroup differentiation. Intergroup distance (differences in group central tendencies) and group variability were manipulated orthogonally, resulting in different levels of intergroup distinctiveness (low, intermediate, and high). In line with predictions, in-group bias and positive differentiation were greatest, for both minimal and natural groups, when the combination of group variability and intergroup distance produced intermediate levels of group distinctiveness. The potential of this integrative model to account for disparate findings is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the roles played by meaning of feedback and attention to feedback in the "Valins effect."

Assessed meaning and attention in mediating the cognitive effects of false autonomic feedback, first reported by S. Valins (1966). In the context of a study of the physiological correlates of selective attention, 43 undergraduates were instructed either to attend to or ignore pulsed sounds that were described either as veridical heart rate feedback or as electronic "bleeps." These auditory stimuli were presented in parallel with slides illustrating skin diseases. Consistent with previous findings, slides associated with acceleration of the pulsed sounds were subsequently rated as significantly more unpleasant than those associated with no change in the speed of these sounds. However, this effect was not contingent on the apparent meaning of these sounds (heart rate vs bleeps) but was contingent on the degree of attention paid to the sounds. The "Valins effect" was obtained only when Ss attended to the sounds. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial dynamics as indicators of trustworthiness and cooperative behavior.

Detecting cooperative partners in situations that have financial stakes is crucial to successful social exchange. The authors tested whether humans are sensitive to subtle facial dynamics of counterparts when deciding whether to trust and cooperate. Participants played a 2-person trust game before which the facial dynamics of the other player were manipulated using brief (     

Impression management versus intrapsychic explanations in social psychology: A useful dichotomy?

Impression management refers to the behavioral strategies that people use to create desired social images or identities. The current status of impression management explanations in social psychology is discussed, and it is argued that the common practice of referring to impression management theory is misleading. Many potential theories of impression management exist, each based on distinct assumptions. Methodological strategies that investigators have used to distinguish between impression management and intrapsychic explanations for a variety of research findings are reviewed. Although empirical confrontations between impression management and intrapsychic explanations have stimulated innovative research, there are serious limits on the discriminability of the 2 classes of explanation. Possible conceptual frameworks are discussed for integrating the psychological processes described by both impression management and intrapsychic explanations. (60 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

We feel, therefore we are: Emotion as a basis for self-categorization and social action.

Building on intergroup emotion research, we test the idea that intergroup emotion influences self-categorization. We report two studies using minimal (Study 1) and natural (Study 2) groups in which we measured participants' emotional reactions to a group-relevant event before manipulating the emotional reactions of other ingroup members and outgroup members (anger vs. happiness in Study 1; anger vs. indifference in Study 2). Results supported the hypotheses that (a) the fit between participants' own emotional reactions and the reactions of ingroup members would influence self-categorization, and (b) the specific content of emotional reactions would shape participants' willingness to engage in collective action. This willingness was greater when emotional reactions were not only shared with other group members, but were of anger (consistent with group-based action) rather than happiness or indifference (inconsistent with group-based action). Implications for the relationship between emotion and social identities are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional Reactions to the Outcomes of Decisions: The Role of Counterfactual Thought in the Experience of Regret and Disappointment

Children's phonological sensitivity is a strong predictor of the development of reading skills. Recent evidence indicates that phonological sensitivity and reading are reciprocally related. That is, phonological sensitivity facilitates the development of early reading and early reading facilitates the development of phonological sensitivity. Whereas evidence for this reciprocal relation has come from studies with school-age children, this study examined the relation between phonological sensitivity and letter knowledge in 97 middle-income 4- and 5-year-old children in a 1-year longitudinal study. Multiple regression analyses revealed that phonological sensitivity predicted growth in letter knowledge, and letter knowledge predicted growth in phonological sensitivity when controlling for children's age and oral language abilities. These results indicate that the reciprocal relation between reading and phonological sensitivity is present relatively early in the development of literacy skills, prior to the onset of formal reading instruction.     

Communication of individual emotions by spontaneous facial expressions.

Examined whether spontaneous facial expressions provide observers with sufficient information to distinguish accurately which of 7 affective states (6 emotional and 1 neutral) is being experienced by another person. Six undergraduate senders' facial expressions were covertly videotaped as they watched emotionally loaded slides. After each slide, senders nominated the emotions term that best described their affective reaction and also rated the pleasantness and strength of that reaction. Similar nominations of emotion terms and ratings were later made by 53 undergraduate receivers who viewed the senders' videotaped facial expression. The central measure of communication accuracy was the match between senders' and receivers' emotion nominations. Overall accuracy was significantly greater than chance, although it was not impressive in absolute terms. Only happy, angry, and disgusted expressions were recognized at above-chance rates, whereas surprised expressions were recognized at rates that were significantly worse than chance. Female Ss were significantly better senders than were male Ss. Although neither sex was found to be better at receiving facial expressions, female Ss were better receivers of female senders' expressions than of male senders' expressions. Female senders' neutral and surprised expressions were more accurately recognized than were those of male senders. The only sex difference found for decoding emotions was a tendency for male Ss to be more accurate at recognizing anger. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diversity in in-group bias: Structural factors, situational features, and social functions.

Four experiments addressed the different forms and functions of in-group bias in different contexts. The authors proposed 2 functions: an identity-expressive function and an instrumental function (or promotion of positive social change). The authors manipulated status differentials, the stability of these differences, and the communication context (intra- vs. intergroup) and measured in-group bias and both functions. As predicted, identity expression via in-group bias on symbolic measures was most important for stable, high-status groups. By contrast, material in-group bias for instrumental motives was most prevalent in unstable, low-status groups but only when communicating with in-group members. This latter effect illustrates the strategic adaptation of group behavior to audience (i.e., displaying in-group bias may provoke the out-group and be counterproductive in instrumental terms). Stable, low-status groups displayed more extreme forms of in-group bias for instrumental reasons regardless of communication context (i.e., they had nothing to lose). Results are discussed in terms of a contextual-functional approach to in-group bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and Culture Differences in Emotion.

In this article, the authors report a secondary analysis on a cross-cultural dataset on gender differences in 6 emotions, collected in 37 countries all over the world. The aim was to test the universality of the gender-specific pattern found in studies with Western respondents, namely that men report more powerful emotions (e.g., anger), whereas women report more powerless emotions (e.g., sadness, fear). The authors expected the strength of these gender differences to depend on women's status and roles in their respective countries, as operationalized by the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM; United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report 2002). Overall, the gender-specific pattern of women reporting to experience and express more powerless emotions and men more powerful emotions was replicated, and only some interactions with the GEM were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)