Attentional Biases for Negative Interpersonal Stimuli in Clinical Depression.

An information-processing paradigm was used to examine attentional biases in clinically depressed participants, participants with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and nonpsychiatric control participants for faces expressing sadness, anger, and happiness. Faces were presented for 1,000 ms, at which point depressed participants had directed their attention selectively to depression-relevant (i.e., sad) faces. This attentional bias was specific to the emotion of sadness; the depressed participants did not exhibit attentional biases to the angry or happy faces. This bias was also specific to depression; at 1,000 ms, participants with GAD were not attending selectively to sad, happy, or anxiety-relevant (i.e., angry) faces. Implications of these findings for both the cognitive and the interpersonal functioning of depressed individuals are discussed and directions for future research are advanced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of Anger and Aggression in Male Offenders With Developmental Disabilities.

Systematic assessment of anger among people with developmental disabilities has been lacking, especially for hospital inpatients. Reliability and validity of anger self-report psychometric scales were investigated with 129 male patients, mostly forensic. Anger prevalence and its relationship to demographic, cognitive, and personality variables and to hospital assaultive behavior were examined. High internal and intermeasure consistency, and some concurrent validity with staff ratings, were found. Retrospective validity regarding physically assaultive behavior in the hospital was obtained. Hierarchical regressions revealed that patient-reported anger was a significant predictor of assaults postadmission, controlling for age, length of stay, IQ, violence offense history, and personality variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"What is in a word? No versus Yes differentially engage the lateral orbitofrontal cortex": Correction.

Reports an error in "What is in a word? No versus Yes differentially engage the lateral orbitofrontal cortex" by Nelly Alia-Klein, Rita Z. Goldstein, Dardo Tomasi, Lei Zhang, Stephanie Fagin-Jones, Frank Telang, Gene-Jack Wang, Joanna S. Fowler and Nora D. Volkow (Emotion, 2007[Aug], Vol 7[3], 649-659). The supplemental materials link should appear as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.3.649.supp. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-11660-018.) The words "No" and "Yes" are involved in conditioning to prohibit or encourage behavior, respectively. The authors, therefore, hypothesized that these words would be attributed to endogenous valence, activating neuronal circuits involved with valence and emotional control. Functional MRI (fMRI) at 4 Tesla was used to record regional brain activity while participants were exposed to emphatic vocalizations of the words. Results showed that No and Yes were associated with opposite brain-behavior responses; while No was negatively valenced, produced slower response times, and evoked a negative signal in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), Yes was positively valenced, produced faster response times, and evoked a positive signal in a contiguous region of the OFC. Attribution of negative valence to No and trait anger control were associated with increased responsivity of the OFC to No. Inasmuch as sensitivity to the prohibitive command No develops during childhood through interaction with primary caregivers as the first social objects, our findings may implicate the lateral OFC in the neurobiology of emotion regulation and subsequent social development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A place for Bobo in play therapy.

Some therapists hold that the Bobo and other aggressive toys should be excluded from the playroom as they elicit acting-out behavior that is transferred to the world outside the playroom. However, many therapists view the inclusion of these items as imperative elements that facilitate positive growth and maturation in the child. Interviews with authorities in the field of play therapy support the position that the inclusion of the Bobo is not only useful, but a therapeutic necessity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Appraisal as a Pervasive Determinant of Anger.

L. Berkowitz and E. Harmon-Jones (see record 2004-15096-001) challenge appraisal theories of emotion by describing 2 sets of conditions (physical discomfort and anger-related muscle actions) in which anger appears to be elicited in the absence of theoretically predicted appraisals. In response, the authors discuss the ability of the specific appraisal model they have developed (e.g., C. A. Smith & L. D. Kirby, 2000, 2001; C. A. Smith & R. S. Lazarus, 1990) to account for such instances of anger. First, a number of issues are clarified relevant to the authors' model, including the nature of both the cognitive operations underlying appraisal and the specific appraisals hypothesized to evoke anger. The authors then describe how their model can account for the instances of anger described by L. Berkowitz and E. Harmon-Jones and how both accounts might be tested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The confounded nature of angry men and happy women.

Findings of 7 studies suggested that decisions about the sex of a face and the emotional expressions of anger or happiness are not independent: Participants were faster and more accurate at detecting angry expressions on male faces and at detecting happy expressions on female faces. These findings were robust across different stimulus sets and judgment tasks and indicated bottom-up perceptual processes rather than just top-down conceptually driven ones. Results from additional studies in which neutrally expressive faces were used suggested that the connections between masculine features and angry expressions and between feminine features and happy expressions might be a property of the sexual dimorphism of the face itself and not merely a result of gender stereotypes biasing the perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an Understanding of the Determinants of Anger.

Research bearing on several popular conceptions of the major determinants of anger arousal indicates that the particular appraisals often identified as causes of anger frequently only serve to affect the intensity of the anger that is generated. Research into effects of physical pain or other physically unpleasant conditions or involving social stresses suggests that decidedly aversive conditions are a major spur to anger. Experiments are also reviewed showing that anger-related muscular movements can also lead to anger-related feelings, memories, cognitions, and autonomic responses. Alternative explanations for the findings are discussed. The authors urge emotion theorists to widen their methodology and analyses so that they give careful, detailed attention to the many different factors that can influence anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of the Driver’s Angry Thoughts Questionnaire (DATQ) in a Chinese sample

The relationship between driving anger and negative driving outcomes, such as dangerous driving behaviors and traffic violations, has been the topic of several studies, but few studies have explored drivers’ angry thoughts when they encounter anger-provoking situations and the potential consequences of such thoughts. The purpose of this study was to investigate drivers’ angry thoughts behind the wheel and their relationship with dangerous driving behaviors. A total of 303 Chinese drivers completed the Chinese version of the Driver’s Angry Thoughts Questionnaire (DATQ), the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI) and the Driving Anger Scale (DAS). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the Chinese DATQ yielded a five-factor solution with 20 items that showed the best goodness of fit for the data. The brief DATQ also showed good reliability and validity. Three forms of aggressive thinking were positively correlated with dangerous driving behaviors, and coping self-instruction was negatively correlated with dangerous driving behaviors and traffic violations. More importantly, aggressive thinking mediated the effect of driving anger on dangerous driving behaviors, indicating the importance of thoughts behind the wheel. These results provide evidence supporting the development of strategies to reduce and prevent aggressive driving and accidents.     

Development and evaluation of the Air Travel Stress Scale.

Despite anecdotal evidence suggesting that air travel is personally demanding, little research has examined air travel stress. To address these issues, the author developed and evaluated the 1st known measure of air travel stress--the Air Travel Stress Scale--in 3 studies. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated 3 components: (a) anxious reactions to adverse air travel events, (b) angry reactions to other passengers as well as an antecedent of air travel stress, and (c) the lack of trust that the airlines/airports will ensure one's comfort and safety. Each component had good internal reliability and test-retest reliability over a 6- to 7-week interval. Each component showed evidence for discriminant and convergent validity. Implications for research into understanding and intervening on air travel stress are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions and Anger in Early Marriage: Wives Are Event-Dependent and Husbands Are Schematic.

Two types of attribution believed to predict anger in married couples were investigated. Wives' anger was expected to be predicted by event-dependent attributions, appraisals based on the unique aspects of one's current situation. Husbands' anger was expected to be predicted by schematic attributions, appraisals based on one's global sentiment in the relationship. Seventy-seven recently married couples attended 2 assessment sessions, and each couple identified 4 incidents pertaining to unresolved relationship issues. Participants rated their event-dependent attributions and their anger prior to a discussion for each incident. They also completed questionnaires regarding schematic attributions and relationship sentiment. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to distinguish between the 2 types of attribution. Strong support was found for the expected gender differences. Results suggest that wives are particularly attentive to the details of interpersonal interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)