On the Outside Looking In: Distress and Sympathy for Ethnic Victims of Violence by Out-Group Members

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 199-217
Author(s):  
Nakia S. Gordon ◽  
Samantha A. Chesney
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Group Evaluation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Victims Of Violence ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Abu Ghraib Prison

Abstract It is well documented that individuals respond with negative emotions to racial and ethnic out-groups. Yet, it is unknown whether the responses are a measure of simple emotional reactivity or if they are also influenced by emotion regulation. Given the importance of emotions in out-group evaluation (see Intergroup Emotion Theory; Smith and Mackie, 2008), we investigated emotional reactivity and regulation in response to out-group victimization. Forty-one undergraduates completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and viewed three sets of images: lynching of African-Americans, torture of Abu Ghraib prison detainees, and iaps images depicting graphic violence. Participants rated 13 emotions before and after viewing the images. A factor analysis identified four emotional response categories: Distress, Sympathy, Arousal and Avoidance. Analyses at both the individual emotion level and factor level indicated that negative emotions (e.g., anger, disgust, and guilt) were greater in response to violence against ethnic groups relative to violence depicted in the iaps images. Emotional suppression predicted blunted distress and arousal to ethnic victimization. These findings highlight that emotional responses to out-group victimization are complex and tempered by emotional suppression. Individuals’ emotion regulation may provide further insight into responses to ethnic and racial out-groups.

The two sides of disgust: A lexical and thematic content analysis of narratives of personally experienced physical and moral disgust

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Abitan ◽  
Silvia Krauth-Gruber
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Thematic Content ◽  
Cognitive Elaboration ◽  
Moral Disgust ◽  
Victims Of Violence ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Two Sides

The present study examined narratives about situations in which individuals experience physical and/or moral disgust, and the similarities and differences between them. A thematic content analysis of participants’ narratives of personal physically or morally disgusting experiences as well as a lexical analysis using the computer program ALCESTE revealed that physical disgust emerges in an instantaneous reflex-like way during situations in which the individual is directly exposed to physical disgust elicitors. Physically disgusting events are described from an actor’s perspective and induce predominantly ‘pure’ disgust in the absence of other negative emotions. Furthermore, physical disgust, which strongly involves sensory modalities such as vision, odor, touch and taste, leads to more bodily reactions (e.g. nausea, tremor) and impels avoidance behavior. Morally disgusting events relate primarily to the observation of others as the victims of violence, betrayal and injustice (observer perspective), and involve judgments and reflections about the event, suggesting more in-depth cognitive elaboration. Morally disgusting events were found also to induce other negative emotions, such as anger and sadness. Our results suggest that these two types of disgust are sufficiently distinct to anticipate that they might differentially affect individuals’ social and moral judgments.

scholarly journals Emotion regulation before and after transcranial magnetic stimulation in obsessive compulsive disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (14) ◽  
pp. 3059-3073 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. de Wit ◽  
Y. D. van der Werf ◽  
D. Mataix-Cols ◽  
J. P. Trujillo ◽  
P. van Oppen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Left Dlpfc ◽  
Before And After

Background.Impaired emotion regulation may underlie exaggerated emotional reactivity in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), yet instructed emotion regulation has never been studied in the disorder.Method.This study aimed to assess the neural correlates of emotion processing and regulation in 43 medication-free OCD patients and 38 matched healthy controls, and additionally test if these can be modulated by stimulatory (patients) and inhibitory (controls) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Participants performed an emotion regulation task during functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after a single session of randomly assigned real or sham rTMS. Effect of group and rTMS were assessed on self-reported distress ratings and brain activity in frontal-limbic regions of interest.Results.Patients had higher distress ratings than controls during emotion provocation, but similar rates of distress reduction after voluntary emotion regulation. OCD patients compared with controls showed altered amygdala responsiveness during symptom provocation and diminished left dlPFC activity and frontal-amygdala connectivity during emotion regulation. Real v. sham dlPFC stimulation differentially modulated frontal-amygdala connectivity during emotion regulation in OCD patients.Conclusions.We propose that the increased emotional reactivity in OCD may be due to a deficit in emotion regulation caused by a failure of cognitive control exerted by the dorsal frontal cortex. Modulatory rTMS over the left dlPFC may influence automatic emotion regulation capabilities by influencing frontal-limbic connectivity.

Personal sense of power, emotion and compliance in the workplace: a moderated mediation approach

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roni Laslo-Roth ◽  
Tomer Schmidt-Barad
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Moderated Mediation ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
Emotions In The Workplace ◽  
Sense Of Power

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between personal sense of power (PSP) and compliance as a function of the interaction between negative emotion intensity and emotion regulation tactics. Design/methodology/approach First, hypotheses linking PSP to different emotional reactions and to different levels of compliance with two types of conflict management styles were formulated. Subsequently, data were collected in three waves with a five-week interval between them to test the hypotheses. Findings Results based on principle component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that workers with high PSP reported lower internalized negative emotions (negative emotions directed to the self) in the workplace and were less inclined to comply with harsh tactics, in comparison to workers with low PSP. The importance of emotional components (suppression and negative emotions in the workplace) was underscored by the moderated mediation model: internalized negative emotions mediated the association between PSP and compliance with harsh tactics as a function of level of suppression such that the link between negative affect and compliance was negative only under high suppression, but not under low suppression. Research limitations/implications The findings point to the deleterious influence of high emotional suppression of negative emotions on study behaviors, especially for employees with a low sense of power. Because the data were collected from a single source, which could raise concerns about common method variance and social desirability bias, future study should examine other-reports. Practical implications Recruitment and training of employees and managers should aim to create an open and safe organizational environment that encourages emotional expression and lessens emotional suppression. Social implications The findings can help develop empowering interventional programs to coach employees to use suppression in an adaptive manner. Originality/value The current study sheds new light on the relationships between PSP and compliance from the emotion regulation perspective.

scholarly journals Decreased emotional reactivity after 3-month socio-affective but not attention- or meta-cognitive-based mental training: A randomized, controlled fMRI study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Favre ◽  
Philipp Kanske ◽  
Haakon Engen ◽  
Tania Singer
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Mental Practice ◽  
Mental Training ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Emotion Reactivity ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Before And After

Meditation-based mental training interventions show great benefits for physical and mental health. However, it remains unclear how different types of mental practice differentially affect emotion processing at both the neuronal and the behavioural level. In the context of the ReSource project, 332 participants underwent an fMRI scan while performing an emotion reactivity task before and after three 3-month training modules cultivating 1) attention and interoceptive awareness (Presence); 2) socio-affective skills, such as compassion (Affect); 3) socio-cognitive skills, such as theory of mind (Perspective). Only the Affect module led to a significant reduction of experienced negative affect when processing images depicting human suffering. This decrease in emotion reactivity was associated with increased activation in cognitive control and emotion-regulation regions such as lateral parietal and prefrontal brain regions. We conclude that socio-affective, but not attention- or meta-cognitive based mental training is specifically efficient to improve emotion regulation capacities when facing adversity.

scholarly journals AN EMOTION REGULATION THERAPY FOR LATER-LIFE PAIN: EVIDENCE OF EARLY TREATMENT EFFECTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S622-S622
Author(s):  
Emily Petti ◽  
Dimitris Kiosses ◽  
Lisa Ravdin ◽  
Charles Henderson ◽  
Lauren Meador ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Treatment Time ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Cognitively Impaired ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cognitively Intact

Abstract Chronic pain (CP) is a common, morbid, and costly disorder in older adults. Guidelines encourage clinicians to employ non-pharmacologic therapies for its management, but current psychological interventions (e.g., CBT for pain) have modest treatment benefits and their effects are largely unknown in older cognitively impaired adults. We developed PATH-Pain, an emotion regulation therapy focused on reducing negative emotions and augmenting positive emotions. PATH-Pain is appropriate for use by older adults with CP, negative emotions, and a wide range of cognitive functioning. Treatment consists of 8 weekly individual sessions followed by 4 monthly booster sessions. One hundred older adults (ages 60+) with CP (≥ 3 months) and at least mild-to-moderate levels of negative emotions (per the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) were randomized to receive PATH-Pain versus Usual Care (UC). Cognitive screening revealed that 44 participants were cognitively intact (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score ≥26), while 56 evidenced mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment (MoCA=16-25). Participants completed follow-ups at 5 (n=89) and 10 weeks (n=84), while 24-week assessments are ongoing. Examination of the treatment × time interaction in a repeated-measures mixed model indicate the presence of treatment effects. PATH-Pain (vs. UC) participants experienced significant reductions in pain intensity (p<0.044) and pain-related disability (p<0.003). Reductions in pain-related disability score were more pronounced among cognitively impaired individuals. The PATH-Pain group also demonstrated significant reductions in emotional suppression (p<0.019) and depression (p<0.009) scores. These results suggest that PATH-Pain is an effective treatment for the management of pain in cognitively intact and cognitively impaired older adults.

scholarly journals Decreased emotional reactivity after 3-month socio-affective but not attention- or meta-cognitive-based mental training: A randomized, controlled fMRI study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Favre ◽  
Philipp Kanske ◽  
Haakon Engen ◽  
Tania Singer
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Mental Practice ◽  
Mental Training ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Emotion Reactivity ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Before And After

Meditation-based mental training interventions show great benefits for physical and mental health. However, it remains unclear how different types of mental practice differentially affect emotion processing at both the neuronal and the behavioural level. In the context of the ReSource project, 332 participants underwent an fMRI scan while performing an emotion reactivity task before and after three 3-month training modules cultivating 1) attention and interoceptive awareness (Presence); 2) socio-affective skills, such as compassion (Affect); 3) socio-cognitive skills, such as theory of mind (Perspective). Only the Affect module led to a significant reduction of experienced negative affect when processing images depicting human suffering. This decrease in emotion reactivity was associated with increased activation in cognitive control and emotion-regulation regions such as lateral parietal and prefrontal brain regions. We conclude that socio-affective, but not attention- or meta-cognitive based mental training is specifically efficient to improve emotion regulation capacities when facing adversity.

Individual beliefs about emotion and perceptions of belief stability are associated with emotion dysregulation, interpersonal emotional attributes and psychological flexibility

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Veilleux ◽  
Garrett Pollert ◽  
kayla skinner ◽  
Danielle Baker ◽  
Kaitlyn Chamberlain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Psychological Flexibility ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Emotional Expressivity ◽  
Control Behavior ◽  
Interpersonal Emotion Regulation ◽  
Intelligence Beliefs

The beliefs people hold about emotion are clearly relevant for emotional processes, although the social psychological research on malleability or “lay” beliefs about emotion are rarely integrated with the clinical research on emotional schemas. In the current study, we examine a variety of beliefs about emotion (e.g., beliefs that emotions can be changed, beliefs that negative emotions are bad, beliefs that emotions should not be expressed, beliefs that emotions control behavior, beliefs that emotions last “forever”) along with other emotion belief measures and measures of psychopathology (general psychological distress, borderline personality), emotion dysregulation, interpersonal emotional attributions (emotional expressivity, interpersonal emotion regulation) and psychological flexibility (mindfulness, emotional intelligence). In a combined sample of undergraduates (n = 162) and adults from Mechanical Turk (n = 197), we found that beliefs about the longevity and uniqueness of emotions were unique predictors of psychopathology, even after controlling for age and gender. We also found that after controlling for symptoms of psychopathology, beliefs about longevity and that negative emotions are bad predicted greater emotion dysregulation and lower mindfulness. Beliefs that emotions should be kept to the self and a preference of logic over emotion predicted less emotional expressivity, interpersonal emotion regulation, and emotional intelligence. Beliefs that emotions control behavior also predicted lower mindfulness. Finally, when asked whether they think their beliefs change during strong emotions, people who said their beliefs change (about two-thirds of the sample) reported higher symptoms of psychopathology, higher emotion dysregulation, higher use of interpersonal regulation strategies and lower mindfulness.

Official Advice Improves Mortgage-Holders’ Perceptions of Switching: Experimental Evidence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Timmons
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rate ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Consumer Protection ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Switching Process ◽  
Competitive Markets ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Change Perceptions ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual

Encouraging consumers to switch to lower-rate mortgages is important both for the individual consumer’s finances and for functioning competitive markets, but switching rates are low. Given the complexity of mortgages, one potential regulatory intervention that may increase switching rates is to provide independent advice on how to select good mortgage products and how to navigate the switching process. Working with a government consumer protection agency, we conducted an experiment with mortgage-holders to test whether such advice alters perceptions of switching. The experiment tested how (i) the attributes of the offer, (ii) perceptions about the switching process, (iii) individual feelings of competence and (iv) comprehension of the product affect willingness to switch to better offers, both before and after reading the official advice. The advice made consumers more sensitive to interest rate decreases, especially at longer terms. It also increased consumers’ confidence in their ability to select good offers. Overall, the findings imply that advice from policymakers can change perceptions and increase switching rates. Moreover, the experiment demonstrates how lab studies can contribute to behaviourally-informed policy development.

The Epistemology of Groups

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lackey
Keyword(s):  
Group Level ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Individual Group ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Normative Requirements ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Belief Justification ◽  
In Virtue Of ◽  
Trump Administration

Groups are often said to bear responsibility for their actions, many of which have enormous moral, legal, and social significance. The Trump Administration, for instance, is said to be responsible for the U.S.’s inept and deceptive handling of COVID-19 and the harms that American citizens have suffered as a result. But are groups subject to normative assessment simply in virtue of their individual members being so, or are they somehow agents in their own right? Answering this question depends on understanding key concepts in the epistemology of groups, as we cannot hold the Trump Administration responsible without first determining what it believed, knew, and said. Deflationary theorists hold that group phenomena can be understood entirely in terms of individual members and their states. Inflationary theorists maintain that group phenomena are importantly over and above, or otherwise distinct from, individual members and their states. It is argued that neither approach is satisfactory. Groups are more than their members, but not because they have “minds of their own,” as the inflationists hold. Instead, this book shows how group phenomena—like belief, justification, and knowledge—depend on what the individual group members do or are capable of doing while being subject to group-level normative requirements. This framework, it is argued, allows for the correct distribution of responsibility across groups and their individual members.

Quality of Life for Children with Persistent Sinonasal Symptoms

2003 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Kay ◽  
Richard M. Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Longitudinal Change ◽  
Good Test ◽  
Routine Clinical Care ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sinonasal Symptoms

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to validate the SN-5 survey as a measure of longitudinal change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for children with persistent sinonasal symptoms. DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a before and after study of 85 children aged 2 to 12 years in a metropolitan pediatric otolaryngology practice. Caregivers completed the SN-5 survey at entry and at least 4 weeks later. The survey included 5 symptom-cluster items covering the domains of sinus infection, nasal obstruction, allergy symptoms, emotional distress, and activity limitations. RESULTS: Good test-retest reliability ( R = 0.70) was obtained for the overall SN-5 score and the individual survey items ( R ≥ 0.58). The mean baseline SN-5 score was 3.8 (SD, 1.0) of a maximum of 7.0, with higher scores indicating poorer HRQoL. All SN-5 items had adequate correlation ( R ≥ 0.36) with external constructs. The mean change in SN-5 score after routine clinical care was 0.88 (SD, 1.19) with an effect size of 0.74 indicating good responsiveness to longitudinal change. The change scores correlated appropriately with changes in related external constructs ( R ≥ 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: The SN-5 is a valid, reliable, and responsive measure of HRQoL for children with persistent sinonasal symptoms, suitable for use in outcomes studies and routine clinical care.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document