The Nature of Anti-Asian American Xenophobia during the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Preliminary Exploration into Envy as a Key Motivator of Hate

Background. The current Coronavirus pandemic has been linked to a dramatic increase in anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate incidents in the United States. At the time of writing, there does not appear to be any published empirical research examining the mechanisms underlying Asiaphobia during the current pandemic. Based on the stereotype content model, we investigated the idea that ambivalent attitudes toward AAPIs, marked primarily with envy, may be contributing to anti-AAPI xenophobia. Methods. Study 1 (N = 140) explored, through a survey, the link between envious stereotypes toward AAPIs and Asiaphobia. Study 2 (N = 167), utilizing autobiographical recall tasks, experimentally induced the affect of envy in order to establish causality between feelings of envy toward AAPIs and Asiaphobia. Results. In Study 1, envious stereotypes toward AAPIs were found to be predictive of Asiaphobia and, in Study 2, the inducement of envy led to heightened levels of Asiaphobia. Conclusions. The current research provides support for the proposition that, consistent with the stereotype content model, stereotypes and attitudes toward AAPIs marked with ambivalent and envious views, consisting of a mix of perceived competence and lack of “human warmth,” may be fueling Asiaphobia. Implications for potential applications and future research are discussed.

A comparison of single and multi-echo processing of fMRI data during overt autobiographical recall

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of multi-echo fMRI designs by cognitive neuroscientists. Acquiring multiple echoes allows one to reduce thermal noise and identify nuisance signal components in BOLD data (Kundu et al., 2012). At the same time, multi-echo acquisitions increase data processing complexity and may incur a cost to the temporal and spatial resolution of the acquired data. Here, we re-examine a multi-echo dataset (Gilmore et al., 2021) analyzed using multi-echo ICA (ME-ICA) and focused on hippocampal activity during the overly spoken recall of recent and remote autobiographical memories. The goal of the present series of analyses was to determine if ME-ICA's theoretical denoising benefits might lead to a practical difference in the overall conclusions reached. Compared to single echo data, ME-ICA led to qualitatively different conclusions regarding hippocampal contributions to autobiographical recall: whereas the single echo analysis largely failed to reveal hippocampal activity relative to an active baseline, ME-ICA results supported predictions of the Standard Model of Consolidation and a time limited hippocampal involvement (Alvarez and Squire, 1994). These data provide a practical example of the benefits multi-echo denoising in a naturalistic memory paradigm and demonstrate how they can be used to address long-standing theoretical questions.

Viewing Nature Lets Your Mind Run Free: Three Experiments about the Influence of Viewing a Nature Video on Cognitive Coping with Psychological Distress

Viewing nature has restorative qualities that might help people cope with their personal struggles. Three lab experiments (N = 506) studied whether environment (nature vs. built) influences cognitive coping with psychological distress. Psychological distress was induced with an autobiographical recall task about serious regret, whereafter participants were randomly assigned to view a nature or built video. Cognitive coping (i) Quantity, (ii) Content, and (iii) Quality were hereafter assessed as well as extent and vividness of the regretful memory during the video. Results showed a higher cognitive coping Quantity (Study 1 and 3) and a higher cognitive coping Quality (All studies) for the nature (vs. built) condition. Regarding cognitive coping Content, results varied across the studies. Additionally, participants reported to have thought about the experienced psychological distress to a greater extent while viewing the nature (vs. built) video. Yet they did rate viewing nature as more relaxing. We propose a two-step pathway as an underlying mechanism of restoration. In the first step the capacity for directed attention replenishes. Secondly, this renewed capacity is directed towards internal processes, creating the optimal setting for reflection. Hence, viewing nature allows people to truly process whatever is occupying their minds, which is ultimately relieving and beneficial for mental health.

The influence of anger on empathy and theory of mind

Social cognition allows humans to understand and predict other people’s behavior by inferring or sharing their emotions, intentions and beliefs. Few studies have investigated the impact of one’s own emotional state on understanding others. Here, we tested the effect of being in an angry state on empathy and theory of mind (ToM). In a between-groups design we manipulated anger status with different paradigms in three studies (autobiographical recall (N = 45), negative feedback (N = 49), frustration (N = 46)) and checked how this manipulation affected empathic accuracy and performance in the EmpaToM. All paradigms were successful in inducing mild anger. We did not find the expected effect of anger on empathy or ToM performance but observed small behavioral changes. Together, our results validate the use of three different anger induction paradigms and speak for rather weak behavioral effects of mild state anger on empathy and ToM.

Shame on me for needing you: A multistudy examination of links between receiving interpersonal emotion regulation and experiencing shame

Recent theory and research have drawn attention to interpersonal dimensions of emotion regulation. Yet, few empirical investigations of the outcomes of interpersonal emotion regulation have been conducted. We propose that one negative affective outcome of received interpersonal emotion regulation of conceptual and practical interest is shame. In the present series of studies, participants from six, disparate samples were asked to report on experiences of receiving interpersonal emotion regulation using autobiographical recall and ecological sampling paradigms (total analyzed n = 1868; total analyzed k = 2515 instances of receiving interpersonal emotion regulation). We sought to quantify the frequency and distinctiveness of shame as an outcome of receiving interpersonal emotion regulation. We used an exploratory-confirmatory approach to identify robust and generalizable correlates of shame. We considered individual (e.g., trait external shame-proneness), situational (e.g., desire for regulation), relational (e.g., perceived closeness with the provider) and interaction-specific (e.g., perceptions of provider hostility) variables. Our results indicate that it is not uncommon for people to experience receiving interpersonal emotion regulation as shame-inducing, and these perceptions are distinct from their evaluations of the overall effectiveness of the interaction. The most robust correlates of shame across studies and samples were interaction-specific ratings of responsiveness and hostility, which were negatively and positively correlated with shame, respectively. We discuss the conceptual, methodological, and practical implications of these findings for studying interpersonal emotion regulation and shame.

Evidence supporting a time-limited hippocampal role in retrieving autobiographical memories

The necessity of the human hippocampus for remote autobiographical recall remains fiercely debated. The standard model of consolidation predicts a time-limited role for the hippocampus, but the competing multiple trace/trace transformation theories posit indefinite involvement. Lesion evidence remains inconclusive, and the inferences one can draw from functional MRI (fMRI) have been limited by reliance on covert (silent) recall, which obscures dynamic, moment-to-moment content of retrieved memories. Here, we capitalized on advances in fMRI denoising to employ overtly spoken recall. Forty participants retrieved recent and remote memories, describing each for approximately 2 min. Details associated with each memory were identified and modeled in the fMRI time-series data using a variant of the Autobiographical Interview procedure, and activity associated with the recall of recent and remote memories was then compared. Posterior hippocampal regions exhibited temporally graded activity patterns (recent events > remote events), as did several regions of frontal and parietal cortex. Consistent with predictions of the standard model, recall-related hippocampal activity differed from a non-autobiographical control task only for recent, and not remote, events. Task-based connectivity between posterior hippocampal regions and others associated with mental scene construction also exhibited a temporal gradient, with greater connectivity accompanying the recall of recent events. These findings support predictions of the standard model of consolidation and demonstrate the potential benefits of overt recall in neuroimaging experiments.