A model of the affective and congnitive events in expatriate assignments

In this paper, we take a step toward explaining how events occurring within the expatriate assignment are perceived and interpreted. In particular, we consider the conditions under which individuals perceive hassles and uplifts during intercultural interactions as a cognitive or affective event and, how the type of event influences the outcomes associated with a given event. In doing so, we develop a model to propose how characteristics of the perceiver and the event influence whether interactions in the expatriate assignment are perceived as a cognitive or affective event and, how the type of event influences the outcomes associated with a given event.

Interactive television and the role of affective usability

This paper explores the importance of designing interfaces that evoke positive feelings in the user as they interact with the interface. The use of interactive television (iTV) and affective usability illustrate how usability paradigms shift as new technology is developed. Traditional television is a more passive medium than iTV and the role of the user (or viewer) varies significantly. iTV requires more of the user and to be an active contributor because of the more interactive interaction style. Interface designers need to constantly define better ways of developing interfaces that are not only usable, but also enjoyable to use.

Subjective wellbeing as an affective-cognitive construct

The affective content of Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) was investigated in two separate studies. Study 1 involved a representative sample of 478 participants from across Australia aged between 18 and 72 years. This study tested the circumplex model of affect and then determined the minimum set of affects that explain variance in SWB. The model was supported, with most affects congregated around the valence axis. Overall, 64% of the variance in SWB was explained by six Core Affects, indicating that SWB is a highly affective construct. Study 2 tested the relative strength of Core Affect (content, happy and excited), in three separate models of SWB incorporating cognition (seven discrepancies)
and all five factors of personality. Using a sample of 854 participants aged been 18 – 86 years, structural equation modeling was used to compare an affective-cognitive driven model of SWB, with a personality driven model of SWB and a discrepancy driven model of SWB. The results provide support for an affective-cognitive model which explained 90 percent of the variance in SWB. All models confirm that the relationship between SWB, Core Affect and Discrepancies is far stronger than the relationship between personality and SWB. It is proposed that Core Affect and Discrepancies comprise the essence of SWB. Moreover, Core Affect is the driving force behind individual set-point levels in SWB homeostasis.

Personality, behavioural and affective characteristics of hazardous drinkers

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of appetitive and aversive motivation on hazardous drinking behaviour by drawing on Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST). A between-groups design examined differences between hazardous drinkers and matched controls on self-report and behavioural appetitive and aversive motivation. The relationship between motivational processes and changes in affective states following behavioural task performance was also examined. Data from 27 hazardous drinkers (M = 21.88 years, SD = 3.29) and 27 gender and age matched controls (M = 21.85 years, SD = 4.08) were utilised. The Card Arranging Reward Responsivity Objective Test (CARROT) assessed behavioural appetitive motivation and the computerised Q-TASK provided an index of behavioural aversive motivation. Self-report appetitive and aversive motivation was measured using the Sensitivity to Punishment and Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). Brief scales tapping state positive and negative affect were also administered. Hazardous drinkers were significantly higher than controls on self-report but not behavioural measures of appetitive motivation. Results also indicated that hazardous drinkers reported significantly higher levels of negative affect. These data suggest that hazardous drinkers are characterised by high trait appetitive motivation and state negative affect. It was suggested that RST may provide a useful framework for understanding both the appetitive and aversive motivational processes involved in drinking behaviour.

Priming vs. rhyming : orthographic and phonological representations in the left and right hemispheres

The right cerebral hemisphere has long been argued to lack phonological processing capacity. Recently, however, a sex difference in the cortical representation of phonology has been proposed, suggesting discrete left hemisphere lateralization in males and more distributed, bilateral representation of function in females. To evaluate this hypothesis and shed light on sex differences in the phonological processing capabilities of the left and right hemispheres, we conducted two experiments. Experiment 1 assessed phonological activation implicitly (masked homophone priming), testing 52 (M = 25, F = 27; mean age 19.23 years, SD 1.64 years) strongly right-handed participants. Experiment 2 subsequently assessed the explicit recruitment of phonology (rhyme judgement), testing 50 (M = 25, F = 25; mean age 19.67 years, SD 2.05 years) strongly right-handed participants. In both experiments the orthographic overlap between stimulus pairs was strictly controlled using DICE [Brew, C., & McKelvie, D. (1996). Word-pair extraction for lexicography. In K. Oflazer & H. Somers (Eds.), Proceedings of the second international conference on new methods in language processing (pp. 45–55). Ankara: VCH], such that pairs shared (a) high orthographic and phonological similarity (e.g., not–KNOT); (b) high orthographic and low phonological similarity (e.g., pint–HINT); (c) low orthographic and high phonological similarity (e.g., use–EWES); or (d) low orthographic and low phonological similarity (e.g., kind–DONE). As anticipated, high orthographic similarity facilitated both left and right hemisphere performance, whereas the left hemisphere showed greater facility when phonological similarity was high. This difference in hemispheric processing of phonological representations was especially pronounced in males, whereas female performance was far less sensitive to visual field of presentation across both implicit and explicit phonological tasks. As such, the findings offer behavioural evidence indicating that though both hemispheres are capable of orthographic analysis, phonological processing is discretely lateralised to the left hemisphere in males, but available in both the left and right hemisphere in females.

Quantum bioenergetics, mental boundaries and affective response : a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study

Previous research has demonstrated the effects of ostensible subtle energy on physical systems and subjective experience. However, one subtle energy technique that has been neglected by previous studies, despite anecdotal support for its efficacy, is Quantum BioEnergetics (QBE). Furthermore, personality traits that influence subtle energy effects remain unclear, and previous experimental studies have not investigated the constructs of Love and Joy, despite qualitative and anecdotal reports indicating that these variants of positive affect are essential elements of the subtle energy experience. The aim of the present study was to investigate experimentally the effects of QBE, and the personality trait Mental Boundaries, on positive and negative affect. Participants (N = 69) were administered the Boundary Questionnaire Short Form to quantify Boundaries, and then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: QBE, Placebo ("sham"), or Control. Affect was retrospectively assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect subdimensions of the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI). As predicted, a significant multivariate effect for condition was found with regards to the PCI subdimensions: Joy, Sexual Excitement, Love, Anger, Sadness, and Fear. In contrast to our expectations, a significant multivariate effect was not found for Boundaries with regards to the combined PCI-Affect variables. As hypothesized, significant interactions were found between condition and Boundaries with regards to Positive Affect, Love and Joy, with the QBE/Thin Boundaries factorial combination associated with the highest mean scores for these dependent variables. It will be prudent to ascertain whether these results are replicated in a larger sample and a placebo condition that improves on the standard randomized placebocontrolled protocols of previous subtle energy research.

Affective determinants of treatment engagement in violent offenders

Affective factors are likely to play a major role in determining the extent to which offenders are able to engage with, and benefit from, treatment. In this article, it is argued that the relationship between affect and treatment engagement may be understood in three ways: the access the client has to emotional states, the ability to express such states, and the willingness of the client to do this in the therapeutic session. It is suggested that affective determinants of treatment readiness can be understood with reference tomodels of emotional regulation and that attention to these affective factors in the early stages of treatment is likely to promote engagement, reduce attrition, and consequently improve treatment outcomes for violent offenders.

Absolute versus relative difference measures of priming: Which is appropriate when baseline scores change with age?

It is often of theoretical interest to know if implicit memory (repetition priming) develops across childhood under a given circumstance. Methodologically, however, it is difficult to determine whether development is present when baseline performance for unstudied items improves with age. Calculation of priming in absolute (priming=studied - unstudied) or relative-to-baseline terms can lead to different conclusions. In first noting this problem, Parkin (1993) suggested using the Snodgrass (1989a) calculation of relative priming [priming=(studied - unstudied)/(maximum - unstudied)], and most developmental studies have since adopted this procedure. Here, we question the Snodgrass method because the Snodgrass method's results are not replicated in the picture identification task when baselines are equated experimentally across age groups. Instead, results support an absolute measure of priming. Theoretically, we argue against its core assumption; namely, that children and adults always lie on the same learning curve, with an equal maximum performance level and equal rate of learning.

The role of absorption in women's sexual response to erotica : a cognitive-affective investigation

This study examined the effect of absorption on women's emotional and cognitive processing of erotic film. Absorption was experimentally manipulated using 2 different sets of test session instructions. The first, participant-oriented, instruction set directed participants to absorb themselves in the erotic film presentation, imagining that they were active participants in the sexual activities depicted. The second, spectator-oriented, instruction set directed participants to observe and assess the erotic film excerpt as impartial spectators. The participant-oriented instruction set was found to elicit greater subjective absorption in women than the spectator-oriented instruction set, and women reported greater subjective sexual arousal in the former set compared with the latter. Thus, it appears that the degree to which a woman becomes absorbed in an erotic stimulus may affect her subsequent subjective sexual arousal. Also, women reported greater degrees of positive affect when they took a participant-oriented perspective than when they viewed the erotic materials as impartial spectators. Thus, participants who were highly absorbed in the erotic film excerpt were more likely to view the stimulus favorably. By contrast, the degree to which women became absorbed in the stimulus had no effect on their reported negative affect. Future directions for examining female response patterns are suggested.

Understanding cross-cultural negotiation : A model integrating affective events theory and communication accommodation theory

Business interactions are increasingly crossing boundaries. Boundary crossing is a process of joining or parting people. Negotiation is the media of this process. This paper is an attempt to bridge the boundaries of strategic business negotiation, communication and emotion in a cross-cultural context. In particular, we argue that miscommunications are ‘boundary crossing mishaps’. Such mishaps are affected by negotiators’ understanding of the respective cultures of the parties, negotiation skill, affective cultural background of the parties, cultural differences, emotional awareness and regulation, negative affect and discrepancy in convergence divergence between the interactants. When too many of these hassles or mishaps occur, negotiation breaks down. In this way, it is the accumulation of many little things, many little misunderstandings, that break negotiation.