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Emotions and Perception

Emotions and Perception. Class 16. UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. 1. Guest Lecture: TA, Meg Speer, April 13 Quiz 2: April 20 Final: May 9 Diary Study: Begins today: March 28 Last diary entry: April 20 Diary assignment: April 20 Write-up due: April 27. Emotions Diary Exercise.

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Emotions and Perception

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  1. Emotions and Perception Class 16

  2. UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • 1. Guest Lecture: TA, Meg Speer, April 13 • Quiz 2: April 20 • Final: May 9 • Diary Study: Begins today: March 28 • Last diary entry: April 20 • Diary assignment: April 20 • Write-up due: April 27

  3. Emotions Diary Exercise Create packet of 8 diaries, including today's Complete diary at start of class, from last Tuesday to April 23 On April 23 I will provide materials for analyzing your diaries. NOTE: I will not see your individual diaries--that is yours. What you write on them is for your eyes only!

  4. Emotions and Perception: The New Look a. Value and need shape perception They Saw a Game, Hastorf & Cantrel,1954. Value and need---in perception: Bruner & Postman, 1947 Albert Hastorf 1921-2011

  5. Fear and Perception of Height and Distance Stefanucci, Gagnon, Tompkins, & Bullock, 2012 • Study 1 • Subjects imagine falling from height onto • Control: An empty pool • Threat: A pool containing a bed of nails • Control subjects stood above empty pool Threat subjects stood above nail-filled pool • TASK: How high up are you? • Study 2 • Subjects imagine jump and land in: • a. Control: An empty pool or • b. Threat: A pool containing a bed of nails • Control subjects stood before empty pool Threat subjects stood before nail-filled pool • TASK: How far is distance across pool?

  6. Amount Overestimate

  7. Psychosocial Resources • Social Support • Self Worth, Self Esteem • Self-Efficacy • Emotional Disclosure

  8. Resources and Coping • Reduced depression and anxiety • Reduced cardiovascular response to stress • Reduced levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, cortisol • Better immune functioning • Fewer colds, fewer heart attacks, quicker recovery post-MI, reduced cancer, easier childbirth, etc.

  9. Emotional Support andMortality After Heart Attack(Berkman et al., 1992)

  10. How Do Emotional Resources “Work”? Affects the way stressors are experienced Instrumental and informational benefits Psycho-social benefits • Belonging • Enhanced self worth • Existential gains: meaningfulness, control, ordered world Affects the way that stressors are perceived?

  11. Stress Amplifies Perception • “Loomingness” e.g., of spiders (Riskind et al., 1995). • Visual “boundary reduction” (Mathews & Mackintosh, 2004) • Anxiety and pain (Rhudy & Meager, 2000) • Time duration and abstinence (Klein et al., 2003) Resources Reduce Stress

  12. Resources and Perception Model Challenging things  negative arousal  amplified percept. Resources reduce negative arousal. Resources should moderate perception of challenging things. Boosted resources  less amplified perception Depleted resources  more amplified perception

  13. Resources and Perception Program Resources moderate: Social Perception – others’ distress Visual Perception – steepness, distance, height

  14. Social Contexts and Cry RatingsHarber, Einav, & Lang, (2008). European J. Social Psych, 38, 296-314. Study 1 • Participants n = 140 female undergraduates • Cover story: Mental imagery and social perception • Social context manipulation: Guided imagery task Positive Support: Image most satisfying source of emotional support Neutral Contact: Image someone you neither like nor dislike Negative Contact: Image person who betrayed your trust • Rate baby cries Baby cries evoke strong reactions People use own reactions to interpret baby cries Cries are ambiguous, permit reaction-based interpretation

  15. Cry Samples • Male infants undergoing surgical circumcision. • Detailed explanation regarding procedure. • 8 cries, about 5 sec. each, mixed order 4 low intensity 4 moderate intensity

  16. Cry Ratings by Social Context Mood: F (1, 138) = 10.85, p < .01 Social context (controlling for mood): F (2, 138) = 3.36 p < .04

  17. Baby Cry Study 2: Does Emotional Disclosure Moderate the Effect of Betrayal on Cry Perception? • Recalling a betrayal depleted resources, leading to amplified perception of others’ distress. • Emotional disclosure bolsters resources. • Disclosure should therefore counteract the amplifying effects of negative social contexts.

  18. Method • n = 121 females • Cover story: Mental imagery and social perception • Social context: Mentally image positive, neutral, or negative contact • Disclosure task Suppress: Describe imaged person factually Disclose: Thoughts and feelings regarding imaged person • Rate baby cries

  19. Social Context and Emotional Disclosure on Baby Cry Ratings Positive Suppress vs. Negative Suppress: p < .05

  20. Social Context and Emotional Disclosure on Baby Cry Ratings Support X Disclosure: p < .05 Negative Express vs. Negative Suppress: p < .05

  21. Reactions to Imaged Person and Cry Intensity Ratings Neg. Suppress Neg. Disclose Neut. Suppress Neut. Disclose Pos. Suppress Pos. Disclose n = 17 n = 18n = 15 n = 16 n = 17 n = 18 Unpleasant to image the target person and Cry Rating .44+ .07 .10 -.01 -.28 .01 Unpleasant to write about the target person and Cry Rating .51* .12 -.18 .11 -.37 -.31 Note: + = p < .10, * = p < .05

  22. Summary of Baby Cry Study • Betrayal (depleted resource) amplified cries • Disclosure (boosted resource) moderated cries • Probably not a mood effect • Probably not a priming effect

  23. Psychosocial Resources and Psychophysical Judgment • Do resource affects extend to visual perception? Do we literally see things differently under ample vs. depleted resources? • Do resources affect accuracy of perception? Baby cry studies do not address accuracy. • Do resources other than social support affect perception?

  24. Social Support and Slant PerceptionSchnall, Harber, Stefanucci, & Proffitt (2008). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1246-1255 Conscious slant perception of hills is exaggerated (5% is seen as 20%, etc.). Slant distortion is lessened under lower physical load -- Light back pack vs. heavy back pack -- Physically refreshed vs. fatigued -- Good physical cond. vs. poor cond. -- Younger vs. older Is slant distortion reduced under lower psychological load?

  25. Study 1: Do hills appear different when alone vs. with a friend? Participants Passersby at campus walk Alone (n = 14) Same-sex friend pairs (n = 17; both participate) All wear heavy backpack, face steep hill Measures Verbal: “How steep is this hill, in degrees?” Visual Judgment: hand protractor Haptic: palm board Hand protractor Palm board

  26. Social Support and Slant Verbal: p < .05 Visual: p < .06 Hapitic p < .93 Note: Line represents actual slant

  27. Friendship Duration (in months) Verbal r = -.49, p < .05 Visual r = -.50, p < .05 Haptic r = -.14, p = ns Mood (negative) Verbal r = -.01, p = ns Visual r = -.13, p = ns Haptic r = .01, p = ns Effects of Friendship Duration and Mood on Slant Perception

  28. Study 1 Alternative Explanations Instrumental Support Social Desirability Social Facilitation Sampling Bias Study 2 Remedies n = 36, 49% female Imaged other: Positive, Neutral, Negative Random Assignment

  29. Slant Study 2: Imaged Support and Slant Perception Verbal p < .05 Visual p < .04 Haptic p > .73 Note: Line represents actual slant

  30. Correlations Between Relationship Quality and Slant Perception Verbal Visual Haptic Measure Measure Measure Close -.37* -.36* .10 Warm -.33* -.28 .22 Happy -.39* -.20 .12 Notes: Effects retained when controlling for mood * = p < .05

  31. Resources and Distance PerceptionHarber, Iacovelli, & Yeung, 2012 (Study 1) • Will psychosocial resources also moderate distance perception? • Will self-worth serve as resource?

  32. Self Worth Induction Boosted: Image best success Unchanged: Image doing laundry Depleted: Image worst failure N = 107, 63% female

  33. Distance Estimation Task

  34. Target Objects Low Threat High Threat

  35. Distance Accuracy as a Function of Object (Threat v. Non-threat) and Self Worth

  36. Distance Accuracy as a Function of Object (Threat v. Non-threat) and Self Worth

  37. Evidence of Self-Worth Moderation Neutral Object Distance Tarantula Distance * p < .05

  38. Self Esteem, External Support, and Height JudgmentsHarber, Iacovelli, & Yeung, 2012 (Study 2) PHOTO LOOKING DOWN STAIRWELL N = XXX, XX% female, age = XX.XX

  39. Do resources moderate height judgments? Does trait self esteem operate as a resource? Do internal resources supplement external resources?

  40. Self Esteem, External Support, and Height Perception

  41. Self Esteem, External Support, and Height Perception

  42. Conclusions • Resources affect the perception of : Others’ distress (baby cries) Distance to stressors (tarantulas) Heights Hill slants • Similar effects derive from different resources: Social support (baby cries, hill slant) Emotional disclosure (baby cries) Self worth (distance to tarantula) Self esteem (height) • Resources may enhance coping by moderating stressor perception

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