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O'Brien B, Rodriguez M, Gallitto E, Atance CM. Tomorrow versus a year from now: Do children represent the near and distant future differently? J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 241:105878. [PMID: 38354446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Adults represent the near future more concretely and vividly than the distant future, with important implications for future-oriented behavior (e.g., planning, self-control). Although children are adept at describing future events at around 5 years of age, we know little about how temporal distance (i.e., "near" vs "distant") affects their future event representations. In a series of three experiments, we sought to determine the effects of temporal distance, age, and event frequency on children's future event representations. Participants, 5- to 9-year-olds, were asked to describe frequent (e.g., snack) and infrequent (e.g., party) events, with half of children imagining that these events would happen in the near future and the other half imagining that they would happen in the distant future. We investigated the effect of temporal distance on numerous event representation indicators (e.g., clarity, details, pronouns), all theoretically grounded in previous literature. Although children perceived near events as closer in time than distant events (Experiments 2 and 2b) and temporal distance affected the clarity of event representations (Experiment 2), most indicators were not affected by temporal distance. In contrast, event frequency (examined in Experiment 1) played an important role in children's event representations, with infrequent events being described more concretely than frequent events. Results suggest that young children may begin perceiving differences in temporal distance but that this does not translate to their event representations (e.g., clarity, pronouns) until later in development. Implications for children's future thinking and future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronwyn O'Brien
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Michela Rodriguez
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Elena Gallitto
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Cristina M Atance
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada.
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Mayiwar L, Björklund F. Fear and anxiety differ in construal level and scope. Cogn Emot 2023:1-13. [PMID: 36876645 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2023.2184775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
The fear-anxiety distinction has been extensively discussed and debated among emotion researchers. In this study, we tested this distinction from a social-cognitive perspective. Drawing on construal level theory and regulatory scope theory, we examined whether fear and anxiety differ in their underlying level of construal and scope. Results from a preregistered autobiographical recall study (N = 200) that concerned either a fear situation or an anxiety situation and a large dataset from Twitter (N = 104,949) indicated that anxiety was associated with a higher level of construal and a more expansive scope than fear. These findings support the notion that emotions serve as mental tools that deal with different challenges. While fear prompts people to seek immediate solutions to concrete threats in the here and now (contractive scope), anxiety prompts them to deal with distant and unknown threats that require more expansive and flexible solutions (expansive scope). Our study contributes to a growing literature on emotions and construal level and points to interesting avenues for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewend Mayiwar
- Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour, BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway
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Moran T, Eyal T. Emotion Regulation by Psychological Distance and Level of Abstraction: Two Meta-Analyses. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022; 26:112-159. [PMID: 35100904 DOI: 10.1177/10888683211069025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Self-reflection is suggested to attenuate feelings, yet researchers disagree on whether adopting a distant or near perspective, or processing the experience abstractly or concretely, is more effective. Given the relationship between psychological distance and level of abstraction, we suggest the "construal-matching hypothesis": Psychological distance and abstraction differently influence emotion intensity, depending on whether the emotion's appraisal involves low-level or high-level construal. Two meta-analyses tested the effects of psychological distance (k = 230) and level-of-abstraction (k = 98) manipulations on emotional experience. A distant perspective attenuated emotional experience (g = 0.52) but with weaker effects for high-level (g = 0.29; for example, self-conscious emotions) than low-level emotions (g= 0.64; for example, basic emotions). Level of abstraction only attenuated the experience of low-level emotions (g = 0.2) and showed a reverse (nonsignificant) effect for high-level emotions (g = -0.13). These results highlight differences between distancing and level-of-abstraction manipulations and the importance of considering the type of emotion experienced in emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tal Moran
- The Open University of Israel, Ra'anana, Israel.,Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Tal Eyal
- Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
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Mayiwar L, Björklund F. Fear From Afar, Not So Risky After All: Distancing Moderates the Relationship Between Fear and Risk Taking. Front Psychol 2021; 12:674059. [PMID: 34248771 PMCID: PMC8267060 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.674059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing line of research has shown that individuals can regulate emotional biases in risky judgment and decision-making processes through cognitive reappraisal. In the present study, we focus on a specific tactic of reappraisal known as distancing. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotion and the emotion regulation literature, we examine how distancing moderates the relationship between fear and risk taking and anger and risk taking. In three pre-registered studies (Ntotal = 1,483), participants completed various risky judgment and decision-making tasks. Replicating previous results, Study 1 revealed a negative relationship between fear and risk taking and a positive relationship between anger and risk taking at low levels of distancing. Study 2 replicated the interaction between fear and distancing but found no interaction between anger and distancing. Interestingly, at high levels of distancing, we observed a reversal of the relationship between fear and risk taking in both Study 1 and 2. Study 3 manipulated emotion and distancing by asking participants to reflect on current fear-related and anger-related stressors from an immersed or distanced perspective. Study 3 found no main effect of emotion nor any evidence of a moderating role of distancing. However, exploratory analysis revealed a main effect of distancing on optimistic risk estimation, which was mediated by a reduction in self-reported fear. Overall, the findings suggest that distancing can help regulate the influence of incidental fear on risk taking and risk estimation. We discuss implications and suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewend Mayiwar
- Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour, BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway
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Ellemers N, van der Toorn J, Paunov Y, van Leeuwen T. The Psychology of Morality: A Review and Analysis of Empirical Studies Published From 1940 Through 2017. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2019; 23:332-366. [PMID: 30658545 PMCID: PMC6791030 DOI: 10.1177/1088868318811759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We review empirical research on (social) psychology of morality to identify which issues and relations are well documented by existing data and which areas of inquiry are in need of further empirical evidence. An electronic literature search yielded a total of 1,278 relevant research articles published from 1940 through 2017. These were subjected to expert content analysis and standardized bibliometric analysis to classify research questions and relate these to (trends in) empirical approaches that characterize research on morality. We categorize the research questions addressed in this literature into five different themes and consider how empirical approaches within each of these themes have addressed psychological antecedents and implications of moral behavior. We conclude that some key features of theoretical questions relating to human morality are not systematically captured in empirical research and are in need of further investigation.
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Ejelöv E, Hansla A, Bergquist M, Nilsson A. Regulating Emotional Responses to Climate Change - A Construal Level Perspective. Front Psychol 2018; 9:629. [PMID: 29780340 PMCID: PMC5946018 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This experimental study (N = 139) examines the role of emotions in climate change risk communication. Drawing on Construal Level Theory, we tested how abstract vs. concrete descriptions of climate threat affect basic and self-conscious emotions and three emotion regulation strategies: changing oneself, repairing the situation and distancing oneself. In a 2 × 2 between subjects factorial design, climate change consequences were described as concrete/abstract and depicted as spatially proximate/distant. Results showed that, as hypothesized, increased self-conscious emotions mediate overall positive effects of abstract description on self-change and repair attempts. Unexpectedly and independent of any emotional process, a concrete description of a spatially distant consequence is shown to directly increase self-change and repair attempts, while it has no such effects when the consequence is spatially proximate. “Concretizing the remote” might refer to a potentially effective strategy for overcoming spatial distance barriers and motivating mitigating behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Ejelöv
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - André Hansla
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Magnus Bergquist
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Andreas Nilsson
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Construal Level Theory and Moral Judgments: How Thinking Abstractly Modifies Morality. JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS 2017. [DOI: 10.5334/jeps.413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Fessler DMT, Barrett HC, Kanovsky M, Stich S, Holbrook C, Henrich J, Bolyanatz AH, Gervais MM, Gurven M, Kushnick G, Pisor AC, von Rueden C, Laurence S. Moral parochialism and contextual contingency across seven societies. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20150907. [PMID: 26246545 PMCID: PMC4632614 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human moral judgement may have evolved to maximize the individual's welfare given parochial culturally constructed moral systems. If so, then moral condemnation should be more severe when transgressions are recent and local, and should be sensitive to the pronouncements of authority figures (who are often arbiters of moral norms), as the fitness pay-offs of moral disapproval will primarily derive from the ramifications of condemning actions that occur within the immediate social arena. Correspondingly, moral transgressions should be viewed as less objectionable if they occur in other places or times, or if local authorities deem them acceptable. These predictions contrast markedly with those derived from prevailing non-evolutionary perspectives on moral judgement. Both classes of theories predict purportedly species-typical patterns, yet to our knowledge, no study to date has investigated moral judgement across a diverse set of societies, including a range of small-scale communities that differ substantially from large highly urbanized nations. We tested these predictions in five small-scale societies and two large-scale societies, finding substantial evidence of moral parochialism and contextual contingency in adults' moral judgements. Results reveal an overarching pattern in which moral condemnation reflects a concern with immediate local considerations, a pattern consistent with a variety of evolutionary accounts of moral judgement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M T Fessler
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
| | - H Clark Barrett
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
| | - Martin Kanovsky
- Institute of Social Anthropology, FSEV, Comenius University, 820 05 Bratislava 25, Slovakia
| | - Stephen Stich
- Department of Philosophy and Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1107, USA
| | - Colin Holbrook
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
| | - Joseph Henrich
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4 Department of Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | | | - Matthew M Gervais
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3210, USA
| | - Geoff Kushnick
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Anne C Pisor
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3210, USA
| | | | - Stephen Laurence
- Department of Philosophy and Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7QB, UK
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Gilead M, Katzir M, Eyal T, Liberman N. Neural correlates of processing "self-conscious" vs. "basic" emotions. Neuropsychologia 2015; 81:207-218. [PMID: 26707717 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Revised: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Self-conscious emotions are prevalent in our daily lives and play an important role in both normal and pathological behavior. Despite their immense significance, the neural substrates that are involved in the processing of such emotions are surprisingly under-studied. In light of this, we conducted an fMRI study in which participants thought of various personal events which elicited feelings of negative and positive self-conscious (i.e., guilt, pride) or basic (i.e., anger, joy) emotions. We performed a conjunction analysis to investigate the neural correlates associated with processing events that are related to self-conscious vs. basic emotions, irrespective of valence. The results show that processing self-conscious emotions resulted in activation within frontal areas associated with self-processing and self-control, namely, the mPFC extending to the dACC, and within the lateral-dorsal prefrontal cortex. Processing basic emotions resulted in activation throughout relatively phylogenetically-ancient regions of the cortex, namely in visual and tactile processing areas and in the insular cortex. Furthermore, self-conscious emotions differentially activated the mPFC such that the negative self-conscious emotion (guilt) was associated with a more dorsal activation, and the positive self-conscious emotion (pride) was associated with a more ventral activation. We discuss how these results shed light on the nature of mental representations and neural systems involved in self-reflective and affective processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gilead
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel.
| | - Maayan Katzir
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Tal Eyal
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Nira Liberman
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
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Karsh N, Eyal T. How the Consideration of Positive Emotions Influences Persuasion: The Differential Effect of Pride Versus Joy. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.1826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Noam Karsh
- Department of Psychology; University of Haifa; Haifa Israel
| | - Tal Eyal
- Department of Psychology; Ben Gurion University of the Negev; Beer Sheva Israel
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The weight of a guilty conscience: subjective body weight as an embodiment of guilt. PLoS One 2013; 8:e69546. [PMID: 23936041 PMCID: PMC3729967 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Guilt is an important social and moral emotion. In addition to feeling unpleasant, guilt is metaphorically described as a "weight on one's conscience." Evidence from the field of embodied cognition suggests that abstract metaphors may be grounded in bodily experiences, but no prior research has examined the embodiment of guilt. Across four studies we examine whether i) unethical acts increase subjective experiences of weight, ii) feelings of guilt explain this effect, and iii) whether there are consequences of the weight of guilt. Studies 1-3 demonstrated that unethical acts led to more subjective body weight compared to control conditions. Studies 2 and 3 indicated that heightened feelings of guilt mediated the effect, whereas other negative emotions did not. Study 4 demonstrated a perceptual consequence. Specifically, an induction of guilt affected the perceived effort necessary to complete tasks that were physical in nature, compared to minimally physical tasks.
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Agerström J, Björklund F. Why People With an Eye Toward the Future Are More Moral: The Role of Abstract Thinking. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2013.803967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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