Action Tendencies Research Articles

Inferring individual sexual action dispositions from egocentric network data on dyadic sexual outcomes.

In this paper we present a family of models that allows us to estimate egos’ unobserved action dispositions from a joint behavioural outcome of a dyadic social interaction process of both egos’ and alters’ action dispositions. The method is put to test on a data set containing two different types of dyadic activities of high relevance for the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI), condom use and anal sex. The data consists of individuals older than 15 years old who visited one of the nine youth clinics in the Vastra Gotaland region of Sweden between February 2010 and March 2011 for STI testing. This is hence a group of special interest for STI interventions. We cannot find any difference in condom disposition between women and men. Condoms are initially used more often in less risky types of relationships, especially if the partner ends up as a main partner. When studying the disposition towards anal sex we do however find a difference between men and women. Women are more against practising anal sex than men while the majority of men are neutral towards anal sex.

The affecting tourism development attitudes based on the social exchange theory and the social network theory

ABSTRACT Previous studies examined tourism development attitudes using social exchange theory (SET) but couldnot explain the effects of the social relationship structure. Social network theory (SNT) focused and assesses on link relationships. So the research examined the affecting tourism development attitudes based on SET and SNT. Two hundred and twenty-two valid questionnaires were analyzed by network contagion model and sampled to one association, located in Eastern Taiwan. Results showed that social network (intelligence, friendship and advice) play different influenced roles to three components of tourism development attitudes (cognition, affection and action tendency). The study takes more theoretical basis and the policy direction to tourism development.

Protocol for a randomised controlled trial of cognitive bias modification training during inpatient withdrawal from alcohol use disorder

BackgroundPeople with alcohol use disorders often exhibit an “alcohol approach bias”, the automatically triggered action tendency to approach alcohol. Approach bias is likely to persist following withdrawal from alcohol, and contribute to the high rate of relapse following withdrawal treatment. Cognitive bias modification (CBM) training has been shown to attenuate approach biases and lead to reduced relapse rates. However, no large multisite trial of CBM specifically within a residential withdrawal treatment setting has previously been conducted. This study aims to test whether CBM delivered during residential withdrawal treatment leads to reduced relapse rates and reduced use of acute health services following discharge, and to test possible moderators of CBM’s effect on alcohol use.MethodsThree hundred alcohol-dependent inpatients are being recruited from three withdrawal treatment units in the Melbourne metropolitan area. Participants complete baseline measures of alcohol approach bias and cue-evoked desire for alcohol, followed by four daily sessions of computerised CBM training (or sham training if randomised to the control group). Approach bias and cue-evoked desire are re-assessed following the fourth training session. Follow-up assessments administered 2 weeks and 3, 6, and 12 months following discharge from the withdrawal treatment unit compare abstinence rates and acute and emergency healthcare service use between conditions. Pre-admission and follow-up substance use is derived from the timeline follow-back method, and approach bias towards alcohol with a computerised Approach Avoidance Task.DiscussionThis study is the first multisite randomised controlled trial of cognitive bias modification delivered during acute alcohol withdrawal treatment. Withdrawal is theoretically an ideal period to deliver neurocognitive interventions due to heightened neuroplasticity and cognitive recovery. If effective, the low cost and easy implementation of CBM training means it could be widely used as a standard part of alcohol withdrawal treatment to improve treatment outcomes. Moderation analyses may help better determine whether certain subgroups of patients are most likely to benefit from it and therefore should be prioritised for CBM during alcohol withdrawal treatment.Trial RegistrationVersion 4 of the protocol (dated 1 August 2017) is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12617001241325. Registered on 25 August 2017 (retrospectively registered).

Jealousy as a Specific Emotion: The Dynamic Functional Model

We review the jealousy literature and present our Dynamic Functional Model of Jealousy (DFMJ), which argues that jealousy evolved and has its own unique motivational state aimed at preventing others from usurping important relationships. It has a core form that exists in infants and nonhuman animals and an elaborated form in humans that emerges as cognitive sophistication develops. The DFMJ proposes that jealousy is an unfolding process with early and late phases that can be differentially impacted by relationship and personality factors. It also notes the importance of looking at multiple concomitants of jealousy, including action tendencies. We discuss how jealousy fits with current emotion theories and suggest that theories of specific emotions need to be broadened.

Ozone and temperature on ‘Roxinho of Kenya’ passion fruit bioactive compounds during storage

Several alternative methods for fruit sanitization have been studied to extend the post-harvest life. Here we investigated whether the sanitization with ozone influences the content of some bioactive compounds during ‘Roxinho of Kenya’ passion fruit post-harvest. The fruit were immersed in ozonated water, stored at room temperature or under refrigeration for 30 days. Total carotenoids, total phenols, total flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant activity in fruit pulp were analyzed. Ozone sanitization did not influenced in the total carotenoids content of fruits stored at room temperature or after immersion for 10 min. in ozonated water and stored in a cold chamber. Sanitization had no influence on total phenol or flavonoid content until day 10 of storage at both temperatures. There was no definite tendency of the ozone action in the ascorbic acid levels or antioxidant activity. There was no microbiological contamination during the storage. The ozone combined with room temperature was unable to maintain the passion fruit post-harvest life and quality. The best conservation method to retain the bioactive levels in ‘Roxinho of Kenya’ passion fruit is the combination of ozone sanitization for 5 min. and stored in cold chamber for 10 days.

Theta Activity in the Left Dorsal Premotor Cortex During Action Re-Evaluation and Motor Reprogramming.

The ability to rapidly adjust our actions to changes in the environment is a key function of human motor control. Previous work implicated the dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC) in the up-dating of action plans based on environmental cues. Here we used electroencephalography (EEG) to identify neural signatures of up-dating cue-action relationships in the dPMC and connected frontoparietal areas. Ten healthy subjects performed a pre-cued alternate choice task. Simple geometric shapes cued button presses with the right or left index finger. The shapes of the pre-cue and go-cue differed in two third of trials. In these incongruent trials, the go-cue prompted a re-evaluation of the pre-cued action plan, slowing response time relative to trials with identical cues. This re-evaluation selectively increased theta band activity without modifying activity in alpha and beta band. Source-based analysis revealed a widespread theta increase in dorsal and mesial frontoparietal areas, including dPMC, supplementary motor area (SMA), primary motor and posterior parietal cortices (PPC). Theta activity scaled positively with response slowing and increased more strongly when the pre-cue was invalid and required subjects to select the alternate response. Together, the results indicate that theta activity in dPMC and connected frontoparietal areas is involved in the re-adjustment of cue-induced action tendencies.

Go/no-go training affects frontal midline theta and mu oscillations to passively observed food stimuli

The mere perception of high-calorie food items can trigger strong action tendencies towards these foods. Go/no-go training has successfully been applied to reduce such action tendencies. This study investigated the electrophysiological mechanisms that may underlie the beneficial effects of go/no-go training on food consumption. EEG was measured while 19 participants passively observed pictures of food and non-food items, both before and after the go/no-go training. During training, 50% of the food and non-food items were consistently paired with a go/no-go response. After training, food items that had been associated with a response induced larger mu desynchronization at electrodes over sensorimotor regions, whereas food items that had been associated with withholding from responding induced larger increases in theta power at frontal midline electrodes. These findings suggest that the exerted cognitive control during go/no-go training with attractive food stimuli may become associated with these stimuli and signal the required level of control during subsequent encounters.

A ação política como caso de polícia no Brasil

Vivemos no Brasil pouco mais de um século de uma deficiente República, marcada por dois longos processos ditatoriais que contribuíram para a conformação das características da repressão estatal diante dos movimentos sociais. Nesse bojo, o presente artigo analisa como 2013 pode ser compreendido como um momento de inflexão pós-redemocratização, no qual cresceu a desvinculação entre os detentores do poder e os cidadãos, apresentando-se como um de seus aspectos o deslizamento da ação política para a arena penal. Em associação com o tratamento dos ativistas como caso de polícia, pode-se identificar avanços institucionais posteriores na tipificação penal dos repertórios de confrontação dos movimentos sociais. Além da revisão da literatura do campo, este artigo parte da análise documental legislativa, bem como da cobertura midiática para demarcação dos principais acontecimentos desde 2013. Como aporte teórico será utilizada a Teoria do Confronto Político, a partir da qual pretende-se enxergar o período iniciado em junho de 2013 na qualidade de um processo, com o olhar voltado para a relação entre ativistas e os agentes estatais para uma leitura do complexo cenário nacional.

Studying appraisal-driven emotion processes: taking stock and moving to the future

ABSTRACTAppraisal theories of emotion, and particularly the Component Process Model, have claimed over the past three decades that the different components of the emotion process (action tendencies, physiological reactions, expressions, and feeling experiences) are essentially driven by the results of multi-level cognitive appraisals and that the feeling component constitutes a central integration and representation of these processes. Given the complexity of the proposed architecture of emotion generation, comprehensive experimental tests of these predictions are difficult to perform and thus evidence has been slow to appear. Complementing earlier work on self-reported appraisal, a massive amount of empirical results from studies with experimental designs based on appraisal manipulation, using electroencephalographic and electromyographic measures, now confirms many of the theoretical predictions with respect to the effect of different appraisal checks, their interactions, and their exact timing. A major issue for future research is the nature of the coherence or synchronisation of the appraisal-driven components in the unfolding emotion process. It is suggested that interdisciplinary multi-team research will be needed to face the theoretical and methodological challenges of experimentally investigating the dynamics of the emotion process.

Collective Emotions: A Case Study of South African Pride, Euphoria and Unity in the Context of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Collective emotions experienced as existing objectively and widely shared challenge traditional views of emotions based on personal or private interests. This paper extends theories of group and crowd emotions focusing on social appraisal, social identity, emotional contagion, and ecstatic nationalism, and adds an interdisciplinary approach to research on international mega-sporting event impacts and legacies by examining the national-level collective emotions produced by a mega-sport event—the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The novel case study approach triangulates ethnographic observations of life in downtown Johannesburg before and during the World Cup with a critical thematic analysis of qualitative interviews of 10 South Africans and the author’s and publicly posted videorecordings of individual and collective behavior. I explore how citizen support for efforts to pursue national projects combined with international attention to generate widespread and genuinely coordinated collective emotions of euphoria and pride. The social ontology-based analysis considers bottom–up and top–down mechanisms of emotional spread and influence along with important expressive-performative contributions of culture-specific forms of group-based and collective action tendencies. Moreover, the study shows how group agency in the form of coordinated ritualistic bases realized group affects spontaneously and normatively as South Africans desired, accepted and celebrated achieving team and host-related group goals. These results provide new insights into the emotions that occur in public events in two phases, (1) creation of collective normative commitment in practice related to group ethos and national interests and goals prior to the tournament start, and (2) during the tournament when dynamic relations between group-based and collective emotions also generated feelings of unity and solidarity. Together they highlight unique predisposing cultural and historical features of the emotional and affective-discursive practices associated with the World Cup for South Africans, limits to the spread of emotions of enthusiasm from urban cities to rural areas, forms of excitement and celebration in public spaces, instances of ambivalence about efforts to enact support for the nation’s World Cup team and host role, and indicate how collective emotional experiences are internalized, embodied and reproduced in accounts of national transformation, concerns about fragile intergroup solidarity, and instances of group-based hubristic pride.

The Emotion Process: Event Appraisal and Component Differentiation.

Much emotion research has focused on the end result of the emotion process, categorical emotions, as reported by the protagonist or diagnosed by the researcher, with the aim of differentiating these discrete states. In contrast, this review concentrates on the emotion process itself by examining how ( a) elicitation, or the appraisal of events, leads to ( b) differentiation, in particular, action tendencies accompanied by physiological responses and manifested in facial, vocal, and gestural expressions, before ( c) conscious representation or experience of these changes (feeling) and ( d) categorizing and labeling these changes according to the semantic profiles of emotion words. The review focuses on empirical, particularly experimental, studies from emotion research and neighboring domains that contribute to a better understanding of the unfolding emotion process and the underlying mechanisms, including the interactions among emotion components.

Approach and avoidance: Relations with the thin body ideal in women with disordered eating behavior

Recent research suggests that automatic cognitive biases are linked to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior. However, little is known about automatic action tendencies in the field of body image research. The aim of the present study was to examine approach and avoidance biases toward the thin body ideal and normal weight bodies and whether these are pronounced in individuals showing disordered eating behavior. Participants were divided into a group with disordered eating behavior (n = 55) and without disordered eating behavior (n = 45). To assess approach and avoidance tendencies, the Approach-Avoidance Task was used during which the participants were instructed to approach or avoid thin and normal weight body pictures. Our results indicated faster push than pull movements towards thin and normal weight body pictures. However, participants with and without disordered eating behavior did not differ with regard to their reactions. Furthermore, we found positive associations between the avoidance of normal weight body pictures and perceived pressure to confirm to media ideals. Future research is warranted to replicate our findings and to extend our knowledge on approach and avoidance biases toward body pictures in patients suffering from eating disorders.

Endorsing a Civic (vs. an Ethnic) Definition of Citizenship Predicts Higher Pro-minority and Lower Pro-majority Collective Action Intentions.

Europe has witnessed a polarization of intergroup attitudes and action tendencies in the context of the refugee crisis of 2015 and the rise of right-wing populism. Participation in both pro-minority collective action and right-wing nationalist movements has increased among members of ethnic majority groups. We analyzed these collective action intentions toward Roma people and Muslim immigrants in Hungary related to concepts of citizenship. In an online survey relying on a probabilistic sample that is demographically similar to the Hungarian population (N = 1069), we tested whether relying on the concept of ethnic citizenship predicted higher intentions to engage in pro-majority collective action, and lower intentions to engage in pro-minority collective action, and whether the connection was mediated by fear and empathy. We expected that the connections would be the opposite for civic citizenship. Our results supported the hypotheses, but we found that the ethnic definition was a stronger predictor of intergroup action intentions toward the immigrant group, and the civic definition a stronger predictor in case of the Roma minority group. In a second study (N = 320) we collected experimental evidence to show that civic and ethnic citizenship affected both types of collective action tendencies. We found that the manipulation had an effect on the concept of citizenship only in the ethnic dimension. Nevertheless, it influenced pro-minority collective action intentions especially in the presence of high empathy and low fear in the expected direction, that is, pro-minority collective action intentions were higher in the civic citizenship condition than in the ethnic citizenship condition. The effect was not found with regard to pro-majority collective action intentions. These findings highlight the potential consequences of nationalist rhetoric on intergroup action intentions and point out both the scope and the limits of influencing its effect.

Why We Hate

We offer a functional perspective on hate, showing that hate has a unique pattern of appraisals and action tendencies. Hate is based on perceptions of a stable, negative disposition of persons or groups. We hate persons and groups more because of who they are, than because of what they do. Hate has the goal to eliminate its target. Hate is especially significant at the intergroup level, where it turns already devalued groups into victims of hate. When shared among group members, hate can spread fast in conflict zones where people are exposed to hate-based violence, which further feeds their hate. Hate can be reassuring and self-protective, because its message is simple and helps confirming people’s belief in a just world.

Approach-avoidance, attentional and evaluation biases in hair pulling disorder and their relationship with symptom severity

ABSTRACTThe present study examined approach-avoidance, attentional and evaluation biases in Hair Pulling Disorder (HPD). Although none of the tasks showed indications of biased action tendencies in response to hair pulling-related pictures, or biased attention for hair pulling-related words, we found that patients were slower to react to hair pulling-related stimuli than to neutral stimuli. This slowing down may indicate that patients are ambivalent towards hair pulling. This “ambivalence” positively correlated with HPD symptom severity, but only on one of the three severity measures we assessed. Concerning action tendencies towards hair pulling-related words, patients were, however, faster to react to hair pulling-related words when compared to words related to resisting hair pulling. Future research is needed to disentangle this ambivalent response pattern in HPD.

Effects of anger on dominance-seeking and aggressive behaviors

Abstract Anger may have evolved to orchestrate social bargaining behaviors, which ultimately can lead to establishment of dominance hierarchies. Although the relationship between anger and dominance has strong empirical support, most studies have focused on visual cues of dominance. Across two experiments, we tested the hypothesis that anger increases dominance-seeking and agonistic behaviors in those who feel it. In the first experiment (n = 82), we induced anger through a hostile mock debate and measured corrugator electromyographic activity, testosterone and cortisol levels, status-seeking tendency, and aggression using behavioral tasks. Compared with the control group, the anger group showed higher levels of aggression and status seeking, with the moderator effect of anger intensity. In the second experiment (n = 162), anger, fear, sadness, and neutral state were induced by film clips, after which dominance-related behavioral tendencies were assessed. The anger group showed higher dominance scores, differing significantly from the fear, sadness, and/or control groups. These findings reinforce the notion that feelings of anger can cause an increase in status-seeking and agonistic behaviors, leading to possible action tendencies for the establishment of dominance hierarchies.

Cross-group friendships and psychological well-being: A dual pathway through social integration and empowerment.

This study investigated the associations between cross-group friendships and psychological well-being among a sample of physically disabled adults. A total of 269 disabled people (Mage =39.13, SD=13.80; 114 females, 152 males, 3 unknown) completed questionnaires including the quality of their friendships with non-disabled people, perceived majority group's attitudes towards the minority group, collective self-esteem, collective action tendencies, own outgroup attitudes, and psychological well-being. Findings demonstrated that disabled people's cross-group friendships were directly and indirectly associated with higher levels of psychological well-being via two routes: one by promoting perceived majority attitudes which consequently led to more positive own outgroup attitudes (well-being through social integration hypothesis) and the other by leading to higher levels of collective self-esteem which enhanced collective action tendencies (well-being through empowerment hypothesis). Findings offer important insights into the study of cross-group friendships in relation to the psychological well-being of stigmatized minority group members.

An Appraisal-Driven Componential Approach to the Emotional Brain

This article suggests that methodological and conceptual advancements in affective sciences militate in favor of adopting an appraisal-driven componential approach to further investigate the emotional brain. Here we propose to operationalize this approach by distinguishing five functional networks of the emotional brain: (a) the elicitation network, (b) the expression network, (c) the autonomic reaction network, (d) the action tendency network, and (e) the feeling network, and discuss these networks in the context of the affective neuroscience literature. We also propose that further investigating the “appraising brain” is the royal road to better understand the elicitation network, and may be key to revealing the neural causal mechanisms underlying the emotion process as a whole.

Grounding evaluative concepts.

Evaluative concepts qualify as abstract because they seem to go beyond what is given in experience. This is especially clear in the case of moral concepts. Justice, for example, has no fixed appearance. Less obviously, aesthetic concepts may also qualify as abstract. The very same sensory input can be regarded as beautiful by one person and ugly by another. Artistic success can also transcend sensory accessible features. Here, we focus on moral badness and aesthetic goodness and argue that both can be grounded in emotional responses. Emotions, in turn, are grounded in bodily perceptions, which correspond to action tendencies. When we conceptualize something as good or bad (whether in the moral or aesthetic domain), we experience our bodily responses to that thing. The moral and aesthetic domains are distinguished by the emotions that they involve.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.

Approach and Avoidance During Routine Behavior and During Surprise in a Non-evaluative Task: Surprise Matters and So Does the Valence of the Surprising Event.

The hypothesis that emotions influence our behavior via emotional action tendencies is at the core of many emotion theories. According to a strong version of this hypothesis, these emotional action tendencies are immediate, automatic (unintentional), stimulus-based and directly linked with specific muscle movements. Recent evidence, however, provides little empirical support for this strong version during routine behavior, especially when the task does not require the evaluation of the stimuli. The present study tested the prediction that surprise interrupts routine behavior and triggers a threat avoidance response. In the presence of a threat-related stimulus, avoidance responses are relatively rapid, and approach responses impeded, even when the interrupted routine behavior is guided by a non-evaluative task goal. In contrast, approach and avoidance responses are predicted to be unaffected in the presence of a pleasant surprising stimulus. To test these predictions, in each trial the participants had to execute an approach or withdrawal movement depending on the location of a target stimulus. In the critical trial, either a picture of a pleasant or a threat-related animal was presented as target. Supporting the predictions, the initiation times for these movements were shorter in response to a threat-relevant than a pleasant surprising stimulus. Additionally, in the presence of a threat-related surprising stimulus, withdrawal movements were made faster than approach movements even though the participants performed a non-evaluative task. Implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.