Trait Arousability Research Articles

Dreaming and Sleep-Related Metacognitions in Patients with Sleep Disorders.

Sleep-related metacognitions play a role in the etiology of insomnia and are distressing while falling asleep. Although similar concepts, such as thought suppression, have been studied in the context of dreaming, the relationship between sleep-related metacognitions and more negatively toned dreaming due to stressful pre-sleep experiences has yet to be studied. Overall, 919 patients with various sleep disorders completed the Metacognitions Questionnaire-Insomnia (MCQ-I20), Arousal Disposition Scale (APS), and Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS) and kept a sleep diary over seven days eliciting dream recall, nightmare frequency, and the emotional tone of their dreams. The regression analysis showed that the MCQ-I20 (small effect size) and the APS (medium effect size) were associated with nightmare frequency and negatively toned dream emotions. These findings suggest that dysfunctional sleep-related metacognitions that are active prior to sleep are also associated with more negatively toned dreaming and more nightmares—even after controlling for trait arousability. It would be very interesting to study where therapeutic strategies, such as metacognitive therapy explicitly targeting sleep-related metacognition, could also be beneficial with regard to dreams (more positive dreams and fewer nightmares).

Desensitization to media violence: Links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior.

This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content.

Stress and arousability in schizophrenia

This paper examines trait arousability (TA), a temperament characteristic, in 47 stable outpatients with schizophrenia and 50 non-psychiatric controls. Self-reported levels of stress were obtained during a negative and positive memory speech task. Levels of TA, and the association of TA scores with reported stress during the speech tasks, were examined both between and within groups. In addition, TA scores were examined in relation to symptom presentation in the patient group. Patients reported higher levels of trait arousability and higher levels of stress than controls. Trait arousability scores were significantly associated with reported stress in one of the speech condition in patients, and with the severity of positive and affective symptoms. These results suggest that temperament characteristics of an individual with schizophrenia may be related to stress responsiveness and symptom presentation.

The bitter with the sweet: The taste/stress/temperament nexus

Is the tongue a window to the psyche? In rats, stress alters taste, and individual differences in taste are related to measures of emotion. The present study concerned stress-induced changes in taste and its modulation by temperament in people. College students rated saccharin's bitterness and sweetness and a tone's loudness after exposure to a mild stressor. Temperament (trait arousability, pleasure, and dominance) was assessed separately. When individual differences were ignored, stress appeared to selectively increase sensitivity to saccharin's bitterness. However, the stressor's impact was modulated by temperament: Stress nonselectively augmented stimulus magnitude ratings among highly arousable individuals; relative to high-pleasure counterparts, low-pleasure individuals gave higher bitterness ratings and lower sweetness ratings after stress. Taste does seem to provide a glimpse of the emotional life of humans and other animals and opens new avenues to the study of the biological bases of affect.

Emotional Thinking in the Adult: Individual Differences in Mysticism and Globality-Differentiation

The present study explored emotional thinking in the adult using four related scales. A new Mysticism Scale assessed tendencies to use magical, esoteric, incomprehensible, and unfounded concepts and hypotheses. Two related scales (Paranormal Belief, Magical Ideation) correlated .88 and .74, respectively, with the Mysticism Scale. The Globality-Differentiation Scale assessed emotional, subjective, and centered thinking and related to unpleasant, arousable, and submissive characteristics, showing it to be the cognitive counterpart of Trait Anxiety or Neuroticism. The Globality/maladjustment relationship was confirmed by positive relationships of the Globality Scale with measures of Trait Anxiety, Depression, Panic, Somatization, and Drug Use. In comparison, the Mysticism Scale related only to Trait Arousability (a measure of positive and/or negative emotional sensitivity) and, along with the Paranormal Belief and Magical Ideation scales, was generally unrelated to measures of psychopathology.

Analysis of Affiliation-Related Traits in Terms of the PAD Temperament Model

Affiliation-related traits were explored using findings relating to the Affiliative Tendency (MAFF) and Sensitivity to Rejection (MSR) scales and 3 nearly independent dimensions of the PAD Temperament Model: trait pleasure-displeasure (P), trait arousability (A), and trait dominance-submissiveness (D). Summary equations showed that Affiliative Tendency involved pleasantness and arousability [.66P + .34A], whereas Sensitivity to Rejection was mostly submissiveness [.15A − .85D]. Dependency resembled affiliative tendency but also included submissiveness [.26P + .30A − .44D]. Emotional empathy also resembled affiliative tendency but emphasized arousability over pleasantness [.30P + .70A]. Conformity consisted only of submissiveness. Loneliness [−.77P − .23D] resembled boredom and depression. Popularity, moderately opposed to loneliness [.45P + .17A + .38D] resembled the MAFF augmented by dominance. Shyness [−.30P + .13A −.57D] resembled anxiety and neuroticism.

Distinguishing Depression and Trait Anxiety in Terms of Basic Dimensions of Temperament

The PAD Temperament Model provides a framework for the analysis of adjusted and maladjusted personality characteristics. Extrapolating from findings bearing on the model, it was hypothesized that Trait Anxiety and Depression have substantial similarities, but differ with respect to Trait Arousability. Consistent with the hypotheses, Depression involved unpleasant and submissive characteristics and a marginal positive contribution from Trait Arousability. Trait Anxiety also involved unpleasant and submissive temperament attributes, but included a stronger positive contribution from Trait Arousability. Thus, the anxious were significantly more arousable than the depressed. Furthermore, the depressed were found to be significantly more submissive than the anxious. Findings were related to alternative theoretical approaches to depression and anxiety. Implications regarding suicide risks and drug treatments of the two conditions were discussed.

Theory and evidence bearing on a Scale of Trait Arousability

Trait Arousability is defined, in part, by strength of arousal response to sudden increases in complexity, variation, novelty, and/or unexpectedness of stimuli. The Trait Arousability Scale related positively to increases in diastolic pressure when angered, to heart disease, incidence of illnesses, conditioned aversions, avoidance of social contacts in high-density dormitories, dissatisfaction and lowered performance in high density workplaces, recall of emotional events, enjoyment of violence, and to scales of affiliation, dependency, empathy, sensitivity, impulsivity, affect intensity, low endurance, anxiety, neuroticism, procrastination, paranoia, eating disorders, and suicidal tendencies (but not to depression).

BASIC TEMPERAMENT COMPONENTS OF LONELINESS, SHYNESS, AND CONFORMITY

The PAD Temperament Model provides a general framework for personality description and consists of three nearly independent dimensions: Trait Pleasure-displeasure, Trait Arousability, and Trait Dominance-submissiveness. The present study analyzed the Shyness, Loneliness, and Conformity scales within the PAD Model. Shyness resembled trait anxiety and neuroticism and was composed of unpleasant, arousable, and submissive characteristics, with submissiveness the strongest and arousability the weakest components. Loneliness, like depression, was composed of unpleasant and submissive qualities, although submissiveness was a much weaker component of loneliness than of depression. A new Conformity Scale evidenced a strong negative correlation with Trait Dominance and was independent of Trait Pleasure and Trait Arousability. Implications of the findings for clinical intervention were discussed.

Cultural and Sexual Differences in Test Anxiety, Trait Anxiety and Arousability

Cultural and sexual differences in test anxiety were investigated in samples of high school students in Egypt (N= 277), Brazil (N = 234), and the United States (N = 141). Measures of trait anxiety and trait arousability were also included. Compared to the United States greater test anxiety was found in Egypt on both the worry dimension and the emotionality dimension. Greater test anxiety was also found in Brazil, but only on the emotionality dimension. Compared to both the United States and Brazil, greater trait anxiety and arousability were reported by high school students in Egypt. Finally, in all three cultures females reported greater worry, emotionality, trait anxiety, and arousability than males. A possible explanation for the cultural differences in test anxiety is the important consequences of high school testing in Egypt and Brazil.

Intercorrelations among general arousability, emerging and current sexual desire, and severity of sexual dysfunction in women.

Intercorrelations among general trait arousability, emerging sexual desire, current sexual desire, lack of sexual desire perceived as a problem, and sexual dysfunction were assessed in 65 women currently involved in marital or de facto heterosexual relationships. The Stimulus Screening Test was used to measure general arousability and the Assessment of Sexual Function and Dysfunction Questionnaire was used to measure emerging sexual desire, current sexual desire lack of sexual desire, and sexual dysfunction. Analysis showed that arousability was positively associated with current levels of sexual desire which was negatively associated with sexual dysfunction. There was a curvilinear relationship between arousability and sexual dysfunction, with women experiencing both high and low levels of arousability being more likely to score higher on measures of sexual dysfunction than those experiencing medium levels of arousal. The possible implications of these results are discussed.

Measures of Eating-Related Characteristics for the General Population: Relationships With Temperament

A questionnaire that assessed a broad range of eating-related characteristics for unselected, normal subjects was factor analyzed in a two-step process proposed by Comrey (1984). Twelve "factored homogeneous item dimensions" were identified first and yielded three primary-level factors in a second factor analysis: Predisposition to Obesity (including Dieting and Preoccupation with, and Fear Of, Gaining Weight), Uncontrollable Urges to Eat (including Eating Momentum Beyond Control, Food a Panacea and Constant Temptation, and Secret Binging), and Predisposition to Anorexia (including Insufficient Eating Obvious to Others, Food Phobia, Inability to Eat, and Vomiting After Meals). The three primary-level factors were positively intercorrelated and exhibited significant positive, though weak, correlations with a measure of trait arousability. Also, weak results tentatively indicated that individuals with more pleasant and/or more arousable temperaments were less likely to be overweight. Subjects reported sharply higher levels of food consumption when feeling "depressed" (i.e., bored, lonely, sad) than when feeling "distressed" (i.e., uncomfortable, anxious, in pain). Uncontrollable Urges to Eat correlated positively and significantly with self-reports of food consumption while depressed, showing that those lacking control over eating ate especially more while feeling bored, lonely, or sad. Predisposition to Obesity correlated negatively and significantly with self-reports of food consumption while distressed, showing that those tending more toward obesity ate less while upset or anxious.

Temperament Characteristics of Individuals Who Participate in Strenuous Sports

The present study was designed to determine the temperament of persons who engage regularly in strenuous sports, specifically, running, weightlifting, and aerobics. The large sample of subjects represented both sexes and a wide diversity in age. A three-dimensional temperament framework and its associated measures of trait pleasure-displeasure, trait arousability, and trait dominance-submissiveness was used to review and investigate distinctive personality characteristics of athletes. Sports participants differing in type of sport, marital status, number of regular active sports (a measure of general physical exertion in sports), and physical effort per sport session did not differ significantly in temperament. As a group, however, all subjects in the present sample, selected because they were regular participants in strenuous sports, exhibited significantly higher levels of trait dominance and trait pleasure in comparison with general population norms; they did not differ significantly from population norms in trait arousability. Dominance and pleasantness when combined with high arousability define exuberance (e.g., extroversion, arousal-seeking, affiliation) and when combined with low arousability define relaxation (the opposite of trait anxiety and neurosis). Thus, one important implication of the present and related reviewed findings is that those who participate in strenuous sports regularly and intensively are healthier psychologically than the general population.

Individual Difference Correlates and Measures of Predisposition to Obesity and to Anorexia

A questionnaire of eating and related habits was developed and factor analyzed to yield verbal report measures of predisposition to obesity, binge eating, physical activity, and predisposition to anorexia. The latter was composed of three intercorrelated components: food phobia, inability to eat, and abhorrence of full stomach (vomiting). Predisposition to obesity correlated .42 with binge eating and –.55 with the ponderal index (a measure of the elongated-rounded quality of body shape). Predisposition to anorexia correlated .14 with predisposition to obesity, showing that those predisposed to anorexia had a weak tendency to perceive themselves as prone to gain weight. However, contrary to clinical observations, predisposition to anorexia did not correlate significantly with binge eating or with physical activity. Across the entire sample, binge eating correlated .15 with abhorrence of full stomach (vomiting) showing that the incidence of bulimia is very low. A three-dimensional temperament framework and its associated measures of trait pleasure-displeasure, arousability, and trait dominance-submissiveness was used to explore personality correlates of eating habits. Predisposition to obesity was associated with arousability, and secondarily, with submissiveness, indicating anxious or dependent temperament types to be prone to obesity. Both binge eaters and those predisposed to anorexia exhibited unpleasant, arousable, and submissive (i.e., anxious) temperament characteristics. Physical activity was associated with trait dominance and trait pleasure; that is, relaxed or exuberant temperament qualities. Compared with males, females were significantly more predisposed to obesity, binge eating, and anorexia.

A Questionnaire Measure of Individual Differences in Dominance-Submissiveness

Reliability and validity data are reported for a questionnaire measure of individual differences in dominance-submissiveness. The measure was based on an initial set of 457 items which was subsequently augmented by an additional 62 rewritten and new items. The initial pool of items, which was carefully constructed to assure broad generality, contained 64 content groups representing various aspects of dominance-submissiveness. The final 48-item dominance-submissiveness questionnaire, which was balanced for response bias, had high internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson formula 20 coefficient was equal to .95). It was independent of social desirability (correlated .08 with the Crowne and Marlowe social desirability scale). As the scale also satisfied the requirements of low correlations with measures of trait pleasure ( r = .14) and arousability ( r = -.10), it can thus be used with these two measures for a three-dimensional characterization of temperament. Correlations with other available measures of dominance were significant and high.