Brain Systems that Mediate both Emotion and Cognition

Evidence for lateralized functional connectivity patterns at rest related to the tendency of externalizing or internalizing anger

Previous electroencephalographic and brain stimulation studies have shown that anger responses may be differently lateralized in the prefrontal cortex, with outward-oriented responses (externalized anger) linked to left prefrontal activity, and inward-oriented responses (internalized anger) linked to right prefrontal activity. However, the specific neural structures involved in this asymmetry, and how they interact to produce individual differences, remain unexplored. Furthermore, it is unclear whether such asymmetry may be explained by general behavioral tendencies, known as Behavioral Activation and Behavioral Inhibition Systems (BIS/BAS). Therefore, we analyzed the tendency of externalizing and internalizing anger, respectively measured by the Anger-Out and Anger-In subscales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, with the patterns of functional connectivity at rest of 71 participants. A left, prefrontal, resting-state, functional connectivity pattern was found for externalizing anger (Anger-Out), including the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left frontal eye fields. By contrast, a right, prefrontal, resting-state, functional connectivity pattern was found for internalizing anger (Anger-In), including the rostral and lateral prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, the frontal pole, the superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri, and the anterior cingulate. Notably, these patterns were not associated with the BIS/BAS scores. In this study, for the first time, we provide evidence using fMRI functional connectivity for two specific lateralized circuits contributing to individual differences in externalizing and internalizing anger. These results confirm and extend the asymmetry hypothesis for anger and have notable implications in the treatment of anger-related problems.

Executive Functions and Mood States in Athletes Performing Exercise Under Hypoxia

Hypoxia can impair cognitive performance, whereas exercise can enhance it. The effects of hypoxia on cognitive performance during exercise appear to be moderated by exercise duration and intensity and by severity and duration of hypoxia and cognitive task. In normal individuals, exercise under hypoxia can evoke adverse post-exercise mood states, such as tension and fatigue. However, little is known about the effects of hypoxia during exercise in trained athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate how hypoxia affected executive functions and mood states, assessed, respectively, during and post-exercise and to explore the role of motivation moderators, such as inhibition and activation systems (BIS-BAS). Two different sessions of exercise in normoxia and hypoxia (FiO2 13%), each lasting 18 min, were randomly assigned in a counterbalanced order and administered to seventeen male athletes. During exercise bouts, participants performed a mental task (BST) aimed to produce cognitive interference and suppression. Reaction times and accuracy of responses were recorded. After 5 min, all participants completed two questionnaires assessing mood states (ITAMS) and incidence of symptoms potentially related to hypoxia (AMS-C). The results show that hypoxia impairs cognitive performance in terms of slower reaction times, but a high BAS attenuates this effect. Participants with high BAS show an equivalent cognitive performance under hypoxia and normoxia conditions. No effects were found on mood states. Further research is required to investigate the role of BAS, cognitive abilities, and mood states in prolonged hypoxic conditions.

The mediating role of alexithymia and cognitive flexibility in the relationship between behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system and depression in Turkish population

This study aims to examine the relationships between the behavioral inhibition system (BIS)/behavioral activation system (BAS), depression, cognitive flexibility, and alexithymia, and to determine the mediator role of cognitive flexibility and alexithymia in the relationship between BIS/BAS and depression. Data were collected from a community sample, consisting of 1,275 people, 904 women (70.90%) and 371 (29.10%) men, aged 18-65 years. It was detected that the whole variables in this research were interrelated. Additionally, for the mediation analyses, two significant models in which were determined the mediator role of cognitive flexibility and alexithymia in the relationship between the dimensions of BIS-Fear and BAS-Reward and depression were created. Consequently, high BIS-Fear and low BAS-Reward were associated with susceptibility to depression through decreased cognitive flexibility and increased alexithymia. Moreover, it may be possible to identify which subdimensions of alexithymia and cognitive flexibility play a role in the relationship between depression and reward/punishment systems and which of these are risk factors via the models tested in this study. In this way, clinical interventions for the factors that are both associated with depressive symptoms and mediators for depression can be planned and this can help to achieve effective results in the therapy process.

Mindfulness in everyday life: between- and within-person relationships to motivational conflicts

Mindfulness has shown beneficial relationships with well-being and self-regulation. We aim to improve the understanding of the effects of between- and within-person differences in mindfulness when dealing with situations of motivational conflict. For this purpose, we conducted an experience sampling study with 56 university students who replied to a total of N = 1889 short questionnaires, which they received via their smartphones over a period of eight consecutive days. In addition to a state mindfulness questionnaire with the facets presence and non-judgment (focusing attention on the experience of the current action and a momentary non-judgmental stance towards these, respectively), the participants received questions about their current affective well-being and perceived intensity of want or should conflict experiences. Multi-level analyses revealed that want conflicts were predicted by both state mindfulness facets, even after momentary affect was controlled. In addition, to be non-judgmental (as a trait), and having momentary presence (as a state), related to lower intensity of should conflicts. The results suggest that being mindful might be a particularly beneficial way of dealing with daily motivational conflicts, which is an essential and frequent task of self-regulation.

Sensorimotor inhibition during emotional processing

Visual processing of emotional stimuli has been shown to engage complex cortical and subcortical networks, but it is still unclear how it affects sensorimotor integration processes. To fill this gap, here, we used a TMS protocol named short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI), capturing sensorimotor interactions, while healthy participants were observing emotional body language (EBL) and International Affective Picture System (IAPS) stimuli. Participants were presented with emotional (fear- and happiness-related) or non-emotional (neutral) EBL and IAPS stimuli while SAI was tested at 120 ms and 300 ms after pictures presentation. At the earlier time point (120 ms), we found that fear-related EBL and IAPS stimuli selectively enhanced SAI as indexed by the greater inhibitory effect of somatosensory afferents on motor excitability. Larger early SAI enhancement was associated with lower scores at the Behavioural Inhibition Scale (BIS). At the later time point (300 ms), we found a generalized SAI decrease for all kind of stimuli (fear, happiness or neutral). Because the SAI index reflects integrative activity of cholinergic sensorimotor circuits, our findings suggest greater sensitivity of such circuits during early (120 ms) processing of threat-related information. Moreover, the correlation with BIS score may suggest increased attention and sensory vigilance in participants with greater anxiety-related dispositions. In conclusion, the results of this study show that sensorimotor inhibition is rapidly enhanced while processing threatening stimuli and that SAI protocol might be a valuable option in evaluating emotional-motor interactions in physiological and pathological conditions.

Associations of delay discounting and drinking trajectories from ages 14 to 22

BACKGROUND

While drinking alcohol, one must choose between the immediate rewarding effects and the delayed reward of a healthier lifestyle. Individuals differ in their devaluation of a delayed reward based on the time required to receive it, i.e., delay discounting (DD). Previous studies have shown that adolescents discount more steeply than adults and that steeper DD is associated with heavier alcohol use in both groups.

METHODS

In a large-scale longitudinal study, we investigated whether higher rates of DD are an antecedent or a consequence of alcohol use during adolescent development. As part of the IMAGEN project, 2220 adolescents completed the Monetary Choice Questionnaire as a DD measure, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Timeline Follow Back interview at ages 14, 16, 18, and 22. Bivariate latent growth curve models were applied to investigate the relationship between DD and drinking. To explore the consequences of drinking, we computed the cumulative alcohol consumption and correlated it with the development of discounting. A subsample of 221 participants completed an intertemporal choice task (iTeCh) during functional magnetic resonance imaging at ages 14, 16, and 18. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to differentiate between high-risk and low-risk drinkers on the development of neural processing during intertemporal choices.

RESULTS

Overall, high rates of DD at age 14 predicted a greater increase in drinking over 8 years. In contrast, on average, moderate alcohol use did not affect DD from ages 14 to 22. Of note, we found indicators for less brain activity in top-down control areas during intertemporal choices in the participants who drank more.

CONCLUSIONS

Steep DD was shown to be a predictor rather than a consequence of alcohol use in low-level drinking adolescents. Important considerations for future longitudinal studies are the sampling strategies to be used and the reliability of the assessments.

The role of tenacious versus flexible goal pursuit in the vulnerability to bipolar disorder

The vulnerability to bipolar disorder is characterized by dysregulated goal-related behavior, the setting of ambitious and extreme goals, and increases in goal approach behaviors. To date, no studies have investigated the nature of goal pursuit behaviors amongst individuals at a behavioral risk for bipolar disorder in terms of whether goal pursuit is characterized by a tenacious active striving for goals or a more flexible changeable focus on goals. A non-clinical sample of 168 participants completed online measures of mood, bipolar-vulnerability, reward sensitivity, goal-related perfectionist tendencies, tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment behaviors. Our findings demonstrate that bipolar-vulnerability is characterized by the tenacious, not flexible, pursuit of goals, in combination with low regulation of goal behavior, and tendencies towards narcissistic and self-critical perfectionism indicative of setting high ambitious standards and making overly harsh self-judgments when such standards are not met. These findings are similar to those from clinical bipolar samples where there is evidence of prolonged symptom recoveries after the experience of goal frustrations and failures. Reducing the tenacious, active striving for goals amongst at-risk individuals may be a potential avenue for early intervention.

Well-Being in Highly Hypnotizable Persons

Both hypnotizability and well-being are relevant to health. This study aimed to investigate whether high hypnotizability was positively associated with well-being and whether the latter was related to the activity of the behavioral inhibition/approach system (BIS/BAS). ANOVA revealed significantly higher scores on the General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) in highly hypnotizable (highs, n = 31) compared with low hypnotizable participants (lows, n = 53), with medium hypnotizable participants (mediums, n = 41) exhibiting intermediate values. This finding was discussed in relation to other hypnotizability-related traits, such as morpho-functional brain characteristics, equivalence between imagery and perception, and interoceptive sensitivity. A secondary finding was a nonsignificant gender difference in scores on the PGWBI. The highs' higher well-being could be considered a favorable prognostic factor for physical and mental health.

Uncertainty Makes Me Emotional: Uncertainty as an Elicitor and Modulator of Emotional States

Uncertainty and emotion are an inevitable part of everyday life and play a vital role in mental health. Yet, our understanding of how uncertainty and emotion interact is limited. Here, an online survey was conducted (n = 231) to examine whether uncertainty evokes and modulates a range of negative and positive emotions. The data show that uncertainty is predominantly associated with negative emotional states such as fear/anxiety. However, uncertainty was also found to modulate a variety of other negative (i.e., sadness/upset, anger/frustration, and confusion) and positive (i.e., surprise/interest and excited/enthusiastic) emotional states, depending on the valence of an anticipated outcome (i.e., negative and positive) and the sub parameter of uncertainty (i.e., risk and ambiguity). Uncertainty increased the intensity of negative emotional states and decreased the intensity of positive emotional states. These findings support prior research suggesting that uncertainty is aversive and associated with negative emotional states such as fear and anxiety. However, the findings also revealed that uncertainty is involved in eliciting and modulating a wide array of emotional phenomena beyond fear and anxiety. This study highlights an opportunity for further study of how uncertainty and emotion interactions are conceptualised generally and in relation to mental health.

The influence of memory on approach and avoidance decisions: Investigating the role of episodic memory in social decision making

People are motivated to make social decisions to approach or avoid social targets (i.e., other people). Prior work has shown people make approach/avoidance (AA) decisions based on factors like physical appearance, race, gender, sexuality, etc., but less work has investigated the extent that memory for past encounters with social targets might influence AA decisions. Here, we investigate the role of episodic memory (memory for specific details associated with specific social targets) on AA decisions. In this investigation, participants formed positive or negative impressions based on social targets' behaviors before completing a memory test for specific episodic details associated with targets (self-generated impressions formed about target; behavior associated with targets). Participants then made AA decisions for those social targets, as well as new targets. Results showed strong approach tendencies when participants correctly remembered positive details associated with targets (impressions; behaviors) and strong avoidance tendencies when participants correctly remembered negative impressions associated with targets. For novel targets (targets not seen before and thus not associated with prior memory representations), participants showed no approach or avoidance tendencies. Overall, these findings suggest an important role for episodic memory on AA decisions, which is a potentially important mechanism in social decisions.

Whole-Brain Functional Connectivity Dynamics Associated With Electroconvulsive Therapy Treatment Response

BACKGROUND

Depressive episodes (DEPs), characterized by abnormalities in cognitive functions and mood, are a leading cause of disability. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves a brief electrical stimulation of the anesthetized brain, is one of the most effective treatments used in patients with DEP due to its rapid efficacy.

METHODS

In this work, we investigated how dynamic brain functional connectivity responds to ECT and whether the dynamic responses are associated with treatment outcomes and side effects in patients. We applied a fully automated independent component analysis-based pipeline to 110 patients with DEP (including diagnosis of unipolar depression or bipolar depression) and 60 healthy control subjects. The dynamic functional connectivity was analyzed by a combination of the sliding window approach and clustering analysis.

RESULTS

Five recurring connectivity states were identified, and patients with DEPs had fewer occurrences in one brain state (state 1) with strong positive and negative connectivity. Patients with DEP changed the occupancy of two states (states 3 and 4) after ECT, resulting in significantly different occurrences of one additional state (state 3) compared with healthy control subjects. We further found that patients with DEP had diminished global metastate dynamism, two of which recovered to normal after ECT. The changes in dynamic connectivity characteristics were associated with the changes in memory recall and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale of DEP after ECT.

CONCLUSIONS

These converging results extend current findings on subcortical-cortical dysfunction and dysrhythmia in DEP and demonstrate that ECT might cause remodeling of brain functional dynamics that enhance the neuroplasticity of the diseased brain.

The effects of reward and frustration in patients with bipolar disorder: Evidence from a computerized task with non-contingent feedback

BACKGROUND

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by mood changes that implies alterations in reward sensitivity and frustration tolerance. This study examined the effects of monetary reward and frustration on attentional performance and on affective experience across mood states in BD.

METHODS

An Affective Posner Task in which the nature of contingencies are divided in the three successive blocks (baseline condition, monetary reward and non-contingent feedback) was applied to BD individuals in their different episodes: mania (n = 30), depression (n = 30), and euthymia (n =  30) as well as to a group of healthy controls (n = 30).

RESULTS

Monetary reward improved performance (in terms of faster response times) in the euthymic group and the control group, whereas it impaired performance in the manic group and has not significant effect in the depressed group. In addition, an increased interference of frustration on response accuracy was exhibited in the three groups of BD patients (including euthymia) compared with healthy controls.

LIMITATIONS

Participants' affective experience was self-informed by a Likert scale, so the reliability of this measure can be undermined in symptomatic patients in terms of stability and objectivity. Although it was statistically controlled, at the time of testing, all BD patients were medicated.

CONCLUSIONS

A dissociated effect of reward and frustration was found between symptomatic and euthymic states in BD: whereas the benefit from monetary reward is affected only during symptomatic episodes (i.e., a state), the notably increased interference of frustration is exhibited also during euthymia (i.e., a trait).

Examining the reliability and validity of two versions of the Effort-Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT)

The Effort-Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT) has gained validity evidence from several studies. However, various modifications have been applied to the original version, which have never been compared systematically. In Study 1, we tested 120 healthy participants to directly compare two versions of the EEfRT. In Study 2, we tested a larger sample of 394 healthy participants to further examine the original EEfRT. We replicated the split-half reliability of both task versions. However, self-reported personality traits (e.g., trait BAS) correlated with only some task performance parameters in Study 1, which did not replicate for the original EEfRT in Study 2. Our results indicate complex and sometimes inconsistent relations between different personality traits, task properties, and reward attributes.

The Mixed Effect of Role Overload on Extra-Role Performance: The Mediation Role of Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System Responses

The findings of existing studies of how role overload affects employees’ performance in organizations have been mixed and controversial. We draw on the hindrance–challenge framework to suggest that role overload contains both hindrance and challenge stressor components. We integrate this theory with the behavioral inhibition and behavioral activation systems (BIS and BAS) perspective to develop hypotheses about the effects of role overload on employees’ extra-role performance (voice). We suggest that although role overload is positively associated with withdrawal (a prototypical response of the BIS system) and ultimately negatively influences extra-role performance, it can also trigger job crafting (a prototypical response of the BAS system) and is, consequently, positively associated with extra-role performance. We further posit that the strength of these indirect effects is moderated by the quality of leader–member exchange (LMX). To support these hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged study of 450 full-time pre-school teachers from various Chinese kindergartens. As hypothesized, we found that withdrawal and job crafting mediated the relationship between role overload and extra-role performance. Further, LMX strengthens the positive relationship between role overload and job crafting. Taken together, our results suggest that role overload can be a mixed stressor that activates both negative and positive behaviors, thus ultimately having an impact on extra-role performance.

The Moderating Role of Anticipated Regret and Product Involvement on Online Impulsive Buying Behavior

Online impulsive buying behavior has drawn an increasing amount of attention from researchers and marketers as well; however, little research has explored how cognitive aspect and emotional aspect effect online impulsive buying together. The study examines the role of product involvement (cognitive aspect) and anticipated regret (emotional aspect) on the online impulsive buying behavior of the consumer. The results indicate that consumers who experienced downward anticipated regret showed more online impulsive buying behavior than those who experienced upward anticipated regret. Moreover, anticipated regret moderates the relationship between product involvement and online impulsive buying behavior, for participants who experienced downward anticipated regret showing more online impulsive buying behavior than those who experienced upward anticipated regret in the low product involvement group, but there is no differential between downward and upward anticipated regret in the high involvement product group. These findings suggest that anticipated regret helps consumers make more deliberative online shopping choices. The implications for both future research and online consumers are discussed.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travelers' preference for crowded versus non-crowded options

Crowding is a critical determinant of consumers' satisfaction with and preferences for different shopping and travel situations. When considering a selection of travel and hospitality options, travelers are influenced by perceived crowding. This research examined how the current health crisis (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) affects travelers' preferences for crowded and non-crowded options. Specifically, we predicted that travelers would have a diminished preference for crowded (vs. non-crowded) travel and hospitality options when the ongoing pandemic is salient. We demonstrated that the primary effect of the salience of the threat was persistent across different travel categories and contexts. We also found that travelers with high levels of sensation seeking and a high need for uniqueness show the opposite pattern, suggesting a possible recovery strategy from the pandemic. Five experimental studies provide several theoretical and managerial implications for travel and hospitality business marketers.

Development of the Pain Responses Scale: A measure informed by the BIS-BAS model of pain

BACKGROUND

The behavioural inhibition system and activation system (BIS-BAS) model of pain focusses on two clusters of responses to pain-escape/avoidance (BIS) and approach (BAS) behaviours. While the BIS-BAS model emphasizes active responses to pain, deactivation responses such as despondence and relaxation are also common. This study sought to develop self-report scales assessing cognitive, behavioural intentions and affective responses to pain consistent with this extended BIS-BAS framework. We also sought to develop short-forms of the emerging scales.

METHODS

Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to derive scales from a large item pool administered to a community sample with heterogeneous chronic pain (N = 476).

RESULTS

The items resulted in 16 scales assessing Thoughts, Affective responses, Behavioural Intentions and Valence-Associated Thoughts, which loaded on to the four theorized types of pain responses-Escape, Approach, Despondence and Relaxation-with the four emerging short-form scales assessing these overarching factors. The internal consistency reliabilities of the long-forms generally ranged from good to excellent (αs ≥ 0.83), with the exception of the Relaxation-Behavioural Intentions scale (α = 0.64). The four short-forms demonstrated at least adequate internal consistency reliability (αs ≥ 0.79). An initial test of the construct validity of the scales in relation to pain-related outcomes is also reported.

CONCLUSIONS

We anticipate that the Pain Responses Scale (PRS) developed from this research will be useful for assessing mechanisms targeted by many psychosocial pain treatments and will provide a nuanced understanding of the shared versus specific nature of these mechanisms.

SIGNIFICANCE

The Pain Responses Scale emerging from this research assesses four theorized, overarching responses to pain: Escape, Approach, Giving Up and Relaxation. This measure will afford the capacity to test a reconceptualized BIS-BAS model of pain and inform treatments that are adapted based on this framework.

Predictors of Changes in Travel Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Tourists' Personalities

This study investigates travel behavior and psychosocial factors that influence it during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a cross-sectional study, using an online survey, we examined changes in travel behavior and preferences after lifting travel restrictions, and how these changes were influenced by exposure to COVID-19, COVID-19 travel-related risk and severity, personality, fear of travel, coping, and self-efficacy appraisals in the Romanian population. Our results showed that participants traveled less in the pandemic year than the year before-especially group and foreign travel-yet more participants reported individual traveling in their home county during the pandemic period. Distinct types of exposure to COVID-19 risk, as well as cognitive and affective factors, were related to travel behavior and preferences. However, fun-seeking personality was the only major predictor of travel intention, while fear of travel was the only predictor of travel avoidance. Instead, people traveled more cautiously when they perceived more risk of infection at the destination, and had higher levels of fear of travel, but also a high sense of efficacy in controlling the infection and problem-solving capacity. The results suggest that specific information about COVID-19, coping mechanisms, fear of travel, and neuropsychological personality traits may affect travel behavior in the pandemic period.

Smoke signals: A study of the neurophysiological reaction of smokers and non-smokers to smoking cues inserted into antismoking public service announcements

Tobacco addiction is one of the biggest health emergencies in the world, Antismoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs) represent the main public tool against smoking; however, smoking-related cues (SCs) often included in PSAs can trigger ambiguous cerebral reactions that could impact the persuasiveness and efficacy of the antismoking message. This study aimed to investigate the electroencephalographic (EEG) response in adult smokers and non-smokers during the exposure to SCs presented in antismoking PSAs video, in order to identify eventual neurophysiological features of SCs' 'boomerang effect' elicited in smokers. EEG frontal Alpha asymmetry and frontal Theta were analyzed in 92 adults (30 no smokers, 31 low smokers, 31 high smokers) from EEG recorded during the vision of 3 antismoking PSAs, statistical analysis was conducted using ANOVA. Main results showed a significant interaction between smoking cue condition (Pre and Post) and smoking habit (in particular for female heavy smokers) for the frontal Alpha asymmetry. Since the relative higher right frontal Alpha activity is associated with approach towards a stimulus, it is suggested that the relative left frontal Alpha increase in response to SCs might reflect an appetitive approach in response to it. In the light of the Incentive Sensitization Theory, this pattern can be interpreted as a neurophysiological signal in response to SCs that could undermine the message's effectiveness contributing to the maintenance of the addiction.

A Walk in the Park? Examining the Impact of App-Based Weather Warnings on Affective Reactions and the Search for Information in a Virtual City

Background: Warning apps can provide personalized public warnings, but research on their appraisal and impact on compliance is scarce. This study introduces a virtual city framework to examine affective reactions when receiving an app-based warning, and subsequent behavioral intentions. Methods: In an online experiment, 276 participants (M = 41.07, SD = 16.44, 62.0% female) were randomly allocated to one of eight groups (warning vs. no warning, thunderstorm vs. no thunderstorm, video vs. vignette). Participants were guided through a virtual city by a mock-up touristic app (t1). Then, the app issued a warning about an impending thunderstorm (t2), followed by a virtual thunderstorm (t3). The virtual city tour was presented via vignettes or videos. ANCOVAs were used to investigate trajectories of momentary anxiety, hierarchical regressions analyzed the impact of momentary anxiety on information seeking. Results: Participants who received a warning message and were confronted with a thunderstorm showed the highest increase in momentary anxiety, which predicted information seeking intentions. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of affective appraisal in processing warning messages. The virtual city framework is able to differentiate the impact of warning versus event in an online context, and thus promising for future warning research in virtual settings.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Depression From an Evolutionary Perspective

Evolutionary medicine attempts to solve a problem with which traditional medicine has struggled historically; how do we distinguish between diseased states and "healthy" responses to disease states? Fever and diarrhea represent classic examples of evolved adaptations that increase the likelihood of survival in response to the presence of pathogens in the body. Whereas, the severe mental disorders like psychotic mania or the schizophrenias may involve true "disease" states best treated pharmacologically, most non-psychotic "disorders" that revolve around negative affects like depression or anxiety are likely adaptations that evolved to serve a function that increased inclusive fitness in our ancestral past. What this likely means is that the proximal mechanisms underlying the non-psychotic "disorders" are "species typical" and neither diseases nor disorders. Rather, they are coordinated "whole body" responses that prepare the individual to respond in a maximally functional fashion to the variety of different challenges that our ancestors faced. A case can be made that depression evolved to facilitate a deliberate cognitive style (rumination) in response to complex (often social) problems. What this further suggests is that those interventions that best facilitate the functions that those adaptations evolved to serve (such as rumination) are likely to be preferred over those like medications that simply anesthetize the distress. We consider the mechanisms that evolved to generate depression and the processes utilized in cognitive behavior therapy to facilitate those functions from an adaptationist evolutionary perspective.

Clinical Application of Social Cognitive Theory: A Novel Personality Assessment Procedure and a Case Study of Personality Coherence

We present a novel personality assessment method that applies social cognitive personality theory, and more specifically, the Knowledge and Appraisal Personality Architecture model (KAPA; Cervone, 2004 ; 2021 ; see Scott & Cervone, 2016 ). Our assessment method generates descriptions of how personality structures, including temperament, beliefs, goals, and evaluative standards, are activated in “functionally equivalent” situations to generate if–then personality signatures ( Mischel, 2004 ). These descriptions represent models of personality coherence, which we characterize as strong attractor states. We define personality incoherence as nonexistent or perturbed attractor states, in which the situational “if” does not consistently produce a coherent “then” pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving. We provide a step-by-step description of our personality assessment method, and include lists of measures that can be used to assess temperament, beliefs, goals, and standards. To illustrate our personality assessment method, we present a case study of a man in his forties who met criteria for persistent depressive disorder, with intermittent major depressive episodes, with current episode and generalized anxiety disorder. For this client, we describe two “attractor states,” one maladaptive and one adaptive, each providing an example of personality coherence. We conclude by discussing potential future directions and limitations of our personality assessment method.

Interdependent Neural Correlates of Reward and Punishment Sensitivity During Rewarded Action and Inhibition of Action

Imaging studies have distinguished the brain correlates of approach and avoidance behaviors and suggested the influence of individual differences in trait sensitivity to reward (SR) and punishment (SP) on these neural processes. Theoretical work of reinforcement sensitivity postulates that SR and SP may interdependently regulate behavior. Here, we examined the distinct and interrelated neural substrates underlying rewarded action versus inhibition of action in relation to SR and SP as evaluated by the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire. Forty-nine healthy adults performed a reward go/no-go task with approximately 2/3 go and 1/3 no-go trials. Correct go and no-go responses were rewarded and incorrect responses were penalized. The results showed that SR and SP modulated rewarded go and no-go, respectively, both by recruiting the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and left middle frontal gyrus (rACC/left MFG). Importantly, SR and SP influenced these regional activations in opposite directions, thus exhibiting an antagonistic relationship as suggested by the reinforcement sensitivity theory. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that heightened SR contributed to higher rewarded go success rate via enhanced rACC/left MFG activity. The findings demonstrate interrelated neural correlates of SR and SP to support the diametric processes of behavioral approach and avoidance.

Trait anger expression mediates childhood trauma predicting for adulthood anxiety, depressive, and alcohol use disorders

BACKGROUND

General aggression and evolutionary models posit that more severe early exposure experiences to trauma (physical, emotional, sexual abuse and/or neglect) place one at risk for adulthood psychopathology through heightened trait anger expression-internal (Anger-In) and external (Anger-Out). However, there are a dearth of empirical studies explaining the longitudinal childhood maltreatment-adulthood psychopathology relation.

OBJECTIVE

Therefore, this study investigated if childhood maltreatment exposure severity predicted elevated adulthood major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Moreover, we tested if trait anger expression - internal and external - mediated the childhood maltreatment-adulthood MDD, GAD, PD, and AUD symptom associations.

METHOD

Participants took part in two waves of measurement spaced approximately 9 years apart. Time 1 childhood trauma severity (retrospectively-reported Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), Time 2 Anger-In and Anger-Out (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory), and Time 3 adulthood MDD, GAD, PD (Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form), and AUD (Alcohol Screening Test) diagnoses were measured.

RESULTS

Anger-Out and Anger-In partially mediated the relations between childhood trauma severity and adulthood psychopathology diagnoses after adjusting for Time 2 symptoms. Higher Time 1 childhood trauma severity was related to greater Time 2 Anger-Out and Anger-In, and increased Time 2 Anger-Out and Anger-In were thereby related to elevated Time 3 adulthood MDD, PD and AUD, but not GAD severity. Trait anger accounted for 14 to 50% of the variance of childhood trauma-adulthood MDD, PD and AUD relations.

DISCUSSION

Theoretical and clinical implications, such as the need for trauma-informed care, are discussed.

Target value and prevalence influence visual foraging in younger and older age

The prevalence and reward-value of targets have an influence on visual search. The strength of the effect of an item's reward-value on attentional selection varies substantially between individuals and is potentially sensitive to aging. We investigated individual and age differences in a hybrid foraging task, in which the prevalence and value of multiple target types was varied. Using optimal foraging theory measures, foraging was more efficient overall in younger than older observers. However, the influence of prevalence and value on target selections was similar across age groups, suggesting that the underlying cognitive mechanisms are preserved in older age. When prevalence was varied but target value was balanced, younger and older observers preferably selected the most frequent target type and were biased to select another instance of the previously selected target type. When value was varied, younger and older observers showed a tendency to select high-value targets, but preferences were more diverse between individuals. When value and prevalence were inversely related, some observers showed particularly strong preferences for high-valued target types, while others showed a preference for high-prevalent, albeit low-value, target types. In younger adults, individual differences in the selection choices correlated with a personality index, suggesting that avoiding selections of low-value targets may be related to reward-seeking behaviour.

The association between BIS/BAS and fear of COVID-19 infection among women

BACKGROUND

The main goal of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate, in women, the association between the behavioural inhibition system/behavioural activation system (BIS/BAS) and fear of COVID-19-related self-infection and infection of loved ones (family members, friends, relatives). Several studies have indicated that the psychological consequences of COVID-19 are serious especially among women. On the other hand, little is known about the role of the BIS and BAS in shaping responses and behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article deals with this issue.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The sample consisted of 415 women between the ages of 18 and 67. A numerical rating scale comprising 11 degrees of fear was used to assess participants' COVID-19-related fear, and the BIS and BAS were evaluated using Carver and White's BIS/BAS scales.

RESULTS

A small positive correlation was observed between the BIS and participants' COVID-19-related fear of loved ones' infection. The BIS explained two percent of the COVID-19-related fear of loved ones' infection dimension.

CONCLUSIONS

The BIS weakly, but significantly correlated with women's fear of their loved ones being infected by COVID-19. This study highlights the possible role of the BIS mechanism in women's response to COVID-19-related fear, but only when the threat affects loved ones. Comparative studies between men and women are necessary.

Dopaminergic Genetic Variation in Young Adolescents: Associations with Sensation-Seeking

Deficient reward functioning, including reward-related personality, is implicated in depression's etiology. A dopaminergic genetic multilocus genetic profile score (MGPS) has previously been associated with neural reward responsivity but, despite theoretical basis, has not been studied with reward-related personality. Such research is needed to elucidate associations between genetic variation and reward-related personality in a developmentally sensitive population. In the present study, we examined associations between dopaminergic MGPS's and self-report reward-related personality in two young adolescent samples aged 10-15 years old (Sample 1: N = 100 girls, 82% White, 18% Other; Sample 2: N = 141, 65 girls, 76 boys, 89.36% White, 10.64% Other) using an established MGPS and an augmented MGPS. A "mini" meta-analysis synthesized results across samples. In Sample 1, an exploratory mediation analysis intended to gauge effect size for future work tested a path between the MGPS and depression through significant reward traits. In each independent sample, both MGPS's showed significant associations with sensation-seeking but not social drive, a pattern that persisted following correction. Effect sizes of novel variants were at least as robust as established variants, suggesting their added utility. Additionally, the exploratory mediation analysis suggested no noteworthy indirect effect, but a small (R² = 0.022), statistically non-significant direct effect of the MGPS predicting prospective depressive symptoms. Results suggest that dopaminergic genetic variation is associated with the reward-related personality trait of sensation seeking but not social drive. Additional work is needed to probe whether sensation seeking may be a path through which this genetic variation confers depression risk.

The Predation Game: Does dividing attention affect patterns of human foraging?

Attention is known to play an important role in shaping the behaviour of both human and animal foragers. Here, in three experiments, we built on previous interactive tasks to create an online foraging game for studying divided attention in human participants exposed to the (simulated) risk of predation. Participants used a "sheep" icon to collect items from different target categories randomly distributed across the display. Each trial also contained "wolf" objects, whose movement was inspired by classic studies of multiple object tracking. When participants needed to physically avoid the wolves, foraging patterns changed, with an increased tendency to switch between target categories and a decreased ability to prioritise high reward targets, relative to participants who could safely ignore them. However, when the wolves became dangerous by periodically changing form (briefly having big eyes) instead of by approaching the sheep, foraging patterns were unaffected. Spatial disruption caused by the need to rapidly shift position-rather the cost of reallocating attention-therefore appears to influence foraging in this context. These results thus confirm that participants can efficiently alternate between target selection and tracking moving objects, replicating earlier single-target search findings. Future studies may need to increase the perceived risk or potential costs associated with simulated danger, in order to elicit the extended run behaviour predicted by animal models of foraging, but absent in the current data.

Response Processes to Looming Appetitive and Aversive Cues in Euthymic Bipolar Patients and Their First-Degree Relatives: An Exploratory Study

BACKGROUND

Patients with bipolar disorder demonstrate increased sensitivity to appetitive/rewarding stimuli even during euthymia. On presentation of arousing pictures, they show a peculiar response, suggesting heightened vigilance. While responding to looming arousing cues, studies show subjects with anxiety spectrum disorders exhibit increased reaction time (RT), explained by the "looming-vulnerability model." This study aimed to investigate the responses to looming arousing cues in euthymic bipolar patients and their first-degree relatives, as compared to healthy controls.

METHOD

A looming appetitive and aversive cue paradigm was designed for assessing the RT of patients to process appetitive and aversive cues. The behavioral inhibition/activation and sensitivity to reward/punishment amongst the groups were also assessed.

RESULTS

The bipolar group showed significantly longer RT to process appetitive cues irrespective of the looming condition. Aversive cues elicited significantly longer RT in both the bipolar group and in first-degree relatives, but only when presented with the looming condition. Significant looming bias was elicited in the bipolar group which suggested a particular cognitive style to looming cues. A composite measure of RT along with sensitivity to reward/punishment distinguishes the bipolar group and their first-degree relatives from the healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

The looming vulnerability model may provide important insights for future exploration of cognitive endophenotypes in bipolar disorder.

Differentiating reactivity and regulation: Evidence for a role of prefrontal asymmetry in affect regulation

Prefrontal asymmetry (PFA) has originally been referred to as "affective style" and is said to be associated with an individual's personality. Therefore, previous research has focused on finding a link between PFA and trait variables associated with affective processing, such as the behavioral activation and inhibition systems (BAS/BIS). However, recent evidence suggests that PFA might be involved in regulatory processes rather than initial affective reactions. Here, we investigated if failure-related action orientation (AOF), as a personality variable reflecting the ability to disengage from negative experiences, is related to PFA. Forty-seven participants completed two trait questionnaires to assess BAS/BIS and AOF, followed by 8 min of resting EEG measurement. Results showed that higher AOF scores predicted a higher relative left-hemispheric PFA when BAS/BIS was controlled for. The findings suggest that a suppression effect might account for the inconsistencies in the literature regarding the association between PFA and BAS/BIS.

The role of cognition and reinforcement sensitivity in older adult decision-making under explicit risk conditions

Introduction: Previous research has suggested that individual differences in executive functions, memory and reinforcement sensitivity are associated with performance on behavioral decision-making tasks. Decision-making performance may also decline with age, however there is a lack of research on the interplay of cognitive and affective processes, and their impact on older adult decision-making. This study examined associations between executive functions, memory and reinforcement sensitivity on the Game of Dice Task (a measure of decision-making under explicit risk) among older adults.Method: One thousand and two older adults without cognitive impairment (aged 72-78 years) participated as part of an Australian longitudinal cohort study (the Personality and Total Health Through Life study). Decision-making sub-types were identified through cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations with measures of cognition and reinforcement sensitivity.Results: Cluster analysis identified three decision-making sub-types, which we label "advantageous," "disadvantageous" and "switching." Multivariate analyses found that relative to the mid-performing "switching" sub-type, advantageous decision-makers were more likely to be younger, male and have higher scores on a test of verbal learning. Disadvantageous decision-makers were more likely to have poorer scores on some components of executive function (set shifting, but not working memory or inhibitory control), although this effect was partly attenuated by a measure of reinforcement sensitivity (reward responsiveness).Conclusion: These results indicate that specific components of learning and executive functions are influential in decision-making under explicit risk among a sample of older adults.

Behavioral Activation and Inhibition Systems: Further Evaluation of a BIS-BAS Model of Chronic Pain

OBJECTIVES

The role of the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) in function has been evaluated in a wide range of populations. However, research on the role of the BIS and BAS in pain is in its early stages. This study sought to evaluate the utility of a BIS-BAS model of chronic pain.

METHODS

Participants were 164 individuals with chronic pain who responded to an online survey. Participants provided information about pain location, intensity, and frequency and completed questionnaires assessing behavioral inhibition and activation sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, activity engagement, pain willingness, hope, and pain self-efficacy. Seven hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test hypothesized associations between BIS and BAS sensitivity and measures of participant function.

RESULTS

BIS scores were significantly and positively associated with pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression, and pain interference and were negatively associated with activity engagement, hope, and pain self-efficacy (P<0.01). BAS scores showed significant and positive associations with activity engagement and hope and showed significant negative associations with pain catastrophizing and anxiety (P<0.05). Furthermore, BIS sensitivity evidenced stronger associations with all the other study measures than did BAS sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide important new information regarding the utility of the BIS-BAS model of chronic pain. Our results support the idea that BIS activation is more important than BAS activation in explaining a variety of pain-related outcomes, including positive and negative responses to pain, and suggest that modification of the model may be indicated. These results have several theoretical and clinical implications.

Are need for affect and cognition culture dependent? Implications for global public health campaigns: a cross-sectional study

Background

Cultural differences in affective and cognitive intrinsic motivation could pose challenges for global public health campaigns, which use cognitive or affective goals to evoke desired attitudes and proactive health-promoting actions. This study aimed to identify cross-cultural differences in affective and cognitive intrinsic motivation and discuss the potential value of this information for public health promotion.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey using cross-culturally validated need for affect (NFA) and need for cognition (NFC) scales was carried out among 1166 Chinese participants, and the results were compared with published data from 980 American participants. Additionally, we assessed a highly prevalent symbolic geriatric health condition, hearing loss, in 500 Chinese community-dwelling seniors. The Chinese NFA scale was developed following the translation-back translation procedure, and the psychometric evaluation was performed by applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), correlation analysis and multigroup invariance test. MANOVA and Hedge’s g statistic were employed to compare the NFA and NFC levels between individuals from different countries and between Chinese seniors with and without hearing loss. The relation of early hearing intervention intention to NFA and NFC was also explored in the Chinese sample.

Results

A basic two-factor model of NFA adequately fit the sample data from Chinese and American cultures. The questionnaire demonstrated reasonable invariance of the factor structure and factor loadings across the groups. Those in the primary Chinese sample had lower NFA and NFC than their American peers. This difference held in the senior sample. Moreover, Chinese seniors with hearing loss had even lower NFA and NFC than those without hearing loss. Their early hearing intervention intention was low but was associated with intrinsic motivation.

Conclusions

The Need for Affect (NFA) construct may be generalized beyond its Western origins. There was a general lack of affective and cognitive intrinsic motivation in Chinese individuals, particularly in seniors with hearing loss, compared with their American peers. These differences point to a potential challenge in framing effective messages for some cultures in the geriatric public health domain. Ideally, recognizing and understanding this challenge will inspire the consideration of novel persuasive strategies for these audiences.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-10689-w.

Swinging for the Fences Versus Advancing the Runner: Culture, Motivation, and Strategic Decision Making

This research investigated cross-cultural differences in strategic risky decisions in baseball—among professional baseball teams in North America and Japan (Study 1) and among baseball fans in the United States and Japan (Study 2—preregistered). Study 1 analyzed archival data from professional baseball leagues and demonstrated that outcomes reflecting high risk-high payoff strategies were more prevalent in North America, whereas outcomes reflecting low risk-low payoff strategies were more prevalent in Japan. Study 2 investigated fans’ strategic decision making with a wider range of baseball strategies as well as an underlying reason for the difference: approach/avoidance motivational orientation. European American participants preferred high risk-high payoff strategies, Japanese participants preferred low risk-low payoff strategies, and this cultural variation was explained by cultural differences in motivational orientation. Baseball, which exemplifies a domain where strategic decision making has observable consequences, can demonstrate the power of culture through the actions and preferences of players and fans alike.

An Immersive Serious Game for the Behavioral Assessment of Psychological Needs

Motivation is an essential component in mental health and well-being. In this area, researchers have identified four psychological needs that drive human behavior: attachment, self-esteem, orientation and control, and maximization of pleasure and minimization of distress. Various self-reported scales and interviews tools have been developed to assess these dimensions. Despite the validity of these, they are showing limitations in terms of abstractation and decontextualization and biases, such as social desirability bias, that can affect responses veracity. Conversely, virtual serious games (VSGs), that are games with specific purposes, can potentially provide more ecologically valid and objective assessments than traditional approaches. Starting from these premises, the aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a VSG to assess the four personality needs. Sixty subjects participated in five VSG sessions. Results showed that the VSG was able to recognize attachment, self-esteem, and orientation and control needs with a high accuracy, and to a lesser extent maximization of pleasure and minimization of distress need. In conclusion, this study showed the feasibility to use a VSG to enhance the assessment of psychological behavioral-based need, overcoming biases presented by traditional assessment.

The effects of message framing on online health headline selection of female users: A moderation of approach/avoidance motivation

BACKGROUND

More and more females are diagnosed with and die of cancers. Acquiring cancer-related information and enriching one's knowledge of cancers are important to cancer prevention and treatment. Effective online health headlines are indispensable to encouraging the reading of the hyperlinked health articles, especially those on daunting topics such as cancers.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to reveal how message framing, i.e., gain- or loss-framing, influences female users' selection of cancer-related health headlines at two levels, i.e., attention and behavior.

METHODS

An eye-tracking experiment was conducted to capture female participants' attention and clicking behavior in response to cancer-related headlines manipulated in terms of message framing. The Stimulus-Organism-Response (S- O-R) framework was introduced to develop the research model that also took approach/avoidance motivation into account as moderator.

RESULTS

Compared with loss-framed headlines, gain-framed ones attracted more and longer fixations (β = .09, p < .01; β = .12, p < .01) as well as more clicks (exp(B) = 1.76, p < .001), and they additionally evoked a higher level of pleasure (β = .50, p = .00) yet a lower level of arousal (β=-.16, p = .00). Arousal partially mediated the relationship between message framing and headline selection (β = .16, p = .00; β = .16, p = .00; exp(B) = 1.8, p = .00). The participants high in approach motivation devoted more attention to gain-framed headlines than to loss-framed ones (F(1,1333) = 15.74, p < .001; F(1,1333) = 31.94, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

Gain-framing is a preferred technique over loss-framing for online health information providers to create effective headlines of cancer-related information. Using gain-framed headlines helps alleviate cancer information avoidance and enrich people's knowledge of fatal diseases.

The spontaneous brain activity of disgust: Perspective from resting state fMRI and resting state EEG

In recent years, more and more studies on disgust have shown the association between disgust and various psychopathologies. Revealing the spontaneous brain activity patterns associated with disgust sensitivity from the perspective of individual differences will give us an insight into the neurologic nature of disgust and its psychopathological vulnerability. Here, we used two modal brain imaging techniques (resting fMRI and resting EEG) to reveal spontaneous brain activity patterns closely related to disgust sensitivity. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation results showed that disgust sensitivity is negatively correlated with the spontaneous activity of the right cerebellum crus II and positively correlated with the spontaneous activity of the right superior frontal cortex, which are inhibition-related brain regions. Furthermore, the microstate results of rest EEG indicated that the corrected duration, occurrence rate, and contribution of Class C, which is related to the anterior default mode network and is considered to be related to subjective representation of one' own body by combining interoceptive information with affective salience, were significantly positively correlated with the disgust sensitivity level. This data-driven approach provides the first evidence on the intrinsic brain features of disgust sensitivity based on two resting-state brain modalities. The results represent an initial effort to uncover the neurological basis of disgust sensitivity and its connection to psychopathology.

A Multimethod Examination of Sensitivity to Reward and Sensitivity to Punishment in Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Dependence: Results from a 2 × 2 Factorial Design

INTRODUCTION

Shared neurobehavioral characteristics of bipolar disorder (BD) and alcohol dependence (AD), including heightened sensitivity to reward (SR), may account for high rates of BD and AD co-occurrence (BD + AD). However, empirical research is lacking. The present multimethod investigation examined SR and sensitivity to punishment (SP) among these patient groups using a reliable and well-validated self-report questionnaire of SR and SP along with a laboratory task specifically designed to distinguish SR and SP activation.

METHODS

One-hundred participants formed 4 groups: BD + AD (n = 40), BD (n = 18), AD (n = 25), and healthy controls (n = 17). Clinical interviews were administered, and participants completed the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSR-Q) and the Point Score Reaction Test behavioral task. Pearson correlations, hierarchical linear regression, and 2 × 2 factorial general linear modeling with Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons were performed.

RESULTS

BD and AD main effects were significant on self-reported SR and SP; however, BD × AD interactions were not. BD + AD individuals were significantly higher on self-reported SR than BD and AD individuals, yet all clinical groups were similar on SP. Behavioral response times did not distinguish groups nor did they associate with self-report data.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

BD and AD had additive, rather than interactive, effects on self-reported SR and SP. The methods employed, paired with their application to the present sample, may account for a lack of positive findings with behavioral data.

Personality Traits and Body Weight Measures: Concurrent and Across–Time Associations

We tested the possibility that the five–factor model of personality is associated with three measures of body weight and with changes in their levels over time and that these associations are gender specific. The study was conducted at two points of time, Time 1 (2664 participants) and Time 2 (1492 participants), over approximately 4 years, controlling for gender, age, education, and having a chronic disease. Body weight was assessed by body mass index, waist circumference, waist–to–hip ratio, and the five–factor model by Saucier's Mini–Markers. Cross–sectional regression results indicated that conscientiousness was negatively associated with the three body weight measures, whereas neuroticism and extraversion were positively associated with the three body weight measures. The longitudinal regression results indicate that extraversion was associated with an increase in two of the body weight measures. Neuroticism was associated with increase in all three body weight measures and more strongly for women than for men. Openness was associated with a decrease in all three body weight measures for women, but this association was not significant for men. These findings help identify personality traits that lead to risk of weight gain and point to the modifying role of gender. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing Implicit Cognitive Motivation: Developing and Testing An Implicit Association Test to Measure Need for Cognition

The personality trait need for cognition (NFC) refers to individual differences in cognitive motivation and has proven to be an extraordinarily useful descriptor and predictor in the context of information processing. So far, NFC has been assessed via self–report. More recent research, however, accentuates the value of indirect measures, as they tap into implicit aspects of the personality self–concept and are assumed to provide incremental validity especially in predicting automatic aspects of behaviour. Therefore, in the present research, different NFC–Implicit Association Tests (IATs) were developed and pretested for psychometric properties. The final version was systematically tested for its predictive validity over and above the direct NFC measure based on a latent variable approach. The results provide evidence for a double dissociation model and suggest the NFC–IAT to exert its predictive value regarding the more spontaneous aspects of NFC–related behaviour, whereas the NFC scale was rather predictive for the more reflective aspects of behaviour. Moreover, the present research contributes to the understanding of construct–unrelated variance in personality IATs and offers valuable information for test development in the realm of personality IATs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.