Gordon Allport believed that one could learn about the content and structure of people's personalities by looking at their expressive movements. While his expectations were not absolute, he did believe that different expressive behaviors were consistent with each other, and that any given expressive behavior, for a particular individual, would be…

Eighty-eight males and females participated in one of three affect inducing conditions which involved reading neutral, depression, or elation statements. Subjects in the depression condition, in contrast to the elation group, reported themselves to be more depressed, anxious, and hostile, were less expansive in graphic expression and less likely…

This review brings together some general findings on empathy that have emerged during the last decade of research with children. From a recent review of the research on social cognitive development (Schantz, in press), this paper responds to three specific questions: (1) What is empathy? (2) Under what conditions is empathy likely to occur? and…

This essay reviews empirical evidence that suggests that emotion type and emotion intensity are associated with distinct and independent patterns of frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in infants. The role of the frontal lobe and related brain systems in emotion expression and regulation is also discussed from a developmental…

A reanalysis of recent clinical research suggests that three different neural processes or brain mechanisms may underlie the regulation of emotion: (1) contralateral disinhibition of cortical centers; (2) ipsilateral disinhibition of subcortical centers; and (3) excitation of specific subcortical or neocortical centers. (MDM)

Examines ways in which individual differences in emotion regulation may be influenced by children's attachment experiences. It argues that individuals characterized by the flexible ability to accept and integrate both positive and negative emotions are generally securely attached, whereas individuals characterized by either limited or heightened…

Discusses new research directions in the study of emotions, including postulations that emotion is relational rather than intrapsychic; emotion and an individual's goals are closely related; emotion "expressions" are social signals, not merely outward signs of internal states; and the physiology of emotion can regulate and be regulated.…

Reference group theory suggests that a perceived similarity between interacting individuals leads to future interaction, increased source credibility, and more frequent agreement on specific issues. This study shows how the reference group theory applies to the authoritarian television character Archie Bunker and television viewers that watch…

The determinants of interpersonal attraction were examined in 10 dyadic situations involving an actor's behavior toward a perceiver. For each situation, the intentionality of the actor's behavior was varied at three levels (intentional, nonintentional, no information), and the affective implications of the behavior for the actor were also varied…

This essay reviews research on mother-infant roles during early interactions and how these serve to foster the development of infant emotion regulation. It provides illustrations of the ways in which physical unavailability (resulting from hospitalization or other separation) and emotional unavailability (resulting from mental illnesses such as…

Although contemporary psychologists generally acknowledge the significance of affect in human experience, few have attempted to understand its role in cognitive processes. The same can be said of writing specialists. In fact, New Criticism, so long dominant in American literary thinking, still continues to influence the emotions writers disclose…

The relative effectiveness of real news violence and fictional entertainment violence was assessed in an experiment with pre-adolescents. One group saw a brief fight scene portrayed as a news story in a simulated TV newscast, while a second group saw the same scene presented as a movie preview during a commercial break. The primary dependent…

This essay discusses the evaluation of the relationship between the nervous system and emotion regulation, introducing vagal tone as a measurable organismic variable that contributes to individual and developmental differences in the expression and regulation of emotion. (MDM)

Bem's Psychological Androgyny Theory (PAT) posits two independent domains of behavior on which individuals may be rated. Instrumental (Type I) behavior reflects a problem-solving orientation; expressive (Type E) behavior reflects an affective concern for the welfare of others. To examine the hypothesis that these two dimensions theoretically…

There may be many social psychological variables that influence or are influenced by children's behavior in organized sports. The major variable discussed in this paper is the child's motivation to participate. One cognitive theory--the attribution theory-- offers insights into the child's view of his motivation, and the effects upon this…