This study investigated psychosocial mechanisms that may account for sex differences in internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety during adolescence using data from a prospective, multiwave study with a sample of early and middle adolescents (N = 350, 6th to 10th graders; 57% female). Girls showed higher initial levels of only depressive…

Previous work has demonstrated the importance of Osgood's three semantic dimensions (Evaluation, Potency, Activity) in people's conceptions of various domains. To test the effects of arousal on how individuals use these dimensions, three studies were conducted. In each study, six stimuli from a particular domain were presented in pairs. Subjects…

Speech-anxious students (N=69) classified as experiencing primarily cognitive or somatic symptoms of anxiety received cognitive restructuring, coping relaxation, a combined cognitive-somatic treatment (stress inoculation) or no treatment. Cognitive indices of anxiety indicated that matched treatments resulted in more facilitative patterns of…

Using the hypothesis that arousal changes during learning are significantly related to retention, this study tests whether there are arousal differences in Black and White students in a testing situation where they are confronted with White examiners. (RLV)

An investigation was undertaken to determine whether highly aroused (e.g. highly anxious) students are handicapped with regard to their ability to learn through deep processing and elaboration. The hypothesis that well-developed deep and elaborative habits of thought might counteract the disruptive effects that excessive arousal has upon students…

A review of research indicates that cognitive restraint is insufficient in accounting for the relationship between restraint and negative affect eating. To explore what mechanism may be responsible for restraint effects, college students in two samples (Total N=378) completed the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TEQ), a restraint scale…

Comprehension of film was studied in an ATI (aptitude x treatment interaction) framework which investigated comprehension as a function of the interaction of the stimulation-seeking motive (arousal) and degree of structure in information presented in film. Three levels of organizational coherence of a short film and two levels of the stimulation…

Used a general model of affective aggression to generate predictions concerning hot temperatures. Results indicated that hot temperatures produced increases in hostile affect, hostile cognition, and physiological arousal. Concluded that hostile affect, hostile cognitions, and excitation transfer processes may all increase the likelihood of biased…

Examined the extent to which a cognitive style variable, integrative complexity, was related to synchrony between behavioral and self-report measures of anxiety in counseling students (N=26). During a therapy analogue two measures of anxiety were taken. Results indicated a substantial dependence of synchrony/desynchrony on cognitive style.…

Investigated was the hypothesis that high arousal increases processing of physical characteristics and reduces processing of semantic characteristics. While introverts and extroverts had equivalent scanning rates for physical features, introverts were significantly slower in searching for semantic features of category membership, indicating…

A 328-item checklist, suitable for the self-reporting of responses to any stimulus event, was administered to 107 upper division college students in an attempt to investigate the physiological-cognitive-emotional responses to defense arousing communication and to discover a greater range of the key features of the phenomena of…

Analyses of deviant sexual behaviors have most often derived from psychodynamic or behavioral theory. Little systematic research attention has been paid to the role of intervening cognitive variables such as social perception and the causal attribution process. Two studies were conducted to examine differences in cognition between child molesters…