Aleksandr Kogan

Thin-slicing study of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene and the evaluation and expression of the prosocial disposition

Individuals who are homozygous for the G allele of the rs53576 SNP of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene tend to be more prosocial than carriers of the A allele. However, little is known about how these differences manifest behaviorally and whether they are readily detectable by outside observers, both critical questions in theoretical accounts of prosociality. In the present study, we used thin-slicing methodology to test the hypotheses that (i) individual differences in rs53576 genotype predict how prosocial observers judge target individuals to be on the basis of brief observations of behavior, and (ii) that variation in targets’ nonverbal displays of affiliative cues would account for these judgment differences. In line with predictions, we found that individuals homozygous for the G allele were judged to be more prosocial than carriers of the A allele. These differences were completely accounted for by variations in the expression of affiliative cues. Thus, individual differences in rs53576 are associated with behavioral manifestations of prosociality, which ultimately guide the judgments others make about the individual.

Moving Toward More Perfect Unions: Daily and Long-Term Consequences of Approach and Avoidance Goals in Romantic Relationships

In 2 daily experience studies and a laboratory study, the authors test predictions from approach-avoidance motivational theory to understand how dating couples can maintain feelings of relationship satisfaction in their daily lives and over the course of time. Approach goals were associated with increased relationship satisfaction on a daily basis and over time, particularly when both partners were high in approach goals. Avoidance goals were associated with decreases in relationship satisfaction over time, and people were particularly dissatisfied when they were involved with a partner with high avoidance goals. People high in approach goals and their partners were rated as relatively more satisfied and responsive to a partners needs by outside observers in the lab, whereas people with high avoidance goals and their partners were rated as less satisfied and responsive. Positive emotions mediated the link between approach goals and daily satisfaction in both studies, and responsiveness to the partners needs was an additional behavioral mechanism in Study 2. Implications of these findings for approach-avoidance motivational theory and for the maintenance of satisfying relationships over time are discussed.

Happiness Is Best Kept Stable: Positive Emotion Variability Is Associated With Poorer Psychological Health

Positive emotion has been shown to be associated with adaptive outcomes in a number of domains, including psychological health. However, research has largely focused on overall levels of positive emotion with less attention paid to how variable versus stable it is across time. We thus examined the psychological health correlates of positive emotion variability versus stability across 2 distinct studies, populations, and scientifically validated approaches for quantifying variability in emotion across time. Study 1 used a daily experience approach in a U.S. community sample (N = 244) to examine positive emotion variability across 2 weeks (macrolevel). Study 2 adopted a daily reconstruction method in a French adult sample (N = 2,391) to examine variability within 1 day (microlevel). Greater macro- and microlevel variability in positive emotion was associated with worse psychological health, including lower well-being and life satisfaction and greater depression and anxiety (Study 1), and lower daily satisfaction, life satisfaction, and happiness (Study 2). Taken together, these findings support the notion that positive emotion variability plays an important and incremental role in psychological health above and beyond overall levels of happiness, and that too much variability might be maladaptive.

When Giving Feels Good The Intrinsic Benefits of Sacrifice in Romantic Relationships for the Communally Motivated

Who benefits most from making sacrifices for others? The current study provides one answer to this question by demonstrating the intrinsic benefits of sacrifice for people who are highly motivated to respond to a specific romantic partner’s needs noncontingently, a phenomenon termed communal strength. In a 14-day daily-experience study of 69 romantic couples, communal strength was positively associated with positive emotions during the sacrifice itself, with feeling appreciated by the partner for the sacrifice, and with feelings of relationship satisfaction on the day of the sacrifice. Furthermore, feelings of authenticity for the sacrifice mediated these associations. Several alternative hypotheses were ruled out: The effects were not due to individuals higher in communal strength making qualitatively different kinds of sacrifices, being more positive in general, or being involved in happier relationships. Implications for research and theory on communal relationships and positive emotions are discussed.

The Sociocultural Appraisals, Values, and Emotions (SAVE) Framework of Prosociality: Core Processes from Gene to Meme

The study of prosocial behavior--altruism, cooperation, trust, and the related moral emotions--has matured enough to produce general scholarly consensus that prosociality is widespread, intuitive, and rooted deeply within our biological makeup. Several evolutionary frameworks model the conditions under which prosocial behavior is evolutionarily viable, yet no unifying treatment exists of the psychological decision-making processes that result in prosociality. Here, we provide such a perspective in the form of the sociocultural appraisals, values, and emotions (SAVE) framework of prosociality. We review evidence for the components of our framework at four levels of analysis: intrapsychic, dyadic, group, and cultural. Within these levels, we consider how phenomena such as altruistic punishment, prosocial contagion, self-other similarity, and numerous others give rise to prosocial behavior. We then extend our reasoning to chart the biological underpinnings of prosociality and apply our framework to understand the role of social class in prosociality.

Suppression Sours Sacrifice Emotional and Relational Costs of Suppressing Emotions in Romantic Relationships

What happens when people suppress their emotions when they sacrifice for a romantic partner? This multimethod study investigates how suppressing emotions during sacrifice shapes affective and relationship outcomes. In Part 1, dating couples came into the laboratory to discuss important romantic relationship sacrifices. Suppressing emotions was associated with emotional costs for the partner discussing his or her sacrifice. In Part 2, couples participated in a 14-day daily experience study. Within-person increases in emotional suppression during daily sacrifice were associated with decreases in emotional well-being and relationship quality as reported by both members of romantic dyads. In Part 3, suppression predicted decreases in relationship satisfaction and increases in thoughts about breaking up with a romantic partner 3 months later. In the first two parts of the study, authenticity mediated the costly effects of suppression. Implications for research on close relationships and emotion regulation are discussed.

Keeping the Spark Alive: Being Motivated to Meet a Partner’s Sexual Needs Sustains Sexual Desire in Long-Term Romantic Relationships

How can couples keep the sexual spark alive in long-term relationships? The current study draws upon existing research and theory on both communal relationships and approach-avoidance models of social motivation to test the hypothesis that individual differences in the motivation to meet a partner’s sexual needs, termed sexual communal strength, predict heightened feelings of sexual desire in long-term partnerships. In a 21-day daily experience study of 44 long-term couples, individuals higher in sexual communal strength engaged in daily sexual interactions for approach goals, and in turn, reported high levels of daily sexual desire. Sexual communal strength also buffered against declines in sexual desire over a 4-month period of time. These associations held after controlling for general communal strength, relationship satisfaction, sexual frequency, age, and whether or not the couples had children. These findings demonstrate the utility of extending theories of communal motivation to the sexual domain of relationships.

Too Much of a Good Thing? Cardiac Vagal Tone's Nonlinear Relationship With Well-Being

Parasympathetic regulation of heart rate through the vagus nerve--often measured as resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia or cardiac vagal tone (CVT)--is a key biological correlate of psychological well-being. However, recent theorizing has suggested that many biological and psychological processes can become maladaptive when they reach extreme levels. This raises the possibility that CVT might not have an unmitigated positive relationship with well-being. In line with this reasoning, across 231 adult participants (Mage = 40.02 years; 52% female), we found that CVT was quadratically related to multiple measures of well-being, including life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Individuals with moderate CVT had higher well-being than those with low or high CVT. These results provide the first direct evidence of a nonlinear relationship between CVT and well-being, adding to a growing body of research that has suggested some biological processes may cease being adaptive when they reach extreme levels.

The effectiveness of a new, coping flexibility intervention as compared with a cognitive-behavioural intervention in managing work stress

Abstract In typical stress management programmes, working adults acquire various coping skills for managing work stress. In addition to building coping skills, we propose the inclusion of a “meta skill” of coping flexibility, which helps individuals to recognize the distinctions among the coping requirements of diverse stressful events and to facilitate employment of appropriate skills for handling the specific demands of those events. Our study tested this proposal by comparing the efficacy of a new coping flexibility intervention with that of a commonly adopted cognitive-behavioural intervention in reducing depression. We randomly assigned 161 healthy Chinese working adults (55 men, 106 women, M age=32 years) to (1) attend a coping flexibility intervention for acquiring both coping skills and coping flexibility, (2) attend a cognitive-behavioural intervention for acquiring coping skills only, or (3) a waiting list to receive an intervention after the study had been completed. Participants were followed up four months later. Those who had attended the coping flexibility intervention reported the largest increase in levels of coping flexibility, and such an increase corresponded to a reduction in depression immediately and four months after the intervention. These results indicate the value of teaching individuals to adapt their coping strategies to specific requirements of stressful situations.

Real-World Emotion? An Experience-Sampling Approach to Emotion Experience and Regulation in Bipolar I Disorder

Laboratory studies suggest that bipolar disorder is characterized by emotion dysregulation, yet emotion disturbance has not been systematically described using more ecologically valid methods. Using an experience-sampling approach, we therefore sought to investigate positive and negative emotionality, emotion regulation strategies, and functioning among remitted individuals with bipolar I disorder (BD; n = 31) compared with both healthy controls (CTL; n = 32) and remitted individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 21). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of self-report data spanning a 6-day consecutive period revealed that the BD group aligned with the CTL group in reporting greater positive emotionality than the MDD group, but aligned with the MDD group in reporting greater negative emotionality than the CTL group. Furthermore, the BD and MDD groups reported greater general use of emotion regulation strategies than the CTL group. These findings suggest that BD is characterized by amplified emotionality as well as increased efforts to regulate emotions in everyday life. Discussion focuses on implications for BD, as well as identification of unique (disorder-specific) and shared (transdiagnostic) features of emotion disturbance.