Joel Aronoff

Recall of childhood neglect and physical abuse as differential predictors of current psychological functioning

The differential effects of neglect and physical abuse on psychological functioning are not well understood. The present study examined the relationship between reported neglect and physical abuse and symptomatology and attachment styles in a sample of 236 male and 276 female undergraduates. In contrast to physical abuse, which must involve some parental involvement in a childs life, neglect is characterized by a lack of parent-child interaction. As such, it was hypothesized that childhood neglect would be more predictive of symptomatology and dysfunctional attachment styles than would physical abuse. Results confirmed the expected relationship between neglect and more severe psychological problems and anxious attachment styles. Implications of these results point to the need to focus both empirically and theoretically on neglect and physical abuse as potentially separate moderators of psychosocial functioning.

The recognition of threatening facial stimuli.

Two studies examined the information that defines a threatening facial display. The first study identified those facial characteristics that distinguish between representations of threatening and nonthreatening facial displays. Masks that presented either threatening or nonthreatening facial displays were obtained from a number of non-Western cultures and scored for the presence of those facial features that discriminated between such displays in the drawings of two American samples. Threatening masks contained a significantly higher number of these characteristics across all cultures examined. The second study determined whether the information provided by the facial display might be more primary nonrepresentational visual patterns than facial features with obvious denotative meaning (e.g., diagonal lines rather than downturned eyebrows). The subjective response to sets of diagonal, angular, and curvilinear visual stimuli revealed that the nonrepresentational features of angularity and diagonality in the visual stimulus appeared to have the ability to evoke the subjective responses that convey the meaning of threat.

Recognizing threat: A simple geometric shape activates neural circuitry for threat detection

The urgent need to recognize danger quickly has been shown to rely on preferential processing in dedicated neural circuitry. In previous behavioral studies examining the pattern of the face when displaying anger, we found evidence that simple noncontextual geometric shapes containing downward-pointing V-shaped angles activate the perception of threat. We here report that the neural circuitry known to be mobilized by many realistic, contextual threatening displays is also triggered by the simplest form of this V-shaped movement pattern, a downward-pointing triangle. Specifically, we show that simple geometric forms containing only downward-pointing V-shapes elicit greater activation of the amygdala, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and fusiform gyrus, as well as extrastriate visual regions, than do presentations of the identical V-shape pointing upward. Thus, this simple V-shape is capable of activating neural networks instantiating detection of threat and negative affect, suggesting that recognition of potential danger may be based, in part, on very simple, context-free visual cues.

How We Recognize Angry and Happy Emotion in People, Places, and Things

Darwin proposed and Ekman and Izard confirmed the presence of cross-cultural regularities in facial displays of emotion. Following their work, the author and his colleagues sought to find parallel mechanisms that would permit these displays to be decoded. A cross-cultural comparison of the display of anger and happiness in masks used in ritual social functions revealed that a set of geometric patterns, rather than actual facial features, conveyed these different emotional meanings. The power of nonrepresentational visual patterns to produce meaning was examined in a series of studies using materials that presented geometric shapes in a variety of line drawings, large-scale physical movement in classical ballet, and configurations among individuals in 17th-century Dutch art. Results across all studies suggested that for the emotions of anger and happiness, at least, meaning is carried in the geometric properties of the visual display.

Simple geometric shapes are implicitly associated with affective value

Growing evidence suggests that the underlying geometry of a visual image is an effective mechanism for conveying the affective meaning of a scene or object. Indeed, even very simple context-free geometric shapes have been shown to signal emotion. Specifically, downward-pointing V’s are perceived as threatening and curvilinear forms are perceived as pleasant. As these shapes are thought to be primitive cues for decoding emotion, we sought to assess whether they are evaluated as affective even without extended cognitive processing. Using an Implicit Association Test to examine associations between three shapes (downward- and upward-pointing triangles, circles) and pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral scenes, in two studies we found that participants were faster to categorize downward-pointing triangles as unpleasant compared to neutral or pleasant. These findings were specific to downward-pointing shapes containing an acute angle. The present findings support the hypothesis that simple geometric forms convey emotion and that this perception does not require explicit judgment.

Achievement Motivation Training and Executive Advancement.

An experiment studying the process of motive acquisition was conducted with executives of a major American corporation. Each of 1u middle-level executives who were given a program designed to develop and strengthen their need for achievement was carefully matched with a comparable executive chosen to attend the corporations executive development course during approximately the same period. In a two-year follow-up study, the participants in the achievement motivation training course had performed significantly better than their matched pairs, as measured by major changes in job level and salary.

Affect regulation and the breadth of interpersonal engagement.

This study investigated the hypothesis that the breadth of responsiveness to a social event rests on adaptive capacities that permit an individual to experience those subjective states evoked by the interaction. Individuals with high or low ego adaptability were placed in same- or mixed-sex dyads with another person of the same level of adaptability and asked to complete a series of stimulating social interaction tasks. Analysis of videotapes made of these interactions, scored for verbal and nonverbal behaviors that reflect emotional and interpersonal engagement, strongly confirmed the hypothesis. In addition, post hoc explorations suggested that ego adaptability supported emotional expressiveness across social contexts, whereas its effect may have been attenuated by gender-related display rules for the more interpersonal forms of social engagement

A Sentence Completion Test Assessing Safety and Esteem Motives

Summary This study was concerned with establishing the construct validity of a sentence completion test to assess safety and esteem motives, as characterized by Maslow (1970). A large number of students were given the test and 36 safety-oriented and 36 esteem-oriented Ss were selected and given the manifest anxiety (At), dominance (Do) and dependency (Dy) subscales from the MMPI. As predicted, the results indicated that safety-oriented Ss were significantly higher on manifest anxiety and dependency and lower on dominance than esteem-oriented Ss. Considerations of construct validity in the use of the test were discussed.

Sex and psychological need in triadic bargaining

Differences in bargaining behavior in a three-person coalition game were examined as a function of motivation—the need for safety and the need for self-esteem—and sex. Males tended to revise initial demands for reward downward over a bargaining session to a greater extent than did females. Ss high in safety needs tended to underrate the value of their own resources, but an attempt to account for the sex difference in terms of a need hierarchy was unsuccessful.

The effects of task-group experiences on subsequent prosocial behavior

This research examined effects of experiences within task-oriented groups on subsequent prosocial behaviors in a different context. Male subjects first worked on a task in pairs or as individuals (base-rate controls). Within the pairs, either the two subjects worked as equals or one (superordinate role) supervised the other (subordinate role). Afterwards, a fellow subject-either the former coworker or a member of another group-asked for help on an unrelated matter. Findings showed that prior group experiences can affect prosocial behavior. Subjects were more willing to help (I) when they were asked to do so by their former coworker, and (2) when they had had an egalitarian group experience. In contrast, they were less likely to help when they had previously served as the supervisor. Possible mediators of these results are discussed.