Pio Enrico Ricci Bitti

Social presence, embarrassment, and nonverbal behavior

Nonverbal behaviors in response to viewing slides depicting nude males, nude females, erotic couples and neutral pictures, either alone or in the presence of two unfamiliar individuals, were studied in 22 female and 16 male university students. Participants were unaware of being videorecorded. Results revealed discrepancies between self-reported embarrassment and nonverbal behaviors supposedly expressive of embarrassment. Although self-reported embarrassment was higher when certain types of slides were viewed in the presence of others than when they were viewed alone, we observed significantly fewer lip movements, gaze shifts, face touches, downward gazes, and downward head movements in the presence of unfamiliar individuals than in the alone condition. We also compared behaviors during slide exposure and during the inter-slide intervals. For 9 out of 11 coded behaviors, frequencies were significantly higher during inter-slide intervals than during slide presentation. We argue that this is probably due to the fact that visual attention to the slides inhibited nonverbal behaviors. The results cast doubt on the possibility of inferring the internal state of an emotion such as embarrassment by analyzing nonverbal behaviors without taking account of the social setting in which such observations are made.

Psychological factors associated with medication adherence following renal transplantation

Abstract:  Background:  A relationship exists between non‐adherence and clinical outcomes in health care, including renal transplantation. The aim of this study was to identify the psychological variables associated with non‐adherence to medication after renal transplantation.

Contingent negative variation and cognitive performance in hypotension

The difference in attention and cognitive performance between 26 hypotensive (systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure < 60 mmHg) and 22 normotensive female university students was assessed. Attention was examined with contingent negative variation (CNV) recorded using light and tone as S1 and S2. Cognitive performance was assessed by free recall of a list of words and two German tests of cognitive speed performance and sustained attention: Zahlen-Verbindungs-Test and d2. The hypotensive participants demonstrated a lower increase in negativity on the CNV. Moreover, in the free recall test, hypotensive individuals remembered fewer words, in comparison with normotensive subjects. Scores for hypotensive individuals on the Zahlen-Verbindungs-Test and d2 were also lower. No difference was found in reaction times to imperative stimuli (S2).

Facial Expressions of Emotions: Recognition Accuracy and Affective Reactions During Late Childhood

ABSTRACT The present study examined the development of recognition ability and affective reactions to emotional facial expressions in a large sample of school-aged children (n = 504, ages 8–11 years of age). Specifically, the study aimed to investigate if changes in the emotion recognition ability and the affective reactions associated with the viewing of facial expressions occur during late childhood. Moreover, because small but robust gender differences during late-childhood have been proposed, the effects of gender on the development of emotion recognition and affective responses were examined. The results showed an overall increase in emotional face recognition ability from 8 to 11 years of age, particularly for neutral and sad expressions. However, the increase in sadness recognition was primarily due to the development of this recognition in boys. Moreover, our results indicate different developmental trends in males and females regarding the recognition of disgust. Last, developmental changes in affective reactions to emotional facial expressions were found. Whereas recognition ability increased over the developmental time period studied, affective reactions elicited by facial expressions were characterized by a decrease in arousal over the course of late childhood.

Head Canting in Paintings: An Historical Study

Head canting, a lateral shift of the head toward the shoulder axis, was examined in 1498 figures in the complete works of 11 painters from the XIV to the XX century: Martini, van Eyck Hubert and Jan, Holbein, Carracci, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Degas, Cèzanne, Klimt, and Modigliani. All figures (up to 9 in any one painting) that were not in complete profile and that were not depicted bowing or shifting their bodies were selected for analysis. Our analysis found a higher frequency (49%) of head canting in paintings than previously reported in naturalistic settings. Head canting was significantly higher in female figures than male figures. If a figures head was facing laterally, head canting was more likely to be to the contralateral side. Head canting was lower in older figures than in children, youths, and adults. The highest level of head canting was seen in religious and mythological figures. Head canting was lower in figures of artists and professionals and virtually absent in depictions of nobles. Figures in pose were depicted with less head canting than those in natural settings. Head canting was lower in figures gazing toward the observer. Single-figure portraits head canted less than subjects in multiple-figure paintings. Author analysis revealed that head canting was pronounced in painters of religious subjects and in modern painters, whereas its degree was reduced in official portrait painters. These results are discussed in terms of dominance theory.

Psychological impact of testing for thrombophilic alterations

We investigated the psychological impact of testing for the presence of thrombophilic alterations. The enrolled subjects received counseling from a physician before blood sampling and after receiving results, with a view to provide clear information about the aim of thrombophilia screening (TS). Participants were requested to complete a pre-test questionnaire during this interview and a post-test questionnaire 20 days after receiving the TS results. One hundred ninety-seven subjects completed the pretest questionnaire and 140/197 (71.1%) returned the post-test one. The TS results were altered in 36 (25.7%, R506Q mutation n = 19; G20210A mutation n = 9; antithrombin deficiency n = 1; LAC phenomenon n = 4; hyperhomocysteinemia n = 3) and normal in 104 subjects. We assessed: perceived health status (PHS), state of anxiety, health fears, depressive reactions, moods, perceived well-being, and perceived daily-life stress. For both groups, both at pre- and post-test, none of the psychological variable scores showed significant worsening, regardless of whether TS resulted altered or normal. Anxiety significantly (p < or = 0.05) decreased at post-test in the altered group and a non-significant improvement in PHS after TS result communication was recorded in both groups. Age was an important factor in mediating psychological impact. In conclusion, diagnosis of thrombophilic alterations seems to be well accepted in the short term and TS should not be discouraged for potential adverse psychological effects. However, the psychological impact over a longer period of receiving altered results needs to be further investigated. The relationship between absence of adverse psychological reactions and quality of counseling program provided before and after TS should also be investigated.

Dimensions of anger and hostility in cardiac patients, hypertensive patients, and controls

Anger and hostility have long been considered important factors in the etiology of essential hypertension (EH) and coronary heart disease (CHD). This case-control study investigates the association of hostility, as measured by the Cook and Medley Hostility Scale (HO), and anger, as measured by the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI), with CHD and EH in 80 CHD patients, 80 EH patients, and a control group of 80 healthy adults from Italy. Cases revealed significantly higher scores than controls in two subsets of HO and in two subscales of MAI. Some of these subscales appeared to be age-dependent. The results indicate that particular components of anger-hostility could be taken into consideration when studying psychological risk factors for CHD and EH.

Face-ism Effect and Head Canting in One's Own and Others' Photographs

The influence of face-ism (i.e., the attribution of positive characteristics to people in close-up shots) in photographs picturing oneself and others was assessed in 51 female and 28 male university students. Three different shots (portrait, half-figure, and whole figure) were taken of all subjects. After rating their own physical attractiveness, subjects were asked to assess attractiveness and rate each shot on an analog scale. The same procedure was used for the pictures of two individuals, chosen randomly from those previously tested (one male and one female) and with whom the subject was not familiar. Analyses with ANOVA revealed that unfamiliar male subjects received lower evaluations in attractiveness compared to self and unfamiliar female rating. As to pictures of nonfamiliar individuals, there was a clear preference for short-distance shots (portrait), whereas for pictures portraying oneself there was a tendency to prefer medium-distance shots (half-figure, whole figure). Multiple regression analy...

Time Perspective and Positive Aging

Within the debate on the concept of “positive aging”, the paper considers the role of time perspective as a relevant factor in promoting health and well being in old age. The chapter consists of four paragraphs. The first one focuses on the main contemporary theoretical models on positive aging that include the time dimension as a central feature or resource for aging well; the second paragraph addresses the relevance of time dimensions for adopting a healthy life style; the third paragraph considers the relevance of time perspective in promoting well-being; finally the last paragraph analyses the phenomenon of resilience as “hallmark” of successful aging discussing the role of time perspective in the “resilient agers”.

Prospettiva temporale e benessere sociale nell’adulto emergente

Lo studio ha analizzato la relazione tra prospettiva temporale e benessere sociale in un gruppo di 386 studenti universitari (eta media 21.72 anni, 110 maschi e 276 femmine). Essi hanno compilato due questionari self-report: il Questionario sul Benessere Sociale e l’Inventario di Zimbardo sulla Prospettiva Temporale nella forma breve che rileva due dimensioni, il presente ed il futuro. E stata inoltre considerata la differenza di genere sulla prospettiva temporale e sul benessere sociale. L’analisi delle correlazioni ha mostrato che la prospettiva temporale futura e correlata positivamente a tutte le dimensioni che compongono il benessere sociale ed al benessere sociale come misura globale, mentre la prospettiva temporale presente e negativamente correlata all’attualizzazione sociale, alla coerenza sociale ed al benessere sociale globale. Un modello di Regressione Multipla ha evidenziato il tempo futuro come variabile esplicativa positiva del benessere sociale globale. I risultati confermano l’importanza della dimensione temporale per il benessere sociale nella fase dell’adultita emergente e suggeriscono di approfondire in modo piu sistematico il ruolo rivestito dalla prospettiva temporale nello sviluppo positivo in questa fase della vita.