William B. Swann

Association of the serotonin transporter promoter region polymorphism with biased attention for negative word stimuli.

Background: Biased attention for emotional stimuli reflects vulnerability or resilience to emotional disorders. The current study examines whether the 5‐HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with attentional biases for negative word stimuli. Methods: Unmedicated, young adults with low current depression and anxiety symptoms (N=106) were genotyped for the 5‐HTTLPR, including the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs25531 in the long allele of the 5‐HTTLPR. Participants then completed a standard dot‐probe task that measured attentional bias toward anxiety, dysphoric, and self‐esteem words. Results: The LALA allele group demonstrated an attentional bias away from negative word stimuli. This attentional bias was absent among the S/LG carriers. Conclusions: These findings replicate previous work and suggest that 5‐HTTLPR LA homozygotes possess a protective attentional bias that may decrease susceptibility to depression and anxiety. Depression and Anxiety, 2010.

Caught in the Crossfire: Positivity and Self-Verification Strivings Among People with Low Self-Esteem

Why do people with negative self-concepts consistently behave in ways that alienate their interaction partners? After all, such persons—that is, depressed persons and those with low self-esteem—typically suffer when they are rejected, and they seem motivated to bring others to like them. Yet, they persist in enacting precisely those behaviors that repel their interaction partners. It almost seems as if such persons have two individuals lurking within: one urging them to seek favorable reactions, the other demanding that they solicit unfavorable reactions.

My Group's Fate Is My Fate: Identity-Fused Americans and Spaniards Link Personal Life Quality to Outcome of 2008 Elections

People differ in their reactions to the outcomes of their group. Whereas some may revel in victory and mourn in defeat, others may internalize victory but distance themselves from defeat. Here, we sought to relate these divergent reactions to two forms of alignment with groups–identity fusion and group identification. Investigations of the 2008 elections in the United States and Spain revealed that people who were “fused” with their political party internalized both victory and defeat, but highly identified persons internalized only victory. We discuss how these findings bear on the conceptual distinctions between identity fusion and group identification.