We present a synthesis of ideas and findings from emotion theory, cerebral lateralisation, and control theory which suggest that feedback from behavior motivated by lateralised approach and avoidance systems results in the valence and intensity of emotion. As movement towards appetitive and away from aversive goals deviates from optimal rates, the direction and magnitude of the deviation offers...

The Abridged Big Five-Dimensional Circumple~ (ABSC; Hofstee, de Raad, & Goldberg, 1992) was used to locate consensus across different conceptualizations of the "Big Five" or Five-Factor ModeL Trait rating data from instruments representing four different versions of the Big Five (Goldberg, 1992; Hogan & Johnson, 1981; McCrae & Costa, 1985; Norman, 1963) were subjected to separate ABSC analyses ...

Little is known about the importance of genetic effects on individual differences in cognitive abilities late in life. We present the first report from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATS A) for cognitive data, including general cognitive ability and 13 tests of specific cognitive abilities. The adoption/twin design consists of identical twins separated at an early age and reared apa...

One common point of debate in the study of emotion is whether the basic, irreducible elements of emotional life are discrete emotion categories, such as anger, fear, sadness, and so on, or dimensions such as approach and avoidance. Resolving this debate will identify the basic building blocks of emotional life that are the most appropriate targets of scientific inquiry. In this paper, we briefl...

PREDICTING CHILD ABUSE POTENTIAL FROM THE MMPI-2-RF HIGHER ORDER SCALES AND THE ASEBA WITHIN A SAMPLE OF CARE GIVERS REFERRED FOR EVALUATION Valerie J. Russell, M. A. Western Carolina University (March, 2012) Director: Dr. Kia A. Asberg The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between the higher-order scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Editio...

Hedonic adaptation refers to the process by which individuals return to baseline levels of happiness following a change in life circumstances. Dominant models of subjective well-being (SWB) suggest that people can adapt to almost any life event and that happiness levels fluctuate around a biologically determined set point that rarely changes. Recent evidence from large-scale panel studies chall...

Introversion-extroversion and the many measures of happiness are both much debated areas of psychological interest. Universally accepted conceptualizations of introversion-extroversion and happiness have, thus far, not been agreed upon. The present study reviewed and empirically examined the psychometric properties of Susan Cain’s recently constructed Quiet Introversion Questionnaire, the domai...

This study assessed whether a specific form of motivational impairment, over-sensitivity to perceived failure, described previously in depressed adults, would impact healthy children’s performance on neuropsychological tasks as a function of individual differences in negative affectivity. Healthy children completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test and Automated Battery (CANTAB) as part of ...

Objectives. To develop an Index-based, seven subtest, short-form of the WAIS-III that offers the same comprehensive range of analytic methods available for the full-length version Design and Methods. Psychometric Results. The short-form Indices had high reliability and criterion validity. Scores are expressed as Index scores and as percentiles. Methods are provided that allow setting of confide...

Large samples of students in the Midwest and in Southern California rated satisfaction with life overall as well as with various aspects of life, for either themselves or someone similar to themselves in one of the two regions. Self-reported overall life satisfaction was the same in both regions, but participants who rated a similar other expected Californians to be more satisfied than Midweste...