Depressive symptoms, task choice, and effort: The moderating effect of personal control on cardiac response.

Dysphoric individuals perceive mental tasks as more demanding and show increased cardiovascular responses during the performance of easy cognitive tasks. Recent research on action shielding indicates that providing individuals with personal control over their tasks can mitigate the effects of manipulated affective states on cardiovascular responses reflecting effort. We investigated whether the shielding effect of personal choice also applies to the effect of dispositional negative mood on effort. N = 125 university students with high (dysphoric) versus low (nondysphoric) depressive symptoms engaged in an easy cognitive task either by personal choice or external assignment. As expected, dysphoric individuals showed significantly stronger cardiac PEP reactivity during task performance when the task was externally assigned. Most importantly, this dysphoria effect disappeared when participants could ostensibly personally choose their task. Our findings show that the previously observed shielding effect of personal action choice against incidental affective stimulation also applies to dispositional negative affect.

Expectations Versus Fantasies and Vaccine Hesitancy: How Suffering From COVID-19 Versus Suffering From Vaccines Interact.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on COVID-19 vaccination highlights future thoughts associated with possible Coronavirus infection and vaccine side effects as key predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Yet, research has focused on independent contributions of such future thoughts, neglecting their interactive aspects. PURPOSE: We examined whether thoughts about two possible COVID-related futures (suffering from COVID-19 and vaccine side effects) interactively predict vaccine hesitancy and vaccination behavior among unvaccinated and vaccinated people. Importantly, we compared two forms of future thinking: beliefs or expectations (likelihood judgments) versus fantasies (free thoughts and images describing future events). METHODS: In Study 1, we conducted a longitudinal study with an unvaccinated group (N = 210). We assessed expectations versus fantasies about the two COVID-related futures as predictors. As outcome variables, we measured vaccine hesitancy, and 9 weeks later we assessed information seeking and vaccine uptake. Study 2 was a cross-sectional study comparing vaccine hesitancy of an unvaccinated group (N = 307) to that of a vaccinated group (N = 311). RESULTS: Study 1 found that more negative fantasies about COVID-19 impact and less negative fantasies about vaccine side effects interactively predicted lower vaccine hesitancy and more vaccine-related behaviors among unvaccinated people; no such interaction was observed between respective expectations. Study 2 replicated these results of Study 1. Additionally, for vaccinated people, low expectations of negative COVID-19 impact and high expectations of negative vaccine impact interactively predicted higher vaccine hesitancy, whereas no such interaction was observed for respective fantasies. CONCLUSIONS: Research on vaccine hesitancy should explore interactions between future thinking about disease and about vaccine side effects. Importantly, there is much to be gained by distinguishing expectations versus fantasies: vaccination interventions aiming to boost vaccine uptake among unvaccinated people should tap into their negative future fantasies regarding both disease and vaccine side effects.

In two correlational studies, we investigated the relationship between future thoughts about two possible COVID-related futures­suffering from COVID-19 and vaccine side effects­and vaccine hesitancy. Prior research has emphasized thoughts about these potential risks as significant predictors of vaccine hesitancy but has focused on their independent contributions, neglecting their interactive nature. Our research examined the interaction between the thoughts about disease and those about vaccine side effects, highlighting the two forms of future thinking: expectations (likelihood judgments) and fantasies (free-flowing thoughts and images describing a future event). In a longitudinal study (Study 1) with an unvaccinated group, we found that more negative fantasies about COVID-19 disease and less negative fantasies about vaccine side effects interactively predicted lower vaccine hesitancy and more vaccination behavior. There was no interaction between the expectations. Study 2, a cross-sectional study comparing another unvaccinated sample to a vaccinated sample, revealed a divergent pattern in the two groups; negative fantasies, not expectations, interactively predicted vaccine hesitancy among unvaccinated people while expectations, not fantasies, did so among vaccinated people. The research suggests the importance of considering interactions between future thoughts about disease and vaccine side effects in understanding vaccine hesitancy and distinguishing expectations and fantasies.

The power of personal control: Task choice attenuates the effect of implicit sadness on sympathetically mediated cardiac response.

Implicitly processed pictures of facial expressions of emotions have been found to systematically influence sympathetically mediated cardiovascular reactivity during task performance. According to the Implicit-Affect-Primes-Effort model, this happens because different affect primes activate the concepts of performance ease versus performance difficulty. Grounded in a recent action shielding model, our laboratory experiment (N = 129 university students) tested whether engaging in action by personal choice can immunize against those implicit affective influences on effort. Participants worked on an objectively difficult cognitive task, which was either externally assigned or ostensibly personally chosen. As predicted, participants in the assigned task condition showed weaker cardiac pre-ejection period reactivity during task performance, reflecting disengagement, when they were primed with sadness than when they were exposed to anger primes. Most relevant, this affect prime effect disappeared when participants could ostensibly choose their task themselves. These findings replicate previous research on implicit affect's impact on sympathetically mediated cardiac response and extend the literature on action shielding by personal choice effects to implicit affective influences on action execution.

Noise annoys-But personal choice can attenuate noise effects on cardiac response reflecting effort.

Since personal choice fosters commitment and shields action execution against potentially conflicting influences, two laboratory experiments with university students (N = 228) tested whether engaging in action by personal choice versus external assignment of task characteristics moderates the effect of irrelevant acoustic noise on cardiovascular responses reflecting effort. Participants who could personally choose the stimulus color of moderately difficult cognitive tasks were expected to be shielded against the irrelevant noise. By contrast, when the stimulus color was externally assigned, we predicted receptivity for the irrelevant noise to be high. As expected, in both experiments, participants in the assigned color condition showed stronger cardiac pre-ejection period reactivity during task performance when exposed to noise than when working in silence. On the contrary, participants who could choose the stimulus color were shielded against the noise effect on effort. These findings conceptually replicate and extend research on the action shielding effect by personal choice and hold practical implications for occupational health.

Are different countries equally green with envy? A comparison of the everyday concept of envy in the United States, Spain, and Germany.

Using a prototype approach to emotion concepts, we mapped the internal structure and content of the everyday concept of envy (as used in the United States) and its translation equivalents of envidia in Spanish and Neid in German. In Study 1 (total N = 415), the features of the concept of envy, envidia, and Neid were generated via an open-ended questionnaire. In Study 2 (total N = 404), participants rated the degree of typicality of the constitutive features on a forced-choice questionnaire. The prototype analysis of envy, supplemented with network analyses, revealed that the largest connected set of features of envy, envidia, and Neid shared a group of central features, including features related to success or to people with a better appearance. Still, envy, envidia, and Neid did differ with respect to their constituent peripheral features as well as the density of their networks, their structure, and the betweenness centrality of the nodes. These results suggest that a prototype approach combined with network analysis is a convenient approach for studying the internal structure of everyday emotion concepts and the degree of overlap with respect to the translation equivalents in different countries.

Personal task choice attenuates implicit happiness effects on effort: A study on cardiovascular response.

Research on the Implicit-Affect-Primes-Effort model (Gendolla, 2012) found that priming happiness or anger in challenging tasks results in stronger sympathetically mediated cardiovascular responses, reflecting effort, than priming sadness or fear. Recent studies on action shielding revealed that personal task choice can attenuate affective influences on action execution (e.g., Gendolla et al., 2021). The present experiment tested if this action shielding effect also applies to affect primes' influences on cardiovascular response. Participants (N = 136) worked on a cognitive task with integrated briefly flashed and backward masked facial expressions of sadness vs. happiness. Half of the participants could ostensibly choose whether they wanted to work on an attention or on a memory task, while the other half was assigned to one task. Our findings revealed effects on cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP), which align with the expected outcomes for a task of unfixed difficulty where participants establish their own performance standard. Most importantly, task choice shielded against the implicit affective influence on PEP that was evident when the task was externally assigned. Effects on systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity largely corresponded to those of PEP.

Malonyl-CoA is a conserved endogenous ATP-competitive mTORC1 inhibitor.

Cell growth is regulated by the mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), which functions both as a nutrient sensor and a master controller of virtually all biosynthetic pathways. This ensures that cells are metabolically active only when conditions are optimal for growth. Notably, although mTORC1 is known to regulate fatty acid biosynthesis, how and whether the cellular lipid biosynthetic capacity signals back to fine-tune mTORC1 activity remains poorly understood. Here we show that mTORC1 senses the capacity of a cell to synthesise fatty acids by detecting the levels of malonyl-CoA, an intermediate of this biosynthetic pathway. We find that, in both yeast and mammalian cells, this regulation is direct, with malonyl-CoA binding to the mTOR catalytic pocket and acting as a specific ATP-competitive inhibitor. When fatty acid synthase (FASN) is downregulated/inhibited, elevated malonyl-CoA levels are channelled to proximal mTOR molecules that form direct protein-protein interactions with acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) and FASN. Our findings represent a conserved and unique homeostatic mechanism whereby impaired fatty acid biogenesis leads to reduced mTORC1 activity to coordinately link this metabolic pathway to the overall cellular biosynthetic output. Moreover, they reveal the existence of a physiological metabolite that directly inhibits the activity of a signalling kinase in mammalian cells by competing with ATP for binding.

Can personal task choice shield against fear and anger prime effects on effort? A study on cardiac response.

This experiment tested whether personal task choice can shield against implicit affective influences on sympathetically mediated cardiovascular response, reflecting effort. Participants were N = 121 healthy university students who completed a moderately difficult memory task with integrated briefly flashed and masked fear vs. anger primes. Half of the participants believed they could choose between an attention and a memory task, while the other half was automatically assigned to the task. Replicating previous research, we expected an influence of the affect primes on effort when the task was externally assigned. By contrast, when participants were given a task choice, we predicted strong action shielding and thus a weak implicit affect effect on resource mobilization. As expected, participants in the assigned task condition showed stronger cardiac pre-ejection period reactivity when exposed to fear primes than when processing anger primes. Importantly, this affect prime effect disappeared when participants could ostensibly choose the task. These findings add to other recent evidence for action shielding by personal task choice and importantly extend this effect to implicit affective influences on cardiac reactivity during task performance.

More direction but less freedom? How task rules affect intrinsic motivation.

Task rules restrict freedom by definition, but do they necessarily harm intrinsic motivation? We examine how task rules for an open-ended writing activity affect intrinsic motivation, or enjoyment, with one's sense of direction and psychological freedom as potential mechanisms. Results from three online experiments (Experiment 1, Experiments 3a and 3b; N = 1,176), conducted with both undergraduate student and adult (Amazon MTurk and Prolific) samples, suggest that task rules may indirectly increase enjoyment by enhancing direction (indirect effect: ß's range [0.09, 0.17], p's < .05), yet at the same time, indirectly decrease enjoyment by reducing freedom (indirect effect: ß's range [-0.31, -0.07], p's < .05). Results from a fourth online experiment (Experiment 2; student sample; N = 121) address a potential alternative explanation, finding that only the task rules, not mere examples, were sufficient to increase direction (rules present: d = 0.55, p = .04; examples: d = 0.25, p = .48) and reduce freedom (rules present: d = 0.78, p < .001; examples: d = 0.22, p = .31). Theoretical and empirical connections are made to self-determination theory and flow theory. Further research is needed to delineate situational and personal factors that may moderate these effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The self-regulation of face touching - a preregistered experiment testing if-then plans as a means to promote COVID-19 prevention.

Objective: Reducing face touching could help slow COVID-19's spread. We tested whether implementation intentions, a simple-to-use behaviour change intervention, reduce face-touching behaviour effectively.Design: In this pre-registered online study, we utilised a novel way to collect behavioural data during a pandemic. We obtained video recordings of 156 adults while performing three engaging tasks for four minutes each. After the baseline task, participants formed the goal to avoid touching their faces; some participants also formed implementation intentions, targeting either the frequency or duration of face touching.Main Outcome Measures: The 468 videos were rated by two independent raters for face touching frequency and duration.Results: Face touching was widespread. Compared to the baseline, there was a slight reduction in the frequency of face touching after the experimental manipulations. We observed a significant decrease in the length of face touching only for participants with duration-focused implementation intentions.Conclusion: While implementation intentions have effectively downregulated other unwanted behaviours, they did not reduce the frequency of face-touching behaviour. Still, duration-focused implementation intentions appear to be a promising strategy for face-touching behaviour change. This highlights the need for further optimisation and field research to test the effectiveness of implementation intentions in everyday life contexts.

A Rag GTPase dimer code defines the regulation of mTORC1 by amino acids.

Amino acid availability controls mTORC1 activity via a heterodimeric Rag GTPase complex that functions as a scaffold at the lysosomal surface, bringing together mTORC1 with its activators and effectors. Mammalian cells express four Rag proteins (RagA-D) that form dimers composed of RagA/B bound to RagC/D. Traditionally, the Rag paralogue pairs (RagA/B and RagC/D) are referred to as functionally redundant, with the four dimer combinations used interchangeably in most studies. Here, by using genetically modified cell lines that express single Rag heterodimers, we uncover a Rag dimer code that determines how amino acids regulate mTORC1. First, RagC/D differentially define the substrate specificity downstream of mTORC1, with RagD promoting phosphorylation of its lysosomal substrates TFEB/TFE3, while both Rags are involved in the phosphorylation of non-lysosomal substrates such as S6K. Mechanistically, RagD recruits mTORC1 more potently to lysosomes through increased affinity to the anchoring LAMTOR complex. Furthermore, RagA/B specify the signalling response to amino acid removal, with RagB-expressing cells maintaining lysosomal and active mTORC1 even upon starvation. Overall, our findings reveal key qualitative differences between Rag paralogues in the regulation of mTORC1, and underscore Rag gene duplication and diversification as a potentially impactful event in mammalian evolution.

I've been thinkin' bout you: socially distant relationship pursuit during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered everyday interactions, potentially disrupting the process of romantic relationship formation. Prior research suggests that threats to the basic psychological need for relatedness, along with negative mental imagery, can lead to an obsessive preoccupation with a romantic interest. The present research examines how the relatedness-threatening nature of the pandemic may similarly facilitate problematic relationship behaviors. Two studies-a small-scale natural experiment with measurements before and during the pandemic (Study 1) and a daily diary study (Study 2)-investigated how relatedness frustration and negative fantasies predict presumptuous romantic intentions. In Study 1 these threats unexpectedly corresponded to reduced presumptuous romantic intentions, though no such main effect was present in Study 2. Replicating prior experimental work, in both studies, more negative fantasies about a romantic target predicted greater presumptuous romantic intentions. Study 2 also revealed that at the between-person level the combinatory effect of relatedness frustration and negative fantasies led to greater intentions. At the within-person level, this combinatory effect led unexpectedly to reduced intentions. Finally, there was substantial heterogeneity in the within-person effect of COVID-induced relatedness frustration: although frustration stoked intentions for some individuals, for others it reduced intentions. This work suggests that for many, the early social ramifications of COVID-19 reduced motivation to presumptuously pursue romantic relationships. Yet, certain individuals, particularly those with more negative fantasies, are more prone to pursue presumptuously amidst the pandemic.

The gray areas of romance: A measure of presumptuous romantic intentions.

To capture the attention of a romantic partner requires thoughtful selection of effective pursuit strategies. Sometimes, these strategies err on the side of caution; in other instances, pursuers can take a bolder approach to their courtship endeavors. In the present research, we developed a measure capturing the degree to which a romantic pursuer intends to take a presumptuous course of action. Across five studies (Ntotal = 2,137), we validated a 13-item self-report measure: the presumptuous romantic intentions (PRI) scale. First, we used a training set to refine item content and explore factor structures. Then, using a validation set, we confirmed a bifactor solution with one general and three auxiliary factors. We then observed test-retest reliability over periods of 3 and 4 weeks, found strict measurement invariance across both relationship status (single and partnered individuals) and across gender (women and men). We also found that PRI predicted actual presumptuous romantic behavior over the subsequent month. Finally, we established a pattern of convergent and discriminant associations with relationship measures, socioemotional outcomes, executive function, dark personality traits and more. This new measure may be of interest to researchers studying intimate relationships, partner violence, and the gray area in between. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Incidental affective influences on effort-related cardiac response: The critical role of choosing task characteristics.

This experiment tested whether personal choice vs. external assignment of task characteristics moderates the effect of incidental affective stimulation on effort-related cardiovascular response. We expected strong action shielding and low receptivity for incidental affective influences when participants could choose themselves the stimulus color of an easy memory task. By contrast, when the stimulus color was assigned, we expected weak action shielding and high receptivity. As expected, participants in the assigned color condition showed stronger cardiac pre-ejection period reactivity when exposed to sad music than when exposed to happy music during task performance. These music effects did not appear among participants who could personally choose the stimulus color. Our results replicate previous research by showing that personal choice leads to action shielding, whereas individuals remain receptive for affective influences during volition when task characteristics are assigned.

Mental contrasting of a negative future facilitates COVID-19 preventative behaviors: two randomized controlled trials.

Objective: The present research examined whether mentally contrasting a negative, feared future (i.e., infection with the Coronavirus) with a still positive reality can promote preventative actions in the context of the pandemic. Design: In two randomized controlled trials, we varied participants' mode of thought (mental contrasting of a negative future with a positive reality versus fantasizing of a negative future). Study 2 took into account the interpersonal nature of the pandemic and manipulated the mode of thought in a vicarious manner (vicarious mental contrasting versus vicarious negative fantasizing). Main Outcome Measures: After the manipulation, we assessed participants' intentions to learn about COVID-19 (Study 1) and attention to COVID-19 information (Study 1 and 2). Three days later, we measured the amount of physical distancing (Study 1 and 2). Results: Study 1 found that mental contrasting leads to more COVID-19 preventative behaviors than mere negative fantasizing. In Study 2, we observed that vicarious mental contrasting facilitates physical distancing among people who initially showed low compliance with COVID-19 preventative behaviors and thus were in most need of a boost in preventative behavior. Conclusion: The findings suggest that mental contrasting of negative fantasies may be an effective way to encourage COVID-19 preventative behaviors.

Task choice shields against incidental affective influences on effort-related cardiovascular response.

In an attempt to integrate theorizing on action shielding with affective influences on effort-related cardiovascular response, an experiment with N = 115 university students (90% women) tested whether working on a task by personal choice versus external assignment moderates the effect of happy versus sad background music on effort-related cardiovascular response during task performance. We predicted strong action shielding and low receptivity for incidental affective influences when participants could ostensibly choose the task to be performed. Given the difficult nature of the task, we thus expected strong effort-related cardiovascular responses due to high commitment when the task was chosen. By contrast, for assigned-task participants, we expected high receptivity for incidental affective influences and thus predicted strong cardiovascular reactivity when they were exposed to happy music but low responses due to disengagement when they were exposed to sad music. Effects on responses of cardiac pre-ejection period, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate confirmed our effort-related predictions. Apparently, personal choice of a task can immunize individuals against incidental affective influences on resource mobilization.

Exploring the determinants of reinvestment decisions: Sense of personal responsibility, preferences, and loss framing.

Two potentially costly errors are common in sequential investment decisions: sticking too long to a failing course of action (escalation of commitment), and abandoning a successful course of action prematurely. Past research has mostly focused on escalation of commitment, and identified three critical determinants: personal responsibility, preferences for prior decisions, and decision framing. We demonstrate in three studies using an incentivized poker inspired task that these determinants of escalation reliably lead decision makers to keep investing even when real money is on the line. We observed in Experiments 1, 2 and 3 that reinvestments were more likely when decision makers were personally responsible for prior decisions. This likelihood was also increased when the decision makers had indicated a preference for initial investments (Experiments 2 and 3), and when outcomes were framed in terms of losses as compared to gains (Experiment 3). Both types of decision errors - escalation of commitment and prematurely abandoning a course of action - could be traced to the same set of determinants. Being personally responsible for prior decisions, having a preference for the initial investment, and loss framing did increase escalation, whereas lacking personal responsibility, having no preference for the initial investment, and gain framing increased the likelihood of prematurely opting out. Finally, personal responsibility had a negative effect on decision quality, as decision-makers were still more likely to reinvest when they were personally responsible for prior decisions, than when prior decisions were assigned optimally by an algorithm (Experiments 2 and 3).

Overclaiming is not related to dark triad personality traits or stated and revealed risk preferences.

The tendency to be overly confident in one's future and skills has long been studied. More recently, a correlate of this overconfidence, the tendency to overclaim knowledge, has been in the focus of research. Its antecedents and downstream behavioral consequences are still in question. In a sample of undergraduate students (N = 168), we tested whether a set of characteristics of the person (e.g., age, gender) and personality traits (i.e., the Dark Triad) is related to overclaiming knowledge. Moreover, we investigated whether overclaiming, in turn, predicts risk preferences. To this end, we asked individuals to rate their confidence in solving a set of different math problems and their familiarity with a set of math concepts. Some of these concepts were nonexistent, thereby allowing participants to overclaim knowledge. Participants then stated their general risk preference and performed three tasks revealing their general, financial, and social risk preferences. We demonstrated the hypothesized relationship between overclaiming and confidence. Furthermore, we observed that the assessed characteristics of the person were not correlated with overclaiming. If anything, height and digit ratio, a phenomenological correlate of hormonal differences during development, tended to be associated with overclaiming. Surprisingly, overclaiming was not at all related to risk preferences or personality traits. This set of results shows the need for relevant theoretical and methodological refinements.

Deliberation decreases the likelihood of expressing dominant responses.

Deliberation is commonly assumed to be a central characteristic of humans' higher cognitive functions, and the responses following deliberation are attributed to mechanisms that are qualitatively different from lower-level associative or affectively driven responses. In contrast to this perspective, the current article's aim is to draw attention to potential issues with making inferences about mechanisms of deliberation based on characteristics of the observed decision outcomes. We propose that a consequence of deliberation is to simply reduce the likelihood of expressing immediately available (dominant) responses. We illustrate how this consequence of deliberation can provide a parsimonious explanation for a broad range of prior research on decision-making. Furthermore, we discuss how the present perspective on deliberation relates to the question of how the cognitive system implements nondominant responses based on associative learning and affective prioritization rather than voluntary decisions. Beyond the present article's theoretical focus, for illustrative purposes, we provide some empirical evidence (three studies, N = 175) that is in line with our proposal. In sum, our theoretical framework, prior empirical evidence, and the present studies suggest that deliberation reduces the likelihood of expressing dominant responses. Although we do not argue that this is the only consequence or mechanism regarding deliberation, we aim to highlight that it is worthwhile considering this minimal consequence of deliberation as compared with certain higher cognitive functions in the interpretation of deliberation outcomes.