Whether and how to regulate: Emotion regulation in negative-feedback situations.

Emotion-regulation goals are often studied in isolation, despite them typically occurring in the presence of alternative goals. Negative feedback situations offer an intriguing context to study the interplay of emotion-regulation goals (wanting to feel better) and performance goals (wanting to perform better). Across five preregistered online studies (N = 1,087), we investigated emotion-regulation choice (i.e., whether and how to regulate) in feedback situations. Challenging the assumption that the goal to perform better is the focal goal in negative-feedback situations, we show that negative feedback increases the salience of the goal to feel better via negative affect in Studies 1-2. Moving beyond the question of whether people regulate their emotions when they receive negative feedback, we examined how they regulate their emotions in Studies 3-5. Focusing on the relative importance of the goals to feel and to perform better, we found that the goal to perform better but not the goal to feel better influences negative-feedback recipients' emotion-regulation strategy choice. A salient goal to perform better was associated with a preference for reappraisal over distraction. These results have critical implications for the emotion-regulation literature and models of feedback processing from an emotion-regulation perspective. They demonstrate that affect-oriented processes such as emotion regulation operate when people receive negative feedback. They also highlight the importance of studying alternative goals given their relevance for how people regulate their emotions. From a practical standpoint, the findings may help us to better understand why people sometimes fail to perform better following negative feedback. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Empathising with masked targets: limited side effects of face masks on empathy for dynamic, context-rich stimuli.

Multiple studies revealed detrimental effects of face masks on communication, including reduced empathic accuracy and enhanced listening effort. Yet, extant research relied on artificial, decontextualised stimuli, which prevented assessing empathy under more ecologically valid conditions. In this preregistered online experiment (N = 272), we used film clips featuring targets reporting autobiographical events to address motivational mechanisms underlying face mask effects on cognitive (empathic accuracy) and emotional facets (emotional congruence, sympathy) of empathy. Surprisingly, targets whose faces were covered by a mask (or a black bar) elicited the same level of empathy motives (affiliation, cognitive effort), and accordingly, the same level of cognitive and emotional empathy compared to targets with uncovered faces. We only found a negative direct effect of face coverings on sympathy. Additional analyses revealed that older (compared to young) adults showed higher empathy, but age did not moderate face mask effects. Our findings speak against strong negative face mask effects on empathy when using dynamic, context-rich stimuli, yet support motivational mechanisms of empathy.

Face masks reduce emotion-recognition accuracy and perceived closeness.

Face masks became the symbol of the global fight against the coronavirus. While face masks' medical benefits are clear, little is known about their psychological consequences. Drawing on theories of the social functions of emotions and rapid trait impressions, we tested hypotheses on face masks' effects on emotion-recognition accuracy and social judgments (perceived trustworthiness, likability, and closeness). Our preregistered study with 191 German adults revealed that face masks diminish people's ability to accurately categorize an emotion expression and make target persons appear less close. Exploratory analyses further revealed that face masks buffered the negative effect of negative (vs. non-negative) emotion expressions on perceptions of trustworthiness, likability, and closeness. Associating face masks with the coronavirus' dangers predicted higher perceptions of closeness for masked but not for unmasked faces. By highlighting face masks' effects on social functioning, our findings inform policymaking and point at contexts where alternatives to face masks are needed.

Expression of the HMGA2-LPP fusion transcript in only 1 of 61 karyotypically normal pulmonary chondroid hamartomas.

The HMGA2 gene has been found to be rearranged in a variety of benign solid tumors. However, in all tumor entities where aberrations of the corresponding chromosomal region have been found, a large percentage of tumors do not show any detectable cytogenetic deviation. Thus, the question arises whether or not in some of these cases, small subpopulations of tumor cells characterized by HMGA2 rearrangements exist. The existence of these populations would strongly suggest a secondary nature of the chromosomal aberrations. Herein, we have addressed this question by RT-PCR analyses of the HMGA2-LPP fusion resulting from t(3;12)(q27 approximately q28;q14 approximately q15) in a series of 61 pulmonary chondroid hamartomas (PCH) with an apparently normal karyotype. As a result, the HMGA2-LPP fusion transcript was amplified in only one of 61 PCH with a normal karyotype. In this case, fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis revealed a hidden chromosomal aberration. The absence of the HMGA2-LPP fusion in small populations of tumors with a normal karyotype suggests the primary nature of chromosomal rearrangements in the development of PCH affected by those aberrations.