Emotion processing in concrete and abstract words: evidence from eye fixations during reading.

We replicated and extended the findings of Yao et al. [(2018). Differential emotional processing in concrete and abstract words. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44(7), 1064-1074] regarding the interaction of emotionality, concreteness, and imageability in word processing by measuring eye fixation times on target words during normal reading. A 3 (Emotion: negative, neutral, positive) × 2 (Concreteness: abstract, concrete) design was used with 22 items per condition, with each set of six target words matched across conditions in terms of word length and frequency. Abstract (e.g. shocking, reserved, fabulous) and concrete (e.g. massacre, calendar, treasure) target words appeared (separately) within contextually neutral, plausible sentences. Sixty-three participants each read all 132 experimental sentences while their eye movements were recorded. Analyses using Gamma generalised linear mixed models revealed significant effects of both Emotion and Concreteness on all fixation measures, indicating faster processing for emotional and concrete words. Additionally, there was a significant Emotion × Concreteness interaction which, critically, was modulated by Imageability in early fixation time measures. Emotion effects were significantly larger in higher-imageability abstract words than in lower-imageability ones, but remained unaffected by imageability in concrete words. These findings support the multimodal induction hypothesis and highlight the intricate interplay of these factors in the immediate stages of word processing during fluent reading.

Prediction of initiation and cessation of breastfeeding from late pregnancy to 16 weeks: the Feeding Your Baby (FYB) cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To derive prediction models for both initiation and cessation of breastfeeding using demographic, psychological and obstetric variables. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: Women delivering at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, UK. DATA SOURCES: Demographic data and psychological measures were obtained during pregnancy by questionnaire. Birth details, feeding method at birth and at hospital discharge were obtained from the Ninewells hospital database, Dundee, UK. Breastfeeding women were followed up by text messages every 2 weeks until 16 weeks or until breastfeeding was discontinued to ascertain feeding method and feeding intentions. PARTICIPANTS: Pregnant women over 30 weeks gestation aged 16 years and above, living in Dundee, booked to deliver at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, and able to speak English. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Initiation and cessation of breastfeeding. RESULTS: From the total cohort of women at delivery (n=344) 68% (95% CI 63% to 73%) of women had started breastfeeding at discharge. Significant predictors of initiating breastfeeding were older age, parity, greater intention to breastfeed from a Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)-based questionnaire, higher Iowa Infant Feeding Assessment Scale (IIFAS) score as well as living with a husband or partner. For the final model, the AUROC was 0.967. For those who initiated breastfeeding (n=233), the strongest predictors of stopping were low intention to breastfeed from TPB, low IIFAS score and non-managerial/professional occupations. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study will be used to inform the protocol for an intervention study to encourage and support prolonged breastfeeding as intentions appear to be a key intervention focus for initiation. The predictive models could be used to identify women at high risk of not initiating and also women at high risk of stopping for interventions to improve the longevity of breastfeeding.

Evaluating the reliability, validity, acceptability, and practicality of SMS text messaging as a tool to collect research data: results from the Feeding Your Baby project.

OBJECTIVE: To test the reliability, validity, acceptability, and practicality of short message service (SMS) messaging for collection of research data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The studies were carried out in a cohort of recently delivered women in Tayside, Scotland, UK, who were asked about their current infant feeding method and future feeding plans. Reliability was assessed by comparison of their responses to two SMS messages sent 1 day apart. Validity was assessed by comparison of their responses to text questions and the same question administered by phone 1 day later, by comparison with the same data collected from other sources, and by correlation with other related measures. Acceptability was evaluated using quantitative and qualitative questions, and practicality by analysis of a researcher log. RESULTS: Reliability of the factual SMS message gave perfect agreement. Reliabilities for the numerical question were reasonable, with κ between 0.76 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.96) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.59 to 1.00). Validity for data compared with that collected by phone within 24 h (κ =0.92 (95% CI 0.84 to 1.00)) and with health visitor data (κ =0.85 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.97)) was excellent. Correlation validity between the text responses and other related demographic and clinical measures was as expected. Participants found the method a convenient and acceptable way of providing data. For researchers, SMS text messaging provided an easy and functional method of gathering a large volume of data. CONCLUSION: In this sample and for these questions, SMS was a reliable and valid method for capturing research data.

Strength of lateralisation for processing facial emotion in relation to autistic traits in individuals without autism.

A great number of studies have shown that non-clinical individuals rely predominantly on the right hemisphere to process facial emotion. Previous studies have shown that males suffering from Asperger's syndrome show a typical right hemisphere bias for processing facial emotion (happiness and sadness) but a reduced right hemisphere bias for processing facial identity. This study looks at the lateralisation of all six basic emotions using the chimeric faces test in 64 non-clinical participants (32 males, 32 females) and correlates it with their autistic traits measured using the Broad Autistic Phenotype Questionnaire. For males only, regression analyses showed a relationship between the aloof personality trait and lateralisation for fear, happiness, and surprise. Males with high autistic scores on the aloof personality subscale (showing a lack of interest in social interaction) were more strongly lateralised to the right hemisphere for processing fear, happiness, and surprise. For males there was no relationship with anger, disgust, sadness, or non-facial stimuli, and for females there were no significant relationships at all. The autistic traits of rigidity and pragmatic language were not significant predictors of emotion lateralisation. The over-reliance on the right hemisphere for processing facial emotion in males seems to support the idea that the autistic brain could be seen as hyper-masculinised, possibly due to prenatal testosterone exposure.