Comment: The Emotional Basis of Toxic Affect

I focus on some differences between negative emotional states and how they are coped with in explaining different cardiac risks. The different cognitive, motivational, and physiological characteristics of emotions imply different appraisals of the negative event, and different resources to cope with the event. Cardiovascular activity depends on these different appraisals and coping strategies. For example, cortisol levels have shown to be differently associated with anger and fear responses to social stress. In addition, different ways to regulate one’s emotions are also associated with different bodily responses that may increase or decrease cardiac risks. Future research should not only examine different emotions to stressors, but also more long-term regulation strategies and coping resources, such as self-esteem

What the Theory of Affective Pragmatics Does and Doesn't Do

The theory of affective pragmatics (TAP) is proposed as a theory on “what emotional expressions 'do'from a communicative point of view”(p. 171). We think that Andrea Scarantino's (this issue) aim to present a more integrative theory on emotion expression is laudable, and we also appreciate his aim to bridge the gap between two opposing theories on emotion expressions, namely, Ekman's Basic Emotion Theory (Ekman, 1992) and Fridlund's Behavorial Ecology View (1994). In this commentary we question some of premises of TAP, point some issues that need further clarification, and assess the overall added value of TAP, giving existing theory and research

Professional development in multicultural education: What can we learn from the Australian context?

Including data from 3006 in-service primary and secondary public-school teachers in New South Wales,we investigated the effects of professional development in multicultural education on teachers' beliefsabout the effectiveness of multicultural strategies in fostering a culturally inclusive environment, theimportance of these strategies in providing equitable opportunities for students, and the teachers’support for monocultural ideologies and practices. Our multilevel structural equation model showed thatteachers who received professional development, especially during their in-service years, had morepositive attitudes and beliefs about multicultural ideologies and practices compared to teachers who didnot undergo professional development