Perceiving happiness in an intergroup context: The role of race and attention to the eyes in differentiating between true and false smiles.

The present research comprises six experiments that investigated racial biases in the perception of positive emotional expressions. In an initial study, we demonstrated that White participants distinguished more in their happiness ratings of Duchenne (“true”) and non-Duchenne (“false”) smiles on White compared with Black faces (Experiment 1). In a subsequent study we replicated this effect using a different set of stimuli and non-Black participants (Experiment 2). As predicted, this bias was not demonstrated by Black participants, who did not significantly differ in happiness ratings between smile types on White and Black faces (Experiment 3). Furthermore, in addition to happiness ratings, we demonstrated that non-Black participants were also more accurate when categorizing true versus false expressions on White compared with Black faces (Experiment 4). The final two studies provided evidence for the mediating role of attention to the eyes in intergroup emotion identification. In particular, eye tracking data indicated that White participants spent more time attending to the eyes of White than Black faces and that attention to the eyes predicted biases in happiness ratings between true and false smiles on White and Black faces (Experiment 5). Furthermore, an experimental manipulation focusing participants on the eyes of targets eliminated the effects of target race or perceptions of happiness (Experiment 6). Together, the findings provide novel evidence for racial biases in the identification of positive emotions and highlight the critical role of visual attention in this process. (APA PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved

Are happier people, healthier people? The relationship between perceived happiness, personal control, BMI and health preventive behaviours

Background: This study aimed to identify the extent to which levels of happiness and self-efficacy could predict preventive health behaviours and BMI. Method: Data was collected from 100 adults (59% female), mean age 24.75 years, measuring happiness, generalised self-efficacy beliefs, BMI, health preventive behaviours, age and gender. Findings: Results indicate that both happiness and generalised self efficacy are salient for health preventive behaviours, explaining 20% and 26% of the variance respectively. Relationships were also noted whereby generalised self efficacy (r = -.16,p =.05) and happiness (r = -16,p <.05)both negatively correlated with BMI. Finally, post hoc analysis revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between happiness and generalised self-efficacy (r =.57,p <.001). Conclusion: Evidence presented here suggests that happiness and high self-efficacy beliefs can significantly enhance health protective behaviours. Moreover, those who express higher levels of happiness, also exhibit higher levels of self efficacy and have a lower BMI. Suggestions are made to tailor health promotion campaigns towards enhancing mood and personal control beliefs

Influence of Classroom and School Climate on Teacher Perceptions of Student Problem Behavior

Reducing student problem behavior remains a leading concern for school staff, as disruptive and aggressive behavior interferes with student achievement and the school climate. However, the multi-systemic nature of schools makes it difficult for researchers and practitioners to identify factors influencing to students’ behavior. The current study examined student problem behavior through an ecological lens by taking into account individual (e.g., gender, ethnicity, prosocial behavior), classroom (e.g., class size, average classroom behavior), and school-level factors (e.g., location, school climate). Using data from 37 elementary schools, 467 classrooms, and 8,750 students, a series of hierarchical linear models was tested. Multilevel analyses revealed that while individual student characteristics had the largest influence on problem behavior, average prosocial behavior and concentration problems of students within the classroom, as well as teacher perceptions of the school climate significantly related to how students behaved. These findings support the use of classroom-based intervention programs to reduce student problem behavior