An asymmetric inhibition model of hemispheric differences in emotional processing

Two relatively independent lines of research have addressed the role of the prefrontal cortex in emotional processing. The first examines hemispheric asymmetries in frontal function; the second focuses on prefrontal interactions between cognition and emotion. We briefly review each perspective and highlight inconsistencies between them. We go on to describe an alternative model that integrates approaches by focusing on hemispheric asymmetry in inhibitory executive control processes. The Asymmetric Inhibition Model proposes that right lateralized executive control inhibits processing of positive or approach-related distractors, and left-lateralized control inhibits negative or withdrawal-related distractors. These complementary processes allow us to maintain and achieve current goals in the face of emotional distraction. We conclude with a research agenda that uses the model to generate novel experiments that will advance our understanding of both hemispheric asymmetries and cognition-emotion interactions

DOES REPUTATION REALLY SIGNAL POTENTIAL SUCCESS IN ONLINE MARKETPLACES, OR IS IT ONLY A TRIGGER?

The implicit assumption in online marketplaces is that reputation, registered as the average of previous ratings, represents a market opinion of the trustworthiness of a business party and that this predicts eventual satisfaction with the expected outcome of the transaction. Extensive research indeed shows that such reputation does result in a higher probability of the seller being chosen in both services and goods markets, presumably because buyers believe that higher rating sellers have a better probability of delivering. Whether reputation actually predicts successful completion of the project and payment, rather than bid choice, however, is an unknown. This study answers that question. The data show that only when the rating value is above 5.5, which is rounded up in the market presentation to a caption of “above average”, is there a significant relationship between previous rating of the seller and eventual payment

In Search of Universality, Equity, Comprehensivenessand Competition: Health Care Reform and ManagedCompetition in Israel

Israel\u27s ongoing health reform provides lessons regarding attempts to combine universal coverage under national health insurance with a version of managed competition. Based on principles of \u27justice, equality and mutual aid, Israel\u27s National Health Insurance Law, 1994 guarantees access to a broad basket of basic services to be provided by four competing sick funds, and the availability of resources adequate to finance the basket. The new rights of citizens to universal coverage and to move freely among sick funds constituted a major policy breakthrough. However, successive amendments to the Law reflect continuing controversy over the amount of resources required to finance the basic basket. Despite the intention to base the system on decentralization and competition, successive amendments have placed more control over health system finance and sick fund management in the hands of the Ministries of Finance and Health. Updating the basic basket to take account of new technologies and drugs has raised unresolved dilemmas. In the Israeli case the dialectic of management vs. competition and of government vs. market, obscures fundamental issues related to the right of citizens to health services. The process set in motion by adoption of The National Health Insurance Law, 1994 calls on public managers and politicians to design institutions which can set priorities within a limited budget and effectively regulate the health care system

Murder, She Wrote: Enhanced Sensitivity to Negative Word Valence

Enhanced sensitivity to information of negative (compared to positive) valence has an adaptive value, for example, by expediting the correct choice of avoidance behavior. However, previous evidence for such enhanced sensitivity has been inconclusive. Here we report a clear advantage for negative over positive words in categorizing them as emotional. In 3 experiments, participants classified briefly presented (33 ms or 22 ms) masked words as emotional or neutral. Categorization accuracy and valence-detection sensitivity were both higher for negative than for positive words. The results were not due to differences between emotion categories in either lexical frequency, extremeness of valence ratings, or arousal. These results conclusively establish enhanced sensitivity for negative over positive words, supporting the hypothesis that negative stimuli enjoy preferential access to perceptual processing