Situation selection and modification in social inhibition:A person-centered approach

Objectives The current study aimed to identify patterns of situation selection and modification behaviors using a person-centered approach, and to examine to what extent the trait social inhibition (SI) is associated with these patterns of situation-targeted emotion regulation. Methods The sample comprised 504 participants (Mage = 21.5, SD = 8.2; 82% women), who completed questionnaires on situation selection and modification behaviors, and the social inhibition questionnaire (SIQ15). A three-step latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed to (A) identify existing latent profiles of situation avoidance and approach and situation modification behaviors, and (B) to examine the association of SI and facets with the latent class posteriors. Results LPA revealed the presence of four profiles that differed in how situation selection and modification were applied. SI, behavioral inhibition, and social withdrawal were significantly associated with a higher odds of belonging to the profile characterized by avoidance selection and modification. Interpersonal sensitivity was associated with using more conversational modification behaviors, which may illustrate that interpersonal sensitive individuals are motivated to approach, but use avoidance behaviors to prevent confrontation. Conclusions SI individuals particularly rely on avoidance selection and modification behaviors, which may be considered maladaptive emotion regulation

Pandemic panic?:Results of a 14 month longitudinal study on fear of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Fear is an evolutionary adaptive emotion that serves to protect the organism from harm. Once a threat diminishes, fear should also dissipate as otherwise fear may become chronic and pathological. While actual threat of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths) has substantially varied over the course of the pandemic, it remains unclear whether (subjective) fear has followed a similar pattern. METHOD: To examine the development of fear of COVID-19 during the pandemic and investigate potential predictors of chronic fear, we conducted a large online longitudinal study (N = 2000) using the Prolific platform between April 2020 and June 2021. Participants were voluntary response samples and consisted of residents of 34 different countries. The Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ) and several other demographic and psychological measures were completed monthly. RESULTS: Overall, we find that fear steadily decreased since April 2020. Additional analyses showed that elevated fear was predicted by region (i.e., North America > Europe), anxious traits, gender, risks for loved ones, general health, and media use. LIMITATIONS: The interpretation of the results of this study is limited by the non-representativeness of the sample and the lack of data points between August 2020 and June 2021. CONCLUSIONS: This study helps to characterize the trajectory of fear levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and establish several relevant predictors of increased fear

Intramanual and intermanual transfer of the curvature aftereffect

The existence and transfer of a haptic curvature aftereffect was investigated to obtain a greater insight into neural representation of shape. The haptic curvature aftereffect is the phenomenon whereby a flat surface is judged concave if the preceding touched stimulus was convex and vice versa. Single fingers were used to touch the subsequently presented stimuli. A substantial aftereffect was found when the adaptation surface and the test surface were touched by the same finger. Furthermore, a partial, but significant transfer of the aftereffect was demonstrated between fingers of the same hand and between fingers of both the hands. These results provide evidence that curvature information is not only represented at a level that is directly connected to the mechanoreceptors of individual fingers but is also represented at a stage in the somatosensory cortex shared by the fingers of both the hands

TOPICAL REVIEW: Microfluidics for flow cytometric analysis of cells and particles

This review describes recent developments in microfabricated flow cytometers and related microfluidic devices that can detect, analyze, and sort cells or particles. The high-speed analytical capabilities of flow cytometry depend on the cooperative use of microfluidics, optics and electronics. Along with the improvement of other components, replacement of conventional glass capillary-based fluidics with microfluidic sample handling systems operating in microfabricated structures enables volume- and power-efficient, inexpensive and flexible analysis of particulate samples. In this review, we present various efforts that take advantage of novel microscale flow phenomena and microfabrication techniques to build microfluidic cell analysis systems.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49182/2/pm5_3_r02.pd

Fear of COVID-19 predicts vaccination willingness 14 months later

Vaccines are an important tool for governments and health agencies to contain and curb the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, despite their effectiveness and safeness, a substantial portion of the population worldwide is hesitant to get vaccinated. In the current study, we examined whether fear of COVID-19 predicts vaccination willingness. In a longitudinal study (N = 938), fear for COVID-19 was assessed in April 2020 and vaccination willingness was measured in June 2021. Approximately 11% of our sample indicated that they were not willing to get vaccinated. Results of a logistic regression showed that increased fear of COVID-19 predicts vaccination willingness 14 months later, even when controlling for several anxious personality traits, infection control perceptions, risks for loved ones, self-rated health, previous infection, media use, and demographic variables. These results show that fear of COVID-19 is a relevant construct to consider for predicting and possibly influencing vaccination willingness. Nonetheless, sensitivity and specificity of fear of COVID-19 to predict vaccination willingness were quite low and only became slightly better when fear of COVID-19 was measured concurrently. This indicates that other potential factors, such as perceived risks of the vaccines, probably also play a role in explaining vaccination willingness

Emotion regulation in social interaction: Physiological and emotional responses associated with social inhibition

Social inhibition may be associated with individual differences in emotion regulation. Mechanisms relating emotion regulation to social inhibition are largely unknown. We therefore examined how social inhibition is associated with emotional, sympathetic, and parasympathetic responses during sadness induction, and while employing emotion regulation strategies during social interaction after sadness induction. Undergraduate students (N = 216; 72% female) completed the Social Inhibition Questionnaire and participated in a sadness induction and emotion regulation (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) social interaction task, while emotional states, and sympathetic and parasympathetic reactivity were assessed. Repeated measures ANCOVAs showed that during sadness induction, social inhibition was unrelated to the emotional response, but social inhibition was associated with a blunted parasympathetic withdrawal response, due to an already withdrawn parasympathetic tone at rest. This may be suggestive of increased allostatic load with higher social inhibition, and may contribute to stress-related health risks. Both suppression and reappraisal tasks successfully diminished sadness, and this reduction was smaller with increasing levels of social inhibition. Physiological responses to emotion regulation efforts were independent of social inhibition. Elevated sadness in response to instructed emotion regulation in socially inhibited individuals may indicate more emotional distress during social interaction due to heightened threat sensitivity they experience

Pandemic panic?: Results of a 14 month longitudinal study on fear of COVID-19

Background Fear is an evolutionary adaptive emotion that serves to protect the organism from harm. Once a threat diminishes, fear should also dissipate as otherwise fear may become chronic and pathological. While actual threat of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths) has substantially varied over the course of the pandemic, it remains unclear whether (subjective) fear has followed a similar pattern. Method To examine the development of fear of COVID-19 during the pandemic and investigate potential predictors of chronic fear, we conducted a large online longitudinal study (N = 2000) using the Prolific platform between April 2020 and June 2021. Participants were voluntary response samples and consisted of residents of 34 different countries. The Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ) and several other demographic and psychological measures were completed monthly. Results Overall, we find that fear steadily decreased since April 2020. Additional analyses showed that elevated fear was predicted by region (i.e., North America > Europe), anxious traits, gender, risks for loved ones, general health, and media use. Limitations The interpretation of the results of this study is limited by the non-representativeness of the sample and the lack of data points between August 2020 and June 2021. Conclusions This study helps to characterize the trajectory of fear levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and establish several relevant predictors of increased fear

Fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19): Predictors in an online study conducted in March 2020

Fear is an adaptive response in the presence of danger. However, when threat is uncertain and continuous, as in the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, fear can become chronic and burdensome. To identify predictors of fear of the coronavirus, we conducted an online survey (N = 439) three days after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic (i.e., between March 14 and 17, 2020). Fear of the coronavirus was assessed with the newly developed Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ) consisting of eight questions pertaining to different dimensions of fear (e.g., subjective worry, safety behaviors, preferential attention), and an open-ended question. The predictors included psychological vulnerability factors (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty, worry, and health anxiety), media exposure, and personal relevance (i.e., personal health, risk for loved ones, and risk control). We found four predictors for the FCQ in a simultaneous regression analysis: health anxiety, regular media use, social media use, and risks for loved ones (R2 =.37). Furthermore, 16 different topics of concern were identified based participants’ open-ended responses, including the health of loved ones, health care systems overload, and economic consequences. We discuss the relevance of our findings for managing people's fear of the coronavirus

Fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19): Predictors in an online study conducted in March 2020

Fear is an adaptive response in the presence of danger. However, when threat is uncertain and continuous, as in the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, fear can become chronic and burdensome. To identify predictors of fear of the coronavirus, we conducted an online survey (N = 439) three days after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic (i.e., between March 14 and 17, 2020). Fear of the coronavirus was assessed with the newly developed Fear of the Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ) consisting of eight questions pertaining to different dimensions of fear (e.g., subjective worry, safety behaviors, preferential attention), and an open-ended question. The predictors included psychological vulnerability factors (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty, worry, and health anxiety), media exposure, and personal relevance (i.e., personal health, risk for loved ones, and risk control). We found four predictors for the FCQ in a simultaneous regression analysis: health anxiety, regular media use, social media use, and risks for loved ones (R2 =.37). Furthermore, 16 different topics of concern were identified based participants’ open-ended responses, including the health of loved ones, health care systems overload, and economic consequences. We discuss the relevance of our findings for managing people's fear of the coronavirus