Analyzing Negative Experiences Without Ruminating: The Role of Self-Distancing in Enabling Adaptive Self-Reflection

Both common intuition and findings from multiple areas of research suggest that when faced with distressing experiences, it is helpful to understand one’s feelings. However, a large body of research also indicates that people’s attempts to make sense of their feelings often backfire, leading them to ruminate and feel worse. In this article, we describe a program of research that focuses on disentangling these seemingly contradictory sets of findings. The research program we describe proposes that psychological distance from the self plays a key role in determining whether people’s attempts to understand their feelings lead to adaptive or maladaptive self-reflection. It suggests that people’s attempts to understand their feelings often fail because they analyze their feelings from a self-immersed perspective rather than a self-distanced perspective. Empirical evidence from multiple levels of analysis is presented to support this prediction. The basic science and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79240/1/j.1751-9004.2010.00301.x.pd

The impact of social network sites on mental health:distinguishing active from passive use

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166288/1/wps20820.pd

How Spanish speakers express norms using generic person markers

Language is one powerful vehicle for transmitting norms—a universal feature of society. In English, people use “you” generically (e.g., “You win some you lose some”) to express and interpret norms. Here, we examine how norms are conveyed and interpreted in Spanish, a language that—unlike English—has two forms of you (i.e., formal, informal), distinct generic person markers, and pro-drop, allowing for an examination of underlying conceptual tendencies in how the structure of language facilitates the transmission of norms. In Study 1a-b (N = 838) Spanish speakers used informal generic-you and the generic person marker “se” (but not formal-you) to express norms (vs. preferences). In Study 2 (N = 300), formal you, informal you, and impersonal “se” had persuasive force over personal endorsements (e.g., “I”), informing Spanish speaker’s interpretation of unfamiliar norms. Our findings add to a growing literature on how subtle linguistic shifts reflect and influence cognitive processes

Do Social Network Sites Enhance or Undermine Subjective Well‐Being? A Critical Review

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136039/1/sipr12033.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136039/2/sipr12033_am.pd

Third-person self-talk facilitates emotion regulation without engaging cognitive control: Converging evidence from ERP and fMRI.

Does silently talking to yourself in the third-person constitute a relatively effortless form of self control? We hypothesized that it does under the premise that third-person self-talk leads people to think about the self similar to how they think about others, which provides them with the psychological distance needed to facilitate self control. We tested this prediction by asking participants to reflect on feelings elicited by viewing aversive images (Study 1) and recalling negative autobiographical memories (Study 2) using either I or their name while measuring neural activity via ERPs (Study 1) and fMRI (Study 2). Study 1 demonstrated that third-person self-talk reduced an ERP marker of self-referential emotional reactivity (i.e., late positive potential) within the first second of viewing aversive images without enhancing an ERP marker of cognitive control (i.e., stimulus preceding negativity). Conceptually replicating these results, Study 2 demonstrated that third-person self-talk was linked with reduced levels of activation in an a priori defined fMRI marker of self-referential processing (i.e., medial prefrontal cortex) when participants reflected on negative memories without eliciting increased levels of activity in a priori defined fMRI markers of cognitive control. Together, these results suggest that third-person self-talk may constitute a relatively effortless form of self-control

Les médias sociaux et le bonheur:Le cas de Facebook

Les réseaux sociaux ont rapidement changé la façon dont les gens interagissent entre eux. Le réseau social le plus populaire est Facebook, avec un nombre croissant de personnes qui consacrent de plus en plus de temps sur ce site chaque jour. Dans cet article, nous discutons de l’impact de l’utilisation de Facebook sur le bonheur. La revue de littérature révèle que le bonheur serait influencé différemment selon une utilisation passive ou active de Facebook. L’utilisation active de Facebook stimule le capital social et le sentiment de connexion, qui, à leur tour, ont un impact positif sur le bonheur. L’utilisation passive de Facebook mène souvent à une hausse de la comparaison sociale et de l’envie, qui, à leur tour, ont un impact négatif sur le bonheur. Les gens sont en général plus passifs qu’actifs sur Facebook et ainsi, leur utilisation du site tend à diminuer plutôt qu’à augmenter leur bonheur. Nous terminons cet article en discutant de pistes de recherches futures.Social network sites have rapidly changed the way people interact. The most popular social network site is Facebook with an increasing number of people spending an increasing amount of time on Facebook each day. In this article we discuss the impact of using Facebook on happiness. A review of the present literature reveals that happiness is differentially impacted by active and passive Facebook usage. Active Facebook usage stimulates social capital and connectedness, which, in turn, positively impact happiness. Passive Facebook usage often leads to upward social comparisons and envy, which, in turn, negatively impact happiness. People tend to use Facebook more often passively than actively, and hence, tend to use Facebook in a way that undermines rather than enhances happiness. We end this article by discussing possibilities for future research

The “Batman Effect”: Improving Perseverance in Young Children

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138336/1/cdev12695.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138336/2/cdev12695_am.pd

Regulating the high: Cognitive and neural processes underlying positive emotion regulation in Bipolar I Disorder

Although it is well established that Bipolar Disorder (BD) is characterized by excessive positive emotionality, the cognitive and neural processes that underlie such responses are unclear. We addressed this issue by examining the role that an emotion regulatory process called self-distancing plays in two potentially different BD phenotypes—BD with vs. without a history of psychosis—and healthy individuals. Participants reflected on a positive autobiographical memory and then rated their level of spontaneous self-distancing. Neurophysiological activity was continuously monitored using electroencephalogram. As predicted, participants with BD who have a history of psychosis spontaneously self-distanced less and displayed greater neurophysiological signs of positive emotional reactivity compared to the other two groups. These findings shed light on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying excessive positive emotionality in BD. They also suggest that individuals with BD who have a history of psychosis may represent a distinct clinical phenotype characterized by dysfunctional emotion regulation

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Links Between Linguistic Structure of Loss Narratives and Psychosocial Functioning in Parentally Bereaved Children

This study examined links between the language bereaved children use to describe the death of their caregiver and children’s psychological/behavioral functioning and coping strategies. Participants included 44 children (54.5% male) aged 7 to 12 (M = 9.05) years who were bereaved by the death of a caregiver. Children were assessed via self‐ and caregiver‐report measures and an in‐person interview regarding the loss of their caregiver. Children’s loss narratives gathered through in‐person interviews were transcribed and subjected to textual analysis. Linguistic categories included pronouns and verb tense. Drawing from linguistic and self‐distancing theories, we hypothesized that children’s use of language reflecting self‐distancing (third‐person pronouns and past tense) or social connectedness (first‐person plural pronouns) would be negatively associated with psychological/behavioral distress and avoidant coping. Similarly, we expected that children’s use of self‐focused language (first‐person singular pronouns and present tense) would be positively associated with psychological/behavioral distress and avoidant coping. As hypothesized, preliminary findings suggest that children who employed more self‐distancing language and used more social connectedness words reported less avoidant coping, rs = .40–.42. Also as hypothesized, children who employed more self‐focused language had higher levels of self‐reported posttraumatic stress symptoms, r = .54, and avoidant coping, r = .54, and higher parent‐reported psychological/behavioral distress, r = .43. Implications for theory‐building, risk screening, and directions for future research with bereaved youth are discussed.ResumenSpanish Abstracts by the Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET)Fuera de la boca de los bebes: vínculos entre la estructura lingüística de las narrativas de pérdida y el funcionamiento psicosocial en los niños con duelo parentalNARRATIVAS DE PÉRDIDA Y FUNCIONAMIENTO EN NIÑOSEste estudio examinó los vínculos entre el lenguaje usado por los niños en duelo para describir la muerte de su cuidador y el funcionamiento psicológico / conductual y las estrategias de afrontamiento de los niños. Los participantes incluyeron 44 niños (54,5% hombres) de 7 a 12 años (M = 9,05) en duelo por la muerte de un cuidador. Los niños fueron evaluados a través de medidas de autoreporte y reporte del cuidador y una entrevista en persona con respecto a la pérdida de su cuidador. Las narrativas de pérdida de los niños recopiladas a través de entrevistas en persona fueron transcritas y se sometieron a un análisis textual. Las categorías lingüísticas incluyen pronombres y tiempo verbal. Partiendo de teorías lingüísticas y de autodistanciamiento, hipotetizamos que el uso de lenguaje por parte de los niños que refleje autodistanciamiento (pronombres en tercera persona y tiempo pasado) o conectividad social (pronombres en primera persona en plural) estaría negativamente asociado con angustia psicológica o conductual y el afrontamiento evitativo. De manera similar, esperábamos que el uso de lenguaje enfocado en sí mismo (pronombres en primera persona singular y tiempo presente) se asociara positivamente con la angustia psicológica / conductual y el afrontamiento evitativo. Como se hipotetizó, los hallazgos preliminares sugieren que los niños que emplearon más lenguaje autodistanciado y un mayor uso de palabras de conectividad social reportaron menos afrontamiento evitativo, rs = .40‐.42. También según la hipótesis, los niños que empleaban más lenguaje enfocado en sí mismos tenían niveles más altos de síntomas de estrés postraumático autoreportados, r = .54, afrontamiento evitativo, r = .54 y mayor angustia psicológica / conductual informada por los padres, r = . 43. Se discuten las implicaciones para el desarrollo de la teoría, el tamizaje de riesgos y direcciones para futuras investigaciones con jóvenes en duelo.抽象Traditional and Simplified Chinese Abstracts by AsianSTSSOut of the Mouths of Babes: Links between Linguistic Structure of Loss Narratives and Psychosocial Functioning in Parentally‐Bereaved ChildrenTraditional Chinese標題: 喪失監護人的兒童其喪親敘述的語言結構與心理社會運作的關連撮要: 本研究檢視喪親兒童用以描述監護人去世的語言、兒童的心理/行為運作及應對策略。樣本為44名經歷了監護人去世的兒童(54.5%男性), 年齡介乎7 至 12歲 (M = 9.05)。自評報告和監護人報告用以測量兒童的狀況, 並有親身面談評估監護人過身的經歷。我們從親身面談取得兒童對喪親的敘述記錄, 並進行文本分析, 檢視的語言學範疇包括代名詞和動詞時態。我們基於語言學和自我疏遠理論, 假設兒童反映自我疏遠(第三人稱代名詞及過去式)或社交連繫(第一人稱複數代名詞)的語言, 會跟心理/行為悲痛及迴避式的應對方法有負向關連;而反映專注於自我的語言(第一人稱單數代名詞及現在式), 會跟心理/行為悲痛及迴避式的應對方法有正向關連。初步結果反映, 一如假設, 用較多自我疏遠和社交連繫語言的兒童, 有較低水平的迴避式應對(rs = .40–.42);而用較多專注於自我語言的兒童, 有較高水平的自評創傷後壓力症狀(r = .54)、迴避式應對(r = .54), 及根據家長評核有較高水平的心理/行為悲痛(r = .43)。我們亦討論到是次有關喪親青少年的發現, 對建立理論和風險篩查的幫助, 及日後的研究方向。Simplified Chinese标题: 丧失监护人的儿童其丧亲叙述的语言结构与心理社会运作的关连撮要: 本研究检视丧亲儿童用以描述监护人去世的语言、儿童的心理/行为运作及应对策略。样本为44名经历了监护人去世的儿童(54.5%男性), 年龄介乎7 至 12岁 (M = 9.05)。自评报告和监护人报告用以测量儿童的状况, 并有亲身面谈评估监护人过身的经历。我们从亲身面谈取得儿童对丧亲的叙述记录, 并进行文本分析, 检视的语言学范畴包括代名词和动词时态。我们基于语言学和自我疏远理论, 假设儿童反映自我疏远(第三人称代名词及过去式)或社交连系(第一人称复数代名词)的语言, 会跟心理/行为悲痛及回避式的应对方法有负向关连;而反映专注于自我的语言(第一人称单数代名词及现在式), 会跟心理/行为悲痛及回避式的应对方法有正向关连。初步结果反映, 一如假设, 用较多自我疏远和社交连系语言的儿童, 有较低水平的回避式应对(rs = .40–.42);而用较多专注于自我语言的儿童, 有较高水平的自评创伤后压力症状(r = .54)、回避式应对(r = .54), 及根据家长评核有较高水平的心理/行为悲痛(r = .43)。我们亦讨论到是次有关丧亲青少年的发现, 对建立理论和风险筛查的帮助, 及日后的研究方向。Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144623/1/jts22293.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144623/2/jts22293_am.pd

The Functional Connectivity Landscape of the Human Brain

Functional brain networks emerge and dissipate over a primarily static anatomical foundation. The dynamic basis of these networks is inter-regional communication involving local and distal regions. It is assumed that inter-regional distances play a pivotal role in modulating network dynamics. Using three different neuroimaging modalities, 6 datasets were evaluated to determine whether experimental manipulations asymmetrically affect functional relationships based on the distance between brain regions in human participants. Contrary to previous assumptions, here we show that short- and long-range connections are equally likely to strengthen or weaken in response to task demands. Additionally, connections between homotopic areas are the most stable and less likely to change compared to any other type of connection. Our results point to a functional connectivity landscape characterized by fluid transitions between local specialization and global integration. This ability to mediate functional properties irrespective of spatial distance may engender a diverse repertoire of cognitive processes when faced with a dynamic environment.</p