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Cognitive Reappraisal of Emotion: A Meta-analysis of Human Neuroimaging Studies
Jason T. Buhle and Jennifer A. Silvers from Columbia University present their research on "Cognitive reappraisal of emotion: A meta-analysis of human neuroimaging studies," at the 25th APS Annual Convention in Washington, DC. In recent years, an explosion of neuroimaging studies has examined cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy that involves changing the way one thinks about a stimulus in order to change its affective impact. Existing models broadly agree that reappraisal recruits frontal and parietal control regions to modulate emotional responding in the amygdala, but they offer competing visions of how this is accomplished.
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Improving Oral Health Behavior and Message Memory
Cameron Brick presents his research on “Improving Oral Health Behavior and Message Memory: Matching Cultural Exposure and Message Frame” at the APS 25th Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Brick received one of the 2013 NIDCR “Building Bridges” APS Convention Travel Awards. Dental caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis are widespread health problems that increase the risk of tooth loss, stroke, and cardiovascular disease, but many Americans reject preventive behaviors such as brushing and flossing. These studies examine the benefits of congruency between an individual’s motivational orientation and the framing of persuasive health messages.
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Understanding Replication: Confidence Intervals Much Better Than p Values
Geoff Cumming, La Trobe University, Australia, presents his research on "Understanding Replication: Confidence Intervals Much Better Than p Values," at the 25th APS Annual Convention. Replication is at the heart of science. A current hot topic across medicine, psychological science, and other disciplines is that a number of widely-accepted published results cannot be replicated. A major cause of the problem is reliance on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST). The imperative to achieve statistical significance, or getting a p value that is greater than .05, leads researchers to select data, variables, and analysis techniques, until they reach that goal.
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Exploring Stanley Schachter’s Legacy
Psychological scientist Stanley Schachter (1922-1997) is credited with conducting innovative research on eating behavior from the perspective of social psychology. And his externality theory of obesity — which posits that non-physiological external cues has a particularly strong influence on eating in people prone to obesity — continues to shape research on eating behavior.
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Memelab: Simulation of a Campus Population
Ian D. Miller, University of Toronto, presents his research "Memelab: Simulation of a Campus Population," at the 25th APS Annual Convention in Washington, DC. How do you predict when a picture or video is going to become an online viral phenomenon? In this experiment, participants created memes using our online laboratory (“Memelab”) and shared them with friends. Over a 2-month period, our web server counted how many times each picture was viewed by Internet users. On that basis, we determined which pictures were “more viral.” Although it mattered whether the picture was funny and relevant, the creator of the picture had a greater impact in predicting meme popularity.
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Convention Attendees Meet a Legend
For some attendees, the highlight of the 25th APS Annual Convention was meeting a legend in person. APS Past President Michael Gazzaniga signed copies of his books and chatted with Convention attendees after his May 23 Keynote Address on "Unity in a Modular World." Gazzaniga is known for his innovative work with split-brain patients and his extraordinary discoveries related to the lateralization of brain function and communication between brain hemispheres. During the Keynote Address, he discussed the modular nature of the brain and how coordination among brain modules leads to unified mental activity. If you missed Gazzaniga's address, don't worry!