-
APS Fellow Helps Make Life With Autism a Little Easier
When she was a graduate student in the late 1970s, APS Fellow Geraldine Dawson worked with a family that changed her life. They had an autistic child and “I was just captured by the experience and decided to devote my entire career to it,” Dawson told Autism Talk TV. Today, Dawson is a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks. She is recognized as a pioneer in the study of autism who has used brain imaging to analyze neural irregularities associated with the disease. She has also studied the genetics of autism and helped to pinpoint some of the earliest symptoms of the disorder.
-
The Photos That Make Us Feel
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Kathleen E. Hazlett from Marquette University present her poster session research on “Self Selected Pictures Are More Effective than IAPS for Inducing Positive Emotion.” According to Hazlett, your own photo album (or Facebook timeline, or Flickr account) might be the best pick-me-up when you’re feeling down. Personal photos could also be the best way for researchers to elicit positive emotions in the lab.
-
Perfectionism, Goal Appraisals, and Distress in Students
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling in Washington, DC. Watch. Watch Gordon L. Flett from York University, Canada and Taryn Nepon of York University, Canada present their research at the 23rd APS Annual Convention in Washington, DC. This study examined perfectionism, goal cognitions, and distress in 95 students. Participants completed the Goal Systems Assessment Battery, along with measures of perfectionism, anxiety, and depression. Socially prescribed perfectionism and perfectionistic thoughts were associated with goal-related self-criticism and negative arousal. Self-oriented perfectionism predicted self-criticism and negative arousal for academic goals.
-
Facebook Users: Ruminating or Savoring?
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Sara M. Locatelli of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Loyola University, Chicago present her poster session research on “Facebook Use, Rumination, Savoring, and Personality: Influence on Health and Life Satisfaction.” Locatelli and her coauthors examined Facebook use among college students — specifically status updates — to look for links among Facebook use, rumination, savoring, and specific health outcomes. They found a connection between Facebook use and rumination but no link between Facebook use and savoring.
-
Facets of Mindfulness as Predictors of Gratitude
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Tony Ahrens from American University present his poster session research on "Facets of Mindfulness as Predictors of Gratitude: A Daily Diary Study.” Tony Ahrens is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at American University. His research interests fall at the interface of social and clinical psychology, with an emphasize on gratitude, mindfulness, and fear of emotion. In this study, trait gratitude in students was measured and then students were asked to complete daily dairy entries about something good that happened that day that neither they or anyone else caused.
-
Standing in Your Own Way
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Jared M. Bartels from the University of Minnesota present his poster session research on “Fear of Failure, Self-Handicapping, and Negative Emotions.” Bartels and his co-author William E. Herman wanted to find out whether self-handicapping, reduces negative emotional responses to failure. An example of self-handicapping would be thinking to yourself that you are not good at public speaking, and then doing poorly on a presentation. Bartels and Herman studied participants’ responses to scenarios that incorporated academic failure with and without self-handicapping.
