Time distortion in individuals with social anxiety has been defined as the seemingly slower passage of time in social situations and is related to both arousal and valence. Consequently, adaptive behavior is disrupted and interpersonal situations avoided. We explored the effects of valence and arousal on time distortion in individuals with social anxiety. Participants were assigned to two groups, High Anxiety (HA) and Low Anxiety (LA), presented with four types of facial expression stimuli (positive-high arousal, positive-low arousal, negative-high arousal, and (...) negative-low arousal), and asked to estimate the duration of stimulus presentation. Results indicated that, relative to other stimuli, the HA and LA groups perceived longer presentation for high-arousal negative and low-arousal positive stimuli, respectively. These findings suggest that anxious individuals’ time distortion was more severe in situations that evoked high arousal and involved negative emotion. (shrink)

The concept of emotion can be organized within a hypothetical space comprising a limited number of dimensions representing essential properties of emotion. The present study examined cultural influences on such conceptual structure by comparing the performance of emotion word classification between Japanese and Korean individuals. Two types of emotional words were used; central concepts, highly typical examples of emotion, and less typical peripheral concepts. Participants classified 30 words into groups based on conceptual similarity. MDS analyses revealed a three-dimensional structure with (...) valence, social engagement, and arousal dimensions for both cultures, with the valence dimension being the most salient one. The Japanese prioritized the social engagement over the arousal while the Koreans showed sensitivities to the arousal dimension. Although the conceptual structure was similar for the two countries, the weight of importance among the three dimensions seems to be different, reflecting each culture’s values and communication styles. (shrink)

This study investigated the effects of psychobiological characteristics of non-obese women with a high level of weight suppression on explicit-implicit and approach-avoidance response toward food cues, depending on hunger-satiety states. The 634 participants were divided into two groups according to their weight history. If the difference between their highest weight over the last year and their current weight was more than 5%, they were assigned to the “H-WS” group. If the difference in weight was less than 5%, they were assigned (...) to the “low level of weight suppression” group. Explicit approach and avoidance toward food were measured by self-report questionnaires. Implicit approach and avoidance toward food cues were measured using an eye-tracker. Fasting blood samples were obtained to measure fasting serum leptin levels. After this, participants consumed a standard breakfast to control the satiety level. After breakfast, explicit-implicit approach-avoidance responses were repeatedly measured at the satiety states. Self-reported body shape concerns, drive for thinness, ambivalent food craving, and bulimic behavior were also assessed. The results showed that the H-WS group had lower leptin levels, and higher body shape concerns, drive for thinness, ambivalent food craving, and bulimic behaviors compared to the L-WS group. At the explicit level, the H-WS group reported lower approach and higher avoidance to food compared to the L-WS group, regardless of hunger-satiety state. Whereas, at the implicit level, the H-WS group showed higher approach during satiety rather than during hunger states. Regardless of the hunger-satiety state, there were no significant group differences with regard to implicit avoidance between the two groups. Thus, we confirmed that a high level of avoidance toward foods was observed in the H-WS group at the explicit level but not at the implicit level. Moreover, in contrast with a high level of explicit avoidance toward palatable foods, inhibition for implicit approach toward high-calorie foods seemed to be blunted after food consumption in the H-WS group. These inconsistencies may be associated with ambivalent food craving and vulnerability to bulimic behavior among H-WS individuals. (shrink)

Sluggish cognitive tempo is a cluster of attentional symptoms characterized by slow information processing and behavior, distractibility, mental confusion, absent-mindedness, and hypoactivity. The present study aimed to compare early and late selective attention in the information processing speed of adults with SCT to those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and adults without any attentional problems. The participants were screened using Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV and divided into the following groups: SCT, ADHD, and controls. All participants completed the irrelevant distractor task measuring (...) early and late selective attention under load condition and distractor condition. The inefficiency index was calculated by subtracting the reaction time of no-distractor condition of correct trials from the reaction time of distractor condition to control the impact of accuracy. Upon analysis, the SCT group showed a lower efficiency compared to the ADHD group under high load, while the ADHD group showed lower efficiency under low load than high load. This meant that the ADHD group had increased efficiency of selective attention with higher load, while the SCT group had low efficiency of selective attention even under high loads. These results suggest that the symptoms of “slow” or “distracted” in SCT could be attributed to the reduced speed and efficiency of selective attention in early information processing and the problem can be pronounced in situations with distractors. The results of the study imply that the attention-deficit-like symptoms shown in those with SCT and ADHD can be distinguished in specific stage of information processing. (shrink)