Demonstrates that the effect of negative mood, such as sadness, on altruism depends critically on the individual's focus of attention. Subjects were 36 undergraduate students. (MP)

Happy or sad moods were experimentally induced in elementary-aged children by asking them to reminisce about things that made them happy or sad. Voice affect (with verbal content filtered out) was compared to a baseline neutral condition. (Author/SS)

Two experiments examined the effects of changes in adult eye direction during both televised and live contingent interaction with infants 3 to 6 months of age. Infants' smiling declined whenever adults looked away, supporting the hypothesis that infants express their cognitive appreciation of the adults' eye direction by their affective behavior.…

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity of scores from the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS)(R. Eisenberger and others, 1986) using responses of 205 college faculty and staff members. Consistent with previous research, the SPOS was found to be unidimensional and distinguishable from two similarly…

Examined expressions of negative emotion among 37 toddlers and strategies used to reduce or change these expressions. Six strategies were identified and evaluated. Findings suggest that active engagement was most commonly used and most negatively associated with child distress. Use of strategies varied by context. (HTH)

Three experiments using "backward reasoning" found that: age differences occurred in predicting surprise relative to false belief; by age five or six, children claim that surprise occurs when gaining knowledge where one was previously ignorant or held a false belief; by age seven to nine, they understand that surprise will more likely…

To determine whether 1 or 2 dimensions of infant emotionality best characterized infant functioning, parental reports (10 months) and elicited emotion (12-13 months) were examined. Found that early positivity (12-13 months) predicted later positivity (18-20 months) better than later negativity, with the reverse being true of early negativity.…

Facial responsiveness to pleasant and unpleasant odors was examined in 5- to 12-year-old children. Children failed to display reflex-like patterns, but exhibited facial configurations that varied according to odor and social condition. Results suggest that facial responsiveness to odors is flexible and able to reorganize and supports emotional and…

Examines the association between executive cognitive functioning (ECF), negative affectivity (NA) and drug use in adolescent males. The high average risk group had lower ECF scores and higher NA scores than the low average risk group. Low ECF and high NA were significantly correlated. Family history moderated the relation between ECF and drug use…

Offers a brief overview of the field of individual differences in language learning, especially as they are reflected in learning styles, learning strategies, and affective variables. Touches on areas for further research. (Author/VWL)

Observed 9- to 14-year-old physically abused and nonabused children engaged in tasks with a close friend. Found that dyads with an abused child displayed less intimacy and more conflict than dyads with nonabused children. Compared to other dyads, those with abused boys displayed more negative affect during games, and those with abused girls…

Examined the role of emotion in 108 elementary school students' selection of strategies for coping with daily stresses. Found that children exhibited a greater tendency to report inhibiting their actions in response to fear-arousing situations than in situations involving anger or sadness. Older children tended to report more intra-psychic…

Discusses how a movement aimed at teaching medical students to be more sensitive to patients is being criticized as emphasizing a soft-science approach over knowledgeable practice. (EV)

Children's moral judgments, attributions of emotion, and their associations were examined in hypothetical, prototypical situations and situations of provocation and peer retaliation. Children judged prototypical and provoked moral transgressions (hitting and teasing). Hypothetical moral transgressions were judged to be more serious and deserving…