Mind Yourself
The captain of my soul: Self-determination and need-satisfaction help manage death-related cognition, anxiety, and well-being
Kenneth Vail & Dylan Horner
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
The present research tested the idea that a self-determined orientation may help people manage death-related thoughts and anxieties, and mitigate the effects of death awareness on well-being. Seven studies (N = 3,331), using a diversity of measures and manipulations, were consistent with that idea. First, mortality salience (vs. other topic primes) increased death-thought accessibility, but not if participants had high need-satisfaction (Study 1, n = 160; Study 2, n = 216) or were prompted to recall self-determined experiences (Study 3, n = 188). Second, need-satisfaction was associated with reduced death anxiety (Study 4a, n = 301; Study 4b, n = 1,848), and priming self-determined concepts eliminated the effect of mortality salience on death anxiety (Study 5, n = 119). Third, heightened death-thought accessibility was related to lower satisfaction with life (Study 6, n = 271) and happiness (Study 7, n = 228), but not among those with high need-satisfaction. Supplemental analyses suggested the effects of need-satisfaction were not due to associations with affect (Studies 1, 6, 7), epistemic certainty (ideological dogmatism, Study 4a), or mindfulness (Studies 5b and 6); need-satisfaction mitigated the effects of existential concern via self-esteem but not via growth orientation (Study 4b) nor due to its relationship with Openness (Studies 6 and 7). Together, these findings suggest a self-determined orientation can help buffer existential concern and buoy well-being and point to a potential existential protective function beyond its known growth-oriented functions.
Psychological power increases the desire for social distance but reduces the sense of social distance
Zhengtai Liu et al.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, January 2024
Abstract:
Earlier research shows that feelings of power increase a sense of social distance toward others. In this research, we show that there are two sides to this effect. On the one hand, psychological power increases the desire for greater social distance toward others in the social environment. On the other hand, psychological power decreases the sense of distance, meaning that high-power people perceive that their social environment is closer to them, compared to low-power people. Six studies (four preregistered), conducted in the USA, the Netherlands, and China support this idea. Studies 1–4 measure and manipulate power and find that power increases the desire for social distance, but decreases the sense of distance. Studies 5–6 show that the former effect is conditional on the latter: When people in their social environment are prevented from seeking closeness (due to COVID-19 measures), the effect of power on the desire for distance is blocked.
Hippocampal neurons code individual episodic memories in humans
Luca Kolibius et al.
Nature Human Behaviour, forthcoming
Abstract:
The hippocampus is an essential hub for episodic memory processing. However, how human hippocampal single neurons code multi-element associations remains unknown. In particular, it is debated whether each hippocampal neuron represents an invariant element within an episode or whether single neurons bind together all the elements of a discrete episodic memory. Here we provide evidence for the latter hypothesis. Using single-neuron recordings from a total of 30 participants, we show that individual neurons, which we term episode-specific neurons, code discrete episodic memories using either a rate code or a temporal firing code. These neurons were observed exclusively in the hippocampus. Importantly, these episode-specific neurons do not reflect the coding of a particular element in the episode (that is, concept or time). Instead, they code for the conjunction of the different elements that make up the episode.
Take your time: Slow brain rhythms predict fluid intelligence
Michał Ociepka, Patrycja Kałamała & Adam Chuderski
Intelligence, September-October 2023
Abstract:
Evidence is mixed whether fluid intelligence (Gf) is associated with increased or decreased alpha and beta band activity (7–30 Hz). Moreover, the Gf relationship with the delta and theta band activity (1–7 Hz) is unknown. We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) data in 160 healthy adults solving Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices with a randomized item order to control for item difficulty unaffected by sequential effects. The participants studied each matrix for 30 s before the response bank onset, so we could track the time course of neural activity during problem solving. We measured Gf using six tests. Gf positively correlated with the delta band power, while there was no correlation with the theta band power. For almost all of the participants, we identified the specific slow rhythm frequency, which varied in power as a function of item difficulty. We observed that the lower this frequency, the higher Gf, but only in men. Finally, the alpha and low-beta activity correlated negatively with Gf after we had filtered out the activity during idle intervals (the latter reflecting waiting for the response bank). Overall, the brain activity in the delta, alpha, and beta bands explained 22.6% of Gf variance.
Relation of resting brain signal variability to cognitive and socioemotional measures in an adult lifespan sample
Cheryl Grady et al.
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, September 2023
Abstract:
Temporal variability of the fMRI-derived blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal during cognitive tasks shows important associations with individual differences in age and performance. Less is known about relations between spontaneous BOLD variability measured at rest and relatively stable cognitive measures, such as IQ or socioemotional function. Here, we examined associations among resting BOLD variability, cognitive/socioemotional scores from the NIH Toolbox and optimal time of day for alertness (chronotype) in a sample of 157 adults from 20 to 86 years of age. To investigate individual differences in these associations independently of age, we regressed age out from both behavioral and BOLD variability scores. We hypothesized that greater BOLD variability would be related to higher fluid cognition scores, more positive scores on socioemotional scales and a morningness chronotype. Consistent with this idea, we found positive correlations between resting BOLD variability, positive socioemotional scores (e.g. self-efficacy) and morning chronotype, as well as negative correlations between variability and negative emotional scores (e.g. loneliness). Unexpectedly, we found negative correlations between BOLD variability and fluid cognition. These results suggest that greater resting brain signal variability facilitates optimal socioemotional function and characterizes those with morning-type circadian rhythms, but individuals with greater fluid cognition may be more likely to show less temporal variability in spontaneous measures of BOLD activity.