Negative emotion is known to influence memory accuracy, but the role of body posture in shaping memory distortions under negative affect remains less understood. The present study investigated observation-based false memory using a face-to-face observation–inflation paradigm. In Experiment 1, participants adopted either a forward-leaning or reclining posture while maintaining a sad facial expression immediately before and during the observation phase. Observation increased the likelihood of misattributing observed actions to the self, but this effect was weaker in the forward-leaning than in the reclining condition, a pattern consistent with a motivational interpretation of the posture manipulation. Experiment 2 further examined the role of sensorimotor experience using imitation-based sensorimotor training. Participants who received imitation-based sensorimotor training showed a stronger observation–inflation effect than those in the control group. This pattern is consistent with a contribution of motor simulation or related sensorimotor processes to observation-based false memory, although spontaneous motor simulation was not directly measured. Together, these findings suggest that body posture and sensorimotor experience are associated with variation in observation-based false memory.
Momentary positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) are dynamic, modifiable indicators of mental health in daily life that are associated with psychological well-being and psychopathology. Although mindfulness is consistently associated with better affective well-being, the momentary mechanisms linking state mindfulness to affect remain unclear. This study tested whether momentary perceived self-control mediates this association in college students’ daily life at the within-person level. Undergraduate students (N = 282) completed up to six ecological momentary assessments (EMA) per day for seven days (7,622 observations). Momentary mindfulness, perceived self-control, PA, and NA were assessed at each prompt. Two contemporaneous 1-1-1 dynamic structural equation models tested within-person mediation in Mplus 8.9, separately for PA and NA. Models adjusted for first-order autoregressive effects and relevant temporal and person-level covariates. Moments of higher-than-usual mindfulness were associated with higher-than-usual perceived self-control, which in turn was associated with higher PA and lower NA. The 95
Goal pursuit often involves recurring difficulties that threaten motivation and goal attainment. Although individuals frequently share goal-related experiences with others when facing challenges, the role of goal-sharing in sustaining goal pursuit has received little empirical attention. Across two studies, we examined whether goal-sharing functions as an interpersonal process that moderates the association between difficulty and goal outcomes. Study 1 followed participants completing a three-week running challenge and examined whether goal-sharing buffered the association between perceived difficulty and goal attainment. Study 2 extended this investigation to self-initiated New Year’s resolutions, operationalizing difficulty via action crisis and assessing goal progress over time. Across both studies, more frequent goal-sharing attenuated the negative association between difficulty and goal outcomes. Additional analyses indicated that capitalization motives, specifically Public Commitment and Positive Self-Concept, characterized goal-sharing among more successful goal pursuers. These findings provide initial evidence of goal-sharing as a distinct interpersonal self-regulatory process associated with more sustained goal pursuit under difficulty.
People often experience feeling moved or touched in their daily interactions with others, yet a nonverbal signal of “moving” emotions has remained elusive. We conducted five studies (N = 3594) using a mixed-method approach to investigate the emotional significance of the heartfelt gesture (placing one’s hand flat against the center of the chest). Study 1 assessed convergent and divergent associations of the heartfelt gesture across six cultures using a recall method. Studies 2 and 3 used complementary methodologies (emotion labels and emotion vignettes) to identify the intuitive associations of the heartfelt gesture. Study 4 experimentally tested if viewing a target performing the gesture categorically altered perceptions of emotional experience. Study 5 leveraged a large pre-existing dataset (Zickfeld et al., 2019) to determine if self-reported usage of the gesture was associated with the affective, motivational, and physiological components of kama muta. Studies 1–3 found that the gesture was associated with surprise/shock, feeling touched/moved, gratitude, empathy, and sincerity. Study 4 found the presence of the gesture selectively increased perceptions of “moving” (but not other) emotions. Study 5 revealed that participants self-reported using the heartfelt gesture more when watching “moving” videos, and gesture use was significantly correlated with other dimensions of the kama muta emotion. The research presented here provides converging evidence that the heartfelt gesture is a polysemous signal of important social relational self-transcendent emotions.
How emotional factors influence visual organization remains incompletely understood, particularly beyond early sensory processing. Across three experiments, we investigated whether emotional facial expressions modulate perceptual grouping and whether individual affective factors contribute to this modulation. Participants judged the global orientation of stimuli defined by visual contrast while fearful, happy, or neutral faces served as task-irrelevant primes. Study 1 replicated the contrast-dependent reduction in grouping-related decision efficiency reported by Han and Humphreys (1999). In Studies 2 and 3, primes produced emotion-specific effects. Happy faces slowed responses, particularly under low-contrast conditions, whereas fearful faces were associated with faster and more uniform responses when emotional context was stable. Individual differences in mood and interoceptive awareness predicted performance primarily under happy or neutral conditions but showed minimal influence under fearful priming. Together, these findings indicate that fear and happiness modulate perceptual grouping in a context- and state-dependent manner, highlighting how external emotional cues and internal affective states jointly shape perceptual organization.
