Psychology Commons^™

Neurophysiological Evidence That Perceptions Of Fluency Produce Mere Exposure Effects, Richard Addante, P. Andrew Leynes

Psychology Faculty Publications

Recent exposure to people or objects increases liking ratings, the "mere exposure effect" (Zajonc in American Psychologist, 35, 117-123, 1968), and an increase in processing fluency has been identified as a potential mechanism for producing this effect. This fluency hypothesis was directly tested by altering the trial-by-trial image clarity (i.e., fluency) while Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded. In Experiment 1, clarity was altered across two trial blocks that each had homogenous trial-by-trial clarity, whereas clarity varied randomly across trials in Experiment 2. Blocking or randomizing image clarity across trials was expected to produce different levels of relative fluency and alter …

Neural Responses To Maternal Praise And Criticism: Relationship To Depression And Anxiety Symptoms In High-Risk Adolescent Girls, Robin L. Aupperle, Amanda S. Morris, Jennifer S. Silk, Michael M. Criss, Matt R. Judah, Sally G. Eagleton, Namik Kirlic, Jennifer Byrd-Craven, Raquel Phillips, Ruben P. Alvarez

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: The parent-child relationship may be an important factor in the development of adolescent depressive and anxious symptoms. In adults, depressive symptoms relate to increased amygdala and attenuated prefrontal activation to maternal criticism. The current pilot study examined how depressive and anxiety symptoms in a high-risk adolescent population relate to neural responses to maternal feedback. Given previous research relating oxytocin to maternal behavior, we conducted exploratory analyses using oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genotype.

Methods: Eighteen females (ages 12-16) listened to maternal praise, neutral, and critical statements during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants completed the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire and the Screen …