This study investigated the hypothesis that universal psychological adaptations produce personality variation when individuals differentially face adaptive problems that shifted the cost-benefit tradeoffs of alternative personality strategies in ancestral environments. The current research tested the hypothesis that psychological adaptations calibrate individual differences in neuroticism as a functional response to social exclusion. If psychological adaptations produce neuroticism in response to social exclusion, and heritable components of individuals' social partner value influence their likelihood of being excluded, then individual differences in social partner value should yield heritable differences in neuroticism. Three conceptually distinct sub-studies tested hypotheses derived from this conceptual framework. Sub-study 1 tested the relationship between individuals' mate value, social exclusion, and neuroticism. Individuals' mate value exhibited both a direct effect on neuroticism and an indirect effect through the experience of social exclusion. Sub-study 2 investigated sexual jealousy as a specialized class of neuroticism in response to infidelity. As predicted, individuals' mate value predicted the likelihood of their partners' infidelity and their own mate guarding behavior. Sub-study 3 manipulated the threat of infidelity to test for functional shifts in neuroticism in response to relationship exclusion. Participants read vignettes describing their mates' certain fidelity, uncertain fidelity, and certain infidelity, and wrote what they would think, feel, say, and do in response to each scenario. An independent sample assessed participants' personalities based on these cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. As predicted, participants' neuroticism tracked relationship exclusion; participants' neuroticism levels increased with infidelity threat. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that a universal psychological mechanism adaptively calibrates neuroticism levels in response to relationship exclusion; the certain absence or presence of the adaptive problem of relationship exclusion should deactivate or activate anti-exclusion mechanisms in all individuals. Above this situational effect, under conditions of uncertain infidelity -- in which the threat of infidelity would have ancestrally varied with men's (but not women's) mate value -- men's mate value predicted their neuroticism. Together, these findings support the hypothesis that humans possess psychological adaptations that functionally calibrate neuroticism levels. More broadly, they highlight the heuristic value of an evolutionary adaptationist framework for the study of personality and individual differences. / text

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut provides a profound discussion on how the many traumas of war affect the human psyche. The novel’s protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, is a direct witness of many horrific events in World War II, which causes certain life-changing symptoms later in his life. This essay examines the psychological processes of Billy Pilgrim in relation to the traumatic events he experiences in the war. More specifically, Billy’s delusions of supernatural nature are discussed in an attempt to find a connection to the war-trauma. In doing this, the analysis utilizes a psychoanalytic approach to explore the theoretical concepts of trauma and delusion. The essay then identifies certain key moments that are of significance to the development of Billy Pilgrim’s psychological processes and investigates how the different events affect his psyche. Furthermore, Billy’s delusions are discussed to identify their cognitive functions. The analysis finds a clear connection between Billy’s delusions and his trauma, and the essay finds that several of his psychological mechanisms are supported by the corresponding ideas within the psychoanalytic framework. Moreover, a progression of his symptoms is identified and discussed in relation to his experiences in World War II.

Betydelsen av mediekonsumtion innehållande ideal/utseendefokus och olika psykologiska mekanismer för kroppsuppfattning studerades genom en enkätundersökning. Urvalet bestod av 331 svenska unga kvinnor och män. För kvinnor fanns ett svagt positivt samband mellan mediekonsumtion och positiv kroppsuppfattning. BMI var en tredjevariabel alternativt en mediator i detta samband. Selektiv exponeringsteori föreslås som en förklaringsmodell för att förstå dessa resultat. Vidare var internalisering och social jämförelse viktiga mekanismer kopplade till kroppsuppfattning. Jämfört med män hade kvinnor mer negativ kroppsuppfattning, lägre självkänsla, ägnade sig mer åt social jämförelse samt var mer utseendeorienterade. Den här studien visar på komplexiteten i processer som är kopplade till kroppsuppfattning och belyser vikten av vidare forskning på området. / The importance of media consumption containing ideal/appearance focus and different psychological mechanisms to body image was examined by a survey. The sample consisted of 331 Swedish young men and women. For women, there was a weak positive correlation between media consumption and positive body image. BMI was a third variable, alternatively a mediator in this relationship. Selective exposure theory is proposed as a framework for interpreting these results. Furthermore, internalization and social comparison were important mechanisms related to body image. Compared with men, women experienced more negative body image, had lower self-esteem, more social comparison tendencies, and were more appearance-oriented. This study shows the complexity of processes connected to body image and highlights the importance of further research in this area.

Juslin and Västfjäll introduced a theoretical framework aiming to explain how music can induce emotions. The framework contains seven psychological mechanisms, which explain how emotions are induced. The aim of the present study was to investigate how four of these psychological mechanisms would induce emotion both with self-reported feelings and psychophysiological measurement using a systematical design. The results showed that different psychological mechanisms induced different kind of emotions both as bodily responses and subjective feelings. These results supported that the theoretical framework is a valid explanation of how music induces emotions.

Achtsamkeit wird mit vielen positiven Effekten für das psychische Wohlbefinden assoziiert, wobei Fähigkeiten wie Emotionsregulation (ER) und soziale Kognition (SC) zu den wichtigsten Mechanismen gehören. In der vorliegenden Doktorarbeit wurde die Beziehung zwischen Achtsamkeit, ER und SC mit verschiedenen methodischen Ansätzen untersucht. In Studie I wurde mithilfe von Literatur und empirischen Modellen die Beziehung zwischen Achtsamkeit und ER ausgearbeitet und verschiedene psychologische und neurokognitive Mechanismen diskutiert. Studie II zielte darauf ab den ER-Mechanismus bei „Trait-Achtsamkeit“ zu entschlüsseln. Hier zeigte sich, dass es sowohl bei Probanden mit einer Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörung als auch bei gesunden Teilnehmern einen mediierenden Effekt von Selbstmitgefühl gab, der Achtsamkeit mit ER-Merkmalen verband. Studie III untersuchte den Zusammenhang zwischen ER und SC mit Hilfe von Verhaltens- und Neuroimaging-Experimenten, mit Fokus auf dem Konzept der sozialen ER (die Fähigkeit, die Emotionen anderer zu modulieren). Es zeigte sich, dass bei der Regulierung der Emotionen anderer der eigene Stress reduziert wird, wobei wichtige "soziokognitive" Hirnregionen (z.B. Precuneus) an der Vermittlung dieser Effekte beteiligt sind. Studie IV untersuchte im Rahmen einer Neuroimaging-basierten randomisierten Kontrollstudie ER-Mechanismen während einer achtsamkeitsbasierten Intervention (MBI). Die Studie zeigte eine durch die MBI induzierte ER-Verhaltensplastizität im Gehirn, sowohl für die Eigen- als auch für die soziale ER. Ein Effekt im Vergleich zu SC (kognitive und emotionale Empathie) wurde nicht gezeigt. Unter Einbezug aller Ergebnisse wurde ein Modell postuliert, das den Austausch und die Regulierung von Emotionen im Kontext von sozialen Interaktionen integriert. Die Dissertation bietet neue Einblicke in die ER-Mechanismen der Achtsamkeit und beleuchtet die individuellen Determinanten sozialer Prozesse durch das Zusammenbringen von ER und SC. / Mindfulness, the capacity to fully attend to the present experience, has been linked to a myriad of mental health benefits, being abilities such as emotion regulation (ER) and social cognition (SC) of the main potential active mechanisms. The current doctorate thesis investigated the relationship between mindfulness and ER and SC using a range of methodological approaches from trait level individual differences to behavioral and brain mechanisms. Study one explored the relationship between mindfulness and ER by examining the diverse literature and empirical models, discussing different psychological and neuro-cognitive mechanisms. Study two intended to unravel the ER mechanism of trait mindfulness, showing in both borderline personality and healthy subjects the mediating effect of self-compassion linking mindfulness and ER traits. Study three further investigated the link between ER and SC using behavioral and neuro-imaging experiments, addressing the notion of social ER (the capacity to modulate others’ emotions). It showed that when regulating others’ emotions, an individual’s own distress is reduced, being key ‘sociocognitive’ brain regions (i.e. precuneus) engaged in mediating these effects. Study four investigated the fine-grained ER mechanisms of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), comparing the MBI with a reading group (READ), in the context of a neuroimaging-based randomized controlled trial. This study revealed ER brain behavioral plasticity induced by the MBI, for both self and social ER. It also showed a lack of effect over SC (cognitive and emotional empathy). Articulating overall findings, a model that integrates exchanges and regulation of emotions in the context of social interactions is proposed. The dissertation offers new insights into mindfulness’ ER mechanisms, from dispositions to neuro-behavioral levels, and also sheds light onto individual level determinants of social processes, linking ER and SC.