@misc{10481/49764,
year = {2017},
month = {6},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/49764},
abstract = {Many studies have shown the beneficial effect of positive emotions on various cognitive processes, such as creativity and cognitive flexibility. Cheerfulness, understood as an affective predisposition to sense of humor, has been associated with positive emotions. So far, however, no studies have shown the relevance of this dimension in cognitive flexibility processes. The aim of this research was to analyze the relationship between cheerfulness and these processes. To this end, we carried out two studies using a task-switching paradigm. Study 1 aimed at analyzing whether high trait cheerfulness was related to better cognitive flexibility (as measured by reduced task-switching costs), whereas Study 2 aimed at replicating the pattern of data observed in Study 1. The total sample was composed of 139 participants (of which 86 were women) selected according to their high versus low scores in trait cheerfulness. In a random way, participants had to judge whether the face presented to them in each trial was that of a man or a woman (gender recognition task) or whether it expressed anger or happiness (expressed emotion recognition task). We expected participants with high versus low trait cheerfulness to show a lower task-switching cost (i.e., higher cognitive flexibility). Results did not confirm this hypothesis. However, in both studies, participants with high versus low trait cheerfulness showed a higher facilitation effect when the stimuli attributes were repeated and also when a cue was presented anticipating the demand to perform. We discuss the relevance of these results for a better understanding of cheerfulness.},
organization = {This research is part of the doctoral dissertation by RL-B, and it was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, y Deporte with a predoctoral grant (FPU-AP2012-1806) and with the Spanish grants of PSI2014-52764-P, from Ministerio de Economía, Industria, y Competitividad (MINECO), and PSI2013-45567P from Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica-Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (DGICYT-MEC).},
publisher = {Frontiers Media},
keywords = {Sense of humor},
keywords = {Trait cheerfulness},
keywords = {Task switching},
keywords = {Cognitive flexibility},
keywords = {Attribute repetition},
keywords = {Preparation},
title = {Trait Cheerfulness Does Not Influence Switching Costs But Modulates Preparation and Repetition Effects in a Task-Switching Paradigm},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01013},
author = {López Benítez, Raúl and Carretero Dios, Hugo and Acosta Mesas, Alberto and Lupiáñez Castillo, Juan},
}