Many theories and self-reported sources of data link individual differences in negative affectivity to avoidance motivation. than did individuals lower in neuroticism. In Study 4 people high (but not low) in neuroticism perceived words to be shrinking faster than they were growing. In Research 5 greater perceptual distancing in a font size estimation task predicted more adverse reactions to unfavorable events in daily life. Although normative effects varied across studies consistent support for a chronic distancing perspective of individual differences in unfavorable affectivity was found. hypothesis and there were reasons for thinking that such neuroticism/distancing relations might be observed across tasks and various types of stimulus occasions. People higher in neuroticism are inclined to harmful emotional expresses quite generally – that’s regardless of situational elements (Headey & Putting on 1989 Watson 2000 In addition they report degrees of avoidance inspiration that can’t be described by more regular exposure to harmful occasions or punishments (Zelenski & Larsen 1999 Finally the avoidance-related tendencies of people saturated in neuroticism are presumably well-practiced and for that reason FST habitual (Kashdan Barrios Forsyth & Steger 2006 Widiger Verheul & van den Brink 1999 Thus a general relation between neuroticism or unfavorable affectivity and perceptual distancing was predicted. Results of this type should not be viewed as a “warm” or affective form of avoidance motivation or perhaps even avoidance motivation itself but rather as a cognitive style that is the product of repeated self-regulation by avoidance as conceptualized by cybernetic theories (Carver & Scheier 1998 We manipulated stimulus valence in several studies. This allowed us to examine whether chronic distancing which we have ascribed to higher levels of neuroticism is quite general or may vary by event/stimulus valence. Certainly there is some evidence for the idea that neuroticism predicts distress-related reactions to unfavorable events or inductions that are emotionally arousing (Gross Sutton & Ketelaar 1998 Larsen & Ketelaar 1991 Bromfenac sodium Suls & Martin 2005 On the basis of data of this type it has been suggested that distress-prone people (e.g. those higher in the trait of neuroticism) are more “punishment” or “threat” sensitive (Matthews & Gilliland 1999 Zelenski & Larsen 1999 The word sensitivity would seem to imply a perceptual phenomenon but actually most of the relevant results implicate emotional reactivity to unfavorable events rather than sensitivity to them (Moeller & Robinson 2010 Nonetheless it is at least possible that neuroticism-distancing relationships may be exacerbated in the framework of harmful occasions or stimuli a chance examined in Research 2-4. Summary of Research In four preliminary research we examine potential relationships between neuroticism and perceptual distancing. Characteristic harmful affect can be viewed as the emotional primary of neuroticism (Tellegen 1985 To aid this aspect in the framework of our book predictions two of our research assessed characteristic harmful affect (Research 1 & 2) and two evaluated Bromfenac sodium neuroticism (Research 3 & 4). Bromfenac sodium Of even more importance these four research utilized different cognitive-experimental duties to assess perceptual distancing. Research 1 and 2 analyzed tendencies toward better temporal distancing Research 3 analyzed distancing within a font size estimation job and Research 4 contrasted recognized prices of shrinking (in keeping with a distance-enhancing powerful) versus growing (consistent with a distance-reducing dynamic). Stimulus valence was manipulated in Studies 2-4 to focus on the secondary query of whether the chronic distancing hypothesized to characterize higher levels of trait bad emotion is definitely exacerbated in the context of bad stimuli. Finally Study 5 sought to establish the predictive validity of individual variations in perceptual distancing. With Bromfenac sodium this study we did not administer trait measures but rather hypothesized that individual variations in perceptual distancing would forecast greater distress in relation to bad events in daily life. Findings of this type would.