Ilona Papousek
Biographic Data
| ID | 166739 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ilona Papousek |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ilona |
| FAMILY NAME | Papousek |
| SIGNATURE | PAPOUSEK I |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Graz |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6620-0318 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 16 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Humor as a Moderator in the Relationship Between Emotional Exhaustion and Depressive Symptoms in University Students and the General Population
The search for resilience factors that could minimize the transition from burnout to depression may offer a valuable approach for depression prevention. The present study investigated whether humor could be such a potential resilience factor in two independent studies. In study 1 ( n = 58, students), we used a performance-based approach integrating linguistic and psychometric methods to investigate whether the ability to produce humor in positive…
No particularly negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of individuals with higher levels of childhood trauma
The findings of this study do not support the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately exacerbated mental health problems in individuals with a history of moderate to severe childhood trauma. Instead, our results suggest that the pandemic's impact on mental health was more pronounced in students with no or only mild childhood trauma
Social exclusion increases antisocial tendencies
Reliability and validity of a novel Ambulatory Battery of Creativity (ABC)
High avoidance and low approach motivation affect cognitive reappraisal generation in the face of anger
This study investigates the link between the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) and individuals’ capacity to spontaneously invent alternate appraisals for aversive events. Eighty-two women completed the Reappraisal Inventiveness Test for anger-eliciting situations, and quantity and quality of reappraisal ideas were correlated with BIS, BAS, and FFFS sensitivity (RST-Personality Questionnaire). Results revealed that high BIS and high F…
Antisocial Schizotypy Is Linked to Malevolent Creativity
The personality trait of schizotypy has received considerable attention in creativity research; however, to date, literature has exclusively focused on its relationship with benevolent creative ideation. The present study investigated how different subdimensions of schizotypy were related to malevolent creativity, where original ideas are generated to harm others intentionally. N = 104 participants completed a novel performance test for malevolen…
In your face? Exploring multimodal response patterns involving facial responses to verbal and gestural stance-taking expressions
Creative, Antagonistic, and Angry? Exploring the Roots of Malevolent Creativity with a Real‐World Idea Generation Task
Research is currently witnessing more investigations into malevolent creativity—creativity that is used to intentionally harm others. Inspired by previous methods to measure malevolent creativity, in the present study, we introduce a real‐world behavioral task designed to capture individuals’ capacity for using creativity for the purpose of attaining malevolent goals in response to everyday, provocative situations. In a sample of 105 students, we…
The propensity to perceive meaningful coincidences is associated with increased posterior alpha power during retention of information in a modified Sternberg paradigm
Humor and well-being
Paul McGhee, one of the most influential pioneers in the field of humor research has been engaged for decades in exploring how humor can be used for the maintenance or improvement of well-being in the face of adversity. The present paper reviews recent empirical research corroborating several of his propositions. Undeniably, the benefits of humor can be much greater when one generates his or her own humor compared to just passively consuming humo…
Alignment and empathy as viewpoint phenomena
This contribution focuses on verbal amplifiers and comical hypotheticals in a corpus of face-to-face interactions. Both phenomena qualify as markers of a mental viewpoint expressing an (inter)subjective construal of a certain experience. Whereas amplifiers offer a straightforward view onto a speaker’s evaluative stance, comical hypotheticals provide an intersubjective account of a viewpoint construal. As part of their meaning, their use reveals a…
Experimentally observed responses to humor are related to individual differences in emotion perception and regulation in everyday life
This study aimed to investigate the relevance of an individual's typical emotion perception and emotion regulation behavior to his or her responsiveness to humor. This was studied behaviorally by examining responses to different types of humorous stimuli in an experimental paradigm, in a sample of n = 54 participants aged between 18 to 41 years (29 women, 25 men). Individual differences in emotion perception and regulation were assessed by releva…
Serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR) and electrocortical responses indicating the sensitivity to negative emotional cues
Growing literature indicates that emotional reactivity and regulation are strongly linked to genetic modulation of serotonergic neurotransmission. However, until now, most studies have focused on the relationship between genotypic markers, in particular the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), and neural structures using MRI. The current study aimed to bridge the gap between the relevant MRI literature on the effects of the…
From Ice Age to Madagascar
The aim of the present study was to examine whether children with Asperger's syndrome differ from typically developing children in the appreciation of and behavioral responses to simple slapstick type humor, in which cognitive requirements that are commonly impaired in autism spectrum disorders are reduced to a minimum. Short slapstick scenes and matched non-humorous control scenes were extracted from popular movies to produce an appropriate humo…
Statistics anxiety, state anxiety during an examination, and academic achievement
BackgroundA large proportion of students identify statistics courses as the most anxiety-inducing courses in their curriculum. Many students feel impaired by feelings of state anxiety in the examination and therefore probably show lower achievements.AimsThe study investigates how statistics anxiety, attitudes (e.g., interest, mathematical self-concept) and trait anxiety, as a general disposition to anxiety, influence experiences of anxiety as wel…
Prenatal programming of adult mineral metabolism
OBJECTIVES: Mounting evidence indicates that adult health outcomes such as the development of cardiovascular disease or diabetes can trace some of their roots back to prenatal development. This study investigated the epigenetic impact of a particular prenatal hormonal condition on specific health-related consequences, i.e., on concentrations of minerals and mineral metabolism in adults. METHODS: In 70 university students, the second-to-fourth dig…
Effects of emotionally contagious films on changes in hemisphere-specific cognitive performance
In the framework of models on the lateralized involvement of the cortical hemispheres in affect and psychopathology, the authors examined whether cognitive processes associated with the left and the right prefrontal cortex varied as a function of valence, motivational direction, or intensity of induced mood. Affective states (cheerfulness, anxiety, sadness, anger, and neutral mood) were experimentally induced by short "emotionally contagious film…
From Ice Age to Madagascar
The aim of the present study was to examine whether children with Asperger's syndrome differ from typically developing children in the appreciation of and behavioral responses to simple slapstick type humor, in which cognitive requirements that are commonly impaired in autism spectrum disorders are reduced to a minimum. Short slapstick scenes and matched non-humorous control scenes were extracted from popular movies to produce an appropriate humo…
Humor and well-being
Paul McGhee, one of the most influential pioneers in the field of humor research has been engaged for decades in exploring how humor can be used for the maintenance or improvement of well-being in the face of adversity. The present paper reviews recent empirical research corroborating several of his propositions. Undeniably, the benefits of humor can be much greater when one generates his or her own humor compared to just passively consuming humo…
Alignment and empathy as viewpoint phenomena
This contribution focuses on verbal amplifiers and comical hypotheticals in a corpus of face-to-face interactions. Both phenomena qualify as markers of a mental viewpoint expressing an (inter)subjective construal of a certain experience. Whereas amplifiers offer a straightforward view onto a speaker’s evaluative stance, comical hypotheticals provide an intersubjective account of a viewpoint construal. As part of their meaning, their use reveals a…
In your face? Exploring multimodal response patterns involving facial responses to verbal and gestural stance-taking expressions
Experimentally observed responses to humor are related to individual differences in emotion perception and regulation in everyday life
This study aimed to investigate the relevance of an individual's typical emotion perception and emotion regulation behavior to his or her responsiveness to humor. This was studied behaviorally by examining responses to different types of humorous stimuli in an experimental paradigm, in a sample of n = 54 participants aged between 18 to 41 years (29 women, 25 men). Individual differences in emotion perception and regulation were assessed by releva…
Statistics anxiety, state anxiety during an examination, and academic achievement
BackgroundA large proportion of students identify statistics courses as the most anxiety-inducing courses in their curriculum. Many students feel impaired by feelings of state anxiety in the examination and therefore probably show lower achievements.AimsThe study investigates how statistics anxiety, attitudes (e.g., interest, mathematical self-concept) and trait anxiety, as a general disposition to anxiety, influence experiences of anxiety as wel…
Effects of emotionally contagious films on changes in hemisphere-specific cognitive performance
In the framework of models on the lateralized involvement of the cortical hemispheres in affect and psychopathology, the authors examined whether cognitive processes associated with the left and the right prefrontal cortex varied as a function of valence, motivational direction, or intensity of induced mood. Affective states (cheerfulness, anxiety, sadness, anger, and neutral mood) were experimentally induced by short "emotionally contagious film…
Prenatal programming of adult mineral metabolism
OBJECTIVES: Mounting evidence indicates that adult health outcomes such as the development of cardiovascular disease or diabetes can trace some of their roots back to prenatal development. This study investigated the epigenetic impact of a particular prenatal hormonal condition on specific health-related consequences, i.e., on concentrations of minerals and mineral metabolism in adults. METHODS: In 70 university students, the second-to-fourth dig…
Serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR) and electrocortical responses indicating the sensitivity to negative emotional cues
Growing literature indicates that emotional reactivity and regulation are strongly linked to genetic modulation of serotonergic neurotransmission. However, until now, most studies have focused on the relationship between genotypic markers, in particular the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), and neural structures using MRI. The current study aimed to bridge the gap between the relevant MRI literature on the effects of the…
From Ice Age to Madagascar
The aim of the present study was to examine whether children with Asperger's syndrome differ from typically developing children in the appreciation of and behavioral responses to simple slapstick type humor, in which cognitive requirements that are commonly impaired in autism spectrum disorders are reduced to a minimum. Short slapstick scenes and matched non-humorous control scenes were extracted from popular movies to produce an appropriate humo…
Statistics anxiety, state anxiety during an examination, and academic achievement
BackgroundA large proportion of students identify statistics courses as the most anxiety-inducing courses in their curriculum. Many students feel impaired by feelings of state anxiety in the examination and therefore probably show lower achievements.AimsThe study investigates how statistics anxiety, attitudes (e.g., interest, mathematical self-concept) and trait anxiety, as a general disposition to anxiety, influence experiences of anxiety as wel…
Experimentally observed responses to humor are related to individual differences in emotion perception and regulation in everyday life
This study aimed to investigate the relevance of an individual's typical emotion perception and emotion regulation behavior to his or her responsiveness to humor. This was studied behaviorally by examining responses to different types of humorous stimuli in an experimental paradigm, in a sample of n = 54 participants aged between 18 to 41 years (29 women, 25 men). Individual differences in emotion perception and regulation were assessed by releva…
Alignment and empathy as viewpoint phenomena
This contribution focuses on verbal amplifiers and comical hypotheticals in a corpus of face-to-face interactions. Both phenomena qualify as markers of a mental viewpoint expressing an (inter)subjective construal of a certain experience. Whereas amplifiers offer a straightforward view onto a speaker’s evaluative stance, comical hypotheticals provide an intersubjective account of a viewpoint construal. As part of their meaning, their use reveals a…
Humor and well-being
Paul McGhee, one of the most influential pioneers in the field of humor research has been engaged for decades in exploring how humor can be used for the maintenance or improvement of well-being in the face of adversity. The present paper reviews recent empirical research corroborating several of his propositions. Undeniably, the benefits of humor can be much greater when one generates his or her own humor compared to just passively consuming humo…
The propensity to perceive meaningful coincidences is associated with increased posterior alpha power during retention of information in a modified Sternberg paradigm
Creative, Antagonistic, and Angry? Exploring the Roots of Malevolent Creativity with a Real‐World Idea Generation Task
Research is currently witnessing more investigations into malevolent creativity—creativity that is used to intentionally harm others. Inspired by previous methods to measure malevolent creativity, in the present study, we introduce a real‐world behavioral task designed to capture individuals’ capacity for using creativity for the purpose of attaining malevolent goals in response to everyday, provocative situations. In a sample of 105 students, we…
Antisocial Schizotypy Is Linked to Malevolent Creativity
The personality trait of schizotypy has received considerable attention in creativity research; however, to date, literature has exclusively focused on its relationship with benevolent creative ideation. The present study investigated how different subdimensions of schizotypy were related to malevolent creativity, where original ideas are generated to harm others intentionally. N = 104 participants completed a novel performance test for malevolen…
In your face? Exploring multimodal response patterns involving facial responses to verbal and gestural stance-taking expressions
High avoidance and low approach motivation affect cognitive reappraisal generation in the face of anger
This study investigates the link between the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) and individuals’ capacity to spontaneously invent alternate appraisals for aversive events. Eighty-two women completed the Reappraisal Inventiveness Test for anger-eliciting situations, and quantity and quality of reappraisal ideas were correlated with BIS, BAS, and FFFS sensitivity (RST-Personality Questionnaire). Results revealed that high BIS and high F…
Social exclusion increases antisocial tendencies
Reliability and validity of a novel Ambulatory Battery of Creativity (ABC)
Humor as a Moderator in the Relationship Between Emotional Exhaustion and Depressive Symptoms in University Students and the General Population
The search for resilience factors that could minimize the transition from burnout to depression may offer a valuable approach for depression prevention. The present study investigated whether humor could be such a potential resilience factor in two independent studies. In study 1 ( n = 58, students), we used a performance-based approach integrating linguistic and psychometric methods to investigate whether the ability to produce humor in positive…
No particularly negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of individuals with higher levels of childhood trauma
The findings of this study do not support the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately exacerbated mental health problems in individuals with a history of moderate to severe childhood trauma. Instead, our results suggest that the pandemic's impact on mental health was more pronounced in students with no or only mild childhood trauma
Psychology (14 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Cognitive psychology (8 works) · Developmental psychology (8 works) · Cognition (5 works) · Humor Studies and Applications (5 works) · Clinical Psychology (4 works) · Creativity (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · Anger (3 works)