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Several authors have studied the risks arising from the growth in mobile phone use (e.g. large debts incurred by young people, banned or dangerous use of cellular phones). The aim of this study is to analyse whether impulsivity, which has often been related to various forms of addictive behaviours, is associated with massive use of and dependence on the mobile phone. In this study, 108 female undergraduate psychology students were screened using a questionnaire evaluating actual use of and perceived dependence on the mobile phone, and with the French adaptation of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. This scale identifies four distinct components associated with impulsive behaviour: Urgency, lack of Premeditation, lack of Perseverance, and Sensation Seeking. The results showed that a relationship can be established between the use of and perceived dependence on the cellular phone and two facets of impulsivity: Urgency and lack of Perseverance.

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The beneficial influence of listening to music on anxiety states has often been discussed. However, the empirical evidence and theoretical mechanisms underlying these effects remain controversial. The aim of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the effects of music on anxiety in healthy individuals. A comprehensive search in the PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, PubMed and Web of Knowledge databases produced 19 articles complying with the eligibility criteria. The main results of the study reveal an overall decrease in self-reported anxiety (d = −0.30, 95% CI [-0.55,-0.04]); however, the decrease was not significant for psychophysiological signals related to anxiety. Nevertheless, in several cases, listening to music greatly affects blood pressure, cortisol level and heart rate. The great heterogeneity of the studies and the lack of rigorous methodological standards, assessed with CONSORT guidelines, may have biased the results. Thus, listening to music should be cautiously considered as a part of more complex music-based psychological interventions for anxiety regulation. Nonetheless, as discussed in this article, the role of underlying processes (spontaneous memory recollections, mental imagery) must not be neglected. Further research perspectives are discussed.

The issue of emotion recognition in real-life settings, lacking a clear criterion of the nature of the underlying emotion, is raised. After reporting their luggage lost, 110 airline passengers were asked to rate their emotional state (subjective feeling criterion). The agents who had processed the claims were asked to rate the passengers' emotional state (objective behavior criterion) as well as their own feelings. An excerpt of the videotaped interaction for 40 passengers was rated for emotional state by judges on the basis of (a) verbal and nonverbal cues or (b) nonverbal cues only. As predicted, the data show that judges' inferences in both exposure conditions correlate more strongly with the objective behavior (agent ratings) than the subjective feeling criterion (selfratings). Using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), objectively coded "felt" (but not false) smiles correlated positively with a good humor scale in both criteria and judges' ratings.