Expressions of positive emotion in women's college yearbook pictures and their relationship to personality and life outcomes across adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Harker, L; Keltner, D

2001-01-01

To test hypotheses about positive emotion, the authors examined the relationship of positive emotional expression in women's college pictures to personality, observer ratings, and life outcomes. Consistent with the notion that positive emotions help build personal resources, positive emotional expression correlated with the self-reported personality traits of affiliation, competence, and low negative emotionality across adulthood and predicted changes in competence and negative emotionality. Observers rated women displaying more positive emotion more favorably on several personality dimensions and expected interactions with them to be more rewarding; thus, demonstrating the beneficial social consequences of positive emotions. Finally, positive emotional expression predicted favorable outcomes in marriage and personal well-being up to 30 years later. Controlling for physical attractiveness and social desirability had little impact on these findings.

Short alleles, bigger smiles? The effect of 5-HTTLPR on positive emotional expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Haase, Claudia M; Beermann, Ursula; Saslow, Laura R; Shiota, Michelle N; Saturn, Sarina R; Lwi, Sandy J; Casey, James J; Nguyen, Nguyen K; Whalen, Patrick K; Keltner, Dacher; Levenson, Robert W

2015-08-01

The present research examined the effect of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene on objectively coded positive emotional expressions (i.e., laughing and smiling behavior objectively coded using the Facial Action Coding System). Three studies with independent samples of participants were conducted. Study 1 examined young adults watching still cartoons. Study 2 examined young, middle-aged, and older adults watching a thematically ambiguous yet subtly amusing film clip. Study 3 examined middle-aged and older spouses discussing an area of marital conflict (that typically produces both positive and negative emotion). Aggregating data across studies, results showed that the short allele of 5-HTTLPR predicted heightened positive emotional expressions. Results remained stable when controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and depressive symptoms. These findings are consistent with the notion that the short allele of 5-HTTLPR functions as an emotion amplifier, which may confer heightened susceptibility to environmental conditions. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional Effects of Positive Forms of Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Светлана Валентиновна Ионова

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the problem of emotional significance of a positive form of speech. Based on the methodology of emotions linguistics, linguoecology, communicative linguistics and the methods of description, comparison and discourse analysis, the author distinguishes some types of speech situations that demonstrate visible differences between positive expression of emotions and their content and the pragmatic effect. The difference between the notions of “positive communication” and “positive form of communication” is demonstrated. Special attention is given to the following types of positive emotional communication: tolerant emotional communication, emotional emphasis, emotional neglect, and emotional tabooing. The utterances in situations of real and textual communication demonstrate negative effects of statements expressed in a positive form and identify the specifics of positive forms of emotional communication in comparison with rational communication.

Jumping for Joy: The Importance of the Body and of Dynamics in the Expression and Recognition of Positive Emotions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcello Mortillaro

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The majority of research on emotion expression has focused on static facial prototypes of a few selected, mostly negative emotions. Implicitly, most researchers seem to have considered all positive emotions as sharing one common signal (namely, the smile, and consequently as being largely indistinguishable from each other in terms of expression. Recently, a new wave of studies has started to challenge the traditional assumption by considering the role of multiple modalities and the dynamics in the expression and recognition of positive emotions. Based on these recent studies, we suggest that positive emotions are better expressed and correctly perceived when (a they are communicated simultaneously through the face and body and (b perceivers have access to dynamic stimuli. Notably, we argue that this improvement is comparatively more important for positive emotions than for negative emotions. Our view is that the misperception of positive emotions has fewer immediate and potentially life-threatening consequences than the misperception of negative emotions; therefore, from an evolutionary perspective, there was only limited benefit in the development of clear, quick signals that allow observers to draw fine distinctions between them. Consequently, we suggest that the successful communication of positive emotions requires a stronger signal than that of negative emotions, and that this signal is provided by the use of the body and the way those movements unfold. We hope our contribution to this growing field provides a new direction and a theoretical grounding for the many lines of empirical research on the expression and recognition of positive emotions.

Emotion Reactivity, Comfort Expressing Emotions, and Future Suicidal Ideation in Emerging Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Polanco-Roman, Lillian; Moore, Alyssa; Tsypes, Aliona; Jacobson, Colleen; Miranda, Regina

2018-01-01

Emotion reactivity and difficulties in expressing emotions have been implicated in risk for suicidal behavior. This study examined comfort in expressing emotions (positive vs. negative) and depressive symptoms as mediators of the prospective relation between emotion reactivity and suicidal ideation. Emerging adults (N = 143; 72% female; 28% White) completed measures of emotion reactivity, comfort expressing emotions, and suicidal ideation at baseline and of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation 12 months later. Emotion reactivity predicted suicidal ideation at follow-up through depressive symptoms. Difficulty expressing love-but not happiness, sadness, and anger-partially mediated the relationship between emotion reactivity and suicidal ideation at follow-up before but not after adjusting for baseline ideation. The relation between high emotion reactivity and suicidal ideation may be explained by discomfort in the expression of positive emotions and by depressive symptoms. Promotion of comfort in positive emotion expression may reduce vulnerability to suicidal ideation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Nonverbal Communication of Positive Emotions: An Emotion Family Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauter, Disa A

2017-07-01

This review provides an overview of the research on nonverbal expressions of positive emotions, organised into emotion families, that is, clusters sharing common characteristics. Epistemological positive emotions (amusement, relief, awe, and interest) are found to have distinct, recognisable displays via vocal or facial cues, while the agency-approach positive emotions (elation and pride) appear to be associated with recognisable visual, but not auditory, cues. Evidence is less strong for the prosocial emotions (love, compassion, gratitude, and admiration) in any modality other than touch, and there is little support for distinct recognisable signals of the savouring positive emotions (contentment, sensory pleasure, and desire). In closing, some limitations of extant work are noted and some proposals for future research are outlined.

Family emotional expressiveness and family structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čotar-Konrad Sonja

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The present paper scrutinizes the relationship between family emotional expressiveness (i.e., the tendency to express dominant and/or submissive positive and negative emotions and components of family structure as proposed in Olson’s Circumplex model (i.e., cohesion and flexibility, family communication, and satisfaction in families with adolescents. The study was conducted on a sample of 514 Slovenian adolescents, who filled out two questionnaires: the Slovenian version of Family Emotional Expressiveness - FEQ and FACES IV. The results revealed that all four basic dimensions of family functioning were significantly associated with higher/more frequent expressions of positive submissive emotions, as well as with lower/less frequent expressions of negative dominant emotions. Moreover, expressions of negative submissive emotions explained a small, but significant amount of variance in three out of four family functioning variables (satisfaction, flexibility, and communication. The importance of particular aspects of emotional expressiveness for family cohesion, flexibility, communication, and satisfaction is discussed, and the relevance of present findings for family counselling is outlined.

Social Anxiety and Positive Emotions: A Prospective Examination of a Self-Regulatory Model with Tendencies to Suppress or Express Emotions as a Moderating Variable

Science.gov (United States)

Kashdan, Todd B.; Breen, William E.

2008-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine social anxiety as a predictor of positive emotions using a short-term prospective design. We examined whether the effects of social anxiety on positive emotions are moderated by tendencies to openly express or suppress emotions. Over the course of a 3-month interval, people with excessive social…

"So Happy I Could Shout!" and "So Happy I Could Cry!" Dimorphous expressions represent and communicate motivational aspects of positive emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Aragón, Oriana R; Bargh, John A

2018-03-01

Happiness can be expressed through smiles. Happiness can also be expressed through physical displays that without context, would appear to be sadness (tears, downward turned mouths, and crumpled body postures) and anger (clenched jaws, snarled lips, furrowed brows, and pumped fists). These seemingly incongruent displays of happiness, termed dimorphous expressions, we propose, represent and communicate expressers' motivational orientations. When participants reported their own aggressive expressions in positive or negative contexts, their expressions represented positive or negative emotional experiences respectively, imbued with appetitive orientations (feelings of wanting to go). In contrast, reported sad expressions, in positive or negative contexts, represented positive and negative emotional experiences respectively, imbued with consummatory orientations (feelings of wanting to pause). In six additional experiments, participant observers interpreted that aggression displayed in positive contexts signalled happy-appetitive states, and sadness displayed in positive contexts signalled happy-consummatory states. Implications for the production and interpretation of emotion expressions are discussed.

The persuasive power of emotions: Effects of emotional expressions on attitude formation and change.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Kleef, Gerben A; van den Berg, Helma; Heerdink, Marc W

2015-07-01

Despite a long-standing interest in the intrapersonal role of affect in persuasion, the interpersonal effects of emotions on persuasion remain poorly understood-how do one person's emotional expressions shape others' attitudes? Drawing on emotions as social information (EASI) theory (Van Kleef, 2009), we hypothesized that people use the emotional expressions of others to inform their own attitudes, but only when they are sufficiently motivated and able to process those expressions. Five experiments support these ideas. Participants reported more positive attitudes about various topics after seeing a source's sad (rather than happy) expressions when topics were negatively framed (e.g., abandoning bobsleighing from the Olympics). Conversely, participants reported more positive attitudes after seeing happy (rather than sad) expressions when topics were positively framed (e.g., introducing kite surfing at the Olympics). This suggests that participants used the source's emotional expressions as information when forming their own attitudes. Supporting this interpretation, effects were mitigated when participants' information processing was undermined by cognitive load or was chronically low. Moreover, a source's anger expressions engendered negative attitude change when directed at the attitude object and positive change when directed at the recipient's attitude. Effects occurred regardless of whether emotional expressions were manipulated through written words, pictures of facial expressions, film clips containing both facial and vocal emotional expressions, or emoticons. The findings support EASI theory and indicate that emotional expressions are a powerful source of social influence. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Positively Biased Processing of Mother's Emotions Predicts Children's Social and Emotional Functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Meghan Rose; Goodman, Sherryl H; Tully, Erin C

Risk for internalizing problems and social skills deficits likely emerges in early childhood when emotion processing and social competencies are developing. Positively biased processing of social information is typical during early childhood and may be protective against poorer psychosocial outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that young children with relatively less positively biased attention to, interpretations of, and attributions for their mother's emotions would exhibit poorer prosocial skills and more internalizing problems. A sample of 4- to 6-year-old children ( N =82) observed their mothers express happiness, sadness and anger during a simulated emotional phone conversation. Children's attention to their mother when she expressed each emotion was rated from video. Immediately following the phone conversation, children were asked questions about the conversation to assess their interpretations of the intensity of mother's emotions and misattributions of personal responsibility for her emotions. Children's prosocial skills and internalizing problems were assessed using mother-report rating scales. Interpretations of mother's positive emotions as relatively less intense than her negative emotions, misattributions of personal responsibility for her negative emotions, and lack of misattributions of personal responsibility for her positive emotions were associated with poorer prosocial skills. Children who attended relatively less to mother's positive than her negative emotions had higher levels of internalizing problems. These findings suggest that children's attention to, interpretations of, and attributions for their mother's emotions may be important targets of early interventions for preventing prosocial skills deficits and internalizing problems.

Positive Psychology: Positive Emotions and Emotional Intelegence

OpenAIRE

Miloseva, Lence

2008-01-01

The paper focuses on the and emotional intelligence. We try to answer on some questions regarding the role which positive emotions have in our life’s. The broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998; 2001) predicts that positive emotions are useful in several ways. They guide present behavior, by broadening one’s attention and cognition, setting the stage for creative, explorative, and innovative pursuits. As well, positive emotions build personal and social resources to help individuals achi...

Emotion expression, decision-making and well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Erte

2008-01-01

This chapter discusses the role of emotion expression in decision-making. To understand connections between emotion and decision it is helpful first to differentiate between emotion experience and emotion expression. Understanding how emotion expression influences decision-making is important as a practical matter. However, in contrast to emotion experience, economic research has paid little attention to the significance of emotion expression in decision-making. I review recent studies on emotion expression, paying specific attention to possible connections between emotion expression, punishment, fair economic exchange, and well-being. In contrast to emotions, which are typically difficult to control, I suggest that opportunities for emotion expression can feasibly be manipulated through appropriately designed policies. I further suggest that this approach may have the ability to positively affect well-being and economic outcomes. VALUE OF THE CHAPTER: The chapter provides new perspectives on how policy-makers can benefit by understanding the effect of emotion expression in decision-making. The chapter also suggests future research to improve our understanding of emotion expression.

Emotional Effects of Positive Forms of Communication

OpenAIRE

Светлана Валентиновна Ионова

2015-01-01

The article discusses the problem of emotional significance of a positive form of speech. Based on the methodology of emotions linguistics, linguoecology, communicative linguistics and the methods of description, comparison and discourse analysis, the author distinguishes some types of speech situations that demonstrate visible differences between positive expression of emotions and their content and the pragmatic effect. The difference between the notions of “positive communication” and “pos...

Perceived intimacy of expressed emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, A; Conway, M

1990-08-01

Research on norms for emotional expression and self-disclosure provided the basis for two hypotheses concerning the perceived intimacy of emotional self-disclosure. The first hypothesis was that the perceived intimacy of negative emotional disclosure would be greater than that of positive emotional disclosure; the second was that disclosures of more intense emotional states would be perceived as more intimate than disclosures of less intense emotional states for both negative and positive disclosures. Both hypotheses received support when male students in Canada rated the perceived intimacy of self-disclosures that were equated for topic and that covered a comprehensive sample of emotions and a range of emotional intensities. The effects were observed across all the topics of disclosure examined.

Facial expressions of emotion and the course of conjugal bereavement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonanno, G A; Keltner, D

1997-02-01

The common assumption that emotional expression mediates the course of bereavement is tested. Competing hypotheses about the direction of mediation were formulated from the grief work and social-functional accounts of emotional expression. Facial expressions of emotion in conjugally bereaved adults were coded at 6 months post-loss as they described their relationship with the deceased; grief and perceived health were measured at 6, 14, and 25 months. Facial expressions of negative emotion, in particular anger, predicted increased grief at 14 months and poorer perceived health through 25 months. Facial expressions of positive emotion predicted decreased grief through 25 months and a positive but nonsignificant relation to perceived health. Predictive relations between negative and positive emotional expression persisted when initial levels of self-reported emotion, grief, and health were statistically controlled, demonstrating the mediating role of facial expressions of emotion in adjustment to conjugal loss. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Positive attitude towards life and emotional expression as personality phenotypes for centenarians.

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Kaori; Zweig, Richard; Barzilai, Nir; Atzmon, Gil

2012-05-01

Centenarians have been reported to share particular personality traits including low neuroticism and high extraversion and conscientiousness. Since these traits have moderate to high heritability and are associated with various health outcomes, personality appears linked to bio-genetic mechanisms which may contribute to exceptional longevity. Therefore, the present study sought to detect genetically-based personality phenotypes in a genetically homogeneous sample of centenarians through developing and examining psychometric properties of a brief measure of the personality of centenarians, the Personality Outlook Profile Scale (POPS). The results generated two personality characteristics/domains, Positive Attitude Towards Life (PATL: optimism, easygoing, laughter, and introversion/outgoing) and Emotional Expression (EE: expressing emotions openly and not bottling up emotions). These domains demonstrated acceptable concurrent validity with two established personality measures, the NEO-Five Factor Inventory and Life Orientation Test-Revised. Additionally, centenarians in both groups had lower neuroticism and higher conscientiousness than the US adult population. Findings suggest that the POPS is a psychometrically sound measure of personality in centenarians and capture personality aspects of extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness, as well as dispositional optimism which may contribute to successful aging.

Effects of Cultural Tightness-Looseness and Social Network Density on Expression of Positive and Negative Emotions: A Large-Scale Study of Impression Management by Facebook Users.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pan; Chan, David; Qiu, Lin; Tov, William; Tong, Victor Joo Chuan

2018-05-01

Using data from 13,789 Facebook users across U.S. states, this study examined the main effects of societal-level cultural tightness-looseness and its interaction effects with individuals' social network density on impression management (IM) in terms of online emotional expression. Results showed that individuals from culturally tight (vs. loose) states were more likely to express positive emotions and less likely to express negative emotions. Meanwhile, for positive emotional expression, there was a tightness-looseness by social network density interaction effect. In culturally tight states, individuals with dense (vs. sparse) networks were more likely to express positive emotions, while in culturally loose states this pattern was reversed. For negative emotional expression, however, no such interaction was observed. Our findings highlight the influence of cultural norms and social network structure on emotional expressions as IM strategies.

Using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) to Define Different Domains of Negative Symptoms: Prediction of Everyday Functioning by Impairments in Emotional Expression and Emotional Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Philip D; Khan, Anzalee; Keefe, Richard S E

2017-12-01

Background: Reduced emotional experience and expression are two domains of negative symptoms. The authors assessed these two domains of negative symptoms using previously developed Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) factors. Using an existing dataset, the authors predicted three different elements of everyday functioning (social, vocational, and everyday activities) with these two factors, as well as with performance on measures of functional capacity. Methods: A large (n=630) sample of people with schizophrenia was used as the data source of this study. Using regression analyses, the authors predicted the three different aspects of everyday functioning, first with just the two Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale factors and then with a global negative symptom factor. Finally, we added neurocognitive performance and functional capacity as predictors. Results: The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale reduced emotional experience factor accounted for 21 percent of the variance in everyday social functioning, while reduced emotional expression accounted for no variance. The total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative symptom factor accounted for less variance (19%) than the reduced experience factor alone. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale expression factor accounted for, at most, one percent of the variance in any of the functional outcomes, with or without the addition of other predictors. Implications: Reduced emotional experience measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, often referred to as "avolition and anhedonia," specifically predicted impairments in social outcomes. Further, reduced experience predicted social impairments better than emotional expression or the total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative symptom factor. In this cross-sectional study, reduced emotional experience was specifically related with social outcomes, accounting for essentially no variance in work or everyday activities, and being the

Emotion-Bracelet: A Web Service for Expressing Emotions through an Electronic Interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Alicia; Estrada, Hugo; Molina, Alejandra; Mejia, Manuel; Perez, Joaquin

2016-11-24

The mechanisms to communicate emotions have dramatically changed in the last 10 years with social networks, where users massively communicate their emotional states by using the Internet. However, people with socialization problems have difficulty expressing their emotions verbally or interpreting the environment and providing an appropriate emotional response. In this paper, a novel solution called the Emotion-Bracelet is presented that combines a hardware device and a software system. The proposed approach identifies the polarity and emotional intensity of texts published on a social network site by performing real-time processing using a web service. It also shows emotions with a LED matrix using five emoticons that represent positive, very positive, negative, very negative, and neutral states. The Emotion-Bracelet is designed to help people express their emotions in a non-intrusive way, thereby expanding the social aspect of human emotions.

Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Background Problems with social-emotional processing are known to be an important contributor to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Diminished facial communication of emotion has been frequently reported in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). Less is known about facial expressivity in bulimia nervosa (BN) and in people who have recovered from AN (RecAN). This study aimed to pilot the use of computerised facial expression analysis software to investigate emotion expression across the ED spectrum and recovery in a large sample of participants. Method 297 participants with AN, BN, RecAN, and healthy controls were recruited. Participants watched film clips designed to elicit happy or sad emotions, and facial expressions were then analysed using FaceReader. Results The finding mirrored those from previous work showing that healthy control and RecAN participants expressed significantly more positive emotions during the positive clip compared to the AN group. There were no differences in emotion expression during the sad film clip. Discussion These findings support the use of computerised methods to analyse emotion expression in EDs. The findings also demonstrate that reduced positive emotion expression is likely to be associated with the acute stage of AN illness, with individuals with BN showing an intermediate profile. PMID:28575109

Computerised analysis of facial emotion expression in eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Leppanen, Jenni; Dapelo, Marcela Marin; Davies, Helen; Lang, Katie; Treasure, Janet; Tchanturia, Kate

2017-01-01

Problems with social-emotional processing are known to be an important contributor to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Diminished facial communication of emotion has been frequently reported in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). Less is known about facial expressivity in bulimia nervosa (BN) and in people who have recovered from AN (RecAN). This study aimed to pilot the use of computerised facial expression analysis software to investigate emotion expression across the ED spectrum and recovery in a large sample of participants. 297 participants with AN, BN, RecAN, and healthy controls were recruited. Participants watched film clips designed to elicit happy or sad emotions, and facial expressions were then analysed using FaceReader. The finding mirrored those from previous work showing that healthy control and RecAN participants expressed significantly more positive emotions during the positive clip compared to the AN group. There were no differences in emotion expression during the sad film clip. These findings support the use of computerised methods to analyse emotion expression in EDs. The findings also demonstrate that reduced positive emotion expression is likely to be associated with the acute stage of AN illness, with individuals with BN showing an intermediate profile.

Emotion-Bracelet: A Web Service for Expressing Emotions through an Electronic Interface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia Martinez

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The mechanisms to communicate emotions have dramatically changed in the last 10 years with social networks, where users massively communicate their emotional states by using the Internet. However, people with socialization problems have difficulty expressing their emotions verbally or interpreting the environment and providing an appropriate emotional response. In this paper, a novel solution called the Emotion-Bracelet is presented that combines a hardware device and a software system. The proposed approach identifies the polarity and emotional intensity of texts published on a social network site by performing real-time processing using a web service. It also shows emotions with a LED matrix using five emoticons that represent positive, very positive, negative, very negative, and neutral states. The Emotion-Bracelet is designed to help people express their emotions in a non-intrusive way, thereby expanding the social aspect of human emotions.

Diminished facial emotion expression and associated clinical characteristics in Anorexia Nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Katie; Larsson, Emma E C; Mavromara, Liza; Simic, Mima; Treasure, Janet; Tchanturia, Kate

2016-02-28

This study aimed to investigate emotion expression in a large group of children, adolescents and adults with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), and investigate the associated clinical correlates. One hundred and forty-one participants (AN=66, HC= 75) were recruited and positive and negative film clips were used to elicit emotion expressions. The Facial Activation Coding system (FACES) was used to code emotion expression. Subjective ratings of emotion were collected. Individuals with AN displayed less positive emotions during the positive film clip compared to healthy controls (HC). There was no significant difference between the groups on the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). The AN group displayed emotional incongruence (reporting a different emotion to what would be expected given the stimuli, with limited facial affect to signal the emotion experienced), whereby they reported feeling significantly higher rates of negative emotion during the positive clip. There were no differences in emotion expression between the groups during the negative film clip. Despite this individuals with AN reported feeling significantly higher levels of negative emotions during the negative clip. Diminished positive emotion expression was associated with more severe clinical symptoms, which could suggest that these individuals represent a group with serious social difficulties, which may require specific attention in treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Relationship between Emotion Regulation and Emotion Expression Styles with Bullying Behaviors in Adolescent Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sajjad Basharpoor

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Background & objectives: Students bullying, especially in the adolescence period, is a prevalent problem in the schools, that emotional dysregulation is posed as a one cause of it. Considering this issue, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between emotion regulation and emotion expression styles with bullying behaviors in adolescent students.   Methods: The method of this study was correlation. Whole male students of secondary and high schools in Ardabil at 90-91 educational year comprised statistical population of this research. Two hundred thirty students, were selected by multistage cluster sampling method, responded to the questionnaires of bullying/victimization, emotion regulation and emotion expression. Gathered data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and multiple regression tests.   Results: The results showed that victimization by bullying has positive relationship with cognitive reappraisal (r= 0.15, p<0.02, emotion suppression (r= 0.47, p<0.001, and positive expression (r= 0.25, p<0.02, but has negative relationship with impulse severity (r= -0.35, p<0.001, and negative emotion expression (r= -0.43, p<0.001. Furthermore bullying has a positive relationship with cognitive reappraisal (r= 0.14, p<0.03, impulse severity (r= 0.31, p<0.003, and negative expression (r= 0.29, p<0.001, but has negative relationship with emotion suppression (r= 0.28, p<0.001, and positive expression (r= 0.24, p<0.001. In sum emotion regulation and emotion expression styles explained 36 percent of the variance of the victimization by bullying and 19 percent of the variance of the bullying.   Conclusion: This research demonstrated that emotion dysregulation at the adolescent period plays important role in bullying and victimization, thus the training of emotion regulation abilities is suggested as the one of interventions methods for this behavioral problems.

Emotional Responses to Music: Experience, Expression, and Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Lundqvist, Lars-Olov; Carlsson, Fredrik; Hilmersson, Per; Juslin, Patrik N.

2009-01-01

A crucial issue in research on music and emotion is whether music evokes genuine emotional responses in listeners (the emotivist position) or whether listeners merely perceive emotions expressed by the music (the cognitivist position). To investigate this issue, we measured self-reported emotion, facial muscle activity, and autonomic activity in…

Positively Biased Processing of Mother’s Emotions Predicts Children’s Social and Emotional Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Meghan Rose; Goodman, Sherryl H.; Tully, Erin C.

2016-01-01

Risk for internalizing problems and social skills deficits likely emerges in early childhood when emotion processing and social competencies are developing. Positively biased processing of social information is typical during early childhood and may be protective against poorer psychosocial outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that young children with relatively less positively biased attention to, interpretations of, and attributions for their mother’s emotions would exhibit poorer prosocial skills and more internalizing problems. A sample of 4- to 6-year-old children (N=82) observed their mothers express happiness, sadness and anger during a simulated emotional phone conversation. Children’s attention to their mother when she expressed each emotion was rated from video. Immediately following the phone conversation, children were asked questions about the conversation to assess their interpretations of the intensity of mother’s emotions and misattributions of personal responsibility for her emotions. Children’s prosocial skills and internalizing problems were assessed using mother-report rating scales. Interpretations of mother’s positive emotions as relatively less intense than her negative emotions, misattributions of personal responsibility for her negative emotions, and lack of misattributions of personal responsibility for her positive emotions were associated with poorer prosocial skills. Children who attended relatively less to mother’s positive than her negative emotions had higher levels of internalizing problems. These findings suggest that children’s attention to, interpretations of, and attributions for their mother’s emotions may be important targets of early interventions for preventing prosocial skills deficits and internalizing problems. PMID:28348456

Degraded Impairment of Emotion Recognition in Parkinson's Disease Extends from Negative to Positive Emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chia-Yao; Tien, Yi-Min; Huang, Jong-Tsun; Tsai, Chon-Haw; Hsu, Li-Chuan

2016-01-01

Because of dopaminergic neurodegeneration, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) show impairment in the recognition of negative facial expressions. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether PD patients with more advanced motor problems would show a much greater deficit in recognition of emotional facial expressions than a control group and whether impairment of emotion recognition would extend to positive emotions. Twenty-nine PD patients and 29 age-matched healthy controls were recruited. Participants were asked to discriminate emotions in Experiment  1 and identify gender in Experiment  2. In Experiment  1, PD patients demonstrated a recognition deficit for negative (sadness and anger) and positive faces. Further analysis showed that only PD patients with high motor dysfunction performed poorly in recognition of happy faces. In Experiment  2, PD patients showed an intact ability for gender identification, and the results eliminated possible abilities in the functions measured in Experiment  2 as alternative explanations for the results of Experiment  1. We concluded that patients' ability to recognize emotions deteriorated as the disease progressed. Recognition of negative emotions was impaired first, and then the impairment extended to positive emotions.

MDMA alters emotional processing and facilitates positive social interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Wardle, Margaret C; de Wit, Harriet

2014-10-01

±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") produces "prosocial" effects, such as feelings of empathy and closeness, thought to be important to its abuse and its value in psychotherapy. However, it is not fully understood how MDMA alters basic emotional processes to produce these effects, or whether it produces corresponding changes in actual social behavior. Here, we examined how MDMA affects perceptions of and responses to emotional expressions, and tested its effects on behavior during a social interaction. We also examined whether MDMA's prosocial effects related to a measure of abuse liability. Over three sessions, 36 healthy volunteers with previous ecstasy use received MDMA (0.75, 1.5 mg/kg) and placebo under double-blind conditions. We measured (i) mood and cardiovascular effects, (ii) perception of and psychophysiological responses to emotional expressions, (iii) use of positive and negative words in a social interaction, and (iv) perceptions of an interaction partner. We then tested whether these effects predicted desire to take the drug again. MDMA slowed perception of angry expressions, increased psychophysiological responses to happy expressions, and increased positive word use and perceptions of partner empathy and regard in a social interaction. These effects were not strongly related to desire to take the drug again. MDMA alters basic emotional processes by slowing identification of negative emotions and increasing responses to positive emotions in others. Further, it positively affects behavior and perceptions during actual social interaction. These effects may contribute to the efficacy of MDMA in psychotherapy, but appear less closely related to its abuse potential.

Memory for faces with emotional expressions in Alzheimer's disease and healthy older participants: positivity effect is not only due to familiarity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sava, Alina-Alexandra; Krolak-Salmon, Pierre; Delphin-Combe, Floriane; Cloarec, Morgane; Chainay, Hanna

2017-01-01

Young individuals better memorize initially seen faces with emotional rather than neutral expressions. Healthy older participants and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients show better memory for faces with positive expressions. The socioemotional selectivity theory postulates that this positivity effect in memory reflects a general age-related preference for positive stimuli, subserving emotion regulation. Another explanation might be that older participants use compensatory strategies, often considering happy faces as previously seen. The question about the existence of this effect in tasks not permitting such compensatory strategies is still open. Thus, we compared the performance of healthy participants and AD patients for positive, neutral, and negative faces in such tasks. Healthy older participants and AD patients showed a positivity effect in memory, but there was no difference between emotional and neutral faces in young participants. Our results suggest that the positivity effect in memory is not entirely due to the sense of familiarity for smiling faces.

Facial Emotion Recognition and Expression in Parkinson's Disease: An Emotional Mirror Mechanism?

Science.gov (United States)

Ricciardi, Lucia; Visco-Comandini, Federica; Erro, Roberto; Morgante, Francesca; Bologna, Matteo; Fasano, Alfonso; Ricciardi, Diego; Edwards, Mark J; Kilner, James

2017-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have impairment of facial expressivity (hypomimia) and difficulties in interpreting the emotional facial expressions produced by others, especially for aversive emotions. We aimed to evaluate the ability to produce facial emotional expressions and to recognize facial emotional expressions produced by others in a group of PD patients and a group of healthy participants in order to explore the relationship between these two abilities and any differences between the two groups of participants. Twenty non-demented, non-depressed PD patients and twenty healthy participants (HC) matched for demographic characteristics were studied. The ability of recognizing emotional facial expressions was assessed with the Ekman 60-faces test (Emotion recognition task). Participants were video-recorded while posing facial expressions of 6 primary emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear and anger). The most expressive pictures for each emotion were derived from the videos. Ten healthy raters were asked to look at the pictures displayed on a computer-screen in pseudo-random fashion and to identify the emotional label in a six-forced-choice response format (Emotion expressivity task). Reaction time (RT) and accuracy of responses were recorded. At the end of each trial the participant was asked to rate his/her confidence in his/her perceived accuracy of response. For emotion recognition, PD reported lower score than HC for Ekman total score (pemotions sub-scores happiness, fear, anger, sadness (pfacial emotion expressivity task, PD and HC significantly differed in the total score (p = 0.05) and in the sub-scores for happiness, sadness, anger (all pemotions. There was a significant positive correlation between the emotion facial recognition and expressivity in both groups; the correlation was even stronger when ranking emotions from the best recognized to the worst (R = 0.75, p = 0.004). PD patients showed difficulties in recognizing emotional

Smiling on the Inside: The Social Benefits of Suppressing Positive Emotions in Outperformance Situations.

Science.gov (United States)

Schall, Marina; Martiny, Sarah E; Goetz, Thomas; Hall, Nathan C

2016-05-01

Although expressing positive emotions is typically socially rewarded, in the present work, we predicted that people suppress positive emotions and thereby experience social benefits when outperformed others are present. We tested our predictions in three experimental studies with high school students. In Studies 1 and 2, we manipulated the type of social situation (outperformance vs. non-outperformance) and assessed suppression of positive emotions. In both studies, individuals reported suppressing positive emotions more in outperformance situations than in non-outperformance situations. In Study 3, we manipulated the social situation (outperformance vs. non-outperformance) as well as the videotaped person's expression of positive emotions (suppression vs. expression). The findings showed that when outperforming others, individuals were indeed evaluated more positively when they suppressed rather than expressed their positive emotions, and demonstrate the importance of the specific social situation with respect to the effects of suppression. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Emotional facial expressions in European-American, Japanese, and Chinese infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Camras, Linda A; Oster, Harriet; Campos, Joseph J; Bakemand, Roger

2003-12-01

Charles Darwin was among the first to recognize the important contribution that infant studies could make to our understanding of human emotional expression. Noting that infants come to exhibit many emotions, he also observed that at first their repertoire of expression is highly restricted. Today, considerable controversy exists regarding the question of whether infants experience and express discrete emotions. According to one position, discrete emotions emerge during infancy along with their prototypic facial expressions. These expressions closely resemble adult emotional expressions and are invariantly concordant with their corresponding emotions. In contrast, we propose that the relation between expression and emotion during infancy is more complex. Some infant emotions and emotional expressions may not be invariantly concordant. Furthermore, infant emotional expressions may be less differentiated than previously proposed. Together with past developmental studies, recent cross-cultural research supports this view and suggests that negative emotional expression in particular is only partly differentiated towards the end of the first year.

Degraded Impairment of Emotion Recognition in Parkinson’s Disease Extends from Negative to Positive Emotions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chia-Yao Lin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Because of dopaminergic neurodegeneration, patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD show impairment in the recognition of negative facial expressions. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether PD patients with more advanced motor problems would show a much greater deficit in recognition of emotional facial expressions than a control group and whether impairment of emotion recognition would extend to positive emotions. Twenty-nine PD patients and 29 age-matched healthy controls were recruited. Participants were asked to discriminate emotions in Experiment  1 and identify gender in Experiment  2. In Experiment  1, PD patients demonstrated a recognition deficit for negative (sadness and anger and positive faces. Further analysis showed that only PD patients with high motor dysfunction performed poorly in recognition of happy faces. In Experiment  2, PD patients showed an intact ability for gender identification, and the results eliminated possible abilities in the functions measured in Experiment  2 as alternative explanations for the results of Experiment  1. We concluded that patients’ ability to recognize emotions deteriorated as the disease progressed. Recognition of negative emotions was impaired first, and then the impairment extended to positive emotions.

Nasal Oxytocin Treatment Biases Dogs’ Visual Attention and Emotional Response toward Positive Human Facial Expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanni Somppi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a critical role in social behavior and emotion regulation in mammals. The aim of this study was to explore how nasal oxytocin administration affects gazing behavior during emotional perception in domestic dogs. Looking patterns of dogs, as a measure of voluntary attention, were recorded during the viewing of human facial expression photographs. The pupil diameters of dogs were also measured as a physiological index of emotional arousal. In a placebo-controlled within-subjects experimental design, 43 dogs, after having received either oxytocin or placebo (saline nasal spray treatment, were presented with pictures of unfamiliar male human faces displaying either a happy or an angry expression. We found that, depending on the facial expression, the dogs’ gaze patterns were affected selectively by oxytocin treatment. After receiving oxytocin, dogs fixated less often on the eye regions of angry faces and revisited (glanced back at more often the eye regions of smiling (happy faces than after the placebo treatment. Furthermore, following the oxytocin treatment dogs fixated and revisited the eyes of happy faces significantly more often than the eyes of angry faces. The analysis of dogs’ pupil diameters during viewing of human facial expressions indicated that oxytocin may also have a modulatory effect on dogs’ emotional arousal. While subjects’ pupil sizes were significantly larger when viewing angry faces than happy faces in the control (placebo treatment condition, oxytocin treatment not only eliminated this effect but caused an opposite pupil response. Overall, these findings suggest that nasal oxytocin administration selectively changes the allocation of attention and emotional arousal in domestic dogs. Oxytocin has the potential to decrease vigilance toward threatening social stimuli and increase the salience of positive social stimuli thus making eye gaze of friendly human faces more salient for dogs. Our

Positive facial expressions during retrieval of self-defining memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Gandolphe, Marie Charlotte; Nandrino, Jean Louis; Delelis, Gérald; Ducro, Claire; Lavallee, Audrey; Saloppe, Xavier; Moustafa, Ahmed A; El Haj, Mohamad

2017-11-14

In this study, we investigated, for the first time, facial expressions during the retrieval of Self-defining memories (i.e., those vivid and emotionally intense memories of enduring concerns or unresolved conflicts). Participants self-rated the emotional valence of their Self-defining memories and autobiographical retrieval was analyzed with a facial analysis software. This software (Facereader) synthesizes the facial expression information (i.e., cheek, lips, muscles, eyebrow muscles) to describe and categorize facial expressions (i.e., neutral, happy, sad, surprised, angry, scared, and disgusted facial expressions). We found that participants showed more emotional than neutral facial expressions during the retrieval of Self-defining memories. We also found that participants showed more positive than negative facial expressions during the retrieval of Self-defining memories. Interestingly, participants attributed positive valence to the retrieved memories. These findings are the first to demonstrate the consistency between facial expressions and the emotional subjective experience of Self-defining memories. These findings provide valuable physiological information about the emotional experience of the past.

I followed the butterflies: Poetry of positive emotions in art therapy research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gioia Chilton

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Art therapy is a profession that offers potential avenues to improve mental health by increasing positive emotions and counteracting depression and negativity through art-making processes within a therapeutic relationship. As art therapy research is scant, this study of how positive emotions are expressed through art-making was needed. Pairs of art therapists (N = 5 conducted participatory arts-based research to explore emotional expression through visual art-making and discussion. Results included artwork and illustrated poems that demonstrate the expression of positive and other emotions within an interpersonal relationship. As part of multi-modal aesthetic exploration, poetry was used as a means of data analysis and as a vehicle for conveying findings.

Dogs' comprehension of referential emotional expressions: familiar people and familiar emotions are easier.

Science.gov (United States)

Merola, I; Prato-Previde, E; Lazzaroni, M; Marshall-Pescini, S

2014-03-01

Dogs have been shown to discriminate between human facial expressions, and they seem to use human emotional communication to regulate their behaviour towards an external object/situation. However, it is still not clear (1) whether they just respond to the emotional message received with a corresponding increase/decrease in their level of activation or whether they perceive that the emotional message refers to a specific object, (2) which emotional message they use to modify their behaviour (i.e. whether they are following the positive message or avoiding the negative one) and (3) whether their familiarity with the informant has an effect on the dogs' behaviour. To address these issues, five groups of dogs were tested in two experiments. The first group observed the owner delivering two different emotional messages (happiness and fear) towards two identical objects hidden behind barriers, and the second group observed the owner delivering the same emotional messages but with no-objects present in the room. The third and the fourth groups observed the owner delivering a happy versus a neutral, and a negative versus a neutral emotional message towards the hidden objects. Finally, the fifth group observed a stranger acting like the owner of the first group. When the owner was acting as the informant, dogs seemed to be capable of distinguishing between a fearful and happy emotional expression and preferentially chose to investigate a box eliciting an expression of happiness rather than of fear or neutrality. Dogs, however, seemed to have greater difficulty in distinguishing between the fearful and neutral emotional messages delivered by the owner and between the happy and fearful expressions delivered by the stranger. Results suggest that dogs have learned to associate their owners' positive emotional messages to positive outcomes, and hence use their communicative messages to guide their actions. However, negative emotional messages and those delivered by strangers are

Facial Emotion Recognition and Expression in Parkinson’s Disease: An Emotional Mirror Mechanism?

Science.gov (United States)

Ricciardi, Lucia; Visco-Comandini, Federica; Erro, Roberto; Morgante, Francesca; Bologna, Matteo; Fasano, Alfonso; Ricciardi, Diego; Edwards, Mark J.; Kilner, James

2017-01-01

Background and aim Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients have impairment of facial expressivity (hypomimia) and difficulties in interpreting the emotional facial expressions produced by others, especially for aversive emotions. We aimed to evaluate the ability to produce facial emotional expressions and to recognize facial emotional expressions produced by others in a group of PD patients and a group of healthy participants in order to explore the relationship between these two abilities and any differences between the two groups of participants. Methods Twenty non-demented, non-depressed PD patients and twenty healthy participants (HC) matched for demographic characteristics were studied. The ability of recognizing emotional facial expressions was assessed with the Ekman 60-faces test (Emotion recognition task). Participants were video-recorded while posing facial expressions of 6 primary emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear and anger). The most expressive pictures for each emotion were derived from the videos. Ten healthy raters were asked to look at the pictures displayed on a computer-screen in pseudo-random fashion and to identify the emotional label in a six-forced-choice response format (Emotion expressivity task). Reaction time (RT) and accuracy of responses were recorded. At the end of each trial the participant was asked to rate his/her confidence in his/her perceived accuracy of response. Results For emotion recognition, PD reported lower score than HC for Ekman total score (pemotions sub-scores happiness, fear, anger, sadness (pfacial emotion expressivity task, PD and HC significantly differed in the total score (p = 0.05) and in the sub-scores for happiness, sadness, anger (all pemotions. There was a significant positive correlation between the emotion facial recognition and expressivity in both groups; the correlation was even stronger when ranking emotions from the best recognized to the worst (R = 0.75, p = 0.004). Conclusions PD

Judgments of subtle facial expressions of emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, David; Hwang, Hyisung C

2014-04-01

Most studies on judgments of facial expressions of emotion have primarily utilized prototypical, high-intensity expressions. This paper examines judgments of subtle facial expressions of emotion, including not only low-intensity versions of full-face prototypes but also variants of those prototypes. A dynamic paradigm was used in which observers were shown a neutral expression followed by the target expression to judge, and then the neutral expression again, allowing for a simulation of the emergence of the expression from and then return to a baseline. We also examined how signal and intensity clarities of the expressions (explained more fully in the Introduction) were associated with judgment agreement levels. Low-intensity, full-face prototypical expressions of emotion were judged as the intended emotion at rates significantly greater than chance. A number of the proposed variants were also judged as the intended emotions. Both signal and intensity clarities were individually associated with agreement rates; when their interrelationships were taken into account, signal clarity independently predicted agreement rates but intensity clarity did not. The presence or absence of specific muscles appeared to be more important to agreement rates than their intensity levels, with the exception of the intensity of zygomatic major, which was positively correlated with agreement rates for judgments of joy.

Positive emotion, appraisal, and the role of appraisal overlap in positive emotion co-occurrence.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Eddie M W; Jia, Lile

2017-02-01

Appraisal research has traditionally focused on negative emotions but has not addressed issues concerning the relationships between several positive emotions and appraisals in daily life and the extent to which co-occurrence of positive emotions can be explained by overlap in appraisals. Driven by a priori hypotheses on appraisal-emotion relationships, this study investigated 12 positive emotions and 13 appraisal dimensions using Ecological Momentary Assessment. The results provide strong evidence that positive emotions and appraisals correlate significantly in daily life. Importantly, we found that the positive emotions' overlap on theoretically relevant, as compared to irrelevant, appraisals was stronger and more predictive of their co-occurrence. Furthermore, appraisal overlap on theoretically relevant appraisals predicted the co-occurrence of positive emotions even when the appraisal of pleasantness was excluded, indicating that positive emotions do not co-occur just by virtue of their shared valence. Our findings affirmed and refined the appraisal profiles of positive emotions and underscore the importance of appraisals in accounting for the commonality and differences among positive emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Are positive emotions just as "positive" across cultures?

Science.gov (United States)

Leu, Janxin; Wang, Jennifer; Koo, Kelly

2011-08-01

Whereas positive emotions and feeling unequivocally good may be at the heart of well-being among Westerners, positive emotions often carry negative associations within many Asian cultures. Based on a review of East-West cultural differences in dialectical emotions, or co-occurring positive and negative feelings, we predicted culture to influence the association between positive emotions and depression, but not the association between negative emotions and depression. As predicted, in a survey of over 600 European-, immigrant Asian-, and Asian American college students, positive emotions were associated with depression symptoms among European Americans and Asian Americans, but not immigrant Asians. Negative emotions were associated with depression symptoms among all three groups. We also found initial evidence that acculturation (i.e., nativity) may influence the role of positive emotions in depression: Asian Americans fell "in between" the two other groups. These findings suggest the importance of studying the role of culture in positive emotions and in positive psychology. The use of interventions based on promoting positive emotions in clinical psychology among Asian clients is briefly discussed. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

Children's Expressions of Positive Emotion Are Sustained by Smiling, Touching, and Playing with Parents and Siblings: A Naturalistic Observational Study of Family Life

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Sunhye; Repetti, Rena L.; Sperling, Jacqueline B.

2016-01-01

Research on family socialization of positive emotion has primarily focused on the infant and toddler stages of development, and relied on observations of parent-child interactions in highly structured laboratory environments. Little is known about how children's spontaneous expressions of positive emotion are maintained in the uncontrolled…

[Regulation of Positive and Negative Emotions as Mediator between Maternal Emotion Socialization and Child Problem Behavior].

Science.gov (United States)

Fäsche, Anika; Gunzenhauser, Catherine; Friedlmeier, Wolfgang; von Suchodoletz, Antje

2015-01-01

The present study investigated five to six year old children's ability to regulate negative and positive emotions in relation to psychosocial problem behavior (N=53). It was explored, whether mothers' supportive and nonsupportive strategies of emotion socialization influence children's problem behavior by shaping their emotion regulation ability. Mothers reported on children's emotion regulation and internalizing and externalizing problem behavior via questionnaire, and were interviewed about their preferences for socialization strategies in response to children's expression of negative affect. Results showed that children with more adaptive expression of adequate positive emotions had less internalizing behavior problems. When children showed more control of inadequate negative emotions, children were less internalizing as well as externalizing in their behavior. Furthermore, results indicated indirect relations of mothers' socialization strategies with children's problem behavior. Control of inadequate negative emotions mediated the link between non-supportive strategies on externalizing problem behavior. Results suggest that emotion regulatory processes should be part of interventions to reduce the development of problematic behavior in young children. Parents should be trained in dealing with children's emotions in a constructive way.

Gender differences in emotion expression in children: a meta-analytic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaplin, Tara M; Aldao, Amelia

2013-07-01

Emotion expression is an important feature of healthy child development that has been found to show gender differences. However, there has been no empirical review of the literature on gender and facial, vocal, and behavioral expressions of different types of emotions in children. The present study constitutes a comprehensive meta-analytic review of gender differences and moderators of differences in emotion expression from infancy through adolescence. We analyzed 555 effect sizes from 166 studies with a total of 21,709 participants. Significant but very small gender differences were found overall, with girls showing more positive emotions (g = -.08) and internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety, sympathy; g = -.10) than boys, and boys showing more externalizing emotions (e.g., anger; g = .09) than girls. Notably, gender differences were moderated by age, interpersonal context, and task valence, underscoring the importance of contextual factors in gender differences. Gender differences in positive emotions were more pronounced with increasing age, with girls showing more positive emotions than boys in middle childhood (g = -.20) and adolescence (g = -.28). Boys showed more externalizing emotions than girls at toddler/preschool age (g = .17) and middle childhood (g = .13) and fewer externalizing emotions than girls in adolescence (g = -.27). Gender differences were less pronounced with parents and were more pronounced with unfamiliar adults (for positive emotions) and with peers/when alone (for externalizing emotions). Our findings of gender differences in emotion expression in specific contexts have important implications for gender differences in children's healthy and maladaptive development. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Gender Differences in Emotion Expression in Children: A Meta-Analytic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Chaplin, Tara M.; Aldao, Amelia

2012-01-01

Emotion expression is an important feature of healthy child development that has been found to show gender differences. However, there has been no empirical review of the literature on gender and facial, vocal, and behavioral expressions of different types of emotions in children. The present study constitutes a comprehensive meta-analytic review of gender differences, and moderators of differences, in emotion expression from infancy through adolescence. We analyzed 555 effect sizes from 166 studies with a total of 21,709 participants. Significant, but very small, gender differences were found overall, with girls showing more positive emotions (g = −.08) and internalizing emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety, sympathy; g = −.10) than boys, and boys showing more externalizing emotions (e.g., anger; g = .09) than girls. Notably, gender differences were moderated by age, interpersonal context, and task valence, underscoring the importance of contextual factors in gender differences. Gender differences in positive emotions were more pronounced with increasing age, with girls showing more positive emotions than boys in middle childhood (g = −.20) and adolescence (g = −.28). Boys showed more externalizing emotions than girls at toddler/preschool age (g = .17) and middle childhood (g = .13) and fewer externalizing emotions than girls in adolescence (g = −.27). Gender differences were less pronounced with parents and were more pronounced with unfamiliar adults (for positive emotions) and with peers/when alone (for externalizing emotions). Our findings of gender differences in emotion expression in specific contexts have important implications for gender differences in children’s healthy and maladaptive development. PMID:23231534

[Emotional intelligence and oscillatory responses on the emotional facial expressions].

Science.gov (United States)

Kniazev, G G; Mitrofanova, L G; Bocharov, A V

2013-01-01

Emotional intelligence-related differences in oscillatory responses to emotional facial expressions were investigated in 48 subjects (26 men and 22 women) in age 18-30 years. Participants were instructed to evaluate emotional expression (angry, happy and neutral) of each presented face on an analog scale ranging from -100 (very hostile) to + 100 (very friendly). High emotional intelligence (EI) participants were found to be more sensitive to the emotional content of the stimuli. It showed up both in their subjective evaluation of the stimuli and in a stronger EEG theta synchronization at an earlier (between 100 and 500 ms after face presentation) processing stage. Source localization using sLORETA showed that this effect was localized in the fusiform gyrus upon the presentation of angry faces and in the posterior cingulate gyrus upon the presentation of happy faces. At a later processing stage (500-870 ms) event-related theta synchronization in high emotional intelligence subject was higher in the left prefrontal cortex upon the presentation of happy faces, but it was lower in the anterior cingulate cortex upon presentation of angry faces. This suggests the existence of a mechanism that can be selectively increase the positive emotions and reduce negative emotions.

Positive Technologies for Understanding and Promoting Positive Emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Baños, Rosa María; Carrillo, Alba; Etchemendy, Ernestina; Botella, Cristina

2017-10-26

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become increasingly present in our lives, and their use has spread considerably. This paper presents a review of the way ICTs can help practitioners and researchers to study, promote, and train positive emotions. It is framed within the field of Positive Technologies: the applied scientific approach to the study of the use of technology to improve the quality of personal experience, with the goal of increasing wellbeing. First, the article presents an introduction to the topic of technologies and positive emotions. Then, it describes how ICTs can aid in monitoring, assessing, promoting, modifying, and training positive emotions. Finally, implications and future directions of the role of Positive Technologies in positive emotions are discussed. The authors conclude that, in the near future, Positive Technologies and the field of positive emotions will interact synergistically, producing an exponential growth in the understanding and promotion of positive emotions.

Risk for Mania and Positive Emotional Responding: Too Much of a Good Thing?

OpenAIRE

Gruber, June; Oveis, Christopher; Keltner, Dacher; Johnson, Sheri L.

2008-01-01

Although positive emotion research has begun to flourish, the extremes of positive emotion remain understudied. The present research used a multimethod approach to examine positive emotional disturbance by comparing participants at high and low risk for episodes of mania, which involves elevations in positive emotionality. Ninety participants were recruited into a high or low mania risk group according to responses on the Hypomanic Personality Scale. Participants’ subjective, expressive, and ...

Expressive Dissonance: When Emotional Inconsistency Arouses Dissonance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Audrey Pelt

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of the two studies was to explore a new dissonance paradigm–expressive dissonance–based on the inconsistency between what people feel and what people express behaviorally. Expressive dissonance was aroused by asking participants to watch a film with a high emotional content, either positive (joy or negative (sadness. In the no-dissonance condition, they received the instruction to naturally watch the film. In the expressive dissonance condition, they received the instruction to facially express emotions that were the opposite of what they felt. We expected that the expressive dissonance situation would: 1 require cognitive resources leading to a decrease in cognitive performance (studies 1 and 2; 2 be accompanied by emotional regulation strategies (study 1; 3 be accompanied by an increase in dissonance-related affects (study 2. Although our results (studies 1 and 2 corroborated those obtained previously in terms of performance, they also showed that participants in the expressive dissonance situation use emotional regulation strategies: exaggeration and suppression (study 1, and that they felt self-directed negative affects (study 2, just like the participants in a cognitive dissonance situation. These first results allowed us to establish a theoretical bridge between the theories of emotions–particularly those related to the emotional regulation processes–and to widen the scope of relevance of the dissonance theory.

Brain activations during judgments of positive self-conscious emotion and positive basic emotion: pride and joy.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Hidehiko; Matsuura, Masato; Koeda, Michihiko; Yahata, Noriaki; Suhara, Tetsuya; Kato, Motoichiro; Okubo, Yoshiro

2008-04-01

We aimed to investigate the neural correlates associated with judgments of a positive self-conscious emotion, pride, and elucidate the difference between pride and a basic positive emotion, joy, at the neural basis level using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Study of the neural basis associated with pride might contribute to a better understanding of the pride-related behaviors observed in neuropsychiatric disorders. Sixteen healthy volunteers were studied. The participants read sentences expressing joy or pride contents during the scans. Pride conditions activated the right posterior superior temporal sulcus and left temporal pole, the regions implicated in the neural substrate of social cognition or theory of mind. However, against our prediction, we did not find brain activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, a region responsible for inferring others' intention or self-reflection. Joy condition produced activations in the ventral striatum and insula/operculum, the key nodes of processing of hedonic or appetitive stimuli. Our results support the idea that pride is a self-conscious emotion, requiring the ability to detect the intention of others. At the same time, judgment of pride might require less self-reflection compared with those of negative self-conscious emotions such as guilt or embarrassment.

The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Fredrickson, Barbara L.

2001-01-01

Describes the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, situating it within the field of positive psychology. The theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn build their enduring personal resources (physical, intellectual, social, and psychological). Reviews…

Person-centred positive emotions, object-centred negative emotions: 2-year-olds generalize negative but not positive emotions across individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaish, Amrisha; Grossmann, Tobias; Woodward, Amanda

2015-09-01

Prior work suggests that young children do not generalize others' preferences to new individuals. We hypothesized (following Vaish et al., 2008, Psychol. Bull., 134, 383-403) that this may only hold for positive emotions, which inform the child about the person's attitude towards the object but not about the positivity of the object itself. It may not hold for negative emotions, which additionally inform the child about the negativity of the object itself. Two-year-old children saw one individual (the emoter) emoting positively or negatively towards one and neutrally towards a second novel object. When a second individual then requested an object, children generalized the emoter's negative but not her positive emotion to the second individual. Children thus draw different inferences from others' positive versus negative emotions: Whereas they view others' positive emotions as person centred, they may view others' negative emotions as object centred and thus generalizable across people. The results are discussed with relation to the functions and implications of the negativity bias. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Measuring facial expression of emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Karsten

2015-12-01

Research into emotions has increased in recent decades, especially on the subject of recognition of emotions. However, studies of the facial expressions of emotion were compromised by technical problems with visible video analysis and electromyography in experimental settings. These have only recently been overcome. There have been new developments in the field of automated computerized facial recognition; allowing real-time identification of facial expression in social environments. This review addresses three approaches to measuring facial expression of emotion and describes their specific contributions to understanding emotion in the healthy population and in persons with mental illness. Despite recent progress, studies on human emotions have been hindered by the lack of consensus on an emotion theory suited to examining the dynamic aspects of emotion and its expression. Studying expression of emotion in patients with mental health conditions for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes will profit from theoretical and methodological progress.

Caregiver Emotional Expressiveness, Child Emotion Regulation, and Child Behavior Problems among Head Start Families

Science.gov (United States)

McCoy, Dana Charles; Raver, C. Cybele

2011-01-01

The present study examined the relationships between caregivers' self-reported positive and negative emotional expressiveness, observer assessments of children's emotion regulation, and teachers' reports of children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 97 primarily African American and Hispanic Head Start families. Results…

Positive emotions and the social broadening effects of Barack Obama.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Anthony D; Burrow, Anthony L; Fuller-Rowell, Thomas E

2012-10-01

Past experiments have demonstrated that the cognitive broadening produced by positive emotions may extend to social contexts. Building on this evidence, we hypothesized that positive emotions triggered by thinking about Barack Obama may broaden and expand people's sense of self to include others. Results from an expressive-writing study demonstrated that African American college students prompted to write about Obama immediately prior to and after the 2008 presidential election used more plural self-references, fewer other-references, and more social references. Mediation analyses revealed that writing about Obama increased positive emotions, which in turn increased the likelihood that people thought in terms of more-inclusive superordinate categories (we and us rather than they and them). Implications of these findings for the role of positive emotions in perspective-taking and intergroup relations are considered.

Can conflict be energizing? a study of task conflict, positive emotions, and job satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Todorova, Gergana; Bear, Julia B; Weingart, Laurie R

2014-05-01

Scholars have assumed that the presence of negative emotions during task conflict implies the absence of positive emotions. However, emotions researchers have shown that positive and negative emotions are not 2 ends of a bipolar continuum; rather, they represent 2 separate, orthogonal dimensions. Drawing on affective events theory, we develop and test hypotheses about the effects of task conflict on positive emotions and job satisfaction. To this end, we distinguish among the frequency, intensity, and information gained from task conflict. Using field data from 232 employees in a long-term health care organization, we find that more frequent mild task conflict expression engenders more information acquisition, but more frequent intense task conflict expression hinders it. Because of the information gains from mild task conflict expression, employees feel more active, energized, interested, and excited, and these positive active emotions increase job satisfaction. The information gained during task conflict, however, is not always energizing: It depends on the extent to which the behavioral context involves active learning and whether the conflict is cross-functional. We discuss theoretical implications for conflict, emotions, and job satisfaction in organizations. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Positive emotion impedes emotional but not cognitive conflict processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zinchenko, Artyom; Obermeier, Christian; Kanske, Philipp; Schröger, Erich; Kotz, Sonja A

2017-06-01

Cognitive control enables successful goal-directed behavior by resolving a conflict between opposing action tendencies, while emotional control arises as a consequence of emotional conflict processing such as in irony. While negative emotion facilitates both cognitive and emotional conflict processing, it is unclear how emotional conflict processing is affected by positive emotion (e.g., humor). In 2 EEG experiments, we investigated the role of positive audiovisual target stimuli in cognitive and emotional conflict processing. Participants categorized either spoken vowels (cognitive task) or their emotional valence (emotional task) and ignored the visual stimulus dimension. Behaviorally, a positive target showed no influence on cognitive conflict processing, but impeded emotional conflict processing. In the emotional task, response time conflict costs were higher for positive than for neutral targets. In the EEG, we observed an interaction of emotion by congruence in the P200 and N200 ERP components in emotional but not in cognitive conflict processing. In the emotional conflict task, the P200 and N200 conflict effect was larger for emotional than neutral targets. Thus, our results show that emotion affects conflict processing differently as a function of conflict type and emotional valence. This suggests that there are conflict- and valence-specific mechanisms modulating executive control.

Risk for mania and positive emotional responding: too much of a good thing?

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, June; Johnson, Sheri L; Oveis, Christopher; Keltner, Dacher

2008-02-01

Although positive emotion research has begun to flourish, the extremes of positive emotion remain understudied. The present research used a multimethod approach to examine positive emotional disturbance by comparing participants at high and low risk for episodes of mania, which involves elevations in positive emotionality. Ninety participants were recruited into a high or low mania risk group according to responses on the Hypomanic Personality Scale. Participants' subjective, expressive, and physiological emotional responses were gathered while they watched two positive, two negative, and one neutral film clip. Results suggested that participants at high risk for mania reported elevated positive emotion and irritability and also exhibited elevated cardiac vagal tone across positive, negative, and neutral films. Discussion focuses on the implications these findings have for the diagnosis and prevention of bipolar disorder, as well as for the general study of positive emotion.

Expression of emotions related to the experience of cancer in younger and older Arab breast cancer survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldblatt, Hadass; Cohen, Miri; Azaiza, Faisal

2016-12-01

Researchers have suggested that older adults express less negative emotions. Yet, emotional expression patterns in older and younger breast cancer survivors, have barely been examined. This study aimed to explore types and intensity of negative and positive emotional expression related to the breast cancer experience by younger and older Arab breast cancer survivors. Participants were 20 younger (aged 32-50) and 20 older (aged 51-75) Muslim and Christian Arab breast cancer survivors (stages I-III), currently free of disease. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Mixed methods analyses were conducted, including: (1) frequency analysis of participants' emotional expressions; (2) content analysis of emotional expressions, categorized according to negative and positive emotions. Three emotional expression modalities were revealed: (1) Succinct versus comprehensive accounts; (2) expression of emotions versus avoidance of emotions; (3) patterns of expression of positive emotions and a sense of personal growth. Younger women provided more detailed accounts about their illness experiences than older women. Older women's accounts were succinct, action-focused, and included more emotion-avoiding expressions than younger women. Understanding the relationships between emotional expression, emotional experience, and cancer survivors' quality of life, specifically of those from traditional communities, is necessary for developing effective psycho-social interventions.

Relationships between maternal emotional expressiveness and children's sensitivity to teacher criticism.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizokawa, Ai

2013-01-01

Caregivers' emotional responses to children influence children's social and emotional development. This study investigated the association between maternal emotional expressiveness in the context of mother-child interactions and young children's sensitivity to teacher criticism. Sensitivity to teacher criticism was assessed among 53 Japanese preschoolers using hypothetical scenarios in which a puppet child representing the participant made a small error, and a puppet teacher pointed out the error. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure maternal expressiveness. The results demonstrated that negative maternal expressiveness toward one's own children was positively related to children's ratings of their own ability and negatively related to children's motivation to continue with the task after teacher criticism. Positive maternal expressiveness was not related to children's sensitivity to criticism. These findings suggest that children who have experienced more negative emotion from mothers may be more likely to hold negative beliefs about how others will respond to their behavior more generally. This may, in turn, lead to a defensively positive view of one's own abilities and a disinclination to persevere as protection from additional opportunities for teacher evaluation.

Generational Differences of Emotional Expression

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李学勇

2014-01-01

As a kind of subjective psychological activity, emotion can only be known and perceived by a certain expressive form. Varies as the different main bodies, difference of emotional expression can be reflected not only among individuals but between generations. The old conceals their emotions inside, the young express their emotions boldly, and the middle-aged are rational and deep in their expressions. Facing and understanding such differences is the premise and foundation of the con-struction of a harmonious relationship between different generations.

Identifying Features of Bodily Expression As Indicators of Emotional Experience during Multimedia Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentin Riemer

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The importance of emotions experienced by learners during their interaction with multimedia learning systems, such as serious games, underscores the need to identify sources of information that allow the recognition of learners’ emotional experience without interrupting the learning process. Bodily expression is gaining in attention as one of these sources of information. However, to date, the question of how bodily expression can convey different emotions has largely been addressed in research relying on acted emotion displays. Following a more contextualized approach, the present study aims to identify features of bodily expression (i.e., posture and activity of the upper body and the head that relate to genuine emotional experience during interaction with a serious game. In a multimethod approach, 70 undergraduates played a serious game relating to financial education while their bodily expression was captured using an off-the-shelf depth-image sensor (Microsoft Kinect. In addition, self-reports of experienced enjoyment, boredom, and frustration were collected repeatedly during gameplay, to address the dynamic changes in emotions occurring in educational tasks. Results showed that, firstly, the intensities of all emotions indeed changed significantly over the course of the game. Secondly, by using generalized estimating equations, distinct features of bodily expression could be identified as significant indicators for each emotion under investigation. A participant keeping their head more turned to the right was positively related to frustration being experienced, whereas keeping their head more turned to the left was positively related to enjoyment. Furthermore, having their upper body positioned more closely to the gaming screen was also positively related to frustration. Finally, increased activity of a participant’s head emerged as a significant indicator of boredom being experienced. These results confirm the value of bodily

The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions

OpenAIRE

Fredrickson, Barbara L.

2001-01-01

In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting ...

"Keep calm and carry on": structural correlates of expressive suppression of emotions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Kühn

Full Text Available There is a growing appreciation that individuals differ systematically in their use of particular emotion regulation strategies. Our aim was to examine the structural correlates of the habitual use of expressive suppression of emotions. Based on our previous research on the voluntary suppression of actions we expected this response-focused emotion regulation strategy to be associated with increased grey matter volume in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC. On high-resolution MRI scans of 42 college-aged healthy adults we computed optimized voxel-based-morphometry (VBM to explore the correlation between grey matter volume and inter-individual differences in the tendency to suppress the expression of emotions assessed by means of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003. We found a positive correlation between the habitual use of expressive suppression as an emotion regulation strategy and grey matter volume in the dmPFC. No other brain area showed a significant positive or negative correlation with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire scores. The association between the suppression of expression of emotions and volume in the dmPFC supports the behavioural stability and biological foundation of the concept of this particular emotion regulation strategy within an age-homogenous sample of adults.

EEG Correlates of Ten Positive Emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xin; Yu, Jianwen; Song, Mengdi; Yu, Chun; Wang, Fei; Sun, Pei; Wang, Daifa; Zhang, Dan

2017-01-01

Compared with the well documented neurophysiological findings on negative emotions, much less is known about positive emotions. In the present study, we explored the EEG correlates of ten different positive emotions (joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love). A group of 20 participants were invited to watch 30 short film clips with their EEGs simultaneously recorded. Distinct topographical patterns for different positive emotions were found for the correlation coefficients between the subjective ratings on the ten positive emotions per film clip and the corresponding EEG spectral powers in different frequency bands. Based on the similarities of the participants' ratings on the ten positive emotions, these emotions were further clustered into three representative clusters, as 'encouragement' for awe, gratitude, hope, inspiration, pride, 'playfulness' for amusement, joy, interest, and 'harmony' for love, serenity. Using the EEG spectral powers as features, both the binary classification on the higher and lower ratings on these positive emotions and the binary classification between the three positive emotion clusters, achieved accuracies of approximately 80% and above. To our knowledge, our study provides the first piece of evidence on the EEG correlates of different positive emotions.

The expressions of emotions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vishnivetz, Berta

Abstract On the broadness of the vast field called “Expressions of Emotions” this study focuses on the whole bodily emotional expression. The main question posed is: Whether there are movement patterns specific to each emotion?. I carried out a thorough review of the theories of emotion...... and of expressions of emotions and movement notation that provided the sources for a careful research plan for the empirical process of this study. On this basis I chose to record onto video the four previously choreographed movements that I considered to correspond each of the following emotions: joy, fear, sadness......, anger. The selection of these four emotions demanded previously to clear up the problems the above named survey ensued. When researchers want to describe a certain movement in the field of psychology and non-verbal communication, it may result in disagreements and misunderstandings which sometimes lead...

Facial responsiveness of psychopaths to the emotional expressions of others.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janina Künecke

Full Text Available Psychopathic individuals show selfish, manipulative, and antisocial behavior in addition to emotional detachment and reduced empathy. Their empathic deficits are thought to be associated with a reduced responsiveness to emotional stimuli. Immediate facial muscle responses to the emotional expressions of others reflect the expressive part of emotional responsiveness and are positively related to trait empathy. Empirical evidence for reduced facial muscle responses in adult psychopathic individuals to the emotional expressions of others is rare. In the present study, 261 male criminal offenders and non-offenders categorized dynamically presented facial emotion expressions (angry, happy, sad, and neutral during facial electromyography recording of their corrugator muscle activity. We replicated a measurement model of facial muscle activity, which controls for general facial responsiveness to face stimuli, and modeled three correlated emotion-specific factors (i.e., anger, happiness, and sadness representing emotion specific activity. In a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, we compared the means of the anger, happiness, and sadness latent factors between three groups: 1 non-offenders, 2 low, and 3 high psychopathic offenders. There were no significant mean differences between groups. Our results challenge current theories that focus on deficits in emotional responsiveness as leading to the development of psychopathy and encourage further theoretical development on deviant emotional processes in psychopathic individuals.

Maternal sensitivity and latency to positive emotion following challenge: pathways through effortful control.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, Anne; McDonough, Susan C; Mackenzie, Michael; Miller, Alison; Dayton, Carolyn; Rosenblum, Katherine; Muzik, Maria; Sameroff, Arnold

2014-01-01

The ability to self-generate positive emotions is an important component of emotion regulation. In this study, we focus on children's latency to express positive emotions following challenging situations and assess whether this ability operates through early maternal sensitivity and children's effortful control. Longitudinal relations between maternal sensitivity, infant negative affect, effortful control, and latency to positive emotion following challenge were examined in 156 children who were 33 months of age. Structural equation models supported the hypothesis that maternal sensitivity during infancy predicted better effortful control and, in turn, shorter latencies to positive emotions following challenge at 33 months. Directions for future research are discussed. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

A discrete emotions approach to positive emotion disturbance in depression

OpenAIRE

Gruber, June; Oveis, Christopher; Keltner, Dacher; Johnson, Sheri L.

2011-01-01

Converging findings suggest that depressed individuals exhibit disturbances in positive emotion. No study, however, has ascertained which specific positive emotions are implicated in depression. We report two studies that compare how depressive symptoms relate to distinct positive emotions at both trait and state levels of assessment. In Study 1 (N = 185), we examined associations between depressive symptoms and three trait positive emotions (pride, happy, amusement). Study 2 compared experie...

A discrete emotions approach to positive emotion disturbance in depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Gruber, June; Oveis, Christopher; Keltner, Dacher; Johnson, Sheri L

2011-01-01

Converging findings suggest that depressed individuals exhibit disturbances in positive emotion. No study, however, has ascertained which specific positive emotions are implicated in depression. We report two studies that compare how depressive symptoms relate to distinct positive emotions at both trait and state levels of assessment. In Study 1 (N=185), we examined associations between depressive symptoms and three trait positive emotions (pride, happy, amusement). Study 2 compared experiential and autonomic reactivity to pride, happy, and amusement film stimuli between depressive (n=24; DS) and non-depressive (n=31; NDS) symptom groups. Results indicate that symptoms of depression were most strongly associated with decreased trait pride and decreased positive emotion experience to pride-eliciting films. Discussion focuses on the implications these findings have for understanding emotion deficits in depression as well as for the general study of positive emotion. © 2010 Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

3 Ways to Increase Positive Emotions

Science.gov (United States)

... Search English Español 3 Ways to Increase Positive Emotions KidsHealth / For Teens / 3 Ways to Increase Positive ... to give yourself a boost. Track Your Positive Emotions Name the positive emotions you're already familiar ...

Cultural modes of expressing emotions influence how emotions are experienced.

Science.gov (United States)

Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen; Yang, Xiao-Fei; Damasio, Hanna

2016-10-01

The brain's mapping of bodily responses during emotion contributes to emotional experiences, or feelings. Culture influences emotional expressiveness, that is, the magnitude of individuals' bodily responses during emotion. So, are cultural influences on behavioral expressiveness associated with differences in how individuals experience emotion? Chinese and American young adults reported how strongly admiration- and compassion-inducing stories made them feel, first in a private interview and then during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As expected, Americans were more expressive in the interview. Although expressiveness did not predict stronger reported feelings or neural responses during fMRI, in both cultural groups more-expressive people showed tighter trial-by-trial correlations between their experienced strength of emotion and activations in visceral-somatosensory cortex, even after controlling for individuals' overall strength of reactions (neural and felt). Moreover, expressiveness mediated a previously described cultural effect in which activations in visceral-somatosensory cortex correlated with feeling strength among Americans but not among Chinese. Post hoc supplementary analyses revealed that more-expressive individuals reached peak activation of visceral-somatosensory cortex later in the emotion process and took longer to decide how strongly they felt. The results together suggest that differences in expressiveness correspond to differences in how somatosensory mechanisms contribute to constructing conscious feelings. By influencing expressiveness, culture may therefore influence how individuals know how strongly they feel, what conscious feelings are based on, or possibly what strong versus weak emotions "feel like." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultural Modes of Expressing Emotions Influence How Emotions Are Experienced

Science.gov (United States)

Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen; Yang, Xiao-Fei; Damasio, Hanna

2016-01-01

The brain’s mapping of bodily responses during emotion contributes to emotional experiences, or feelings. Culture influences emotional expressiveness, i.e. the magnitude of individuals’ bodily responses during emotion. So, are cultural influences on behavioral expressiveness associated with differences in how individuals experience emotion? Chinese and American young adults reported how strongly admiration and compassion-inducing stories made them feel, first in a private interview and then during fMRI. As expected, Americans were more expressive in the interview. While expressiveness did not predict stronger reported feelings or neural responses during fMRI, in both cultural groups more expressive people showed tighter trial-by-trial correlations between their experienced strength of emotion and activations in visceral-somatosensory cortex, even after controlling for individuals’ overall strength of reactions (neural and felt). Moreover, expressiveness mediated a previously described cultural effect in which activations in visceral-somatosensory cortex correlated with feeling strength among Americans but not among Chinese. Post-hoc supplementary analyses revealed that more expressive individuals reached peak activation of visceral-somatosensory cortex later in the emotion process and took longer to decide how strongly they felt. The results together suggest that differences in expressiveness correspond to differences in how somatosensory mechanisms contribute to constructing conscious feelings. By influencing expressiveness, culture may therefore influence how individuals know how strongly they feel, what conscious feelings are based on, or possibly what strong versus weak emotions “feel like.” PMID:27270077

Are only Emotional Strengths Emotional? Character Strengths and Disposition to Positive Emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Güsewell, Angelika; Ruch, Willibald

2012-07-01

This study aimed to examine the relations between character strengths and dispositional positive emotions (i.e. joy, contentment, pride, love, compassion, amusement, and awe). A sample of 574 German-speaking adults filled in the Dispositional Positive Emotion Scales (DPES; Shiota, Keltner, & John, 2006), and the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005). The factorial structure of the DPES was examined on item level. Joy and contentment could not be clearly separated; the items of the other five emotions loaded on separate factors. A confirmatory factor analysis assuming two latent factors (self-oriented and object/situation specific) was computed on scale level. Results confirmed the existence of these factors, but also indicated that the seven emotions did not split up into two clearly separable families. Correlations between dispositional positive emotions and character strengths were positive and generally low to moderate; a few theoretically meaningful strengths-emotions pairs yielded coefficients>.40. Finally, the link between five character strengths factors (i.e. emotional strengths, interpersonal strengths, strengths of restraint, intellectual strengths, and theological strengths) and the emotional dispositions was examined. Each of the factors displayed a distinctive "emotional pattern"; emotional strengths evidenced the most numerous and strongest links to emotional dispositions. © 2012 The Authors. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being © 2012 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

Put on that colour, it fits your emotion: Colour appropriateness as a function of expressed emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Dael, Nele; Perseguers, Marie-Noëlle; Marchand, Cynthia; Antonietti, Jean-Philippe; Mohr, Christine

2016-01-01

People associate affective meaning with colour, and this may influence decisions about colours. Hue is traditionally considered the most salient descriptor of colour and colour-affect associations, although colour brightness and saturation seem to have particularly strong affective connotations. To test whether colour choices can be driven by emotion, we investigated whether and how colour hue, brightness, and saturation are systematically associated with bodily expressions of positive (joy) and negative (fear) emotions. Twenty-five non-colour-blind participants viewed videos of these expressions and selected for each video the most appropriate colour using colour sliders providing values for hue, brightness, and saturation. The overall colour choices were congruent with the expressed emotion--that is, participants selected brighter and more saturated colours for joy expressions than for fear expressions. Also, colours along the red-yellow spectrum were deemed more appropriate for joy expressions and cyan-bluish hues for fear expressions. The current study adds further support to the role of emotion in colour choices by (a) showing that emotional information is spontaneously used in an unconstrained choice setting, (b) extending to ecologically valid stimuli occurring in everyday encounters (dressed bodies), and (c) suggesting that all colour parameters are likely to be important when processing affective nonverbal person information, though not independently from each other.

Expression of emotions and physiological changes during teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Tobin, Kenneth; King, Donna; Henderson, Senka; Bellocchi, Alberto; Ritchie, Stephen M.

2016-09-01

We investigated the expression of emotions while teaching in relation to a teacher's physiological changes. We used polyvagal theory (PVT) to frame the study of teaching in a teacher education program. Donna, a teacher-researcher, experienced high levels of stress and anxiety prior to beginning to teach and throughout the lesson we used her expressed emotions as a focus for this research. We adopted event-oriented inquiry in a study of heart rate, oxygenation of the blood, and expressed emotions. Five events were identified for multilevel analysis in which we used narrative, prosodic analysis, and hermeneutic-phenomenological methods to learn more about the expression of emotions when Donna had: high heart rate (before and while teaching); low blood oxygenation (before and while teaching); and high blood oxygenation (while teaching). What we learned was consistent with the body's monitoring system recognizing social harm and switching to the control of the unmyelinated vagus nerve, thereby shutting down organs and muscles associated with social communication—leading to irregularities in prosody and expression of emotion. In events involving high heart rate and low blood oxygenation the physiological environment was associated with less effective and sometimes confusing patterns in prosody, including intonation, pace of speaking, and pausing. In a low blood oxygenation environment there was evidence of rapid speech and shallow, irregular breathing. In contrast, during an event in which 100 % blood oxygenation occurred, prosody was perceived to be conducive to engagement and teacher expressed positive emotions, such as satisfaction, while teaching. Becoming aware of the purposes of the research and the results we obtained provided the teacher with tools to enact changes to her teaching practice, especially prosody of the voice. We regard it as a high priority to create tools to allow teachers and students, if and as necessary, to ameliorate excess emotions, and

Examining emotional expressions in discourse: methodological considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Hufnagel, Elizabeth; Kelly, Gregory J.

2017-10-01

This methodological paper presents an approach for examining emotional expressions through discourse analysis and ethnographic methods. Drawing on trends in the current literature in science education, we briefly explain the importance of emotions in science education and examine the current research methodologies used in interactional emotion studies. We put forth and substantiate a methodological approach that attends to the interactional, contextual, intertextual, and consequential aspects of emotional expressions. By examining emotional expressions in the discourse in which they are constructed, emotional expressions are identified through semantics, contextualization, and linguistic features. These features make salient four dimensions of emotional expressions: aboutness, frequency, type, and ownership. Drawing on data from a large empirical study of pre-service elementary teachers' emotional expressions about climate change in a science course, we provide illustrative examples to describe what counts as emotional expressions in situ. In doing so we explain how our approach makes salient the nuanced nature of such expressions as well as the broader discourse in which they are constructed and the implications for researching emotional expressions in science education discourse. We suggest reasons why this discourse orientated research methodology can contribute to the interactional study of emotions in science education contexts.

The Power of Positive Emotions

Science.gov (United States)

... Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español The Power of Positive Emotions KidsHealth / For Teens / The Power ... great one. 2. Practice Positivity Every Day Building habits that encourage us to feel more positive emotions ...

Journaling about stressful events: effects of cognitive processing and emotional expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Ullrich, Philip M; Lutgendorf, Susan K

2002-01-01

The effects of two journaling interventions, one focusing on emotional expression and the other on both cognitive processing and emotional expression, were compared during 1 month of journaling about a stressful or traumatic event. One hundred twenty-two students were randomly assigned to one of three writing conditions: (a) focusing on emotions related to a trauma or stressor, (b) focusing on cognitions and emotions related to a trauma or stressor, or (c) writing factually about media events. Writers focusing on cognitions and emotions developed greater awareness of the positive benefits of the stressful event than the other two groups. This effect was apparently mediated by greater cognitive processing during writing. Writers focusing on emotions alone reported more severe illness symptoms during the study than those in other conditions. This effect appeared to be mediated by a greater focus on negative emotional expression during writing.

Relationships between maternal emotional expressiveness and children’s sensitivity to teacher criticism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ai eMizokawa

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Caregivers’ emotional responses to children influence children’s social and emotional development. This study investigated the association between maternal emotional expressiveness in the context of mother–child interactions and young children’s sensitivity to teacher criticism. Sensitivity to teacher criticism was assessed among 53 Japanese preschoolers using hypothetical scenarios in which a puppet child representing the participant made a small error, and a puppet teacher pointed out the error. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure maternal expressiveness. The results demonstrated that negative maternal expressiveness toward one’s own children was positively related to children’s ratings of their own ability and negatively related to children’s motivation to continue with the task after teacher criticism. Positive maternal expressiveness was not related to children’s sensitivity to criticism. These findings suggest that children who have experienced more negative emotion from mothers may be more likely to hold negative beliefs about how others will respond to their behavior more generally. This may, in turn, lead to a defensively positive view of one’s own abilities and a disinclination to persevere as protection from additional opportunities for teacher evaluation.

Emotion Expression of Robot with Personality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Hu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A robot emotional expression model based on Hidden Markov Model (HMM is built to enable robots which have different personalities to response in a more satisfactory emotional level. Gross emotion regulation theory and Five Factors Model (FFM which are the theoretical basis are firstly described. And then the importance of the personality effect on the emotion expression process is proposed, and how to make the effect quantization is discussed. After that, the algorithm of HMM is used to describe the process of emotional state transition and expression, and the performance transferring probability affected by personality is calculated. At last, the algorithm model is simulated and applied in a robot platform. The results prove that the emotional expression model can acquire humanlike expressions and improve the human-computer interaction.

Face-body integration of intense emotional expressions of victory and defeat.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lili Wang

Full Text Available Human facial expressions can be recognized rapidly and effortlessly. However, for intense emotions from real life, positive and negative facial expressions are difficult to discriminate and the judgment of facial expressions is biased towards simultaneously perceived body expressions. This study employed event-related potentials (ERPs to investigate the neural dynamics involved in the integration of emotional signals from facial and body expressions of victory and defeat. Emotional expressions of professional players were used to create pictures of face-body compounds, with either matched or mismatched emotional expressions in faces and bodies. Behavioral results showed that congruent emotional information of face and body facilitated the recognition of facial expressions. ERP data revealed larger P1 amplitudes for incongruent compared to congruent stimuli. Also, a main effect of body valence on the P1 was observed, with enhanced amplitudes for the stimuli with losing compared to winning bodies. The main effect of body expression was also observed in N170 and N2, with winning bodies producing larger N170/N2 amplitudes. In the later stage, a significant interaction of congruence by body valence was found on the P3 component. Winning bodies elicited lager P3 amplitudes than losing bodies did when face and body conveyed congruent emotional signals. Beyond the knowledge based on prototypical facial and body expressions, the results of this study facilitate us to understand the complexity of emotion evaluation and categorization out of laboratory.

Longitudinal associations between physically abusive parents' emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Milojevich, Helen M; Haskett, Mary E

2018-03-01

The present study took a developmental psychopathology approach to examine the longitudinal association between parents' emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation. Data collection spanned from 2004 to 2008. Ninety-two physically abusive parents completed yearly assessments of their emotional expressiveness, as well as their children's self-regulation abilities. Observational and behavioral measures were also obtained yearly to capture both parents' emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation. Specifically, parents participated in a parent-child interaction task, which provided insight into their levels of flat affect. A puzzle box task was completed by each child to assess self-regulation. Results indicated, first, that greater parental expression of negative emotions predicted poorer self-regulation in children, both concurrently and across time. Second, parental expressions of positive emotions and parents' flat affect were unrelated to children's self-regulation. Findings inform our understanding of parental socialization of self-regulation and provide insight into the roles of distinct components of emotional expressiveness. Moreover, findings have crucial implications for understanding emotional expressiveness in high-risk samples and increase our understanding of within-group functioning among maltreating families that may serve as a means to direct intervention efforts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proactive and reactive control depends on emotional valence: a Stroop study with emotional expressions and words.

Science.gov (United States)

Kar, Bhoomika Rastogi; Srinivasan, Narayanan; Nehabala, Yagyima; Nigam, Richa

2018-03-01

We examined proactive and reactive control effects in the context of task-relevant happy, sad, and angry facial expressions on a face-word Stroop task. Participants identified the emotion expressed by a face that contained a congruent or incongruent emotional word (happy/sad/angry). Proactive control effects were measured in terms of the reduction in Stroop interference (difference between incongruent and congruent trials) as a function of previous trial emotion and previous trial congruence. Reactive control effects were measured in terms of the reduction in Stroop interference as a function of current trial emotion and previous trial congruence. Previous trial negative emotions exert greater influence on proactive control than the positive emotion. Sad faces in the previous trial resulted in greater reduction in the Stroop interference for happy faces in the current trial. However, current trial angry faces showed stronger adaptation effects compared to happy faces. Thus, both proactive and reactive control mechanisms are dependent on emotional valence of task-relevant stimuli.

Patterns of Emotion Experiences as Predictors of Facial Expressions of Emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Blumberg, Samuel H.; Izard, Carroll E.

1991-01-01

Examined the relations between emotion and facial expressions of emotion in 8- to 12-year-old male psychiatric patients. Results indicated that patterns or combinations of emotion experiences had an impact on facial expressions of emotion. (Author/BB)

The Effects of Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression on Memory of Emotional Pictures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Mei Wang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In the field of emotion research, the influence of emotion regulation strategies on memory with emotional materials has been widely discussed in recent years. However, existing studies have focused exclusively on regulating negative emotion but not positive emotion. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the influence of emotion regulation strategies for positive emotion on memory. One hundred and twenty college students were selected as participants. Emotional pictures (positive, negative and neutral were selected from Chinese Affective Picture System (CAPS as experimental materials. We employed a mixed, 4 (emotion regulation strategies: cognitive up-regulation, cognitive down-regulation, expressive suppression, passive viewing × 3 (emotional pictures: positive, neutral, negative experimental design. We investigated the influences of different emotion regulation strategies on memory performance, using free recall and recognition tasks with pictures varying in emotional content. The results showed that recognition and free recall memory performance of the cognitive reappraisal groups (up-regulation and down-regulation were both better than that of the passive viewing group for all emotional pictures. No significant differences were reported in the two kinds of memory scores between the expressive suppression and passive viewing groups. The results also showed that the memory performance with the emotional pictures differed according to the form of memory test. For the recognition test, participants performed better with positive images than with neutral images. Free recall scores with negative images were higher than those with neutral images. These results suggest that both cognitive reappraisal regulation strategies (up-regulation and down-regulation promoted explicit memories of the emotional content of stimuli, and the form of memory test influenced performance with emotional pictures.

The Effects of Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression on Memory of Emotional Pictures.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yan Mei; Chen, Jie; Han, Ben Yue

2017-01-01

In the field of emotion research, the influence of emotion regulation strategies on memory with emotional materials has been widely discussed in recent years. However, existing studies have focused exclusively on regulating negative emotion but not positive emotion. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the influence of emotion regulation strategies for positive emotion on memory. One hundred and twenty college students were selected as participants. Emotional pictures (positive, negative and neutral) were selected from Chinese Affective Picture System (CAPS) as experimental materials. We employed a mixed, 4 (emotion regulation strategies: cognitive up-regulation, cognitive down-regulation, expressive suppression, passive viewing) × 3 (emotional pictures: positive, neutral, negative) experimental design. We investigated the influences of different emotion regulation strategies on memory performance, using free recall and recognition tasks with pictures varying in emotional content. The results showed that recognition and free recall memory performance of the cognitive reappraisal groups (up-regulation and down-regulation) were both better than that of the passive viewing group for all emotional pictures. No significant differences were reported in the two kinds of memory scores between the expressive suppression and passive viewing groups. The results also showed that the memory performance with the emotional pictures differed according to the form of memory test. For the recognition test, participants performed better with positive images than with neutral images. Free recall scores with negative images were higher than those with neutral images. These results suggest that both cognitive reappraisal regulation strategies (up-regulation and down-regulation) promoted explicit memories of the emotional content of stimuli, and the form of memory test influenced performance with emotional pictures.

[Mothers' adherence to "maternal love" influences emotional expression toward children: relation to maternal occupational status and satisfaction in the workplace].

Science.gov (United States)

Egami, Sonoko

2007-06-01

This study examined the impact of mothers' adherence to "maternal love" on maternal emotional expression toward their children. It was postulated that adherence to "maternal love" (defined as the tendency to accept and obey blindly the traditional maternal role and sociocultural belief in "desirable mothers") would have both positive and negative effects on maternal emotional expression, depending on the mothers' occupational status and satisfaction in workplace. The results showed an interaction between mothers' adherence to "maternal love" and the mothers' satisfaction in the workplace, which affected their expression of emotion. When satisfaction in the workplace was rated in the middle, it was positively associated with positive emotional expression. When satisfaction in the workplace was rated as high, it was both positively and negatively associated with positive emotional expression for full-time workers. Moreover, when satisfaction in the workplace was rated as in the middle, it was negatively associated with negative emotional expression, and when satisfaction in the workplace was rated as low or high, it was positively associated with negative emotional expression for all workers. These findings confirmed that mothers' adherence to "maternal love" is "the double-edged sword".

The facilitating effect of positive emotions during an emotional Stroop task.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xingyu; Yang, Yisheng; Jiang, Songxiu; Li, Jie

2018-05-08

Prior research has shown that negative emotions, even though task irrelevant, are capable of delaying a participant's response to the color in which a negative emotional word is presented, a phenomenon known as the 'emotional Stroop effect'. However, relatively little is known about whether positive emotions have a similar or an opposite effect. The current study sets out to confirm the facilitating effect of positive emotions on color naming, which is predicted by Barbara Fredrickson's 'broaden and build' theory. Our results indicate that positive emotions did facilitate such processing in both of the study's experiments. We also found a significant difference in early posterior negativity amplitudes between positive and neutral stimuli, which was related to the 'fast effect'. Overall, the study's findings suggest that positive emotions can be detected quickly and automatically, and that this kind of prioritizing facilitates the ongoing cognitive processing.

Parents' emotion expression as a predictor of child's social competence: children with or without intellectual disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, S; Baker, B

2011-03-01

Parents' expression of positive emotion towards children who are typically developing (TD) is generally associated with better social development. However, the association between parents' negative emotion expression and social development can be positive or negative depending upon a number of factors, including the child's emotion regulation abilities. Given the lower emotion regulation capabilities of children with intellectual disability (ID), we hypothesised that parents' negative emotion expression would be associated with lower social development in children with ID compared to those with TD. Participants were 180 families of children with or without ID enrolled in a longitudinal study. Parents' positive and negative affect were coded live from naturalistic home interactions at child ages 5-8 years, and child's social skills were measured by using mother report at child ages 6-9 years. We examined mothers' and fathers' emotion expression as a time-varying predictor of social skills across ages 5-9 years. Mothers, but not fathers, expressed less positive affect and more negative affect with ID group children. Parents' positive affect expression was related to social skills only for TD children, with mothers' positive affect predicting higher social skills. Contrary to expectations, fathers' positive affect predicted lower social skills. Parents' negative affect predicted significantly lower social skills for children with ID than for children with TD. Findings support the theory that low to moderate levels of negative expression may be less beneficial or detrimental for children with ID compared to children with TD. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Younger and older adults' beliefs about the experience and expression of emotions across the life span.

Science.gov (United States)

Montepare, Joann M; Dobish, Heidi

2014-11-01

Although theorists acknowledge that beliefs about emotions may play a role in age-related emotion behavior, no research has explored these beliefs. This research examined beliefs about the experience and expression of emotions across the life span, especially across the adult years. Younger and older adults rated the extent to which infants, children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults were likely to experience and express a range of emotions. Younger and older adults held similar beliefs about the course of emotions across the life span. Moreover, these beliefs differed across emotion categories. In particular, although older adults were believed to experience and express fewer highly charged, negative emotions, they were expected to be more likely to experience and express positive, low arousal emotions, as well as negative, low arousal emotions. The experience and expression of positive, high arousal emotions were seen as more characteristic of very young age groups as opposed to older age groups. These findings beg questions about if and how beliefs about emotion may affect age-related emotion regulation strategies and other everyday emotion-focused behaviors, as well as social reactions to older adults observed experiencing and expressing particular types of emotions. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Darwin and Emotion Expression

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Ursula; Thibault, Pascal

2009-01-01

In his book "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals," Charles Darwin (1872/1965) defended the argument that emotion expressions are evolved and adaptive (at least at some point in the past) and serve an important communicative function. The ideas he developed in his book had an important impact on the field and spawned rich domains of…

Emotion regulation and the temporal dynamics of emotions: Effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression on emotional inertia.

Science.gov (United States)

Koval, Peter; Butler, Emily A; Hollenstein, Tom; Lanteigne, Dianna; Kuppens, Peter

2015-01-01

The tendency for emotions to be predictable over time, labelled emotional inertia, has been linked to low well-being and is thought to reflect impaired emotion regulation. However, almost no studies have examined how emotion regulation relates to emotional inertia. We examined the effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression on the inertia of behavioural, subjective and physiological measures of emotion. In Study 1 (N = 111), trait suppression was associated with higher inertia of negative behaviours. We replicated this finding experimentally in Study 2 (N = 186). Furthermore, in Study 2, instructed suppressors and reappraisers both showed higher inertia of positive behaviours, and reappraisers displayed higher inertia of heart rate. Neither suppression nor reappraisal were associated with the inertia of subjective feelings in either study. Thus, the effects of suppression and reappraisal on the temporal dynamics of emotions depend on the valence and emotional response component in question.

Suppression and expression of emotion in social and interpersonal outcomes: A meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chervonsky, Elizabeth; Hunt, Caroline

2017-06-01

Emotion expression is critical for the communication of important social information, such as emotional states and behavioral intentions. However, people tend to vary in their level of emotional expression. This meta-analysis investigated the relationships between levels of emotion expression and suppression, and social and interpersonal outcomes. PsycINFO databases, as well as reference lists were searched. Forty-three papers from a total of 3,200 papers met inclusion criteria, allowing for 105 effect sizes to be calculated. Meta-analyses revealed that greater suppression of emotion was significantly associated with poorer social wellbeing, including more negative first impressions, lower social support, lower social satisfaction and quality, and poorer romantic relationship quality. Furthermore, the expression of positive and general/nonspecific emotion was related to better social outcomes, while the expression of anger was associated with poorer social wellbeing. Expression of negative emotion generally was also associated with poorer social outcomes, although this effect size was very small and consisted of mixed results. These findings highlight the importance of considering the role that regulation of emotional expression can play in the development of social dysfunction and interpersonal problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Designing Emotionally Expressive Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tsiourti, Christiana; Weiss, Astrid; Wac, Katarzyna

2017-01-01

Socially assistive agents, be it virtual avatars or robots, need to engage in social interactions with humans and express their internal emotional states, goals, and desires. In this work, we conducted a comparative study to investigate how humans perceive emotional cues expressed by humanoid...... robots through five communication modalities (face, head, body, voice, locomotion) and examined whether the degree of a robot's human-like embodiment affects this perception. In an online survey, we asked people to identify emotions communicated by Pepper -a highly human-like robot and Hobbit – a robot...... for robots....

Age-Dependent Positivity-Bias in Children’s Processing of Emotion Terms

Science.gov (United States)

Bahn, Daniela; Vesker, Michael; García Alanis, José C.; Schwarzer, Gudrun; Kauschke, Christina

2017-01-01

Emotions play an important role in human communication, and the daily-life interactions of young children often include situations that require the verbalization of emotional states with verbal means, e.g., with emotion terms. Through them, one can express own emotional states and those of others. Thus, the acquisition of emotion terms allows children to participate more intensively in social contexts – a basic requirement for learning new words and for elaborating socio-emotional skills. However, little is known about how children acquire and process this specific word category, which is positioned between concrete and abstract words. In particular, the influence of valence on emotion word processing during childhood has not been sufficiently investigated. Previous research points to an advantage of positive words over negative and neutral words in word processing. While previous studies found valence effects to be influenced by factors such as arousal, frequency, concreteness, and task, it is still unclear if and how valence effects are also modified by age. The present study compares the performance of children aged from 5 to 12 years and adults in two experimental tasks: lexical decision (word or pseudoword) and emotional categorization (positive or negative). Stimuli consisted of 48 German emotion terms (24 positive and 24 negative) matched for arousal, concreteness, age of acquisition, word class, word length, morphological complexity, frequency, and neighborhood density. Results from both tasks reveal two developmental trends: First, with increasing age children responded faster and more correctly, suggesting that emotion vocabulary gradually becomes more stable and differentiated during middle childhood. Second, the influence of valence varied with age: younger children (5- and 6-year-olds) showed significantly higher performance levels for positive emotion terms compared to negative emotion terms, whereas older children and adults did not. This age

Facial EMG responses to emotional expressions are related to emotion perception ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Künecke, Janina; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Recio, Guillermo; Sommer, Werner; Wilhelm, Oliver

2014-01-01

Although most people can identify facial expressions of emotions well, they still differ in this ability. According to embodied simulation theories understanding emotions of others is fostered by involuntarily mimicking the perceived expressions, causing a "reactivation" of the corresponding mental state. Some studies suggest automatic facial mimicry during expression viewing; however, findings on the relationship between mimicry and emotion perception abilities are equivocal. The present study investigated individual differences in emotion perception and its relationship to facial muscle responses - recorded with electromyogram (EMG)--in response to emotional facial expressions. N° = °269 participants completed multiple tasks measuring face and emotion perception. EMG recordings were taken from a subsample (N° = °110) in an independent emotion classification task of short videos displaying six emotions. Confirmatory factor analyses of the m. corrugator supercilii in response to angry, happy, sad, and neutral expressions showed that individual differences in corrugator activity can be separated into a general response to all faces and an emotion-related response. Structural equation modeling revealed a substantial relationship between the emotion-related response and emotion perception ability, providing evidence for the role of facial muscle activation in emotion perception from an individual differences perspective.

Behavioral dissociation between emotional and non-emotional facial expressions in congenital prosopagnosia.

Science.gov (United States)

Daini, Roberta; Comparetti, Chiara M; Ricciardelli, Paola

2014-01-01

Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have shown that facial recognition and emotional expressions are dissociable. However, it is unknown if a single system supports the processing of emotional and non-emotional facial expressions. We aimed to understand if individuals with impairment in face recognition from birth (congenital prosopagnosia, CP) can use non-emotional facial expressions to recognize a face as an already seen one, and thus, process this facial dimension independently from features (which are impaired in CP), and basic emotional expressions. To this end, we carried out a behavioral study in which we compared the performance of 6 CP individuals to that of typical development individuals, using upright and inverted faces. Four avatar faces with a neutral expression were presented in the initial phase. The target faces presented in the recognition phase, in which a recognition task was requested (2AFC paradigm), could be identical (neutral) to those of the initial phase or present biologically plausible changes to features, non-emotional expressions, or emotional expressions. After this task, a second task was performed, in which the participants had to detect whether or not the recognized face exactly matched the study face or showed any difference. The results confirmed the CPs' impairment in the configural processing of the invariant aspects of the face, but also showed a spared configural processing of non-emotional facial expression (task 1). Interestingly and unlike the non-emotional expressions, the configural processing of emotional expressions was compromised in CPs and did not improve their change detection ability (task 2). These new results have theoretical implications for face perception models since they suggest that, at least in CPs, non-emotional expressions are processed configurally, can be dissociated from other facial dimensions, and may serve as a compensatory strategy to achieve face recognition.

Linking children's neuropsychological processing of emotion with their knowledge of emotion expression regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Watling, Dawn; Bourne, Victoria J

2007-09-01

Understanding of emotions has been shown to develop between the ages of 4 and 10 years; however, individual differences exist in this development. While previous research has typically examined these differences in terms of developmental and/or social factors, little research has considered the possible impact of neuropsychological development on the behavioural understanding of emotions. Emotion processing tends to be lateralised to the right hemisphere of the brain in adults, yet this pattern is not as evident in children until around the age of 10 years. In this study 136 children between 5 and 10 years were given both behavioural and neuropsychological tests of emotion processing. The behavioural task examined expression regulation knowledge (ERK) for prosocial and self-presentational hypothetical interactions. The chimeric faces test was given as a measure of lateralisation for processing positive facial emotion. An interaction between age and lateralisation for emotion processing was predictive of children's ERK for only the self-presentational interactions. The relationships between children's ERK and lateralisation for emotion processing changes across the three age groups, emerging as a positive relationship in the 10-year-olds. The 10-years-olds who were more lateralised to the right hemisphere for emotion processing tended to show greater understanding of the need for regulating negative emotions during interactions that would have a self-presentational motivation. This finding suggests an association between the behavioural and neuropsychological development of emotion processing.

Regulation of positive and negative emotion: Effects of sociocultural context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara A. Snyder

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Previous research has demonstrated that the use of emotion regulation strategies can vary by sociocultural context. In a previous study, we reported changes in the use of two different emotion regulation strategies at an annual alternative cultural event, Burning Man (McRae, Heller, John, & Gross, 2011. In this sociocultural context, as compared to home, participants reported less use of expressive suppression (a strategy generally associated with maladaptive outcomes, and greater use of cognitive reappraisal (a strategy associated with adaptive outcomes. What remained unclear was whether these changes in self-reported emotion regulation strategy use were characterized by changes in the regulation of positive emotion, negative emotion, or both. We addressed this issue in the current study by asking Burning Man participants separate questions about positive and negative emotion. Using multiple datasets, we not only replicated our previous findings, but also found that the decreased use of suppression is primarily driven by reports of decreased suppression of positive emotion at Burning Man. By contrast, the reported increased use of reappraisal is not characterized by differential reappraisal of positive and negative emotion at Burning Man. Moreover, we observed novel individual differences in the magnitude of these effects. The contextual changes in self-reported suppression that we report are strongest for men and younger participants. For those who had previously attended Burning Man, we observed lower levels of self-reported suppression in both sociocultural contexts: Burning Man and home. These findings have implications for understanding the ways in which certain sociocultural contexts may decrease suppression, and possibly minimize its associated maladaptive effects.

A selective emotional decision-making bias elicited by facial expressions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas Furl

Full Text Available Emotional and social information can sway otherwise rational decisions. For example, when participants decide between two faces that are probabilistically rewarded, they make biased choices that favor smiling relative to angry faces. This bias may arise because facial expressions evoke positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn may motivate social approach and avoidance. We tested a wide range of pictures that evoke emotions or convey social information, including animals, words, foods, a variety of scenes, and faces differing in trustworthiness or attractiveness, but we found only facial expressions biased decisions. Our results extend brain imaging and pharmacological findings, which suggest that a brain mechanism supporting social interaction may be involved. Facial expressions appear to exert special influence over this social interaction mechanism, one capable of biasing otherwise rational choices. These results illustrate that only specific types of emotional experiences can best sway our choices.

A Selective Emotional Decision-Making Bias Elicited by Facial Expressions

Science.gov (United States)

Furl, Nicholas; Gallagher, Shannon; Averbeck, Bruno B.

2012-01-01

Emotional and social information can sway otherwise rational decisions. For example, when participants decide between two faces that are probabilistically rewarded, they make biased choices that favor smiling relative to angry faces. This bias may arise because facial expressions evoke positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn may motivate social approach and avoidance. We tested a wide range of pictures that evoke emotions or convey social information, including animals, words, foods, a variety of scenes, and faces differing in trustworthiness or attractiveness, but we found only facial expressions biased decisions. Our results extend brain imaging and pharmacological findings, which suggest that a brain mechanism supporting social interaction may be involved. Facial expressions appear to exert special influence over this social interaction mechanism, one capable of biasing otherwise rational choices. These results illustrate that only specific types of emotional experiences can best sway our choices. PMID:22438936

A selective emotional decision-making bias elicited by facial expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Furl, Nicholas; Gallagher, Shannon; Averbeck, Bruno B

2012-01-01

Emotional and social information can sway otherwise rational decisions. For example, when participants decide between two faces that are probabilistically rewarded, they make biased choices that favor smiling relative to angry faces. This bias may arise because facial expressions evoke positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn may motivate social approach and avoidance. We tested a wide range of pictures that evoke emotions or convey social information, including animals, words, foods, a variety of scenes, and faces differing in trustworthiness or attractiveness, but we found only facial expressions biased decisions. Our results extend brain imaging and pharmacological findings, which suggest that a brain mechanism supporting social interaction may be involved. Facial expressions appear to exert special influence over this social interaction mechanism, one capable of biasing otherwise rational choices. These results illustrate that only specific types of emotional experiences can best sway our choices.

Father attachment, father emotion expression, and children's attachment to fathers: The role of marital conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Shuang; Haak, Eric A; Gilbert, Lauren R; El-Sheikh, Mona; Keller, Peggy S

2018-06-01

The current study examined relations between father attachment to spouses and child attachment to fathers in middle childhood, focusing on father emotion expressions in father-child interactions as mediators and marital conflict as a moderator of relations. Participants were 199 children between 6 and 12 years of age and their fathers. Fathers completed questionnaires about their attachment to their spouses, and both fathers and mothers reported on their marital conflict. Fathers also discussed a difficult topic with their children for 5 min, and fathers' positive and negative emotion expression during the discussions were coded. Children completed questionnaires through an interview about their attachment to their father. Father insecure attachment interacted with marital conflict in predicting more negative emotions and less positive emotions during father-child interactions. Specifically, in the context of higher marital conflict in this community sample, fathers who reported greater preoccupied attachment to their spouses exhibited more negative emotions and less positive emotions when interacting with their children. In turn, more father negative emotions and less positive emotions were associated with children's less secure attachment to fathers. In contrast, father fearful attachment interacted with marital conflict to predict less negative emotion and more positive emotion during interactions with children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Parents' Emotion Expression as a Predictor of Child's Social Competence: Children with or without Intellectual Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Green, S.; Baker, B.

2011-01-01

Background: Parents' expression of positive emotion towards children who are typically developing (TD) is generally associated with better social development. However, the association between parents' negative emotion expression and social development can be positive or negative depending upon a number of factors, including the child's emotion…

Facial EMG responses to emotional expressions are related to emotion perception ability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janina Künecke

Full Text Available Although most people can identify facial expressions of emotions well, they still differ in this ability. According to embodied simulation theories understanding emotions of others is fostered by involuntarily mimicking the perceived expressions, causing a "reactivation" of the corresponding mental state. Some studies suggest automatic facial mimicry during expression viewing; however, findings on the relationship between mimicry and emotion perception abilities are equivocal. The present study investigated individual differences in emotion perception and its relationship to facial muscle responses - recorded with electromyogram (EMG--in response to emotional facial expressions. N° = °269 participants completed multiple tasks measuring face and emotion perception. EMG recordings were taken from a subsample (N° = °110 in an independent emotion classification task of short videos displaying six emotions. Confirmatory factor analyses of the m. corrugator supercilii in response to angry, happy, sad, and neutral expressions showed that individual differences in corrugator activity can be separated into a general response to all faces and an emotion-related response. Structural equation modeling revealed a substantial relationship between the emotion-related response and emotion perception ability, providing evidence for the role of facial muscle activation in emotion perception from an individual differences perspective.

Building embodied agents that experience and express emotions

OpenAIRE

Bui, T.D.; Magnenat-Thalmann, N.; Heylen, Dirk K.J.; Joslin, C.; Nijholt, Antinus; Kim, H.S.

2004-01-01

In this paper we presented Obie, an embodied agent that experiences and expresses emotions. Obie has an adaptive, quantitative and domain-independent emotion component which appraises events to trigger emotions. Obie’s emotions are expressed via his utterances or his facial expressions. The expression via utterances is done by a simple mapping from emotions to text fragments. The mapping from emotions to facial expressions is done by a fuzzy rule-based system. Obie’s utterances and facial exp...

Dynamic Facial Expression of Emotion Made Easy

OpenAIRE

Broekens, Joost; Qu, Chao; Brinkman, Willem-Paul

2012-01-01

Facial emotion expression for virtual characters is used in a wide variety of areas. Often, the primary reason to use emotion expression is not to study emotion expression generation per se, but to use emotion expression in an application or research project. What is then needed is an easy to use and flexible, but also validated mechanism to do so. In this report we present such a mechanism. It enables developers to build virtual characters with dynamic affective facial expressions. The mecha...

Meta-analysis of the effects of intranasal oxytocin on interpretation and expression of emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Leppanen, Jenni; Ng, Kah Wee; Tchanturia, Kate; Treasure, Janet

2017-07-01

Accurate interpretation and appropriate expression of emotions are key aspects of social-cognition. Several mental disorders are characterised by transdiagnostic difficulties in these areas and, recently, there has been increasing interest in exploring the effects of oxytocin on social-emotional functioning. This review consists of 33 studies. Fifteen of the studies included people with autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, frontotemporal dementia, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and opioid and alcohol dependence. We conducted ten meta-analyses examining the effects of intranasal oxytocin on expression of emotions, emotional theory of mind, sensitivity to recognise basic emotions, and recognition of basic emotions. A single dose of intranasal oxytocin significantly improved the recognition of basic emotions, particularly fear, and increased the expression of positive emotions among the healthy individuals. Oxytocin did not significantly influence theory of mind or the expression of negative emotions among the healthy individuals. Finally, intranasal oxytocin did not significantly influence interpretation or expression of emotions among the clinical populations. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

FACTOR-ANALYSIS OF THE LEVEL OF EXPRESSED EMOTION SCALE, A QUESTIONNAIRE INTENDED TO MEASURE PERCEIVED EXPRESSED EMOTION

NARCIS (Netherlands)

GERLSMA, C; VANDERLUBBE, PM; VANNIEUWENHUIZEN, C

When the factor structure and psychometric qualities of the Level of Expressed Emotion scale, an instrument intended to assess patient's perceptions of expressed emotion, were evaluated, three moderately intercorrelated factors emerged, with good internal consistency; these were lack of emotional

The positive emotions that facilitate the fulfillment of needs may not be positive emotions at all: the role of ambivalence.

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, Simon A; Wilson, Samuel G

2015-01-01

According to some scholars, if individuals experience over three times as many positive emotions as negative emotions, they are more likely to thrive. We contend, however, that perhaps positive and negative emotions that overlap in time are likely to enhance wellbeing. Specifically, if positive and negative emotions are experienced simultaneously rather than separately-called ambivalent emotions-the fundamental needs of individuals are fulfilled more frequently. Considerable evidence supports this perspective. First, many emotions that enhance wellbeing, although classified as positive, also coincide with negative feelings. Second, ambivalent emotions, rather than positive or negative emotions separately, facilitate creativity and resilience. Third, ambivalent emotions activate distinct cognitive systems that enable individuals to form attainable goals, refine their skills, and enhance their relationships. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Linguistic expressions of emotion in Kalaallisut (West Greenlandic)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trondhjem, Naja Blytmann

How are emotions expressed in Kalaallisut In Kalaallisut the expressions of emotions are expressed by verbal stems, verbal as well as nominal affixes, and of ‘metaphorical’ expressions. Within verbal stems there are both mono morphemic ‘basic’ emotion terms and also ‘metaphorical’ terms which...... consist of compound verbal stems. Besides these it seems there are specific aspectual markers with concrete emotional meanings, and some verbal modifying affixes with emotional meanings also, and finally a group of nominal modifiers which express the speakers emotional evaluation of another person....... In this paper I’ll consider these questions: -do emotions terms have special linguistic constructions or not? - do emotions verbs have specificity in comparison with other verbs, for example in telicity? -are special affixes linked with the verbs of emotion? - do emotions verbs have special temporal...

Expressive Suppression and Enhancement During Music-Elicited Emotions in Younger and Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandrine eVieillard

2015-02-01

Full Text Available When presented with emotional visual scenes, older adults have been found to be equally capable to regulate emotion expression as younger adults, corroborating the view that emotion regulation skills are maintained or even improved in later adulthood. However, the possibility that gaze direction might help achieve an emotion control goal has not been taken into account, raising the question whether the effortful processing of expressive regulation is really spared from the general age-related decline. Since it does not allow perceptual attention to be redirected away from the emotional source, music provides a useful way to address this question. In the present study, affective, behavioral and physiological consequences of free expression of emotion, expressive suppression and expressive enhancement were measured in 31 younger and 30 older adults while they listened to positive and negative musical excerpts. The main results indicated that compared to younger adults, older adults reported experiencing less emotional intensity in response to negative music during the free expression of emotion condition. No age difference was found in the ability to amplify or reduce emotional expressions. However, an age-related decline in the ability to reduce the intensity of emotional state and an age-related increase in physiological reactivity were found when participants were instructed to suppress negative expression. Taken together, the current data support previous findings suggesting an age-related change in response to music. They also corroborate the observation that older adults are as efficient as younger adults at controlling behavioral expression. But most importantly, they suggest that when faced with auditory sources of negative emotion, older age does not always confer a better ability to regulate emotions.

Interpreting infant emotional expressions: Parenthood has differential effects on men and women.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Christine E; Young, Katherine S; Jegindoe Elmholdt, Else-Marie; Stein, Alan; Kringelbach, Morten L

2017-03-01

Interpreting and responding to an infant's emotional cues is a fundamental parenting skill. Responsivity to infant cues is frequently disrupted in depression, impacting negatively on child outcomes, which underscores its importance. It is widely assumed that women, and in particular mothers, show greater attunement to infants than do men. However, empirical evidence for sex and parental status effects, particularly in relation to perception of infant emotion, has been lacking. In this study, men and women with and without young infants were asked to rate valence in a range of infant facial expressions, on a scale of very positive to very negative. Results suggested complex interaction effects between parental status, sex, and the facial expression being rated. Mothers provided more positive ratings of the happy expressions and more extreme ratings of the intense emotion expressions than fathers, but non-mothers and non-fathers did not. Low-level depressive symptoms were also found to correlate with more negative ratings of negative infant facial expressions across the entire sample. Overall, these results suggest that parental status might have differential effects on men and women's appraisal of infant cues. Differences between fathers' and mothers' perceptions of infant emotion might be of interest in understanding variance in interaction styles, such as proportion of time spent in play.

Neuropsychology of facial expressions. The role of consciousness in processing emotional faces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michela Balconi

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Neuropsychological studies have underlined the significant presence of distinct brain correlates deputed to analyze facial expression of emotion. It was observed that some cerebral circuits were considered as specific for emotional face comprehension as a function of conscious vs. unconscious processing of emotional information. Moreover, the emotional content of faces (i.e. positive vs. negative; more or less arousing may have an effect in activating specific cortical networks. Between the others, recent studies have explained the contribution of hemispheres in comprehending face, as a function of type of emotions (mainly related to the distinction positive vs. negative and of specific tasks (comprehending vs. producing facial expressions. Specifically, ERPs (event-related potentials analysis overview is proposed in order to comprehend how face may be processed by an observer and how he can make face a meaningful construct even in absence of awareness. Finally, brain oscillations is considered in order to explain the synchronization of neural populations in response to emotional faces when a conscious vs. unconscious processing is activated

Dampening or savoring positive emotions: a dialectical cultural script guides emotion regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, Yuri; Ma, Xiaoming

2011-12-01

Four studies examined the hypothesis that, although people may generally want to savor, rather than to dampen, their positive emotions (i.e., hedonic emotion regulation), such a hedonic emotion regulation tendency should be less pronounced for Easterners than for Westerners. Using retrospective memory procedures, Study 1 found that Easterners recalled engaging in hedonic emotion regulation less than Westerners did, even after controlling for their initial emotional reactions. Studies 2-3 showed that cultural differences in emotion regulation were mediated by dialectical beliefs about positive emotions. Study 4 replicated the findings by examining online reports of emotion regulation strategies on the day students received a good grade. Furthermore, there were cultural differences in actual emotion change over time, which was partly explained by dialectical beliefs about positive emotions. These findings highlight the active role cultural scripts play in shaping emotion regulation and emotional experiences. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Psychiatry, religion, positive emotions and spirituality.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaillant, George E

2013-12-01

This paper proposes that eight positive emotions: awe, love/attachment, trust/faith, compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, joy and hope constitute what we mean by spirituality. These emotions have been grossly ignored by psychiatry. The two sciences that I shall employ to demonstrate this definition of spirituality will be ethology and neuroscience. They are both very new. I will argue that spirituality is not about ideas, sacred texts and theology. Rather, spirituality is all about emotion and social connection that are more dependent on the limbic system than the cortex. Specific religions, for all their limitations, are often the portal through which positive emotions are brought into conscious attention. Neither Freud nor psychiatric textbooks ever mention emotions like joy and gratitude. Hymns and psalms give these emotions pride of place. Our whole concept of psychotherapy might change, if clinicians set about enhancing positive emotions, rather than focusing only on the negative ones. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Age-Dependent Positivity-Bias in Children’s Processing of Emotion Terms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Bahn

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Emotions play an important role in human communication, and the daily-life interactions of young children often include situations that require the verbalization of emotional states with verbal means, e.g., with emotion terms. Through them, one can express own emotional states and those of others. Thus, the acquisition of emotion terms allows children to participate more intensively in social contexts – a basic requirement for learning new words and for elaborating socio-emotional skills. However, little is known about how children acquire and process this specific word category, which is positioned between concrete and abstract words. In particular, the influence of valence on emotion word processing during childhood has not been sufficiently investigated. Previous research points to an advantage of positive words over negative and neutral words in word processing. While previous studies found valence effects to be influenced by factors such as arousal, frequency, concreteness, and task, it is still unclear if and how valence effects are also modified by age. The present study compares the performance of children aged from 5 to 12 years and adults in two experimental tasks: lexical decision (word or pseudoword and emotional categorization (positive or negative. Stimuli consisted of 48 German emotion terms (24 positive and 24 negative matched for arousal, concreteness, age of acquisition, word class, word length, morphological complexity, frequency, and neighborhood density. Results from both tasks reveal two developmental trends: First, with increasing age children responded faster and more correctly, suggesting that emotion vocabulary gradually becomes more stable and differentiated during middle childhood. Second, the influence of valence varied with age: younger children (5- and 6-year-olds showed significantly higher performance levels for positive emotion terms compared to negative emotion terms, whereas older children and adults did not

Is valuing positive emotion associated with life satisfaction?

Science.gov (United States)

Bastian, Brock; Kuppens, Peter; De Roover, Kim; Diener, Ed

2014-08-01

The experience of positive emotion is closely linked to subjective well-being. For this reason, campaigns aimed at promoting the value of positive emotion have become widespread. What is rarely considered are the cultural implications of this focus on happiness. Promoting positive emotions as important for "the good life" not only has implications for how individuals value these emotional states, but for how they believe others around them value these emotions also. Drawing on data from over 9,000 college students across 47 countries we examined whether individuals' life satisfaction is associated with living in contexts in which positive emotions are socially valued. The findings show that people report more life satisfaction in countries where positive emotions are highly valued and this is linked to an increased frequency of positive emotional experiences in these contexts. They also reveal, however, that increased life satisfaction in countries that place a premium on positive emotion is less evident for people who tend to experience less valued emotional states: people who experience many negative emotions, do not flourish to the same extent in these contexts. The findings demonstrate how the cultural value placed on certain emotion states may shape the relationship between emotional experiences and subjective well-being.

The moderating role of autonomy and control on the benefits of written emotion expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Netta; Hodgins, Holley S

2009-03-01

Two studies examined the hypothesis that relative to control motivation, autonomy motivation is associated with effective written expression and regulation, leading to positive emotional, physical, and cognitive outcomes over time. Participants viewed a Hiroshima-Nagasaki documentary in each of two sessions. Study 1 showed that dispositionally autonomous participants, particularly those who expressed, had positive well-being, energy, and memory after the second viewing. Study 2 explored benefits of situational motivation by priming autonomy and control. Results showed that dispositionally controlled individuals received the same benefits as autonomous individuals only when primed with autonomy and encouraged to express. Coding of writing content revealed that the benefits of autonomy were mediated by nondefensive and effective emotional processing, as reflected in greater use of self-referencing and cognitive mechanism words and lower use of concrete words. Results support the expectation that autonomy relates to effective expression and emotion regulation, leading to positive functioning over time.

Recognition of Facial Expressions of Different Emotional Intensities in Patients with Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roy P. C. Kessels

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Behavioural problems are a key feature of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD. Also, FTLD patients show impairments in emotion processing. Specifically, the perception of negative emotional facial expressions is affected. Generally, however, negative emotional expressions are regarded as more difficult to recognize than positive ones, which thus may have been a confounding factor in previous studies. Also, ceiling effects are often present on emotion recognition tasks using full-blown emotional facial expressions. In the present study with FTLD patients, we examined the perception of sadness, anger, fear, happiness, surprise and disgust at different emotional intensities on morphed facial expressions to take task difficulty into account. Results showed that our FTLD patients were specifically impaired at the recognition of the emotion anger. Also, the patients performed worse than the controls on recognition of surprise, but performed at control levels on disgust, happiness, sadness and fear. These findings corroborate and extend previous results showing deficits in emotion perception in FTLD.

Emotion elicitor or emotion messenger? Subliminal priming reveals two faces of facial expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruys, Kirsten I; Stapel, Diederik A

2008-06-01

Facial emotional expressions can serve both as emotional stimuli and as communicative signals. The research reported here was conducted to illustrate how responses to both roles of facial emotional expressions unfold over time. As an emotion elicitor, a facial emotional expression (e.g., a disgusted face) activates a response that is similar to responses to other emotional stimuli of the same valence (e.g., a dirty, nonflushed toilet). As an emotion messenger, the same facial expression (e.g., a disgusted face) serves as a communicative signal by also activating the knowledge that the sender is experiencing a specific emotion (e.g., the sender feels disgusted). By varying the duration of exposure to disgusted, fearful, angry, and neutral faces in two subliminal-priming studies, we demonstrated that responses to faces as emotion elicitors occur prior to responses to faces as emotion messengers, and that both types of responses may unfold unconsciously.

Relation between premorbid personality and patterns of emotion expression in mid- to late-stage dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Magai, C; Cohen, C I; Culver, C; Gomberg, D; Malatesta, C

1997-11-01

Twenty-seven nursing home patients with mid- to late-stage dementia participated in a study of the relation between preillness personality, as indexed by attachment and emotion regulation style, and current emotional behavior. Preillness measures were completed by family members and current assessments of emotion were supplied by nursing home aides and family members; in addition, emotion was coded during a family visit using an objective coding system for facial emotion expressions. Attachment style was found to be related to the expression of positive affect, with securely attached individuals displaying more positive affect than avoidantly attached individuals. In addition, high ratings on premorbid hostility were associated with higher rates of negative affect and lower rates of positive affect. These findings indicate that premorbid aspects of personality show continuity over time, even in mid- to late-stage dementia.

Measuring ability to enhance and suppress emotional expression: The Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression (FREE) Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Charles L; Bonanno, George A

2016-08-01

Flexibility in self-regulatory behaviors has proved to be an important quality for adjusting to stressful life events and requires individuals to have a diverse repertoire of emotion regulation abilities. However, the most commonly used emotion regulation questionnaires assess frequency of behavior rather than ability, with little evidence linking these measures to observable capacity to enact a behavior. The aim of the current investigation was to develop and validate a Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression (FREE) Scale that measures a person's ability to enhance and suppress displayed emotion across an array of hypothetical contexts. In Studies 1 and 2, a series of confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the FREE Scale consists of 4 first-order factors divided by regulation and emotional valence type that can contribute to 2 higher order factors: expressive enhancement ability and suppression ability. In Study 1, we also compared the FREE Scale to other commonly used emotion regulation measures, which revealed that suppression ability is conceptually distinct from suppression frequency. In Study 3, we compared the FREE Scale with a composite of traditional frequency-based indices of expressive regulation to predict performance in a previously validated emotional modulation paradigm. Participants' enhancement and suppression ability scores on the FREE Scale predicted their corresponding performance on the laboratory task, even when controlling for baseline expressiveness. These studies suggest that the FREE Scale is a valid and flexible measure of expressive regulation ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Building embodied agents that experience and express emotions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bui, T.D.; Magnenat-Thalmann, N.; Heylen, Dirk K.J.; Joslin, C.; Nijholt, Antinus; Kim, H.S.

2004-01-01

In this paper we presented Obie, an embodied agent that experiences and expresses emotions. Obie has an adaptive, quantitative and domain-independent emotion component which appraises events to trigger emotions. Obie’s emotions are expressed via his utterances or his facial expressions. The

Using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) to Define Different Domains of Negative Symptoms: Prediction of Everyday Functioning by Impairments in Emotional Expression and Emotional Experience

OpenAIRE

Harvey, Philip D.; Khan, Anzalee; Keefe, Richard S. E.

2017-01-01

Background: Reduced emotional experience and expression are two domains of negative symptoms. The authors assessed these two domains of negative symptoms using previously developed Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) factors. Using an existing dataset, the authors predicted three different elements of everyday functioning (social, vocational, and everyday activities) with these two factors, as well as with performance on measures of functional capacity. Methods: A large (n=630) sampl...

Vocal Emotion Expressions Effects on Cooperation Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero Meneses, Jonathan Azael; Menez Díaz, Judith Marina

2017-01-01

Emotional expressions have been proposed to be important for regulating social interaction as they can serve as cues for behavioral intentions. The issue has been mainly addressed analyzing the effects of facial emotional expressions in cooperation behavior, but there are contradictory results regarding the impact of emotional expressions on that…

What good are positive emotions for treatment? Trait positive emotionality predicts response to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Charles T; Knapp, Sarah E; Bomyea, Jessica A; Ramsawh, Holly J; Paulus, Martin P; Stein, Murray B

2017-06-01

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is empirically supported for the treatment of anxiety disorders; however, not all individuals achieve recovery following CBT. Positive emotions serve a number of functions that theoretically should facilitate response to CBT - they promote flexible patterns of information processing and assimilation of new information, encourage approach-oriented behavior, and speed physiological recovery from negative emotions. We conducted a secondary analysis of an existing clinical trial dataset to test the a priori hypothesis that individual differences in trait positive emotions would predict CBT response for anxiety. Participants meeting diagnostic criteria for panic disorder (n = 28) or generalized anxiety disorder (n = 31) completed 10 weekly individual CBT sessions. Trait positive emotionality was assessed at pre-treatment, and severity of anxiety symptoms and associated impairment was assessed throughout treatment. Participants who reported a greater propensity to experience positive emotions at pre-treatment displayed the largest reduction in anxiety symptoms as well as fewer symptoms following treatment. Positive emotions remained a robust predictor of change in symptoms when controlling for baseline depression severity. Initial evidence supports the predictive value of trait positive emotions as a prognostic indicator for CBT outcome in a GAD and PD sample. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Updating schematic emotional facial expressions in working memory: Response bias and sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamm, Gerly; Kreegipuu, Kairi; Harro, Jaanus; Cowan, Nelson

2017-01-01

It is unclear if positive, negative, or neutral emotional expressions have an advantage in short-term recognition. Moreover, it is unclear from previous studies of working memory for emotional faces whether effects of emotions comprise response bias or sensitivity. The aim of this study was to compare how schematic emotional expressions (sad, angry, scheming, happy, and neutral) are discriminated and recognized in an updating task (2-back recognition) in a representative sample of birth cohort of young adults. Schematic facial expressions allow control of identity processing, which is separate from expression processing, and have been used extensively in attention research but not much, until now, in working memory research. We found that expressions with a U-curved mouth (i.e., upwardly curved), namely happy and scheming expressions, favoured a bias towards recognition (i.e., towards indicating that the probe and the stimulus in working memory are the same). Other effects of emotional expression were considerably smaller (1-2% of the variance explained)) compared to a large proportion of variance that was explained by the physical similarity of items being compared. We suggest that the nature of the stimuli plays a role in this. The present application of signal detection methodology with emotional, schematic faces in a working memory procedure requiring fast comparisons helps to resolve important contradictions that have emerged in the emotional perception literature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emotion expression in human punishment behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Erte; Houser, Daniel

2005-05-17

Evolutionary theory reveals that punishment is effective in promoting cooperation and maintaining social norms. Although it is accepted that emotions are connected to punishment decisions, there remains substantial debate over why humans use costly punishment. Here we show experimentally that constraints on emotion expression can increase the use of costly punishment. We report data from ultimatum games, where a proposer offers a division of a sum of money and a responder decides whether to accept the split, or reject and leave both players with nothing. Compared with the treatment in which expressing emotions directly to proposers is prohibited, rejection of unfair offers is significantly less frequent when responders can convey their feelings to the proposer concurrently with their decisions. These data support the view that costly punishment might itself be used to express negative emotions and suggest that future studies will benefit by recognizing that human demand for emotion expression can have significant behavioral consequences in social environments, including families, courts, companies, and markets.

The Voice of Emotion: Acoustic Properties of Six Emotional Expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Carol May

Studies in the perceptual identification of emotional states suggested that listeners seemed to depend on a limited set of vocal cues to distinguish among emotions. Linguistics and speech science literatures have indicated that this small set of cues included intensity, fundamental frequency, and temporal properties such as speech rate and duration. Little research has been done, however, to validate these cues in the production of emotional speech, or to determine if specific dimensions of each cue are associated with the production of a particular emotion for a variety of speakers. This study addressed deficiencies in understanding of the acoustical properties of duration and intensity as components of emotional speech by means of speech science instrumentation. Acoustic data were conveyed in a brief sentence spoken by twelve English speaking adult male and female subjects, half with dramatic training, and half without such training. Simulated expressions included: happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. The study demonstrated that the acoustic property of mean intensity served as an important cue for a vocal taxonomy. Overall duration was rejected as an element for a general taxonomy due to interactions involving gender and role. Findings suggested a gender-related taxonomy, however, based on differences in the ways in which men and women use the duration cue in their emotional expressions. Results also indicated that speaker training may influence greater use of the duration cue in expressions of emotion, particularly for male actors. Discussion of these results provided linkages to (1) practical management of emotional interactions in clinical and interpersonal environments, (2) implications for differences in the ways in which males and females may be socialized to express emotions, and (3) guidelines for future perceptual studies of emotional sensitivity.

Altered Kinematics of Facial Emotion Expression and Emotion Recognition Deficits Are Unrelated in Parkinson's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Bologna, Matteo; Berardelli, Isabella; Paparella, Giulia; Marsili, Luca; Ricciardi, Lucia; Fabbrini, Giovanni; Berardelli, Alfredo

2016-01-01

Altered emotional processing, including reduced emotion facial expression and defective emotion recognition, has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, few studies have objectively investigated facial expression abnormalities in PD using neurophysiological techniques. It is not known whether altered facial expression and recognition in PD are related. To investigate possible deficits in facial emotion expression and emotion recognition and their relationship, if any, in patients with PD. Eighteen patients with PD and 16 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Facial expressions of emotion were recorded using a 3D optoelectronic system and analyzed using the facial action coding system. Possible deficits in emotion recognition were assessed using the Ekman test. Participants were assessed in one experimental session. Possible relationship between the kinematic variables of facial emotion expression, the Ekman test scores, and clinical and demographic data in patients were evaluated using the Spearman's test and multiple regression analysis. The facial expression of all six basic emotions had slower velocity and lower amplitude in patients in comparison to healthy controls (all P s facial expression kinematics and emotion recognition deficits were unrelated in patients (all P s > 0.05). Finally, no relationship emerged between kinematic variables of facial emotion expression, the Ekman test scores, and clinical and demographic data in patients (all P s > 0.05). The results in this study provide further evidence of altered emotional processing in PD. The lack of any correlation between altered facial emotion expression kinematics and emotion recognition deficits in patients suggests that these abnormalities are mediated by separate pathophysiological mechanisms.

Enhanced subliminal emotional responses to dynamic facial expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wataru eSato

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Emotional processing without conscious awareness plays an important role in human social interaction. Several behavioral studies reported that subliminal presentation of photographs of emotional facial expressions induces unconscious emotional processing. However, it was difficult to elicit strong and robust effects using this method. We hypothesized that dynamic presentations of facial expressions would enhance subliminal emotional effects and tested this hypothesis with two experiments. Fearful or happy facial expressions were presented dynamically or statically in either the left or the right visual field for 20 (Experiment 1 and 30 (Experiment 2 ms. Nonsense target ideographs were then presented, and participants reported their preference for them. The results consistently showed that dynamic presentations of emotional facial expressions induced more evident emotional biases toward subsequent targets than did static ones. These results indicate that dynamic presentations of emotional facial expressions induce more evident unconscious emotional processing.

Emotion regulation strategies mediate the associations of positive and negative affect to upper extremity physical function.

Science.gov (United States)

Talaei-Khoei, Mojtaba; Nemati-Rezvani, Hora; Fischerauer, Stefan F; Ring, David; Chen, Neal; Vranceanu, Ana-Maria

2017-05-01

The Gross process model of emotion regulation holds that emotion-eliciting situations (e.g. musculoskeletal illness) can be strategically regulated to determine the final emotional and behavioral response. Also, there is some evidence that innate emotional traits may predispose an individual to a particular regulating coping style. We enrolled 107 patients with upper extremity musculoskeletal illness in this cross-sectional study. They completed self-report measures of positive and negative affect, emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), upper extremity physical function, pain intensity, and demographics. We used Preacher and Hayes' bootstrapping approach to process analysis to infer the direct effect of positive and negative affect on physical function as well as their indirect effects through activation of emotion regulation strategies. Negative affect was associated with decreased physical function. The association was partly mediated by expressive suppression (b (SE)=-.10 (.05), 95% BCa CI [-.21, -.02]). Positive affect was associated with increased physical function. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated this association (b (SE)=.11 (.05), 95% BCa CI [.03, .24]). After controlling for pain intensity, the ratio of the mediated effect to total effect grew even larger in controlled model comparing to uncontrolled model (33% vs. 26% for expressive suppression and 32% vs. 30% for cognitive reappraisal). The relationships between affect, emotion regulation strategies and physical function appear to be more dependent on the emotional response to an orthopedic condition rather than the intensity of the nociceptive stimulation of the pain. Findings support integration of emotion regulation training in skill-based psychotherapy in this population to mitigate the effect of negative affect and enhance the influence of positive affect on physical function. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotional Expressivity and Emotion Regulation: Relation to Academic Functioning among Elementary School Children

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Kyongboon; Hanrahan, Amanda R.; Kupzyk, Kevin A.

2017-01-01

We examined emotional expressivity (i.e., happiness, sadness, and anger) and emotion regulation (regulation of exuberance, sadness, and anger) as they relate to academic functioning (motivation, engagement, and achievement). Also, we tested the premise that emotional expressivity and emotion regulation are indirectly associated with achievement…

Time perception and dynamics of facial expressions of emotions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophie L Fayolle

Full Text Available Two experiments were run to examine the effects of dynamic displays of facial expressions of emotions on time judgments. The participants were given a temporal bisection task with emotional facial expressions presented in a dynamic or a static display. Two emotional facial expressions and a neutral expression were tested and compared. Each of the emotional expressions had the same affective valence (unpleasant, but one was high-arousing (expressing anger and the other low-arousing (expressing sadness. Our results showed that time judgments are highly sensitive to movements in facial expressions and the emotions expressed. Indeed, longer perceived durations were found in response to the dynamic faces and the high-arousing emotional expressions compared to the static faces and low-arousing expressions. In addition, the facial movements amplified the effect of emotions on time perception. Dynamic facial expressions are thus interesting tools for examining variations in temporal judgments in different social contexts.

Proficiency in positive vs. negative emotion identification and subjective well-being among long-term married elderly couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrican, Raluca; Moscovitch, Morris; Grady, Cheryl

2014-01-01

Evidence is accruing that positive emotions play a crucial role in shaping a healthy interpersonal climate. Inspired by this research, the current investigation sought to shed light on the link between proficiency in identifying positive vs. negative emotions and a close partner's well-being. To this end, we conducted two studies with neurologically intact elderly married couples (Study 1) and an age-matched clinical sample, comprising married couples in which one spouse had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (Study 2), which tends to hinder emotional expressivity. To assess proficiency in identifying emotions from whole body postures, we had participants in both studies complete a pointlight walker task, featuring four actors (two male, two female) expressing one positive (i.e., happiness) and three negative (i.e., sadness, anger, fear) basic emotions. Participants also filled out measures of subjective well-being. Among Study 1's neurologically intact spouses, greater expertise in identifying positive (but not negative) emotions was linked to greater partner life satisfaction (but not hedonic balance). Spouses of PD patients exhibited increased proficiency in identifying positive emotions relative to controls, possibly reflective of compensatory mechanisms. Complementarily, relative to controls, spouses of PD patients exhibited reduced proficiency in identifying negative emotions and a tendency to underestimate their intensity. Importantly, all of these effects attenuated with longer years from PD onset. Finally, there was evidence that it was increased partner expertise in identifying negative (rather than positive) emotional states that predicted greater life satisfaction levels among the PD patients and their spouses. Our results thus suggest that positive vs. negative emotions may play distinct roles in close relationship dynamics as a function of neurological status and disability trajectory.

The Power of an Infant's Smile: Maternal Physiological Responses to Infant Emotional Expressions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanae Mizugaki

Full Text Available Infant emotional expressions, such as distress cries, evoke maternal physiological reactions. Most of which involve accelerated sympathetic nervous activity. Comparatively little is known about effects of positive infant expressions, such as happy smiles, on maternal physiological responses. This study investigated how physiological and psychological maternal states change in response to infants' emotional expressions. Thirty first-time mothers viewed films of their own 6- to 7-month-old infants' affective behavior. Each observed a video of a distress cry followed by a video showing one of two expressions (randomly assigned: a happy smiling face (smile condition or a calm neutral face (neutral condition. Both before and after the session, participants completed a self-report inventory assessing their emotional states. The results of the self-report inventory revealed no effects of exposure to the infant videos. However, the mothers in the smile condition, but not in the neutral condition, showed deceleration of skin conductance. These findings demonstrate that the mothers who observed their infants smiling showed decreased sympathetic activity. We propose that an infant's positive emotional expression may affect the branch of the maternal stress-response system that modulates the homeostatic balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Children’s spontaneous emotional expressions while receiving (unwanted prizes in the presence of peers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mandy eVisser

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Although current emotion theories emphasize the importance of contextual factors for emotional expressive behavior, developmental studies that examine such factors are currently thin on the ground. In this research, we studied the course of emotional expressions of 8- and 11-year-old children after winning a (large first prize or a (substantially smaller consolation prize, while playing a game competing against the computer or a physically co-present peer. We analyzed their emotional reactions by conducting two perception tests in which participants rated children’s level of happiness. Results showed that co-presence positively affected children’s happiness only when receiving the first prize. Moreover, for children who were in the presence of a peer, we found that eye contact affected children’s expressions of happiness, but that the effect was different for different age groups: 8-year-old children were negatively affected, and 11-year-old children positively. Overall, we can conclude that as children grow older and their social awareness increases, the presence of a peer affects their nonverbal expressions, regardless of their appreciation of their prize.

The effect of teacher’s positive personal resource of features of students’ emotional states

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.A. Trulyaev

2013-10-01

Full Text Available We reveal the psychological mechanisms of impact of the formation level of the teacher’s positive values on the academic performance of students, one of the key components of which are the emotional states of students. We describe a study aimed to test the hypothesis that the positive values and standing behind them “strong” character traits of the teacher determine the emotional states specific of his students during the lesson. The study involved 241 teachers of school subjects and 498 pupils of VI, VIII, X, XI grades of several schools in Krivoy Rog. The study demonstrated that a high level of expression of teacher’s positive values, reflected in his professional qualities, provide the appearance of positive emotional states of students. We also revealed patterns of influence of teacher’s positive personal resource on the intensity of the emotional states experienced by students during lessons.

Emotion Regulation in Adolescence: A Prospective Study of Expressive Suppression and Depressive Symptoms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Larsen, J.K.; Vermulst, A.A.; Geenen, R.; Middendorp, H. van; English, T.; Gross, J.J.; Ha, P.T.; Evers, C.; Engels, R.C.M.E.

2013-01-01

Cross-sectional studies have shown a positive association between expressive suppression and depressive symptoms. These results have been interpreted as reflecting the impact of emotion regulation efforts on depression. However, it is also possible that depression may alter emotion regulation

Emotional Verbalization and Identification of Facial Expressions in Teenagers’ Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. S. Ivanova

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper emphasizes the need for studying the subjective effectiveness criteria of interpersonal communication and importance of effective communication for personality development in adolescence. The problemof undeveloped representation of positive emotions in communication process is discussed. Both the identification and verbalization of emotions are regarded by the author as the basic communication skills. The experimental data regarding the longitude and age levels are described, the gender differences in identification and verbalization of emotions considered. The outcomes of experimental study demonstrate that the accuracy of facial emotional expressions of teenage boys and girls changes at different rates. The prospects of defining the age norms for identification and verbalization of emotions are analyzed.

Nonverbal and verbal emotional expression and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, D S; Pennebaker, J W

1993-01-01

The spontaneous nonverbal expression of emotion is related to immediate reductions in autonomic nervous system activity. Similar changes in specific autonomic channels occur when individuals are encouraged to verbally express their emotions. Indeed, these physiological changes are most likely to occur among individuals who are either verbally or nonverbally highly expressive. These data suggest that when individuals must actively inhibit emotional expression, they are at increased risk for a variety of health problems. Several experiments are summarized which indicate that verbally expressing traumatic experiences by writing or talking improves physical health, enhances immune function, and is associated with fewer medical visits. Although less research is available regarding nonverbal expression, it is also likely that the nonverbal expression of emotion bears some relation to health status. We propose that the effectiveness of many common expressive therapies (e.g., art, music, cathartic) would be enhanced if clients are encouraged to both express their feelings nonverbally and to put their experiences into words.

Processing of emotional facial expressions in Korsakoff's syndrome.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montagne, B.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Wester, A.J.; Haan, E.H.F. de

2006-01-01

Interpersonal contacts depend to a large extent on understanding emotional facial expressions of others. Several neurological conditions may affect proficiency in emotional expression recognition. It has been shown that chronic alcoholics are impaired in labelling emotional expressions. More

Processing emotional body expressions: state-of-the-art.

Science.gov (United States)

Enea, Violeta; Iancu, Sorina

2016-10-01

Processing emotional body expressions has become recently an important topic in affective and social neuroscience along with the investigation of facial expressions. The objective of the study is to review the literature on emotional body expressions in order to discuss the current state of knowledge on this topic and identify directions for future research. The following electronic databases were searched: PsychINFO, Ebsco, ERIC, ProQuest, Sagepub, and SCOPUS using terms such as "body," "bodily expression," "body perception," "emotions," "posture," "body recognition" and combinations of them. The synthesis revealed several research questions that were addressed in neuroimaging, electrophysiological and behavioral studies. Among them, one important question targeted the neural mechanisms of emotional processing of body expressions to specific subsections regarding the time course for the integration of emotional signals from face and body, as well as the role of context in the perception of emotional signals. Processing bodily expression of emotion is similar to processing facial expressions, and the holistic processing is extended to the whole person. The current state-of-the-art in processing emotional body expressions may lead to a better understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of social behavior. At the end of the review, suggestions for future research directions are presented.

Emotion regulation in interpersonal problems: the role of cognitive-emotional complexity, emotion regulation goals, and expressivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Coats, Abby Heckman; Blanchard-Fields, Fredda

2008-03-01

Young, middle-aged, and older adults' emotion regulation strategies in interpersonal problems were examined. Participants imagined themselves in anger- or sadness-eliciting situations with a close friend. Factor analyses of a new questionnaire supported a 4-factor model of emotion regulation strategies, including passivity, expressing emotions, seeking emotional information or support, and solving the problem. Results suggest that age differences in emotion regulation (such as older adults' increased endorsement of passive emotion regulation relative to young adults) are partially due to older adults' decreased ability to integrate emotion and cognition, increased prioritization of emotion regulation goals, and decreased tendency to express anger. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Faces and bodies: perception and mimicry of emotionally congruent and incongruent facial and bodily expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariska eKret

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Traditional emotion theories stress the importance of the face in the expression of emotions but bodily expressions are becoming increasingly important. Here we tested the hypothesis that similar physiological responses can be evoked by observing emotional face and body signals and that the reaction to angry signals is amplified in anxious individuals. We designed three experiments in which participants categorized emotional expressions from isolated facial and bodily expressions and from emotionally congruent and incongruent face-body compounds. Participants’ fixations were measured and their pupil size recorded with eye-tracking equipment, and their facial reactions measured with electromyography (EMG. The behavioral results support our prediction that the recognition of a facial expression is improved in the context of a matching posture and importantly, also vice versa. From their facial expression, it appeared that observers acted with signs of negative emotionality (increased corrugator activity to angry and fearful facial expressions and with positive emotionality (increased zygomaticus to happy facial expressions. What we predicted and found, was that angry and fearful cues from the face or the body, attracted more attention than happy cues. We further observed that responses evoked by angry cues were amplified in individuals with high anxiety scores. In sum, we show that people process bodily expressions of emotion in a similar fashion as facial expressions and that the congruency between the emotional signals from the face and body ameliorates the recognition of the emotion.

The neglected role of positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Kirsten E

2012-08-01

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by elevated stress, heightened risky behaviors, and increases in psychopathology. Emotion dysregulation is a hypothesized contributor to negative outcomes and to the onset of psychopathology during adolescence. However, the dysregulation of negative emotion has been the focus of research while the literature on positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology is limited. This review highlights both the development of normative and dysregulated positive emotion during adolescence. First, the literature on normative adolescent emotional development and on negative emotional regulation is briefly reviewed, followed by a discussion of current theories of positive emotion, which are grounded in the adult literature. From a developmental perspective, the dimension of approach motivation within positive emotion is emphasized throughout and frames the review. This conceptualization guides organization of literatures on normative experiences of positive emotion in adolescence and the role of dysregulated positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology, specifically adolescent depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, externalizing disorders and eating disorders. Last, future directions in the study of adolescent positive emotion and its regulation and the implications of highlighting approach motivation in normative and dysregulated positive emotion in adolescence are detailed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A validated battery of vocal emotional expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierre Maurage

2007-11-01

Full Text Available For a long time, the exploration of emotions focused on facial expression, and vocal expression of emotion has only recently received interest. However, no validated battery of emotional vocal expressions has been published and made available to the researchers’ community. This paper aims at validating and proposing such material. 20 actors (10 men recorded sounds (words and interjections expressing six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, neutral and sadness. These stimuli were then submitted to a double validation phase: (1 preselection by experts; (2 quantitative and qualitative validation by 70 participants. 195 stimuli were selected for the final battery, each one depicting a precise emotion. The ratings provide a complete measure of intensity and specificity for each stimulus. This paper provides, to our knowledge, the first validated, freely available and highly standardized battery of emotional vocal expressions (words and intonations. This battery could constitute an interesting tool for the exploration of prosody processing among normal and pathological populations, in neuropsychology as well as psychiatry. Further works are nevertheless needed to complement the present material.

Capturing Physiology of Emotion along Facial Muscles: A Method of Distinguishing Feigned from Involuntary Expressions

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Masood Mehmood; Ward, Robert D.; Ingleby, Michael

The ability to distinguish feigned from involuntary expressions of emotions could help in the investigation and treatment of neuropsychiatric and affective disorders and in the detection of malingering. This work investigates differences in emotion-specific patterns of thermal variations along the major facial muscles. Using experimental data extracted from 156 images, we attempted to classify patterns of emotion-specific thermal variations into neutral, and voluntary and involuntary expressions of positive and negative emotive states. Initial results suggest (i) each facial muscle exhibits a unique thermal response to various emotive states; (ii) the pattern of thermal variances along the facial muscles may assist in classifying voluntary and involuntary facial expressions; and (iii) facial skin temperature measurements along the major facial muscles may be used in automated emotion assessment.

Why should I talk about emotion? Communication patterns associated with physician discussion of patient expressions of negative emotion in hospital admission encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Kristen; Cimino, Jenica E W; Arnold, Robert M; Anderson, Wendy G

2012-10-01

To describe hospital-based physicians' responses to patients' verbal expressions of negative emotion and identify patterns of further communication associated with different responses. Qualitative analysis of physician-patient admission encounters audio-recorded between August 2008 and March 2009 at two hospitals within a university system. A codebook was iteratively developed to identify patients' verbal expressions of negative emotion. We categorized physicians' responses by their immediate effect on further discussion of emotion - focused away (away), focused neither toward nor away (neutral), and focused toward (toward) - and examined further communication patterns following each response type. In 79 patients' encounters with 27 physicians, the median expression of negative emotion was 1, range 0-14. Physician responses were 25% away, 43% neutral, and 32% toward. Neutral and toward responses elicited patient perspectives, concerns, social and spiritual issues, and goals for care. Toward responses demonstrated physicians' support, contributing to physician-patient alignment and agreement about treatment. Responding to expressions of negative emotion neutrally or with statements that focus toward emotion elicits clinically relevant information and is associated with positive physician-patient relationship and care outcomes. Providers should respond to expressions of negative emotion with statements that allow for or explicitly encourage further discussion of emotion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Willingness to express emotions to caregiving spouses.

Science.gov (United States)

Monin, Joan K; Martire, Lynn M; Schulz, Richard; Clark, Margaret S

2009-02-01

This study examined the association between care-recipients' willingness to express emotions to spousal caregivers and caregiver's well-being and support behaviors. Using self-report measures in the context of a larger study, 262 care-recipients with osteoarthritis reported on their willingness to express emotions to caregivers, and caregivers reported on their stress and insensitive responding to care-recipients. Results revealed that care-recipients' willingness to express happiness was associated with less insensitive caregiver responding, and willingness to express interpersonal emotions (e.g., compassion, guilt) was associated with less caregiving stress. There were also gender differences, such that caregiving wives, in particular, benefited from their husband's willingness to express vulnerable (e.g., anxiety, sadness) and interpersonal emotions. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Pleasure Experience and Emotion Expression in Patients with Schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

CHU, Min-yi; LI, Xu; LV, Qin-yu; Yl, Zheng-hui; CHEUNG, Eric F. C.; CHAN, Raymond C. K.

2017-01-01

Background Impairments in emotional experience and expression have been observed in patients with schizophrenia. However, most previous studies have been limited to either emotional experience (especially anhedonia) or expression. Few studies have examined both the experience and expression of emotion in schizophrenia patients at the same time. Aims The present study aimed to examine pleasure experience and emotion expression in patients with schizophrenia. In particular, we specifically examined the relationship between emotion impairments (both pleasure experience and expression) and negative symptoms. Methods One hundred and fifty patients completed the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale and Emotional Expressivity Scale. Results Schizophrenia patients exhibited deficits in experiencing pleasure, but showed intact reported emotion expression. Patients with prominent negative symptoms showed reduced anticipatory pleasure, especially in abstract anticipatory pleasure. Conclusion The present findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia have deficits in pleasure experience, while their abilities to express emotion appear intact. Such deficits are more severe in patients with prominent negative symptoms. PMID:29276350

Emotional expressivity in older and younger adults' descriptions of personal memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Schryer, Emily; Ross, Michael; St Jacques, Peggy; Levine, Brian; Fernandes, Myra

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: According to the socioemotional selectivity theory (SST; Mather & Carstensen, 2003, Psychological Sciences, 14, 409-415), aging is associated with greater motivation to regulate emotions. The authors propose that the language people use to describe personal memories provides an index of age differences in emotional self-regulation. In the present article, the authors reanalyzed three previously published studies in which older (aged 60-88) and younger (aged 17-33) participants described emotional and neutral memories from their recent and distant pasts. The authors analyzed the language of the memories using Pennebaker, Booth, and Francis's (2007) Linguistic Inquiry Word Count program (Austin, TX: LIWC Inc.), which calculates the percentage of positive and negative emotion words. In Studies 1 and 2, older adults used more positive emotion words than did younger adults to describe their autobiographical memories from the recent past, particularly when these were of a neutral valence. In Study 3, older adults used more positive emotion words when describing more recent memories (from the past 5 years) but not when describing distant childhood or adolescent memories. The authors suggest that these age differences in emotional expressivity support SST, and represent an as-yet unreported age difference that may stem from differences in motivation to regulate emotion.

Gender Differences in Positive Social-Emotional Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Romer, Natalie; Ravitch, N. Kathryn; Tom, Karalyn; Merrell, Kenneth W.; Wesley, Katherine L.

2011-01-01

We investigated gender differences of children and adolescents on positive social and emotional competencies using a new strength-based measure of positive social-emotional attributes and resilience--the Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales (SEARS) cross-informant system. Caregivers, teachers, and students in grades kindergarten through…

Parent emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation: Associations with abused children's school functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Haskett, Mary E.; Stelter, Rebecca; Proffit, Katie; Nice, Rachel

2012-01-01

Objective Identifying factors associated with school functioning of abused children is important in prevention of long-term negative outcomes associated with school failure. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which parent emotional expressiveness and children's self-regulation predicted early school behavior of abused children. Methods The sample included 92 physically abused children ages 4-7 and one of their parents (95.7% mothers). Parents completed a measure of their own emotional expressiveness, and parents and teachers provided reports of children's self-regulatory skills. Children's school functioning was measured by observations of playground aggression and teacher reports of aggression and classroom behavior. Results Parents’ expression of positive and negative emotions was associated with various aspects of children's self-regulation and functioning in the school setting. Links between self-regulation and children's school adjustment were robust; poor self-regulation was associated with higher aggression and lower cooperation and self-directed behavior in the classroom. There was minimal support for a mediating role of children's self-regulation in links between parent expressiveness and children's behavior. Practice implications Findings point to the relevance of parent emotional expressivity and children's self-regulatory processes in understanding physically abused children's functioning at the transition to school. Although further research is needed, findings indicate that increasing parental expression of positive emotion should be a focus in treatment along with reduction in negativity of abusive parents. Further, addressing children's self-regulation could be important in efforts to reduce aggression and enhance children's classroom competence. PMID:22565040

Acute alcohol effects on facial expressions of emotions in social drinkers: a systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Capito, Eva Susanne; Lautenbacher, Stefan; Horn-Hofmann, Claudia

2017-01-01

Background As known from everyday experience and experimental research, alcohol modulates emotions. Particularly regarding social interaction, the effects of alcohol on the facial expression of emotion might be of relevance. However, these effects have not been systematically studied. We performed a systematic review on acute alcohol effects on social drinkers’ facial expressions of induced positive and negative emotions. Materials and methods With a predefined algorithm, we searched three electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for studies conducted on social drinkers that used acute alcohol administration, emotion induction, and standardized methods to record facial expressions. We excluded those studies that failed common quality standards, and finally selected 13 investigations for this review. Results Overall, alcohol exerted effects on facial expressions of emotions in social drinkers. These effects were not generally disinhibiting, but varied depending on the valence of emotion and on social interaction. Being consumed within social groups, alcohol mostly influenced facial expressions of emotions in a socially desirable way, thus underscoring the view of alcohol as social lubricant. However, methodical differences regarding alcohol administration between the studies complicated comparability. Conclusion Our review highlighted the relevance of emotional valence and social-context factors for acute alcohol effects on social drinkers’ facial expressions of emotions. Future research should investigate how these alcohol effects influence the development of problematic drinking behavior in social drinkers. PMID:29255375

Positive emotion communication: Fostering well-being at end of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Terrill, Alexandra L; Ellington, Lee; John, Kevin K; Latimer, Seth; Xu, Jiayun; Reblin, Maija; Clayton, Margaret F

2018-04-01

Little is known about positive emotion communication (PEC) in end-of-life care. This study aims to identify types and patterns of PEC among hospice nurses, caregivers, and patients. A coding system based on positive psychology theory was applied as a secondary analysis to audio recordings of hospice nurse home visits with cancer patients and family caregivers, collected as part of a prospective longitudinal study. Eighty recordings (4 visits from 20 triads) were coded for humor, connection, praise, positive focus, gratitude, taking joy/savoring, and perfunctory statements. Descriptive statistics revealed the greatest proportion of PEC was made by nurses. Humor was most frequently used across all speakers. Cluster analysis revealed four PEC visit types: Savor/Take Joy; Humor; Perfunctory; and Other-focused Expressions of Positive Emotions. Linear mixed effect regression was used to estimate the trajectory of PEC over time, but no significant change was found. We found that positive emotions are common in nurse, caregiver and patient communication at end-of-life and do not decline closer to death. This study is among the first to explore PEC at end-of-life, and offers a way to bring strengths-based approaches into end of life communication research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The perception of emotion in body expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

de Gelder, B; de Borst, A W; Watson, R

2015-01-01

During communication, we perceive and express emotional information through many different channels, including facial expressions, prosody, body motion, and posture. Although historically the human body has been perceived primarily as a tool for actions, there is now increased understanding that the body is also an important medium for emotional expression. Indeed, research on emotional body language is rapidly emerging as a new field in cognitive and affective neuroscience. This article reviews how whole-body signals are processed and understood, at the behavioral and neural levels, with specific reference to their role in emotional communication. The first part of this review outlines brain regions and spectrotemporal dynamics underlying perception of isolated neutral and affective bodies, the second part details the contextual effects on body emotion recognition, and final part discusses body processing on a subconscious level. More specifically, research has shown that body expressions as compared with neutral bodies draw upon a larger network of regions responsible for action observation and preparation, emotion processing, body processing, and integrative processes. Results from neurotypical populations and masking paradigms suggest that subconscious processing of affective bodies relies on a specific subset of these regions. Moreover, recent evidence has shown that emotional information from the face, voice, and body all interact, with body motion and posture often highlighting and intensifying the emotion expressed in the face and voice. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Emotion expression in body action and posture.

Science.gov (United States)

Dael, Nele; Mortillaro, Marcello; Scherer, Klaus R

2012-10-01

Emotion communication research strongly focuses on the face and voice as expressive modalities, leaving the rest of the body relatively understudied. Contrary to the early assumption that body movement only indicates emotional intensity, recent studies have shown that body movement and posture also conveys emotion specific information. However, a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms is hampered by a lack of production studies informed by a theoretical framework. In this research we adopted the Body Action and Posture (BAP) coding system to examine the types and patterns of body movement that are employed by 10 professional actors to portray a set of 12 emotions. We investigated to what extent these expression patterns support explicit or implicit predictions from basic emotion theory, bidimensional theory, and componential appraisal theory. The overall results showed partial support for the different theoretical approaches. They revealed that several patterns of body movement systematically occur in portrayals of specific emotions, allowing emotion differentiation. Although a few emotions were prototypically expressed by one particular pattern, most emotions were variably expressed by multiple patterns, many of which can be explained as reflecting functional components of emotion such as modes of appraisal and action readiness. It is concluded that further work in this largely underdeveloped area should be guided by an appropriate theoretical framework to allow a more systematic design of experiments and clear hypothesis testing.

Proficiency in Positive versus Negative Emotion Identification and Subjective Well-being among Long-term Married Elderly Couples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca ePetrican

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Evidence is accruing that positive emotions play a crucial role in shaping a healthy interpersonal climate. Inspired by this research, the current investigation sought to shed light on the link between proficiency in identifying positive versus negative emotions and a close partner’s well-being. To this end, we conducted two studies with neurologically intact elderly married couples (Study 1 and an age-matched clinical sample, comprising married couples in which one spouse had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (Study 2, which tends to hinder emotional expressivity. To assess proficiency in identifying emotions from whole body postures, we had participants in both studies complete a pointlight walker task, featuring four actors (two male, two female expressing one positive (i.e., happiness and three negative (i.e., sadness, anger, fear basic emotions. Participants also filled out measures of subjective well-being. Among Study 1’s neurologically intact spouses, greater expertise in identifying positive (but not negative emotions was linked to greater partner life satisfaction (but not hedonic balance. Spouses of PD patients exhibited increased proficiency in identifying positive emotions relative to controls, possibly reflective of compensatory mechanisms. Complementarily, relative to controls, spouses of PD patients exhibited reduced proficiency in identifying negative emotions and a tendency to underestimate their intensity. Importantly, all of these effects attenuated with longer years from PD onset. Finally, there was evidence that it was increased partner expertise in identifying negative (rather than positive emotional states that predicted greater life satisfaction levels among the PD patients and their spouses. Our results thus suggest that positive versus negative emotions may play distinct roles in close relationship dynamics as a function of neurological status and disability trajectory.

Automatic emotional expression analysis from eye area

Science.gov (United States)

Akkoç, Betül; Arslan, Ahmet

2015-02-01

Eyes play an important role in expressing emotions in nonverbal communication. In the present study, emotional expression classification was performed based on the features that were automatically extracted from the eye area. Fırst, the face area and the eye area were automatically extracted from the captured image. Afterwards, the parameters to be used for the analysis through discrete wavelet transformation were obtained from the eye area. Using these parameters, emotional expression analysis was performed through artificial intelligence techniques. As the result of the experimental studies, 6 universal emotions consisting of expressions of happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger and fear were classified at a success rate of 84% using artificial neural networks.

The Influence of Personality Traits on Emotion Expression in Bulimic Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Giner-Bartolomé, Cristina; Steward, Trevor; Wolz, Ines; Jiménez-Murcia, Susana; Granero, Roser; Tárrega, Salomé; Fernández-Formoso, José Antonio; Soriano-Mas, Carles; Menchón, José M; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando

2016-07-01

Facial expressions are critical in forming social bonds and in signalling one's emotional state to others. In eating disorder patients, impairments in facial emotion recognition have been associated with eating psychopathology severity. Little research however has been carried out on how bulimic spectrum disorder (BSD) patients spontaneously express emotions. Our aim was to investigate emotion expression in BSD patients and to explore the influence of personality traits. Our study comprised 28 BSD women and 15 healthy controls. Facial expressions were recorded while participants played a serious video game. Expressions of anger and joy were used as outcome measures. Overall, BSD participants displayed less facial expressiveness than controls. Among BSD women, expressions of joy were positively associated with reward dependence, novelty seeking and self-directedness, whereas expressions of anger were associated with lower self-directedness. Our findings suggest that specific personality traits are associated with altered emotion facial expression in patients with BSD. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Expressing emotions in blogs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodriguez-Hidalgo, Carmina Rodriguez-Hidalgo; Tan, Ed S.; Verlegh, Peeter

2017-01-01

Textual paralanguage cues (TPC) have been signaled as effective emotion transmitters online. Though several studies have investigated their properties and occurrence, there remains a gap concerning their communicative impact within specific psychological processes, such as the social sharing...... of emotion (SSE, Rimé, 2009). This study content-analyzed Live Journal blogposts for the occurrence of TPC in three phases of online SSE: initiation, feedback and repost. We compared these to TPC on a second type of emotional expression, emotional venting. Based on Social Information processing theory (SIP......, Walther, 1992), and on the Emotional Mimicry in Context (EMC, Hess & Fischer, 2013) framework, we study predictive relationships in TPC usage in our phased model of online SSE. Results showed that TPC prevailed in SSE blogposts and strongly dominated in emotional venting posts. TPC was more common...

Emotional intelligence, trauma severity, and emotional expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Min C; Chen, Yung Y

2016-07-01

This study investigated Emotional Intelligence (EI) as a moderator for the association between emotional expression and adaptive trauma processing, as measured by depressive symptoms. Using Pennebaker's written emotional expression paradigm, 105 participants were assigned to either a conventional trauma-writing or religious trauma-writing condition. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and again at one-month post writing. No significant association between EI and religiousness was found at baseline. Results indicated a three-way interaction among EI, trauma severity, and writing condition on depressive symptoms at follow-up. For the religious trauma-writing condition only, there was a significant difference between high- versus low-EI participants who experienced more severe trauma in depressive symptoms at follow-up, such that low-EI participants registered less depressive symptoms than high-EI participants; while there was no significant difference between low versus high EI for participants with less severe trauma. These findings encourage further investigation of the conditions under which religion may be a beneficial factor in trauma adaptation.

Reading people's minds from emotion expressions in interdependent decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

de Melo, Celso M; Carnevale, Peter J; Read, Stephen J; Gratch, Jonathan

2014-01-01

How do people make inferences about other people's minds from their emotion displays? The ability to infer others' beliefs, desires, and intentions from their facial expressions should be especially important in interdependent decision making when people make decisions from beliefs about the others' intention to cooperate. Five experiments tested the general proposition that people follow principles of appraisal when making inferences from emotion displays, in context. Experiment 1 revealed that the same emotion display produced opposite effects depending on context: When the other was competitive, a smile on the other's face evoked a more negative response than when the other was cooperative. Experiment 2 revealed that the essential information from emotion displays was derived from appraisals (e.g., Is the current state of affairs conducive to my goals? Who is to blame for it?); facial displays of emotion had the same impact on people's decision making as textual expressions of the corresponding appraisals. Experiments 3, 4, and 5 used multiple mediation analyses and a causal-chain design: Results supported the proposition that beliefs about others' appraisals mediate the effects of emotion displays on expectations about others' intentions. We suggest a model based on appraisal theories of emotion that posits an inferential mechanism whereby people retrieve, from emotion expressions, information about others' appraisals, which then lead to inferences about others' mental states. This work has implications for the design of algorithms that drive agent behavior in human-agent strategic interaction, an emerging domain at the interface of computer science and social psychology.

Mental Health and Emotional Expression in Facebook

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eglee Duran Rodríguez

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article reports the results of the project “Mental health and emotional expression in Facebook”. The research was approached from the qualitative paradigm under virtual ethnographic approach, interpreting the findings through their own players and triangulated with the views of researchers and experts in the area of mental health, emotions and information technology and communication. We concluded that a good part of users vented their secrets on Facebook, where they are able to confide and express a range of emotions and intimacies that in the real context is unlikely to give. Along these findings show that the use of Facebook serves as a space for emotional expression impacting the mental and emotional health.

Development of the Korean Facial Emotion Stimuli: Korea University Facial Expression Collection 2nd Edition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sun-Min Kim

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Developing valid emotional facial stimuli for specific ethnicities creates ample opportunities to investigate both the nature of emotional facial information processing in general and clinical populations as well as the underlying mechanisms of facial emotion processing within and across cultures. Given that most entries in emotional facial stimuli databases were developed with western samples, and given that very few of the eastern emotional facial stimuli sets were based strictly on the Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System, developing valid emotional facial stimuli of eastern samples remains a high priority.Aims: To develop and examine the psychometric properties of six basic emotional facial stimuli recruiting professional Korean actors and actresses based on the Ekman’s Facial Action Coding System for the Korea University Facial Expression Collection-Second Edition (KUFEC-II.Materials And Methods: Stimulus selection was done in two phases. First, researchers evaluated the clarity and intensity of each stimulus developed based on the Facial Action Coding System. Second, researchers selected a total of 399 stimuli from a total of 57 actors and actresses, which were then rated on accuracy, intensity, valence, and arousal by 75 independent raters.Conclusion: The hit rates between the targeted and rated expressions of the KUFEC-II were all above 80%, except for fear (50% and disgust (63%. The KUFEC-II appears to be a valid emotional facial stimuli database, providing the largest set of emotional facial stimuli. The mean intensity score was 5.63 (out of 7, suggesting that the stimuli delivered the targeted emotions with great intensity. All positive expressions were rated as having a high positive valence, whereas all negative expressions were rated as having a high negative valence. The KUFEC II is expected to be widely used in various psychological studies on emotional facial expression. KUFEC-II stimuli can be obtained through

Expressing Emotions as Evidence in Osteoporosis Narratives: Effects on Message Processing and Intentions

Science.gov (United States)

Volkman, Julie E.; Parrott, Roxanne L.

2012-01-01

This study examined the use of different narratives expressing positive or negative emotions, and varying the narrator's perspective on the arousal of discrete emotions, dominant cognitions, perceived evidence quality, and perceived message effectiveness related to osteoporosis behavioral intentions. Formative research led to the creation of…

Two Sides of Emotion: Exploring Positivity and Negativity in Six Basic Emotions across Cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sieun An

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We employ a novel paradigm to test whether six basic emotions (sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise, and happiness; Ekman, 1992 contain both negativity and positivity, as opposed to consisting of a single continuum between negative and positive. We examined the perceived negativity and positivity of these emotions in terms of their affective and cognitive components among Korean, Chinese, Canadian, and American students. Assessing each emotion at the cognitive and affective levels cross-culturally provides a fairly comprehensive picture of the positivity and negativity of emotions. Affective components were rated as more divergent than cognitive components. Cross-culturally, Americans and Canadians gave higher valence ratings to the salient valence of each emotion, and lower ratings to the non-salient valence of an emotion, compared to Chinese and Koreans. The results suggest that emotions encompass both positivity and negativity, and there were cross-cultural differences in reported emotions. This paradigm complements existing emotion theories, building on past research and allowing for more parsimonious explanations of cross-cultural research on emotion.

Two Sides of Emotion: Exploring Positivity and Negativity in Six Basic Emotions across Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

An, Sieun; Ji, Li-Jun; Marks, Michael; Zhang, Zhiyong

2017-01-01

We employ a novel paradigm to test whether six basic emotions (sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise, and happiness; Ekman, 1992) contain both negativity and positivity, as opposed to consisting of a single continuum between negative and positive. We examined the perceived negativity and positivity of these emotions in terms of their affective and cognitive components among Korean, Chinese, Canadian, and American students. Assessing each emotion at the cognitive and affective levels cross-culturally provides a fairly comprehensive picture of the positivity and negativity of emotions. Affective components were rated as more divergent than cognitive components. Cross-culturally, Americans and Canadians gave higher valence ratings to the salient valence of each emotion, and lower ratings to the non-salient valence of an emotion, compared to Chinese and Koreans. The results suggest that emotions encompass both positivity and negativity, and there were cross-cultural differences in reported emotions. This paradigm complements existing emotion theories, building on past research and allowing for more parsimonious explanations of cross-cultural research on emotion. PMID:28473791

Two Sides of Emotion: Exploring Positivity and Negativity in Six Basic Emotions across Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Sieun; Ji, Li-Jun; Marks, Michael; Zhang, Zhiyong

2017-01-01

We employ a novel paradigm to test whether six basic emotions (sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise, and happiness; Ekman, 1992) contain both negativity and positivity, as opposed to consisting of a single continuum between negative and positive. We examined the perceived negativity and positivity of these emotions in terms of their affective and cognitive components among Korean, Chinese, Canadian, and American students. Assessing each emotion at the cognitive and affective levels cross-culturally provides a fairly comprehensive picture of the positivity and negativity of emotions. Affective components were rated as more divergent than cognitive components. Cross-culturally, Americans and Canadians gave higher valence ratings to the salient valence of each emotion, and lower ratings to the non-salient valence of an emotion, compared to Chinese and Koreans. The results suggest that emotions encompass both positivity and negativity, and there were cross-cultural differences in reported emotions. This paradigm complements existing emotion theories, building on past research and allowing for more parsimonious explanations of cross-cultural research on emotion.

Judging emotional congruency: Explicit attention to situational context modulates processing of facial expressions of emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Diéguez-Risco, Teresa; Aguado, Luis; Albert, Jacobo; Hinojosa, José Antonio

2015-12-01

The influence of explicit evaluative processes on the contextual integration of facial expressions of emotion was studied in a procedure that required the participants to judge the congruency of happy and angry faces with preceding sentences describing emotion-inducing situations. Judgments were faster on congruent trials in the case of happy faces and on incongruent trials in the case of angry faces. At the electrophysiological level, a congruency effect was observed in the face-sensitive N170 component that showed larger amplitudes on incongruent trials. An interactive effect of congruency and emotion appeared on the LPP (late positive potential), with larger amplitudes in response to happy faces that followed anger-inducing situations. These results show that the deliberate intention to judge the contextual congruency of facial expressions influences not only processes involved in affective evaluation such as those indexed by the LPP but also earlier processing stages that are involved in face perception. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Induction of depressed and elated mood by music influences the perception of facial emotional expressions in healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouhuys, A L; Bloem, G M; Groothuis, T G

1995-04-04

The judgement of healthy subject rating the emotional expressions of a set of schematic drawn faces is validated (study 1) to examine the relationship between mood (depressed/elated) and judgement of emotional expressions of these faces (study 2). Study 1: 30 healthy subjects judged 12 faces with respect to the emotions they express (fear, happiness, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, rejection and invitation). It was found that a particular face could reflect various emotions. All eight emotions were reflected in the set of faces and the emotions were consensually judged. Moreover, gender differences in judgement could be established. Study 2: In a cross-over design, 24 healthy subjects judged the faces after listening to depressing or elating music. The faces were subdivided in six 'ambiguous' faces (i.e., expressing similar amounts of positive and negative emotions) and six 'clear' faces (i.e., faces showing a preponderance of positive or negative emotions). In addition, these two types of faces were distinguished with respect to the intensity of emotions they express. 11 subjects who showed substantial differences in experienced depression after listening to the music were selected for further analysis. It was found that, when feeling more depressed, the subjects perceived more rejection/sadness in ambiguous faces (displaying less intensive emotions) and less invitation/happiness in clear faces. In addition, subjects saw more fear in clear faces that express less intensive emotions. Hence, results show a depression-related negative bias in the perception of facial displays.

Personality traits modulate neural responses to emotions expressed in music.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Mona; Hennig-Fast, Kristina; Bao, Yan; Carl, Petra; Pöppel, Ernst; Welker, Lorenz; Reiser, Maximilian; Meindl, Thomas; Gutyrchik, Evgeny

2013-07-26

Music communicates and evokes emotions. The number of studies on the neural correlates of musical emotion processing is increasing but few have investigated the factors that modulate these neural activations. Previous research has shown that personality traits account for individual variability of neural responses. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the dimensions Extraversion and Neuroticism are related to differences in brain reactivity to musical stimuli expressing the emotions happiness, sadness and fear. 12 participants (7 female, M=20.33 years) completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and were scanned while performing a passive listening task. Neurofunctional analyses revealed significant positive correlations between Neuroticism scores and activations in bilateral basal ganglia, insula and orbitofrontal cortex in response to music expressing happiness. Extraversion scores were marginally negatively correlated with activations in the right amygdala in response to music expressing fear. Our findings show that subjects' personality may have a predictive power in the neural correlates of musical emotion processing and should be considered in the context of experimental group homogeneity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experiences matter: Positive emotions facilitate intrinsic motivation

OpenAIRE

Løvoll, Helga Synnevåg; Røysamb, Espen; Vittersø, Joar

2017-01-01

This paper has two major aims. First, to investigate how positive emotions and intrinsic motivation affect each other over time. Second, to test the effect of positive emotions and intrinsic motivation on subsequent educational choices. Through two ordinary study semesters, 64 sport students in Norway reported on their intrinsic motivation for outdoor activities (twice) as well as positive emotions after two three-day outdoor events (four times). Next autumn, students study choice was collect...

Experiences matter: Positive emotions facilitate intrinsic motivation

OpenAIRE

Løvoll, Helga Synnevåg; Røysamb, Espen; Vittersø, Joar

2017-01-01

https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2017.1340083 This paper has two major aims. First, to investigate how positive emotions and intrinsic motivation affect each other over time. Second, to test the effect of positive emotions and intrinsic motivation on subsequent educational choices. Through two ordinary study semesters, 64 sport students in Norway reported on their intrinsic motivation for outdoor activities (twice) as well as positive emotions after two three-day outdoor e...

Head position and spinal position as determinants of perceived emotional state.

Science.gov (United States)

Schouwstra, S J; Hoogstraten, J

1995-10-01

A sample of 60 first-year psychology students judged the emotional state of 21 drawn figures and completed the Adjective Checklist and a mood questionnaire. The judgments were affected by the interaction between head position and spinal position of the figure. Each figure was associated with a unique pattern of emotions, and the judgments given were not influenced by the subjects' own emotional state.

父母元情绪理念、情绪表达与儿童社会能力的关系%Relations among Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy, Parental Emotion Expressivity,and Children's Social Competence

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

梁宗保; 张光珍; 陈会昌; 张萍

2012-01-01

对341名学前儿童及其父母进行问卷调查,考察父母元情绪理念、情绪表达与儿童社会能力的直接与间接关系.结果表明:(1)父亲情绪教导对儿童社会能力有促进作用,而情绪紊乱对儿童社会能力有阻碍作用;父亲的积极情绪表达对儿童社会能力有促进作用,消极情绪表达则有负向作用；此外,父亲情绪教导、情绪紊乱除了对儿童社会能力具有直接作用外,还通过其情绪表达对儿童社会能力具有间接影响.(2)母亲情绪教导对儿童社会能力具有积极作用,而情绪紊乱则具有消极影响；母亲积极情绪表达对儿童社会能力有促进作用,而消极情绪表达对儿童社会能力无显著预测关系；母亲情绪教导通过其积极情绪表达对儿童社会能力具有间接促进作用.%Parental meta-emotion philosophy refers to parents' feelings and behaviors toward their own and their children's emotions. It reflects parental beliefs about emotion socialization. Research has indicated that maternal positive meta-emotion philosophy (e.g. Emotion coaching) is associated with children's emotional competence, social competence and that maternal negative meta-emotion philosophy (etc. Emotion dismissing) is related with children's behavior problem. However, little research has been conducted on paternal meta-emotion philosophy. Moreover, there is inadequate research on parental emotion noninvolvement and emotion dysfunction. It has been suggested that children's competence may be a mediator of the relations between parental emotion socialization belief or goal and children's social outcomes. It is also reasonable to argue that parents' beliefs or goals about emotion may also affect their own emotion-related behavior and emotion expressivity. As such, parental emotion expressivity may play a mediated role in relations between parental emotion-related beliefs and children's social competence.The current study explored relations

Seeing Mixed Emotions: The Specificity of Emotion Perception From Static and Dynamic Facial Expressions Across Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xia; Sauter, Disa A; Van Kleef, Gerben A

2018-01-01

Although perceivers often agree about the primary emotion that is conveyed by a particular expression, observers may concurrently perceive several additional emotions from a given facial expression. In the present research, we compared the perception of two types of nonintended emotions in Chinese and Dutch observers viewing facial expressions: emotions which were morphologically similar to the intended emotion and emotions which were morphologically dissimilar to the intended emotion. Findings were consistent across two studies and showed that (a) morphologically similar emotions were endorsed to a greater extent than dissimilar emotions and (b) Chinese observers endorsed nonintended emotions more than did Dutch observers. Furthermore, the difference between Chinese and Dutch observers was more pronounced for the endorsement of morphologically similar emotions than of dissimilar emotions. We also obtained consistent evidence that Dutch observers endorsed nonintended emotions that were congruent with the preceding expressions to a greater degree. These findings suggest that culture and morphological similarity both influence the extent to which perceivers see several emotions in a facial expression.

Seeing Mixed Emotions: The Specificity of Emotion Perception From Static and Dynamic Facial Expressions Across Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xia; Sauter, Disa A.; Van Kleef, Gerben A.

2017-01-01

Although perceivers often agree about the primary emotion that is conveyed by a particular expression, observers may concurrently perceive several additional emotions from a given facial expression. In the present research, we compared the perception of two types of nonintended emotions in Chinese and Dutch observers viewing facial expressions: emotions which were morphologically similar to the intended emotion and emotions which were morphologically dissimilar to the intended emotion. Findings were consistent across two studies and showed that (a) morphologically similar emotions were endorsed to a greater extent than dissimilar emotions and (b) Chinese observers endorsed nonintended emotions more than did Dutch observers. Furthermore, the difference between Chinese and Dutch observers was more pronounced for the endorsement of morphologically similar emotions than of dissimilar emotions. We also obtained consistent evidence that Dutch observers endorsed nonintended emotions that were congruent with the preceding expressions to a greater degree. These findings suggest that culture and morphological similarity both influence the extent to which perceivers see several emotions in a facial expression. PMID:29386689

Altered Kinematics of Facial Emotion Expression and Emotion Recognition Deficits Are Unrelated in Parkinson?s Disease

OpenAIRE

Bologna, Matteo; Berardelli, Isabella; Paparella, Giulia; Marsili, Luca; Ricciardi, Lucia; Fabbrini, Giovanni; Berardelli, Alfredo

2016-01-01

Background Altered emotional processing, including reduced emotion facial expression and defective emotion recognition, has been reported in patients with Parkinson?s disease (PD). However, few studies have objectively investigated facial expression abnormalities in PD using neurophysiological techniques. It is not known whether altered facial expression and recognition in PD are related. Objective To investigate possible deficits in facial emotion expression and emotion recognition and their...

"Mad Scared" versus "I Was Sad": Emotional expression and response in urban adolescent males.

Science.gov (United States)

Reigeluth, Christopher S; Pollastri, Alisha R; Cardemil, Esteban V; Addis, Michael E

2016-06-01

Decades of masculinity research have concluded that society places higher demands on males to adhere to norms for low emotional expression; yet, countless studies find that emotional expression is integral to well-being. Unfortunately, this contradiction places boys and men in a tenuous position as they must navigate a bombardment of societal messages about the importance of emotional stoicism and invincibility. For urban adolescents, the situation is more complicated as they encounter environmental stressors that place greater emphasis on projecting a tough façade. Thus, our primary aim was to assess to what degree dyads of close adolescent male friends from urban, low-income neighborhoods are able to engage in emotional expression and response and to explore some of the underlying mechanisms and interpersonal processes. Qualitative findings from our sample suggest that urban boys exhibit a wide range of behaviors when participating in dyadic emotional disclosure and response, including being highly emotionally expressive and supportive in the context of close male friendship. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expression of emotion in Eastern and Western music mirrors vocalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowling, Daniel Liu; Sundararajan, Janani; Han, Shui'er; Purves, Dale

2012-01-01

In Western music, the major mode is typically used to convey excited, happy, bright or martial emotions, whereas the minor mode typically conveys subdued, sad or dark emotions. Recent studies indicate that the differences between these modes parallel differences between the prosodic and spectral characteristics of voiced speech sounds uttered in corresponding emotional states. Here we ask whether tonality and emotion are similarly linked in an Eastern musical tradition. The results show that the tonal relationships used to express positive/excited and negative/subdued emotions in classical South Indian music are much the same as those used in Western music. Moreover, tonal variations in the prosody of English and Tamil speech uttered in different emotional states are parallel to the tonal trends in music. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the association between musical tonality and emotion is based on universal vocal characteristics of different affective states.

Comparison of emotion recognition from facial expression and music.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspar, Tina; Labor, Marina; Jurić, Iva; Dumancić, Dijana; Ilakovac, Vesna; Heffer, Marija

2011-01-01

The recognition of basic emotions in everyday communication involves interpretation of different visual and auditory clues. The ability to recognize emotions is not clearly determined as their presentation is usually very short (micro expressions), whereas the recognition itself does not have to be a conscious process. We assumed that the recognition from facial expressions is selected over the recognition of emotions communicated through music. In order to compare the success rate in recognizing emotions presented as facial expressions or in classical music works we conducted a survey which included 90 elementary school and 87 high school students from Osijek (Croatia). The participants had to match 8 photographs of different emotions expressed on the face and 8 pieces of classical music works with 8 offered emotions. The recognition of emotions expressed through classical music pieces was significantly less successful than the recognition of emotional facial expressions. The high school students were significantly better at recognizing facial emotions than the elementary school students, whereas girls were better than boys. The success rate in recognizing emotions from music pieces was associated with higher grades in mathematics. Basic emotions are far better recognized if presented on human faces than in music, possibly because the understanding of facial emotions is one of the oldest communication skills in human society. Female advantage in emotion recognition was selected due to the necessity of their communication with the newborns during early development. The proficiency in recognizing emotional content of music and mathematical skills probably share some general cognitive skills like attention, memory and motivation. Music pieces were differently processed in brain than facial expressions and consequently, probably differently evaluated as relevant emotional clues.

Cardiovascular reactivity in hypertensives: differential effect of expressing and inhibiting emotions during moments of interpersonal stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipp, Marilda E Novaes; Pereira, Márcia M Bignotto; Justo, Ana Paula; de Matos, Thania M Gomes

2006-11-01

This study investigated cardiovascular reactivity of hypertensive adults during periods of emotional stress. Two types of instructions were given at different moments, to the same subject, either to express or to suppress feelings during role-play. Expressing, but not inhibiting, emotions elicited significantly higher reactivity during responding to negative scenes, followed by responding during the positive interactions. Blood pressure increases in both expressing and inhibiting conditions, were also found during the instruction periods. Results indicated that socially demanding situations represent a stressor whose effects may vary depending on whether or not respondents regulate expression of emotions. It is suggested that the difficulty in expressing emotions found in some hypertensive individuals may have the function of controlling or reducing blood pressure reactivity.

Method for Face-Emotion Retrieval Using A Cartoon Emotional Expression Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kostov, Vlaho; Yanagisawa, Hideyoshi; Johansson, Martin; Fukuda, Shuichi

A simple method for extracting emotion from a human face, as a form of non-verbal communication, was developed to cope with and optimize mobile communication in a globalized and diversified society. A cartoon face based model was developed and used to evaluate emotional content of real faces. After a pilot survey, basic rules were defined and student subjects were asked to express emotion using the cartoon face. Their face samples were then analyzed using principal component analysis and the Mahalanobis distance method. Feature parameters considered as having relations with emotions were extracted and new cartoon faces (based on these parameters) were generated. The subjects evaluated emotion of these cartoon faces again and we confirmed these parameters were suitable. To confirm how these parameters could be applied to real faces, we asked subjects to express the same emotions which were then captured electronically. Simple image processing techniques were also developed to extract these features from real faces and we then compared them with the cartoon face parameters. It is demonstrated via the cartoon face that we are able to express the emotions from very small amounts of information. As a result, real and cartoon faces correspond to each other. It is also shown that emotion could be extracted from still and dynamic real face images using these cartoon-based features.

Positive emotions, spirituality and the practice of psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaillant, George E

2008-01-01

THIS PAPER PROPOSES THAT EIGHT POSITIVE EMOTIONS: awe, love (attachment), trust (faith), compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, joy and hope constitute what we mean by spirituality. These emotions have been grossly ignored by psychiatry. The two sciences that I shall employ to demonstrate this definition of spirituality will be ethology and neuroscience. They are both very new. I will argue that spirituality is not about ideas, sacred texts and theology; rather, spirituality is all about emotion and social connection.Specific religions, for all their limitations, are often the portal through which positive emotions are brought into conscious attention. Neither Freud nor psychiatric textbooks ever mention emotions like joy and gratitude. Hymns and psalms give these emotions pride of place. Our whole concept of psychotherapy might change if clinicians set about enhancing positive emotions rather than focusing only on negative emotions.

Do facial movements express emotions or communicate motives?

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Brian

2005-01-01

This article addresses the debate between emotion-expression and motive-communication approaches to facial movements, focusing on Ekman's (1972) and Fridlund's (1994) contrasting models and their historical antecedents. Available evidence suggests that the presence of others either reduces or increases facial responses, depending on the quality and strength of the emotional manipulation and on the nature of the relationship between interactants. Although both display rules and social motives provide viable explanations of audience "inhibition" effects, some audience facilitation effects are less easily accommodated within an emotion-expression perspective. In particular, emotion is not a sufficient condition for a corresponding "expression," even discounting explicit regulation, and, apparently, "spontaneous" facial movements may be facilitated by the presence of others. Further, there is no direct evidence that any particular facial movement provides an unambiguous expression of a specific emotion. However, information communicated by facial movements is not necessarily extrinsic to emotion. Facial movements not only transmit emotion-relevant information but also contribute to ongoing processes of emotional action in accordance with pragmatic theories.

Characterization and recognition of mixed emotional expressions in thermal face image

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Priya; Bhattacharjee, Debotosh; De, Barin K.; Nasipuri, Mita

2016-05-01

Facial expressions in infrared imaging have been introduced to solve the problem of illumination, which is an integral constituent of visual imagery. The paper investigates facial skin temperature distribution on mixed thermal facial expressions of our created face database where six are basic expressions and rest 12 are a mixture of those basic expressions. Temperature analysis has been performed on three facial regions of interest (ROIs); periorbital, supraorbital and mouth. Temperature variability of the ROIs in different expressions has been measured using statistical parameters. The temperature variation measurement in ROIs of a particular expression corresponds to a vector, which is later used in recognition of mixed facial expressions. Investigations show that facial features in mixed facial expressions can be characterized by positive emotion induced facial features and negative emotion induced facial features. Supraorbital is a useful facial region that can differentiate basic expressions from mixed expressions. Analysis and interpretation of mixed expressions have been conducted with the help of box and whisker plot. Facial region containing mixture of two expressions is generally less temperature inducing than corresponding facial region containing basic expressions.

Mothering, fathering, and the regulation of negative and positive emotions in high-functioning preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschler-Guttenberg, Yael; Golan, Ofer; Ostfeld-Etzion, Sharon; Feldman, Ruth

2015-05-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties in regulating emotions and authors have called to study the specific processes underpinning emotion regulation (ER) in ASD. Yet, little observational research examined the strategies preschoolers with ASD use to regulate negative and positive emotions in the presence of their mothers and fathers. Forty preschoolers with ASD and 40 matched typically developing children and their mothers and fathers participated. Families were visited twice for identical battery of paradigms with mother or father. Parent-child interactions were coded for parent and child behaviors and children engaged in ER paradigms eliciting negative (fear) and positive (joy) emotions with each parent. ER paradigms were microcoded for negative and positive emotionality, ER strategies, and parent regulation facilitation. During free play, mothers' and fathers' sensitivity and warm discipline were comparable across groups; however, children with ASD displayed lower positive engagement and higher withdrawal. During ER paradigms, children with ASD expressed less positive emotionality overall and more negative emotionality during fear with father. Children with ASD used more simple self-regulatory strategies, particularly during fear, but expressed comparable levels of assistance seeking behavior toward mother and father in negative and positive contexts. Parents of children with ASD used less complex regulation facilitation strategies, including cognitive reappraisal and emotional reframing, and employed simple tactics, such as physical comforting to manage fear and social gaze to maintain joy. Findings describe general and parent- and emotion-specific processes of child ER and parent regulation facilitation in preschoolers with ASD. Results underscore the ability of such children to seek parental assistance during moments of high arousal and the parents' sensitive adaptation to their children's needs. Reduced positive emotionality

What emotion does the "facial expression of disgust" express?

Science.gov (United States)

Pochedly, Joseph T; Widen, Sherri C; Russell, James A

2012-12-01

The emotion attributed to the prototypical "facial expression of disgust" (a nose scrunch) depended on what facial expressions preceded it. In two studies, the majority of 120 children (5-14 years) and 135 adults (16-58 years) judged the nose scrunch as expressing disgust when the preceding set included an anger scowl, but as angry when the anger scowl was omitted. An even greater proportion of observers judged the nose scrunch as angry when the preceding set also included a facial expression of someone about to be sick. The emotion attributed to the nose scrunch therefore varies with experimental context. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Perceived duration of emotional events: evidence for a positivity effect in older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicol, Jeffrey R; Tanner, Jessica; Clarke, Kelly

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Arousal and negative affect modulate the effect of emotion on the subjective experience of the passage of time. Given that older adults are less aroused by negative emotional stimuli, and report lower levels of negative affect, compared with younger adults, the present study examined whether the effect of emotion on time perception differed in older and younger adults. Participants performed a temporal bisection task for emotional (i.e., angry, sad, happy) and neutral facial expressions presented at varying temporal intervals. Older adults perceived the duration of both positive and threatening events longer than neutral events, whereas younger adults only perceived threatening events longer than neutral events. The results, which are partially consistent with the positivity effect of aging postulated by the socioemotional selectivity theory, are the first to show how the effect of emotion on perceived duration affects older adults, and support previous research indicating that only threatening events prolong perceived duration in younger adults.

The Positive Effects of Trait Emotional Intelligence during a Performance Review Discussion – A Psychophysiological Study

Science.gov (United States)

Salminen, Mikko; Ravaja, Niklas

2017-01-01

Performance review discussions of real manager–subordinate pairs were examined in two studies to investigate the effects of trait emotional intelligence (EI) on dyad member’s felt and expressed emotions. Altogether there were 84 managers and 122 subordinates in two studies using 360 measured and self-reported trait EI. Facial electromyography, and frontal electroencephalography (EEG) asymmetry were collected continuously. Manager’s high trait EI was related to increased positive valence emotional facial expressions in the dyad during the discussions. The managers also had more EEG frontal asymmetry indicating approach motivation, than the subordinates. In addition, actor and partner effects and actor × partner interactions, and interactions between the role and actor or partner effect of trait EI were observed. Both actor and partner trait EI were related to more positive self-reported emotional valence. The results imply that trait EI has a role in organizational social interaction. PMID:28400747

Personal and Environmental Resources Mediate the Positivity-Emotional Dysfunction Relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehrer, H Matthew; Janus, Katherine C; Gloria, Christian T; Steinhardt, Mary A

2017-03-01

We investigated the relationships among positivity, perceived personal and environmental resources, and emotional dysfunction in adolescent girls. We hypothesized that perceived resources would mediate the relationship between positivity and emotional dysfunction. Participants (N = 510) attending an all-girls public school completed a survey assessing emotional dysfunction (depressive symptoms and perceived stress), positivity (positive/negative emotions), and personal/ environmental resources (resilience, hope, percent adaptive coping, community connectedness, social support, and school connectedness). Perceived resources were combined into one latent variable, and structural equation modeling tested the mediating effect of perceived resources on the relationship between positivity and emotional dysfunction. The model accounted for 63% of the variance in emotional dysfunction. Positivity exerted a significant direct effect on emotional dysfunction (β = -.14, p emotional dysfunction is primarily but not entirely mediated by perceived personal and environmental resources. Schools should consider strategies to enhance experiences of positive emotions and/or decrease experiences of negative emotions, in conjunction with encouraging student awareness and development of personal and environmental resources.

Expression of emotion in Eastern and Western music mirrors vocalization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Liu Bowling

Full Text Available In Western music, the major mode is typically used to convey excited, happy, bright or martial emotions, whereas the minor mode typically conveys subdued, sad or dark emotions. Recent studies indicate that the differences between these modes parallel differences between the prosodic and spectral characteristics of voiced speech sounds uttered in corresponding emotional states. Here we ask whether tonality and emotion are similarly linked in an Eastern musical tradition. The results show that the tonal relationships used to express positive/excited and negative/subdued emotions in classical South Indian music are much the same as those used in Western music. Moreover, tonal variations in the prosody of English and Tamil speech uttered in different emotional states are parallel to the tonal trends in music. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the association between musical tonality and emotion is based on universal vocal characteristics of different affective states.

When emotion and expression diverge: The social costs of Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Rachel; Pell, Marc D

2017-04-01

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are perceived more negatively than their healthy peers, yet it remains unclear what factors contribute to this negative social perception. Based on a cohort of 17 PD patients and 20 healthy controls, we assessed how naïve raters judge the emotion and emotional intensity displayed in dynamic facial expressions as adults with and without PD watched emotionally evocative films (Experiment 1), and how age-matched peers naïve to patients' disease status judge their social desirability along various dimensions from audiovisual stimuli (interview excerpts) recorded after certain films (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, participants with PD were rated as significantly more facially expressive than healthy controls; moreover, ratings demonstrated that PD patients were routinely mistaken for experiencing a negative emotion, whereas controls were rated as displaying a more positive emotion than they reported feeling. In Experiment 2, results showed that age-peers rated PD patients as significantly less socially desirable than control participants. Specifically, PD patients were rated as less involved, interested, friendly, intelligent, optimistic, attentive, and physically attractive than healthy controls. Taken together, our results point to a disconnect between how PD patients report feeling and attributions that others make about their emotions and social characteristics, underlining significant social challenges of the disease. In particular, changes in the ability to modulate the expression of negative emotions may contribute to the negative social impressions that many PD patients face.

Psychophysical measures of sensitivity to facial expression of emotion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle eMarneweck

2013-02-01

Full Text Available We report the development of two simple, objective, psychophysical measures of the ability to discriminate facial expressions of emotion that vary in intensity from a neutral facial expression and to discriminate between varying intensities of emotional facial expression. The stimuli were created by morphing photographs of models expressing four basic emotions, anger, disgust, happiness and sadness with neutral expressions. Psychometric functions were obtained for 15 healthy young adults using the Method of Constant Stimuli with a two-interval forced-choice procedure. Individual data points were fitted by Quick functions for each task and each emotion, allowing estimates of absolute thresholds and slopes. The tasks give objective and sensitive measures of the basic perceptual abilities required for perceiving and interpreting emotional facial expressions.

Emotional facial expressions reduce neural adaptation to face identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlicher, Anna M V; van Loon, Anouk M; Scholte, H Steven; Lamme, Victor A F; van der Leij, Andries R

2014-05-01

In human social interactions, facial emotional expressions are a crucial source of information. Repeatedly presented information typically leads to an adaptation of neural responses. However, processing seems sustained with emotional facial expressions. Therefore, we tested whether sustained processing of emotional expressions, especially threat-related expressions, would attenuate neural adaptation. Neutral and emotional expressions (happy, mixed and fearful) of same and different identity were presented at 3 Hz. We used electroencephalography to record the evoked steady-state visual potentials (ssVEP) and tested to what extent the ssVEP amplitude adapts to the same when compared with different face identities. We found adaptation to the identity of a neutral face. However, for emotional faces, adaptation was reduced, decreasing linearly with negative valence, with the least adaptation to fearful expressions. This short and straightforward method may prove to be a valuable new tool in the study of emotional processing.

Recognition of Face and Emotional Facial Expressions in Autism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Tayyib Kadak

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Autism is a genetically transferred neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe and permanent deficits in many interpersonal relation areas like communication, social interaction and emotional responsiveness. Patients with autism have deficits in face recognition, eye contact and recognition of emotional expression. Both recognition of face and expression of facial emotion carried on face processing. Structural and functional impairment in fusiform gyrus, amygdala, superior temporal sulcus and other brain regions lead to deficits in recognition of face and facial emotion. Therefore studies suggest that face processing deficits resulted in problems in areas of social interaction and emotion in autism. Studies revealed that children with autism had problems in recognition of facial expression and used mouth region more than eye region. It was also shown that autistic patients interpreted ambiguous expressions as negative emotion. In autism, deficits related in various stages of face processing like detection of gaze, face identity, recognition of emotional expression were determined, so far. Social interaction impairments in autistic spectrum disorders originated from face processing deficits during the periods of infancy, childhood and adolescence. Recognition of face and expression of facial emotion could be affected either automatically by orienting towards faces after birth, or by “learning” processes in developmental periods such as identity and emotion processing. This article aimed to review neurobiological basis of face processing and recognition of emotional facial expressions during normal development and in autism.

Facial emotion recognition, socio-occupational functioning and expressed emotions in schizophrenia versus bipolar disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Thonse, Umesh; Behere, Rishikesh V; Praharaj, Samir Kumar; Sharma, Podila Sathya Venkata Narasimha

2018-06-01

Facial emotion recognition deficits have been consistently demonstrated in patients with severe mental disorders. Expressed emotion is found to be an important predictor of relapse. However, the relationship between facial emotion recognition abilities and expressed emotions and its influence on socio-occupational functioning in schizophrenia versus bipolar disorder has not been studied. In this study we examined 91 patients with schizophrenia and 71 with bipolar disorder for psychopathology, socio occupational functioning and emotion recognition abilities. Primary caregivers of 62 patients with schizophrenia and 49 with bipolar disorder were assessed on Family Attitude Questionnaire to assess their expressed emotions. Patients of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder performed similarly on the emotion recognition task. Patients with schizophrenia group experienced higher critical comments and had a poorer socio-occupational functioning as compared to patients with bipolar disorder. Poorer socio-occupational functioning in patients with schizophrenia was significantly associated with greater dissatisfaction in their caregivers. In patients with bipolar disorder, poorer emotion recognition scores significantly correlated with poorer adaptive living skills and greater hostility and dissatisfaction in their caregivers. The findings of our study suggest that emotion recognition abilities in patients with bipolar disorder are associated with negative expressed emotions leading to problems in adaptive living skills. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Are Women More Emotionally Skilled When It Comes to Expression of Emotions in the Foreign Language? Gender, Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits in Relation to Emotional Expression in the L2

Science.gov (United States)

Ozanska-Ponikwia, Katarzyna

2017-01-01

The present study investigates the link between gender, emotional intelligence (EI), personality traits and self-reported emotional expression in the second language (L2). Data analysis suggests that gender might not influence self-perceived emotional expression in the L2, as the results of the t-test show that both males and females declare…

Beyond happiness: Building a science of discrete positive emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiota, Michelle N; Campos, Belinda; Oveis, Christopher; Hertenstein, Matthew J; Simon-Thomas, Emiliana; Keltner, Dacher

2017-10-01

While trait positive emotionality and state positive-valence affect have long been the subject of intense study, the importance of differentiating among several "discrete" positive emotions has only recently begun to receive serious attention. In this article, we synthesize existing literature on positive emotion differentiation, proposing that the positive emotions are best described as branches of a "family tree" emerging from a common ancestor mediating adaptive management of fitness-critical resources (e.g., food). Examples are presented of research indicating the importance of differentiating several positive emotion constructs. We then offer a new theoretical framework, built upon a foundation of phylogenetic, neuroscience, and behavioral evidence, that accounts for core features as well as mechanisms for differentiation. We propose several directions for future research suggested by this framework and develop implications for the application of positive emotion research to translational issues in clinical psychology and the science of behavior change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of family expressed emotion and perceived social support in predicting addiction relapse.

Science.gov (United States)

Atadokht, Akbar; Hajloo, Nader; Karimi, Masoud; Narimani, Mohammad

2015-03-01

Emotional conditions governing the family and patients' perceived social support play important roles in the treatment or relapse process of the chronic disease. The current study aimed to investigate the role of family expressed emotion and perceived social support in prediction of addiction relapse. The descriptive-correlation method was used in the current study. The study population consisted of the individuals referred to the addiction treatment centers in Ardabil from October 2013 to January 2014. The subjects (n = 80) were randomly selected using cluster sampling method. To collect data, expressed emotion test by Cole and Kazaryan, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used, and the obtained data was analyzed using the Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analyses. Results showed a positive relationship between family expressed emotions and the frequency of relapse (r = 0.26, P = 0.011) and a significant negative relationship between perceived social support and the frequency of relapse (r = -0.34, P = 0.001). Multiple regression analysis also showed that perceived social support from family and the family expressed emotions significantly explained 12% of the total variance of relapse frequency. These results have implications for addicted people, their families and professionals working in addiction centers to use the emotional potential of families especially their expressed emotions and the perceived social support of addicts to increase the success rate of addiction treatment.

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia is associated with tonic positive emotionality.

Science.gov (United States)

Oveis, Christopher; Cohen, Adam B; Gruber, June; Shiota, Michelle N; Haidt, Jonathan; Keltner, Dacher

2009-04-01

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSAREST) indexes important aspects of individual differences in emotionality. In the present investigation, the authors address whether RSAREST is associated with tonic positive or negative emotionality, and whether RSAREST relates to phasic emotional responding to discrete positive emotion-eliciting stimuli. Across an 8-month, multiassessment study of first-year university students (n = 80), individual differences in RSAREST were associated with positive but not negative tonic emotionality, assessed at the level of personality traits, long-term moods, the disposition toward optimism, and baseline reports of current emotional states. RSAREST was not related to increased positive emotion, or stimulus-specific emotion, in response to compassion-, awe-, or pride-inducing stimuli. These findings suggest that resting RSA indexes aspects of a person's tonic positive emotionality. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Positive emotion in distress as a potentially effective emotion regulation strategy for depression: A preliminary investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Keiko; Ito, Masaya; Takebayashi, Yoshitake

2018-03-12

Emotion regulation utilizing positive emotion during negative emotional states might be one of the effective ways to alleviate depression and anxiety problems among people with emotional disorders. This study examined the psychometric properties and incremental validity of the Positive Emotion In Distress Scale (PEIDS), a newly developed self-report scale, in a sample of university students in Japan. To examine the psychometric properties of the PEIDS, the scale was completed by Japanese university students (396 men and 363 women; mean age of 19.92). Participants additionally answered the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire - Shorter Version, Affective Style Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affective Schedule, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The survey was conducted at two time points separated by 1 month to assess test-retest reliability and validity of the PEIDS. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a one-factor structure. Reliability was confirmed by high internal consistency and test-retest stability; the convergent and discriminant validity was confirmed by correlations with related and unrelated variables. The results of hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that positive emotion in distress might predict depression above and beyond the effect of baseline depression and other common emotion regulation strategies. The PEIDS showed acceptable reliability and validity within young adults and a non-clinical population in Japan. Further research will be needed to examine the effect of positive emotion among clinical populations. Previous research suggests that positive emotions play a key role in recovery from depression and anxiety problems through some forms of psychotherapy. The Positive Emotion In Distress Scale (PEIDS) measures individual differences regarding the extent to which people can experience positive emotions in negative emotional states. Results suggested that the

Subliminal presentation of emotionally negative vs positive primes increases the perceived beauty of target stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Era, Vanessa; Candidi, Matteo; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

2015-11-01

Emotions have a profound influence on aesthetic experiences. Studies using affective priming procedures demonstrate, for example, that inducing a conscious negative emotional state biases the perception of abstract stimuli towards the sublime (Eskine et al. Emotion 12:1071-1074, 2012. doi: 10.1037/a0027200). Moreover, subliminal happy facial expressions have a positive impact on the aesthetic evaluation of abstract art (Flexas et al. PLoS ONE 8:e80154, 2013). Little is known about how emotion influences aesthetic perception of non-abstract, representational stimuli, especially those that are particularly relevant for social behaviour, like human bodies. Here, we explore whether the subliminal presentation of emotionally charged visual primes modulates the explicit subjective aesthetic judgment of body images. Using a forward/backward masking procedure, we presented subliminally positive and negative, arousal-matched, emotional or neutral primes and measured their effect on the explicit evaluation of perceived beauty (high vs low) and emotion (positive vs negative) evoked by abstract and body images. We found that negative primes increased subjective aesthetic evaluations of target bodies or abstract images in comparison with positive primes. No influence of primes on the emotional dimension of the targets was found, thus ruling out an unspecific arousal effect and strengthening the link between emotional valence and aesthetic appreciation. More specifically, that subliminal negative primes increase beauty ratings compared to subliminal positive primes indicates a clear link between negative emotions and positive aesthetic evaluations and vice versa, suggesting a possible link between negative emotion and the experience of sublime in art. The study expands previous research by showing the effect of subliminal negative emotions on the subjective aesthetic evaluation not only of abstract but also of body images.

Impact and characteristics of positive and fearful emotional messages during infant social referencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Geunyoung; Walden, Tedra A; Knieps, Linda J

2010-04-01

Studies of infant social referencing have indicated that infants might be more influenced by vocal information contained in emotional messages than by facial expression, especially during fearful message conditions. The present study investigated the characteristics of emotional channels that parents used during social referencing, and corresponding infants' behavioral changes. Results of Study 1 indicated that parents used more vocal information during positive message conditions. Unlike previous findings, infants' behavioral change was related to the frequency of vocal information during positive condition. For fearful messages, infants were more influenced by the number of multi-modal channels used and the frequency of visual information. Study 2 further showed that the intensity of vocal tone was related to infant regulation only during positive message conditions. The results imply that understanding of social context is important to make sense of parent-infant's emotional interaction. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

No influence of positive emotion on orbitofrontal reality filtering: relevance for confabulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Chiara eLiverani

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Orbitofrontal reality filtering is a mechanism that allows us to keep thought and behavior in phase with reality. Its failure induces reality confusion with confabulation and disorientation. Confabulations have been claimed to have a positive emotional bias, suggesting that they emanate from a tendency to embellish the situation of a handicap. Here we tested the influence of positive emotion on orbitofrontal reality filtering in healthy subjects using a paradigm validated in reality confusing patients and with a known electrophysiological signature, a frontal positivity at 200-400 ms after memory evocation. Subjects made two continuous recognition tasks (two runs, composed of the same set of neutral and positive pictures, but arranged in different order. In both runs, participants had to indicate pictures repetitions within, and only within, the ongoing run. The first run measures learning and recognition. The second run, where all items are familiar, requires orbitofrontal reality filtering to avoid false positive responses. High-density evoked potentials were recorded from nineteen healthy subjects during completion of the task. Performance was more accurate and faster on neutral than positive pictures in both runs and all conditions. Evoked potential correlates of emotion and reality filtering occurred at 260-350 ms but dissociated in terms of amplitudes and topography. In both runs, positive stimuli evoked a more negative frontal potential than neutral ones. In the second run, the frontal positivity characteristic of reality filtering was separately, and to the same degree, expressed for positive and neutral stimuli. We conclude that orbitofrontal reality filtering, the ability to place oneself correctly in time and space, is not influenced by emotional positivity of the processed material.

When emotions are expressed figuratively: Psycholinguistic and Affective Norms of 619 Idioms for German (PANIG).

Science.gov (United States)

Citron, Francesca M M; Cacciari, Cristina; Kucharski, Michael; Beck, Luna; Conrad, Markus; Jacobs, Arthur M

2016-03-01

Despite flourishing research on the relationship between emotion and literal language, and despite the pervasiveness of figurative expressions in communication, the role of figurative language in conveying affect has been underinvestigated. This study provides affective and psycholinguistic norms for 619 German idiomatic expressions and explores the relationships between affective and psycholinguistic idiom properties. German native speakers rated each idiom for emotional valence, arousal, familiarity, semantic transparency, figurativeness, and concreteness. They also described the figurative meaning of each idiom and rated how confident they were about the attributed meaning. The results showed that idioms rated high in valence were also rated high in arousal. Negative idioms were rated as more arousing than positive ones, in line with results from single words. Furthermore, arousal correlated positively with figurativeness (supporting the idea that figurative expressions are more emotionally engaging than literal expressions) and with concreteness and semantic transparency. This suggests that idioms may convey a more direct reference to sensory representations, mediated by the meanings of their constituting words. Arousal correlated positively with familiarity. In addition, positive idioms were rated as more familiar than negative idioms. Finally, idioms without a literal counterpart were rated as more emotionally valenced and arousing than idioms with a literal counterpart. Although the meanings of ambiguous idioms were less correctly defined than those of unambiguous idioms, ambiguous idioms were rated as more concrete than unambiguous ones. We also discuss the relationships between the various psycholinguistic variables characterizing idioms, with reference to the literature on idiom structure and processing.

Psychometric challenges and proposed solutions when scoring facial emotion expression codes

OpenAIRE

Olderbak, Sally; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Pinkpank, Thomas; Sommer, Werner; Wilhelm, Oliver

2013-01-01

Coding of facial emotion expressions is increasingly performed by automated emotion expression scoring software; however, there is limited discussion on how best to score the resulting codes. We present a discussion of facial emotion expression theories and a review of contemporary emotion expression coding methodology. We highlight methodological challenges pertinent to scoring software-coded facial emotion expression codes and present important psychometric research questions centered on co...

Contact high: Mania proneness and positive perception of emotional touches.

Science.gov (United States)

Piff, Paul K; Purcell, Amanda; Gruber, June; Hertenstein, Matthew J; Keltner, Dacher

2012-01-01

How do extreme degrees of positive emotion-such as those characteristic of mania-influence emotion perception? The present study investigated how mania proneness, assessed using the Hypomanic Personality Scale, influences the perception of emotion via touch. Using a validated dyadic interaction paradigm for communicating emotion through touch (Hertenstein, Keltner, App, Bulleit, & Jaskolka, 2006), participants (N=53) received eight different touches to their forearm from a stranger and then identified the emotion via forced-choice methodology. Mania proneness predicted increased overall accuracy in touch perception, particularly for positive emotion touches, as well as the over-attribution of positive and under-attribution of negative emotions across all touches. These findings highlight the effects of positive emotion extremes on the perception of emotion in social interactions.

Sequential dynamics of culturally moderated facial expressions of emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, David; Willingham, Bob; Olide, Andres

2009-10-01

There is consensus that when emotions are aroused, the displays of those emotions are either universal or culture-specific. We investigated the idea that an individual's emotional displays in a given context can be both universal and culturally variable, as they change over time. We examined the emotional displays of Olympic athletes across time, classified their expressive styles, and tested the association between those styles and a number of characteristics associated with the countries the athletes represented. Athletes from relatively urban, individualistic cultures expressed their emotions more, whereas athletes from less urban, collectivistic cultures masked their emotions more. These culturally influenced expressions occurred within a few seconds after initial, immediate, and universal emotional displays. Thus, universal and culture-specific emotional displays can unfold across time in an individual in a single context.

Impaired Perception of Emotional Expression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Seong Il; Oh, Ki Wook; Kim, Hee Jin; Park, Jin Seok; Kim, Seung Hyun

2016-07-01

The increasing recognition that deficits in social emotions occur in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is helping to explain the spectrum of neuropsychological dysfunctions, thus supporting the view of ALS as a multisystem disorder involving neuropsychological deficits as well as motor deficits. The aim of this study was to characterize the emotion perception abilities of Korean patients with ALS based on the recognition of facial expressions. Twenty-four patients with ALS and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed neuropsychological tests and facial emotion recognition tasks [ChaeLee Korean Facial Expressions of Emotions (ChaeLee-E)]. The ChaeLee-E test includes facial expressions for seven emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, surprise, and neutral. The ability to perceive facial emotions was significantly worse among ALS patients performed than among healthy controls [65.2±18.0% vs. 77.1±6.6% (mean±SD), p=0.009]. Eight of the 24 patients (33%) scored below the 5th percentile score of controls for recognizing facial emotions. Emotion perception deficits occur in Korean ALS patients, particularly regarding facial expressions of emotion. These findings expand the spectrum of cognitive and behavioral dysfunction associated with ALS into emotion processing dysfunction.

Children's understanding of facial expression of emotion: II. Drawing of emotion-faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Missaghi-Lakshman, M; Whissell, C

1991-06-01

67 children from Grades 2, 4, and 7 drew faces representing the emotional expressions of fear, anger, surprise, disgust, happiness, and sadness. The children themselves and 29 adults later decoded the drawings in an emotion-recognition task. Children were the more accurate decoders, and their accuracy and the accuracy of adults increased significantly for judgments of 7th-grade drawings. The emotions happy and sad were most accurately decoded. There were no significant differences associated with sex. In their drawings, children utilized a symbol system that seems to be based on a highlighting or exaggeration of features of the innately governed facial expression of emotion.

Emotional Expressions between Male and Female in Hostalize Students

Science.gov (United States)

Haider, Badeea; Khan, Sumaira; Anwar, Kanwal

2016-01-01

There are clear differences in the extent to which people express their emotions. These differences in emotional expressions have long interested researchers and are relevant to several areas of psychology. The research topic is emotional expressions between hostalize male and female in. The sum of 24 students (12 male and 12 female) were selected…

Positive and negative emotional eating have different associations with overeating and binge eating: Construction and validation of the Positive-Negative Emotional Eating Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Sultson, Hedvig; Kukk, Katrin; Akkermann, Kirsti

2017-09-01

Research on emotional eating mostly focuses on negative emotions. Much less is known about how positive emotions relate to overeating and binge eating (BE). The aim of the current study was to construct a scale for positive and negative emotional eating and to assess its predictive validity. In study 1, the Positive-Negative Emotional Eating Scale (PNEES) was constructed and tested on 531 women, who also completed Eating Disorders Assessment Scale (EDAS). Results showed that a two-factor model constituting Positive emotional eating (PNEES-P) and Negative emotional eating (PNEES-N) fit the data well. PNEES-N also showed good convergent validity in assessing binge eating, correlating highly with EDAS subscale Binge eating. Further, a path analysis showed that after controlling for the mediating effect of PNEES-N, PNEES-P continued to significantly predict binge eating. In study 2 (N = 60), experience sampling method was used to assess overeating and BE in the natural environment. Palmtop computers were given to participants for a three-day study period that prompted them with questions regarding emotional experience, overeating, and BE. Results indicated that PNEES-P significantly predicted overeating, whereas PNEES-N predicted overeating and BE episodes only in a subsample of women who had experienced at least one overeating or BE episode. Thus, positive and negative emotional eating might have different relations with overeating and BE, with the latter being more characteristic of the severity/frequency of overeating and BE. New assessment tools that in addition to negative emotional eating also address positive emotional eating could be of potential help in planning intervention. Further, the tendency to overeat in response to positive emotions could be integrated into current models of eating disorders, especially when addressing relapse prevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The social functions of the emotion of gratitude via expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Algoe, Sara B; Fredrickson, Barbara L; Gable, Shelly L

2013-08-01

Recent theory posits that the emotion of gratitude uniquely functions to build a high-quality relationship between a grateful person and the target of his or her gratitude, that is, the person who performed a kind action (Algoe et al., 2008). Therefore, gratitude is a prime candidate for testing the dyadic question of whether one person's grateful emotion has consequences for the other half of the relational unit, the person who is the target of that gratitude. The current study tests the critical hypothesis that being the target of gratitude forecasts one's relational growth with the person who expresses gratitude. The study employed a novel behavioral task in which members of romantic relationships expressed gratitude to one another in a laboratory paradigm. As predicted, the target's greater perceptions of the expresser's responsiveness after the interaction significantly predicted improvements in relationship quality over 6 months. These effects were independent from perceptions of responsiveness following two other types of relationally important and emotionally evocative social interactions in the lab, suggesting the unique weight that gratitude carries in cultivating social bonds. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Poetic Metaphors Expressing Emotions in A Dream of Red Mansions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

HAN Jiang-hua

2017-01-01

Poetic metaphor is the main means, which is used by the poet to express emotions. In daily life, people will be affected by various factors, and will generatea variety of emotions. Because of the highly abstract nature of human emotions, people tend to use metaphor to vividly express these abstract emotions.In A Dream of Red Mansions, the author used a lot of familiar things and allusionsto construct poetic metaphors so as to achieve the purpose of expressing emotions,thus enhancing the expression of the novel.

Willingness to Express Emotions to Caregiving Spouses

OpenAIRE

Monin, Joan K.; Martire, Lynn M.; Schulz, Richard; Clark, Margaret S.

2009-01-01

This study examined the association between care-recipients’ willingness to express emotions to spousal caregivers and caregiver’s well-being and support behaviors. Using self-report measures in the context of a larger study, 262 care-recipients with osteoarthritis reported on their willingness to express emotions to caregivers, and caregivers reported on their stress and insensitive responding to care-recipients. Results revealed that care-recipients’ willingness to express happiness was ass...

Facial dynamics and emotional expressions in facial aging treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Michaud, Thierry; Gassia, Véronique; Belhaouari, Lakhdar

2015-03-01

Facial expressions convey emotions that form the foundation of interpersonal relationships, and many of these emotions promote and regulate our social linkages. Hence, the facial aging symptomatological analysis and the treatment plan must of necessity include knowledge of the facial dynamics and the emotional expressions of the face. This approach aims to more closely meet patients' expectations of natural-looking results, by correcting age-related negative expressions while observing the emotional language of the face. This article will successively describe patients' expectations, the role of facial expressions in relational dynamics, the relationship between facial structures and facial expressions, and the way facial aging mimics negative expressions. Eventually, therapeutic implications for facial aging treatment will be addressed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cross-cultural decoding of positive and negative nonlinguistic emotion vocalizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petri eLaukka

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Which emotions are associated with universally recognized nonverbal signals? We address this issue by examining how reliably nonlinguistic vocalizations (affect bursts can convey emotions across cultures. Actors from India, Kenya, Singapore and USA were instructed to produce vocalizations that would convey 9 positive and 9 negative emotions to listeners. The vocalizations were judged by Swedish listeners using a within-valence forced-choice procedure, where positive and negative emotions were judged in separate experiments. Results showed that listeners could recognize a wide range of positive and negative emotions with accuracy above chance. For positive emotions, we observed the highest recognition rates for relief, followed by lust, interest, serenity and positive surprise, with affection and pride receiving the lowest recognition rates. Anger, disgust, fear, sadness and negative surprise received the highest recognition rates for negative emotions, with the lowest rates observed for guilt and shame. By way of summary, results showed that the voice can reveal both basic emotions and several positive emotions other than happiness across cultures, but self-conscious emotions such as guilt, pride, and shame seem not to be well recognized from nonlinguistic vocalizations.

Chinese American immigrant parents' emotional expression in the family: Relations with parents' cultural orientations and children's emotion-related regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Stephen H; Zhou, Qing; Main, Alexandra; Lee, Erica H

2015-10-01

The present study examined 2 measures of Chinese American immigrant parents' emotional expression in the family context: self-reported emotional expressivity and observed emotional expression during a parent-child interaction task. Path analyses were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between measures of emotional expression and (a) parents' American and Chinese cultural orientations in language proficiency, media use, and social affiliation domains, and (b) parents' and teachers' ratings of children's emotion-related regulation. Results suggested that cultural orientations were primarily associated with parents' self-reported expressivity (rather than observed emotional expression), such that higher American orientations were generally associated with higher expressivity. Although parents' self-reported expressivity was only related to their own reports of children's regulation, parents' observed emotional expression was related to both parents' and teachers' reports of children's regulation. These results suggest that self-reported expressivity and observed emotional expression reflect different constructs and have differential relations to parents' cultural orientations and children's regulation. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

An evaluation of the Positive Emotional Experiences Scale: A preliminary analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rene van Wyk

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Orientation: The positive organisational behaviour movement emphasises the advantages of psychological strengths in business. The psychological virtues of positive emotional experiences can potentially promote human strengths to the advantages of business functioning and the management of work conditions. This is supported by Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory that emphasises the broadening of reactive thought patterns through experiences of positive emotions. Research purpose: A preliminary psychometric evaluation of a positive measurement of dimensions of emotional experiences in the workplace, by rephrasing the Kiefer and Barclay Toxic Emotional Experiences Scale. Motivation for the study: This quantitative Exploratory Factor Analysis investigates the factorial structure and reliability of the Positive Emotional Experiences Scale, a positive rephrased version of the Toxic Emotional Experiences Scale. Research approach, design and method: This Exploratory Factor Analysis indicates an acceptable three-factor model for the Positive Emotional Experiences Scale. These three factors are: (1 psychological recurrent positive state, (2 social connectedness and (3 physical refreshed energy, with strong Cronbach’s alphas of 0.91, 0.91 and 0.94, respectively. Main findings: The three-factor model of the Positive Emotional Experiences Scale provides a valid measure in support of Fredrickson’s theory of social, physical and psychological endured personal resources that build positive emotions. Practical/Managerial implications: Knowledge gained on positive versus negative emotional experiences could be applied by management to promote endured personal resources that strengthen positive emotional experiences. Contribution/value-add: The contribution of this rephrased Positive Emotional Experiences Scale provides a reliable measure of assessment of the social, physical and endured psychological and personal resources identified in Fredrickson�

The role of empathic positive emotions in the social behavior of Argentinean teenagers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noely Gisela de la Vega

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present investigation was to analyze if the empathic po- sitive emotions, sympathy and gratitude influence teenager’s social behavior. The sample was composed of 255 participants of both sexes (109 women and 146 men, aged 14-18 (M =15.97, DE = 1.18, who attended different schools in Buenos Aires province. In order to get the information, it was used: a the Index of Empathy for children and teenagers (Frías, Mestre, Perez and Samper, 1999; b the gratitude scale corresponding to the Questionnaire of Positive Emotions for teenagers (Schmidt, 2005 and c the Assertive Behavior scale (Michelson, Sugay, Wood and Kasdin, 1987. The results from MANO-VAs (Multivariate analysis of variance show that both sympathy and gratitude influence signifi- cantly teenager’s social behavior. Participants with high sympathy and gratitude show more assertive behaviors and less aggressive strategies in their social re- lationships. It corroborates the hypothesis that empathic emotion can enhance the development and performance of socially skilled behavior. Nevertheless, is important to note that this relation may not be unidirectional, but those positive emotions can enhance assertive behavior and this, in turn, provide feedback for positive emotional experience as it is expressed by the model of rising spiral by Fredrickson (Fredrickson, 2002. 

The autistic child's appraisal of expressions of emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobson, R P

1986-05-01

Groups of MA-matched autistic, normal and non-autistic retarded children were tested for their ability to choose drawn and photographed facial expressions of emotion to "go with" a person videotaped in gestures, vocalizations and contexts indicative of four emotional states. Although both autistic and control subjects were adept in choosing drawings of non-personal objects to correspond with videotaped cues, the autistic children were markedly impaired in selecting the appropriate faces for the videotaped expressions and contexts. Within the autistic group, the children's performance in this task of emotion recognition was related to MA. It is suggested that autistic children have difficulty in recognizing how different expressions of particular emotions are associated with each other, and that this might contribute to their failure to understand the emotional states of other people.

Positive Emotions Associated with "Counter-Strike" Game Playing.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Mirim; Heard, Rob; Suo, Chao; Chow, Chin Moi

2012-10-01

Digital game playing engages people for long periods of time. The pleasure offered by digital games may explain the players' consumption of this activity. Games may elicit both positive and negative emotions, which can be measured by encephalography (EEG). The EEG alpha asymmetry index (AI) is different in positive and negative emotions and so may be used to distinguish positive from negative emotions that occur during gaming. We hypothesized that the "Counter-Strike" (CS) game (Valve Software, Bellevue, WA) is pleasurable and demonstrable with a positive EEG AI. Twelve male participants ages 18-30 years underwent EEG recordings continuously during and postgame. EEG was also recorded pregame for control conditions of baseline (sitting on a chair staring at a blank wall), movement (moving fingers on the computer keyboard with a blank screen), sound (listening to the sound of the CS game with a blank screen), and screen (watching the CS game without playing). Self-ratings of emotional responses were completed at pre-, during, and postgame. A significant decrease in the EEG AI was observed under the screen condition compared with baseline, whereas an increase was observed postgame compared with the screen condition. The participants demonstrated a positive EEG AI following the "shoot" events (shoot opponents) and negative emotions after the "being shot" events. Subjective ratings of emotional response indicated happiness during and postgame, but anger and arousal were reported only during the game. The overall results are consistent with the hypothesis that predominantly positive emotional reactions are elicited from playing the CS game and concur with positive subjective ratings of happiness. Future studies may explore the relationship of game pleasure and obsessive game play.

Measuring emotion regulation and emotional expression in breast cancer patients: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandão, Tânia; Tavares, Rita; Schulz, Marc S; Matos, Paula Mena

2016-02-01

The important role of emotion regulation and expression in adaptation to breast cancer is now widely recognized. Studies have shown that optimal emotion regulation strategies, including less constrained emotional expression, are associated with better adaptation. Our objective was to systematically review measures used to assess the way women with breast cancer regulate their emotions. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Nine different databases were searched. Data were independently extracted and assessed by two researchers. English-language articles that used at least one instrument to measure strategies to regulate emotions in women with breast cancer were included. Of 679 abstracts identified 59 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Studies were coded regarding their objectives, methods, and results. We identified 16 instruments used to measure strategies of emotion regulation and expression. The most frequently employed instrument was the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale. Few psychometric proprieties other than internal consistency were reported for most instruments. Many studies did not include important information regarding descriptive characteristics and psychometric properties of the instruments used. The instruments used tap different aspects of emotion regulation. Specific instruments should be explored further with regard to content, validity, and reliability in the context of breast cancer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dimensional Information-Theoretic Measurement of Facial Emotion Expressions in Schizophrenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jihun Hamm

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Altered facial expressions of emotions are characteristic impairments in schizophrenia. Ratings of affect have traditionally been limited to clinical rating scales and facial muscle movement analysis, which require extensive training and have limitations based on methodology and ecological validity. To improve reliable assessment of dynamic facial expression changes, we have developed automated measurements of facial emotion expressions based on information-theoretic measures of expressivity of ambiguity and distinctiveness of facial expressions. These measures were examined in matched groups of persons with schizophrenia (n=28 and healthy controls (n=26 who underwent video acquisition to assess expressivity of basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust in evoked conditions. Persons with schizophrenia scored higher on ambiguity, the measure of conditional entropy within the expression of a single emotion, and they scored lower on distinctiveness, the measure of mutual information across expressions of different emotions. The automated measures compared favorably with observer-based ratings. This method can be applied for delineating dynamic emotional expressivity in healthy and clinical populations.

Positive emotion can protect against source memory impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKenzie, Graham; Powell, Tim F; Donaldson, David I

2015-01-01

Despite widespread belief that memory is enhanced by emotion, evidence also suggests that emotion can impair memory. Here we test predictions inspired by object-based binding theory, which states that memory enhancement or impairment depends on the nature of the information to be retrieved. We investigated emotional memory in the context of source retrieval, using images of scenes that were negative, neutral or positive in valence. At study each scene was paired with a colour and during retrieval participants reported the source colour for recognised scenes. Critically, we isolated effects of valence by equating stimulus arousal across conditions. In Experiment 1 colour borders surrounded scenes at study: memory impairment was found for both negative and positive scenes. Experiment 2 used colours superimposed over scenes at study: valence affected source retrieval, with memory impairment for negative scenes only. These findings challenge current theories of emotional memory by showing that emotion can impair memory for both intrinsic and extrinsic source information, even when arousal is equated between emotional and neutral stimuli, and by dissociating the effects of positive and negative emotion on episodic memory retrieval.

Differential judgement of static facial expressions of emotions in three cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Y; Tang, S; Helmeste, D; Shioiri, T; Someya, T

2001-10-01

Judging facial expressions of emotions has important clinical value in the assessment of psychiatric patients. Judging facial emotional expressions in foreign patients however, is not always easy. Controversy has existed in previous reports on cultural differences in identifying static facial expressions of emotions. While it has been argued that emotional expressions on the face are universally recognized, experimental data obtained were not necessarily totally supportive. Using the data reported in the literature, our previous pilot study showed that the Japanese interpreted many emotional expressions differently from USA viewers of the same emotions. In order to explore such discrepancies further, we conducted the same experiments on Chinese subjects residing in Beijing. The data showed that, similar to the Japanese viewers, Chinese viewers also judged many static facial emotional expressions differently from USA viewers. The combined results of the Chinese and the Japanese experiments suggest a major cross-cultural difference between American and Asian viewers in identifying some static facial emotional expressions, particularly when the posed emotion has negative connotations. The results have important implications for cross-cultural communications when facial emotional expressions are presented as static images.

Multilevel analysis of facial expressions of emotion and script: self-report (arousal and valence) and psychophysiological correlates

OpenAIRE

Balconi, Michela; Vanutelli, Maria Elide; Finocchiaro, Roberta

2014-01-01

Background The paper explored emotion comprehension in children with regard to facial expression of emotion. The effect of valence and arousal evaluation, of context and of psychophysiological measures was monitored. Indeed subjective evaluation of valence (positive vs. negative) and arousal (high vs. low), and contextual (facial expression vs. facial expression and script) variables were supposed to modulate the psychophysiological responses. Methods Self-report measures (in terms of correct...

Relative preservation of the recognition of positive facial expression "happiness" in Alzheimer disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Maki, Yohko; Yoshida, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Tomoharu; Yamaguchi, Haruyasu

2013-01-01

Positivity recognition bias has been reported for facial expression as well as memory and visual stimuli in aged individuals, whereas emotional facial recognition in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients is controversial, with possible involvement of confounding factors such as deficits in spatial processing of non-emotional facial features and in verbal processing to express emotions. Thus, we examined whether recognition of positive facial expressions was preserved in AD patients, by adapting a new method that eliminated the influences of these confounding factors. Sensitivity of six basic facial expressions (happiness, sadness, surprise, anger, disgust, and fear) was evaluated in 12 outpatients with mild AD, 17 aged normal controls (ANC), and 25 young normal controls (YNC). To eliminate the factors related to non-emotional facial features, averaged faces were prepared as stimuli. To eliminate the factors related to verbal processing, the participants were required to match the images of stimulus and answer, avoiding the use of verbal labels. In recognition of happiness, there was no difference in sensitivity between YNC and ANC, and between ANC and AD patients. AD patients were less sensitive than ANC in recognition of sadness, surprise, and anger. ANC were less sensitive than YNC in recognition of surprise, anger, and disgust. Within the AD patient group, sensitivity of happiness was significantly higher than those of the other five expressions. In AD patient, recognition of happiness was relatively preserved; recognition of happiness was most sensitive and was preserved against the influences of age and disease.

Maternal Attachment Representation and Neurophysiological Processing during the Perception of Infants' Emotional Expressions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rainer Leyh

Full Text Available The perception of infant emotions is an integral part of sensitive caregiving within the mother-child relationship, a maternal ability which develops in mothers during their own attachment history. In this study we address the association between maternal attachment representation and brain activity underlying the perception of infant emotions. Event related potentials (ERPs of 32 primiparous mothers were assessed during a three stimulus oddball task presenting negative, positive and neutral emotion expressions of infants as target, deviant or standard stimuli. Attachment representation was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview during pregnancy. Securely attached mothers recognized emotions of infants more accurately than insecurely attached mothers. ERPs yielded amplified N170 amplitudes for insecure mothers when focusing on negative infant emotions. Secure mothers showed enlarged P3 amplitudes to target emotion expressions of infants compared to insecure mothers, especially within conditions with frequent negative infant emotions. In these conditions, P3 latencies were prolonged in insecure mothers. In summary, maternal attachment representation was found associated with brain activity during the perception of infant emotions. This further clarifies psychological mechanisms contributing to maternal sensitivity.

Positive Emotion Regulation and Psychopathology: A Transdiagnostic Cultural Neuroscience Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Hechtman, Lisa A.; Raila, Hannah; Chiao, Joan Y.; Gruber, June

2013-01-01

There is burgeoning interest in the study of positive emotion regulation and psychopathology. Given the significant public health costs and the tremendous variance in national prevalence rates associated with many disorders of positive emotion, it is critical to reach an understanding of how cultural factors, along with biological factors, mutually influence positive emotion regulation. Progress in this domain has been relatively unexplored, however, underscoring the need for an integrative review and empirical roadmap for investigating the cultural neuroscientific contributions to positive emotion disturbance for both affective and clinical science domains. The present paper thus provides a multidisciplinary, cultural neuroscience approach to better understand positive emotion regulation and psychopathology. We conclude with a future roadmap for researchers aimed at harnessing positive emotion and alleviating the burden of mental illness cross-culturally. PMID:24812583

Maternal negative emotional expression and discipline in Beijing, China: The moderating role of educational attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Feng; Wang, Yifang; Wu, Xixian; Su, Zhuqing

2018-03-01

The current study shows that parental punitive discipline places children at risk of developing internalizing and externalizing problems. Although some studies have analyzed the reasons for the use of discipline methods, little to no research has analyzed the moderating effects. In this study, we examine the relationship between maternal negative emotional expression and mothers' use of disciplinary methods (psychological aggression, corporal punishment and physical maltreatment) and the moderating effects of educational attainment in Chinese societies. Five hundred and sixteen mothers with preschool-aged children were recruited to participate in this research. The Chinese versions of the Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire (SEFQ) and the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) were used to measure the mothers' negative emotional expression and discipline, respectively. The results suggested that the mothers' negative emotional expression was positively related to their disciplinary behaviors. Moreover, maternal educational attainment moderated the association between negative emotional expression and discipline. The findings of the current study highlight the importance of considering how mothers' educational backgrounds may interact with their emotions to influence maternal disciplinary behaviors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The link between ambivalence over emotional expression and depressive symptoms among Chinese breast cancer survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Qian; Man, Jenny; You, Jin; LeRoy, Angie S

2015-08-01

Ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE) is the conflict between wanting to express emotion yet fearing the consequences of such expression. Recent literature reveals a close link between AEE and depressive symptoms among college students. Although cancer survivors experience intense emotions, few studies have examined the relationship between AEE and depressive symptoms and the underlying mechanisms among cancer survivors. Furthermore, relevant research is absent among Asians, whose culture discourages emotional expression. The present study investigated AEE's associations with depressive symptoms in Asian breast cancer survivors, and examined intrusive thoughts as a mediator. Intrusive thoughts are repetitive and unwanted thoughts about stressful events. We hypothesized that AEE would increase intrusive thoughts which in turn would increase depressive symptoms. A total of 118 Chinese American breast cancer survivors completed a questionnaire packet containing the Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire (AEQ), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Impact of Event Scale (IES). AEE was positively associated with depressive symptoms (β=.45, pChinese breast cancer survivors who are highly ambivalent over emotional expression may have increased risk for depressive symptoms, and such relationships can be partially explained by a cognitive mechanism: intrusive thoughts. Future research may explore other mediators and design interventions specifically targeted at reducing AEE and intrusive thoughts with the ultimate goal of reducing depression. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The development of emotion expression during the first two years of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Malatesta, C Z; Culver, C; Tesman, J R; Shepard, B

1989-01-01

This study examines the course of emotion expression development over the first 2 years of life in a sample of full-term and preterm children. 58 mother/infant pairs were videotaped at infant ages of 2 1/2, 5, 7 1/2, and 22 months, recording face-to-face interaction involving play and separation/reunion sessions. The tapes were coded on a second-to-second basis using Izard's facial affect coding system. Data analysis focused on (1) differences in expressive behavior at 22 months as a function of risk status, gender, attachment status, and patterns of earlier maternal contingency behavior; (2) stability of specific emotional expressive patterns across assessment periods; and (3) the relation of expressive behavior and security of attachment at 2 years to qualities of earlier affective interchange. Mother's contingency behavior (both general level and specific contingency patterns) appeared to have a material effect on the course of emotional development, as did birth status and gender. Prematurity was associated with differential socioemotional development well into the second year, much in contrast to the "catch-up effect" observed in linguistic and cognitive functioning. Discrete emotions analysis of attachment groups yielded differentiation along a broad negative/positive dimension, but it also showed that insecurely attached children can be characterized as showing inhibited anger expression. The results of this study are discussed within the framework of organizational models of infant affective development; attachment theory and discrete emotions approaches were found to yield different yet equally informative data on the course of socioemotional development.

Teachers’ Emotional Expression in Interaction with Students of Different Ages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Prosen

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Emotions are an integral part of “classroom life” and are experienced in teacher-student interactions quite often (Hosotani & Imai-Matsumura, 2011. The present study focuses on teachers’ emotions in classrooms. Its purpose is to establish which emotions are expressed by teachers in their interactions with students, the triggering situations of the two most frequent emotions, and their level of intensity and suitability. Teachers’ emotions were observed by students of primary education during their practical experience work, in grades one to five. They used a scheme constructed for observing different aspects of emotions. The observations of 108 teachers in 93 primary schools from various Slovenian regions were gathered. The results show that primary school teachers express various pleasant and unpleasant emotions, with unpleasant emotions prevailing. The average frequency of teachers’ emotion expression decreased from grade one to five. Anger was the most frequently expressed emotion (N = 261, followed by joy (N = 151. Teachers’ anger and joy were triggered in different situations: anger predominantly when students lacked discipline and joy predominantly in situations of students’ academic achievement. The intensity of expressed anger and joy was moderate in all five grades, while the assessed suitability of these two emotions was high.

Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on the Interpretation and Expression of Emotions in Anorexia Nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Leppanen, J; Cardi, V; Ng, K W; Paloyelis, Y; Stein, D; Tchanturia, K; Treasure, J

2017-03-01

Altered social-emotional functioning is considered to play an important role in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). Recently, there has been increasing interest in investigating the role of intranasal oxytocin in social-emotional processing. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of intranasal oxytocin on the interpretation and expression of emotions among people with AN. Thirty women with AN and 29 age-matched healthy women took part in the present study, which used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design. The participants received a single dose of 40 IU of intranasal oxytocin in one session and a placebo spray in the other. Fifteen minutes after administration, the participants completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test to assess the interpretation of complex emotions and mental states followed by a video task, which assessed expressions of facial affect when they were viewing humorous and sad film clips. The intranasal oxytocin did not significantly influence the expression or interpretation of emotions in the AN or healthy comparison groups. The AN group expressed significantly less positive emotion, spent more time looking away and reported experiencing a significantly more negative affect in response to the film clips. The finding that intranasal oxytocin had little to no effect on the interpretation or expression of emotions in either group supports the notion that the effects of oxytocin on social-emotional processing are not straightforward and may depend on individual and environmental differences, as well as the emotion being processed. Replication of these findings is necessary to explore the effect of timing on the effects of oxytocin before firm conclusions can be drawn. Nonetheless, these findings add to the steady accumulation of evidence that people with AN have reduced emotional expression and avoidance of emotionally provoking stimuli. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology

Predicting the emotions expressed in music

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Jens

With the ever-growing popularity and availability of digital music through streaming services and digital download, making sense of the millions of songs, is ever more pertinent. However the traditional approach of creating music systems has treated songs like items in a store, like books...... and movies. However music is special, having origins in a number of evolutionary adaptations. The fundamental needs and goals of a users use of music, was investigated to create the next generation of music systems. People listen to music to regulate their mood and emotions was found to be the most important...... fundamental reason. (Mis)matching peoples mood with the emotions expressed in music was found to be an essential underlying mechanism, people use to regulate their emotions. This formed the basis and overall goal of the thesis, to investigate how to create a predictive model of emotions expressed in music...

What does music express? Basic emotions and beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrik N. Juslin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Numerous studies have investigated whether music can reliably convey emotions to listeners, and - if so - what musical parameters might carry this information. Far less attention has been devoted to the actual contents of the communicative process. The goal of this article is thus to consider what types of emotional content are possible to convey in music. I will argue that the content is mainly constrained by the type of coding involved, and that distinct types of content are related to different types of coding. Based on these premises, I suggest a conceptualization in terms of ‘multiple layers’ of musical expression of emotions. The ‘core’ layer is constituted by iconically-coded basic emotions. I attempt to clarify the meaning of this concept, dispel the myths that surround it, and provide examples of how it can be heuristic in explaining findings in this domain. However, I also propose that this ‘core’ layer may be extended, qualified, and even modified by additional layers of expression that involve intrinsic and associative coding. These layers enable listeners to perceive more complex emotions - though the expressions are less cross-culturally invariant and more dependent on the social context and/or the individual listener. This multiple-layer conceptualization of expression in music can help to explain both similarities and differences between vocal and musical expression of emotions.

What does music express? Basic emotions and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Juslin, Patrik N

2013-01-01

Numerous studies have investigated whether music can reliably convey emotions to listeners, and-if so-what musical parameters might carry this information. Far less attention has been devoted to the actual contents of the communicative process. The goal of this article is thus to consider what types of emotional content are possible to convey in music. I will argue that the content is mainly constrained by the type of coding involved, and that distinct types of content are related to different types of coding. Based on these premises, I suggest a conceptualization in terms of "multiple layers" of musical expression of emotions. The "core" layer is constituted by iconically-coded basic emotions. I attempt to clarify the meaning of this concept, dispel the myths that surround it, and provide examples of how it can be heuristic in explaining findings in this domain. However, I also propose that this "core" layer may be extended, qualified, and even modified by additional layers of expression that involve intrinsic and associative coding. These layers enable listeners to perceive more complex emotions-though the expressions are less cross-culturally invariant and more dependent on the social context and/or the individual listener. This multiple-layer conceptualization of expression in music can help to explain both similarities and differences between vocal and musical expression of emotions.

Perception of Emotional Facial Expressions in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at Behavioural and Brain Metabolic Level.

Science.gov (United States)

Aho-Özhan, Helena E A; Keller, Jürgen; Heimrath, Johanna; Uttner, Ingo; Kassubek, Jan; Birbaumer, Niels; Ludolph, Albert C; Lulé, Dorothée

2016-01-01

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) primarily impairs motor abilities but also affects cognition and emotional processing. We hypothesise that subjective ratings of emotional stimuli depicting social interactions and facial expressions is changed in ALS. It was found that recognition of negative emotions and ability to mentalize other's intentions is reduced. Processing of emotions in faces was investigated. A behavioural test of Ekman faces expressing six basic emotions was presented to 30 ALS patients and 29 age-, gender and education matched healthy controls. Additionally, a subgroup of 15 ALS patients that were able to lie supine in the scanner and 14 matched healthy controls viewed the Ekman faces during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Affective state and a number of daily social contacts were measured. ALS patients recognized disgust and fear less accurately than healthy controls. In fMRI, reduced brain activity was seen in areas involved in processing of negative emotions replicating our previous results. During processing of sad faces, increased brain activity was seen in areas associated with social emotions in right inferior frontal gyrus and reduced activity in hippocampus bilaterally. No differences in brain activity were seen for any of the other emotional expressions. Inferior frontal gyrus activity for sad faces was associated with increased amount of social contacts of ALS patients. ALS patients showed decreased brain and behavioural responses in processing of disgust and fear and an altered brain response pattern for sadness. The negative consequences of neurodegenerative processes in the course of ALS might be counteracted by positive emotional activity and positive social interactions.

High Expressed Emotion and Schizophrenia: A Study of Illness ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The prevention of relapse is one of the major aims of treatment of emotional disorders. Expressed emotion (EE) is one concept that has been associated with relapse. The study is aimed at studying the relationship between expressed emotion and the clinical characteristics of patients with schizophrenia.

Person perception from changing emotional expressions: primacy, recency, or averaging effect?

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xia; van Kleef, Gerben A; Sauter, Disa A

2018-02-01

Dynamic changes in emotional expressions are a valuable source of information in social interactions. As the expressive behaviour of a person changes, the inferences drawn from the behaviour may also change. Here, we test the possibility that dynamic changes in emotional expressions affect person perception in terms of stable trait attributions. Across three experiments, we examined perceivers' inferences about others' personality traits from changing emotional expressions. Expressions changed from one emotion ("start emotion") to another emotion ("end emotion"), allowing us to disentangle potential primacy, recency, and averaging effects. Drawing on three influential models of person perception, we examined perceptions of dominance and affiliation (Experiment 1a), competence and warmth (Experiment 1b), and dominance and trustworthiness (Experiment 2). A strong recency effect was consistently found across all trait judgments, that is, the end emotion of dynamic expressions had a strong impact on trait ratings. Evidence for a primacy effect was also observed (i.e. the information of start emotions was integrated), but less pronounced, and only for trait ratings relating to affiliation, warmth, and trustworthiness. Taken together, these findings suggest that, when making trait judgements about others, observers weigh the most recently displayed emotion in dynamic expressions more heavily than the preceding emotion.

Computerized measurement of facial expression of emotions in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvino, Christopher; Kohler, Christian; Barrett, Frederick; Gur, Raquel E; Gur, Ruben C; Verma, Ragini

2007-07-30

Deficits in the ability to express emotions characterize several neuropsychiatric disorders and are a hallmark of schizophrenia, and there is need for a method of quantifying expression, which is currently done by clinical ratings. This paper presents the development and validation of a computational framework for quantifying emotional expression differences between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Each face is modeled as a combination of elastic regions, and expression changes are modeled as a deformation between a neutral face and an expressive face. Functions of these deformations, known as the regional volumetric difference (RVD) functions, form distinctive quantitative profiles of expressions. Employing pattern classification techniques, we have designed expression classifiers for the four universal emotions of happiness, sadness, anger and fear by training on RVD functions of expression changes. The classifiers were cross-validated and then applied to facial expression images of patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. The classification score for each image reflects the extent to which the expressed emotion matches the intended emotion. Group-wise statistical analysis revealed this score to be significantly different between healthy controls and patients, especially in the case of anger. This score correlated with clinical severity of flat affect. These results encourage the use of such deformation based expression quantification measures for research in clinical applications that require the automated measurement of facial affect.

Comparison between Camberwell Family Interview and Expressed Emotion Scale in Determining Emotions of Caregivers of Schizophrenic Patients

Science.gov (United States)

ÇETİNKAYA DUMAN, Zekiye; KUŞCU, M. Kemal; ÖZGÜN, Serkan

2013-01-01

Introduction The aim of the study was to compare the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI) and the Expressed Emotion Scale (EES) in determining the level of expressed emotion in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Method The study sample included caregivers of 22 schizophrenic patients followed in two psychiatric clinics. The level of expressed emotion in the caregivers was assessed by the CFI and the EES. CFI was applied to caregivers of the inpatients and the procedure was audio recorded. These records were later used for the ratings. EES was completed by the caregivers. Total EES scores were used to determine the level of expressed emotion in the caregivers. Results Forty point nine percent and 50% of the caregivers had high level of expressed emotion based on the analysis of the data obtained from the CFI and EES. Fifty-nine percent and 50% of the caregivers had low level of expressed emotion based on the data obtained from the CFI and EES. The proportion of the caregivers with high level of expressed emotion as measured by the CFI and the EES were not statistically significantly different within the sample (χ2= 0.727). Conclusion The CFI and the EES were similar in determining the level of expressed emotion in caregivers of schizophrenic patients. It can be suggested that the EES, a user friendly tool, may be preferred to determine the level of expressed emotion in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. However, further studies with larger samples are needed to obtain more reliable results. PMID:28360561

Effects of Expressive Writing on Psychological and Physical Health: The Moderating Role of Emotional Expressivity

Science.gov (United States)

Haltom, Kate E.; Mulvenna, Catherine M.; Lieberman, Matthew D.; Stanton, Annette L.

2013-01-01

The current study assessed main effects and moderators (including emotional expressiveness, emotional processing and ambivalence over emotional expression) of the effects of expressive writing in a sample of healthy adults. Young adult participants (N = 116) were randomly assigned to write for 20 minutes on four occasions about deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their most stressful/traumatic event in the past five years (expressive writing) or about a control topic (control). Dependent variables were indicators of anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms. No significant effects of writing condition were evident on anxiety, depressive symptoms, or physical symptoms. Emotional expressiveness emerged as a significant moderator of anxiety outcomes, however. Within the expressive writing group, participants high in expressiveness evidenced a significant reduction in anxiety at three-month follow-up, and participants low in expressiveness showed a significant increase in anxiety. Expressiveness did not predict change in anxiety in the control group. These findings on anxiety are consistent with the matching hypothesis, which suggests that matching a person’s naturally elected coping approach with an assigned intervention is beneficial. These findings also suggest that expressive writing about a stressful event may be contraindicated for individuals who do not typically express emotions. PMID:23742666

Altered emotional recognition and expression in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Y

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Yazhou Jin,* Zhiqi Mao,* Zhipei Ling, Xin Xu, Zhiyuan Zhang, Xinguang Yu Department of Neurosurgery, People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD patients exhibit deficits in emotional recognition and expression abilities, including emotional faces and voices. The aim of this study was to explore emotional processing in pre-deep brain stimulation (pre-DBS PD patients using two sensory modalities (visual and auditory. Methods: Fifteen PD patients who needed DBS surgery and 15 healthy, age- and gender-matched controls were recruited as participants. All participants were assessed by the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces database 50 Faces Recognition test. Vocal recognition was evaluated by the Montreal Affective Voices database 50 Voices Recognition test. For emotional facial expression, the participants were asked to imitate five basic emotions (neutral, happiness, anger, fear, and sadness. The subjects were required to express nonverbal vocalizations of the five basic emotions. Fifteen Chinese native speakers were recruited as decoders. We recorded the accuracy of the responses, reaction time, and confidence level. Results: For emotional recognition and expression, the PD group scored lower on both facial and vocal emotional processing than did the healthy control group. There were significant differences between the two groups in both reaction time and confidence level. A significant relationship was also found between emotional recognition and emotional expression when considering all participants between the two groups together. Conclusion: The PD group exhibited poorer performance on both the recognition and expression tasks. Facial emotion deficits and vocal emotion abnormalities were associated with each other. In addition, our data allow us to speculate that emotional recognition and expression may share a common

Laterality of Facial Expressions of Emotion: Universal and Culture-Specific Influences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manas K. Mandal

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Recent research indicates that (a the perception and expression of facial emotion are lateralized to a great extent in the right hemisphere, and, (b whereas facial expressions of emotion embody universal signals, culture-specific learning moderates the expression and interpretation of these emotions. In the present article, we review the literature on laterality and universality, and propose that, although some components of facial expressions of emotion are governed biologically, others are culturally influenced. We suggest that the left side of the face is more expressive of emotions, is more uninhibited, and displays culture-specific emotional norms. The right side of face, on the other hand, is less susceptible to cultural display norms and exhibits more universal emotional signals.

Laterality of facial expressions of emotion: Universal and culture-specific influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, Manas K; Ambady, Nalini

2004-01-01

Recent research indicates that (a) the perception and expression of facial emotion are lateralized to a great extent in the right hemisphere, and, (b) whereas facial expressions of emotion embody universal signals, culture-specific learning moderates the expression and interpretation of these emotions. In the present article, we review the literature on laterality and universality, and propose that, although some components of facial expressions of emotion are governed biologically, others are culturally influenced. We suggest that the left side of the face is more expressive of emotions, is more uninhibited, and displays culture-specific emotional norms. The right side of face, on the other hand, is less susceptible to cultural display norms and exhibits more universal emotional signals. Copyright 2004 IOS Press

Effects of Facial Expressions on Recognizing Emotions in Dance Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nao Shikanai

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Effects of facial expressions on recognizing emotions expressed in dance movements were investigated. Dancers expressed three emotions: joy, sadness, and anger through dance movements. We used digital video cameras and a 3D motion capturing system to record and capture the movements. We then created full-video displays with an expressive face, full-video displays with an unexpressive face, stick figure displays (no face, or point-light displays (no face from these data using 3D animation software. To make point-light displays, 13 markers were attached to the body of each dancer. We examined how accurately observers were able to identify the expression that the dancers intended to create through their dance movements. Dance experienced and inexperienced observers participated in the experiment. They watched the movements and rated the compatibility of each emotion with each movement on a 5-point Likert scale. The results indicated that both experienced and inexperienced observers could identify all the emotions that dancers intended to express. Identification scores for dance movements with an expressive face were higher than for other expressions. This finding indicates that facial expressions affect the identification of emotions in dance movements, whereas only bodily expressions provide sufficient information to recognize emotions.

Positive Emotion Facilitates Cognitive Flexibility: An fMRI Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanmei Wang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Cognitive flexibility is the ability to switch rapidly between multiple goals. By using a task-switching paradigm, the present study investigated how positive emotion affected cognitive flexibility and the underlying neural mechanisms. After viewing pictures of different emotional valence (positive, negative, or neutral, participants discriminated whether a target digit in a specific color was odd or even. After a series of trials, the color of target stimuli was changed, i.e., the switch condition. Switch costs were measured by the increase of reaction times (RTs in the switch trials compared to those in the repeat trials. Behavior results indicated that switch costs significantly decreased in the positive emotional condition, and increased in the negative emotional condition, compared with those in the neutral condition. Imaging data revealed enhanced activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC in switch trials than those in repeat trials. Moreover, the interaction between emotion (positive, negative, neutral and trial type (repeat vs. switch was significant. For switch trials, the activation of dACC decreased significantly in the positive condition, while increased significantly in the negative condition compared to neutral condition. By contrast, for repeat trials, no significant difference was observed for the activation of dACC among three emotional conditions. Our results showed that positive emotions could increase the cognitive flexibility and reduce the conflict by decreasing the activation of dACC.

More emotional facial expressions during episodic than during semantic autobiographical retrieval.

Science.gov (United States)

El Haj, Mohamad; Antoine, Pascal; Nandrino, Jean Louis

2016-04-01

There is a substantial body of research on the relationship between emotion and autobiographical memory. Using facial analysis software, our study addressed this relationship by investigating basic emotional facial expressions that may be detected during autobiographical recall. Participants were asked to retrieve 3 autobiographical memories, each of which was triggered by one of the following cue words: happy, sad, and city. The autobiographical recall was analyzed by a software for facial analysis that detects and classifies basic emotional expressions. Analyses showed that emotional cues triggered the corresponding basic facial expressions (i.e., happy facial expression for memories cued by happy). Furthermore, we dissociated episodic and semantic retrieval, observing more emotional facial expressions during episodic than during semantic retrieval, regardless of the emotional valence of cues. Our study provides insight into facial expressions that are associated with emotional autobiographical memory. It also highlights an ecological tool to reveal physiological changes that are associated with emotion and memory.

Relating specific emotions to intrinsic motivation: on the moderating role of positive and negative emotion differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandercammen, Leen; Hofmans, Joeri; Theuns, Peter

2014-01-01

Despite the fact that studies on self-determination theory have traditionally disregarded the explicit role of emotions in the motivation eliciting process, research attention for the affective antecedents of motivation is growing. We add to this emerging research field by testing the moderating role of emotion differentiation -individual differences in the extent to which people can differentiate between specific emotions- on the relationship between twelve specific emotions and intrinsic motivation. To this end, we conducted a daily diary study (N = 72) and an experience sampling study (N = 34). Results showed that the relationship between enthusiasm, cheerfulness, optimism, contentedness, gloominess, miserableness, uneasiness (in both studies 1 and 2), calmness, relaxation, tenseness, depression, worry (only in Study 1) on one hand and intrinsic motivation on the other hand was moderated by positive emotion differentiation for the positive emotions and by negative emotion differentiation for the negative emotions. Altogether, these findings suggest that for people who are unable to distinguish between different specific positive emotions the relationship between those specific positive emotions and intrinsic motivation is stronger, whereas the relationship between specific negative emotions and intrinsic motivation is weaker for people who are able to distinguish between the different specific negative emotions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Relating specific emotions to intrinsic motivation: on the moderating role of positive and negative emotion differentiation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leen Vandercammen

Full Text Available Despite the fact that studies on self-determination theory have traditionally disregarded the explicit role of emotions in the motivation eliciting process, research attention for the affective antecedents of motivation is growing. We add to this emerging research field by testing the moderating role of emotion differentiation -individual differences in the extent to which people can differentiate between specific emotions- on the relationship between twelve specific emotions and intrinsic motivation. To this end, we conducted a daily diary study (N = 72 and an experience sampling study (N = 34. Results showed that the relationship between enthusiasm, cheerfulness, optimism, contentedness, gloominess, miserableness, uneasiness (in both studies 1 and 2, calmness, relaxation, tenseness, depression, worry (only in Study 1 on one hand and intrinsic motivation on the other hand was moderated by positive emotion differentiation for the positive emotions and by negative emotion differentiation for the negative emotions. Altogether, these findings suggest that for people who are unable to distinguish between different specific positive emotions the relationship between those specific positive emotions and intrinsic motivation is stronger, whereas the relationship between specific negative emotions and intrinsic motivation is weaker for people who are able to distinguish between the different specific negative emotions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Yaling; Chang, Lei; Yang, Meng; Huo, Meng

2016-01-01

The present study investigated gender differences in both emotional experience and expressivity. Heart rate (HR) was recorded as an indicator of emotional experience while the participants watched 16 video clips that induced eight types of emotion (sadness, anger, horror, disgust, neutrality, amusement, surprise, and pleasure). We also asked the participants to report valence, arousal, and motivation as indicators of emotional expressivity. Overall, the results revealed gender differences in emotional experience and emotional expressivity. When watching videos that induced anger, amusement, and pleasure, men showed larger decreases in HR, whereas women reported higher levels of arousal. There was no gender difference in HR when the participants watched videos that induced horror and disgust, but women reported lower valence, higher arousal, and stronger avoidance motivation than did men. Finally, no gender difference was observed in sadness or surprise, although there was one exception—women reported higher arousal when watching videos that induced sadness. The findings suggest that, when watching videos that induce an emotional response, men often have more intense emotional experiences, whereas women have higher emotional expressivity, particularly for negative emotions. In addition, gender differences depend on the specific emotion type but not the valence. PMID:27362361

Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Yaling; Chang, Lei; Yang, Meng; Huo, Meng; Zhou, Renlai

2016-01-01

The present study investigated gender differences in both emotional experience and expressivity. Heart rate (HR) was recorded as an indicator of emotional experience while the participants watched 16 video clips that induced eight types of emotion (sadness, anger, horror, disgust, neutrality, amusement, surprise, and pleasure). We also asked the participants to report valence, arousal, and motivation as indicators of emotional expressivity. Overall, the results revealed gender differences in emotional experience and emotional expressivity. When watching videos that induced anger, amusement, and pleasure, men showed larger decreases in HR, whereas women reported higher levels of arousal. There was no gender difference in HR when the participants watched videos that induced horror and disgust, but women reported lower valence, higher arousal, and stronger avoidance motivation than did men. Finally, no gender difference was observed in sadness or surprise, although there was one exception-women reported higher arousal when watching videos that induced sadness. The findings suggest that, when watching videos that induce an emotional response, men often have more intense emotional experiences, whereas women have higher emotional expressivity, particularly for negative emotions. In addition, gender differences depend on the specific emotion type but not the valence.

Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaling Deng

Full Text Available The present study investigated gender differences in both emotional experience and expressivity. Heart rate (HR was recorded as an indicator of emotional experience while the participants watched 16 video clips that induced eight types of emotion (sadness, anger, horror, disgust, neutrality, amusement, surprise, and pleasure. We also asked the participants to report valence, arousal, and motivation as indicators of emotional expressivity. Overall, the results revealed gender differences in emotional experience and emotional expressivity. When watching videos that induced anger, amusement, and pleasure, men showed larger decreases in HR, whereas women reported higher levels of arousal. There was no gender difference in HR when the participants watched videos that induced horror and disgust, but women reported lower valence, higher arousal, and stronger avoidance motivation than did men. Finally, no gender difference was observed in sadness or surprise, although there was one exception-women reported higher arousal when watching videos that induced sadness. The findings suggest that, when watching videos that induce an emotional response, men often have more intense emotional experiences, whereas women have higher emotional expressivity, particularly for negative emotions. In addition, gender differences depend on the specific emotion type but not the valence.

Attention to Facial Emotion Expressions in Children with Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Begeer, Sander; Rieffe, Carolien; Terwogt, Mark Meerum; Stockmann, Lex

2006-01-01

High-functioning children in the autism spectrum are frequently noted for their impaired attention to facial expressions of emotions. In this study, we examined whether attention to emotion cues in others could be enhanced in children with autism, by varying the relevance of children's attention to emotion expressions. Twenty-eight…

Are event-related potentials to dynamic facial expressions of emotion related to individual differences in the accuracy of processing facial expressions and identity?

Science.gov (United States)

Recio, Guillermo; Wilhelm, Oliver; Sommer, Werner; Hildebrandt, Andrea

2017-04-01

Despite a wealth of knowledge about the neural mechanisms behind emotional facial expression processing, little is known about how they relate to individual differences in social cognition abilities. We studied individual differences in the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by dynamic facial expressions. First, we assessed the latent structure of the ERPs, reflecting structural face processing in the N170, and the allocation of processing resources and reflexive attention to emotionally salient stimuli, in the early posterior negativity (EPN) and the late positive complex (LPC). Then we estimated brain-behavior relationships between the ERP factors and behavioral indicators of facial identity and emotion-processing abilities. Structural models revealed that the participants who formed faster structural representations of neutral faces (i.e., shorter N170 latencies) performed better at face perception (r = -.51) and memory (r = -.42). The N170 amplitude was not related to individual differences in face cognition or emotion processing. The latent EPN factor correlated with emotion perception (r = .47) and memory (r = .32), and also with face perception abilities (r = .41). Interestingly, the latent factor representing the difference in EPN amplitudes between the two neutral control conditions (chewing and blinking movements) also correlated with emotion perception (r = .51), highlighting the importance of tracking facial changes in the perception of emotional facial expressions. The LPC factor for negative expressions correlated with the memory for emotional facial expressions. The links revealed between the latency and strength of activations of brain systems and individual differences in processing socio-emotional information provide new insights into the brain mechanisms involved in social communication.

Measuring children's regulation of emotion-expressive behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Bar-Haim, Yair; Bar-Av, Gali; Sadeh, Avi

2011-04-01

Emotion regulation has become a pivotal concept in developmental and clinical research. However, the measurement of regulatory processes has proved extremely difficult, particularly in the context of within-subject designs. Here, we describe a formal conceptualization and a new experimental procedure, the Balloons Game, to measure a regulatory component of emotion-expressive behavior. We present the internal consistency and stability of the indices derived from the Balloons Game in a sample of 121 kindergarten children. External validation against measures that have been associated with emotion regulation processes is also provided. The findings suggest that the Balloons Game provides a reliable tool for the study of regulation of emotion expression in young children. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

A socio-cultural instrumental approach to emotion regulation: Culture and the regulation of positive emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiaoming; Tamir, Maya; Miyamoto, Yuri

2018-02-01

We propose a sociocultural instrumental approach to emotion regulation. According to this approach, cultural differences in the tendency to savor rather than dampen positive emotions should be more pronounced when people are actively pursuing goals (i.e., contexts requiring higher cognitive effort) than when they are not (i.e., contexts requiring lower cognitive efforts), because cultural beliefs about the utility of positive emotions should become most relevant when people are engaging in active goal pursuit. Four studies provided support for our theory. First, European Americans perceived more utility and less harm of positive emotions than Japanese did (Study 1). Second, European Americans reported a stronger relative preference for positive emotions than Asians, but this cultural difference was larger in high cognitive effort contexts than in moderate or low cognitive effort contexts (Study 2). Third, European Americans reported trying to savor rather than dampen positive emotions more than Asians did when preparing to take an exam, a typical high cognitive effort context (Studies 3-4), but these cultural differences were attenuated when an exam was not expected (Study 3) and disappeared when participants expected to interact with a stranger (Study 4). These findings suggest that cultural backgrounds and situational demands interact to shape how people regulate positive emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Contextualizing Emotional Exhaustion and Positive Emotional Display : The Signaling Effects of Supervisors' Emotional Exhaustion and Service Climate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lam, Catherine K.; Huang, Xu; Janssen, Onne; Lam, K.C.

In this study, we investigated how supervisors' emotional exhaustion and service climate jointly influence the relationship between subordinates' emotional exhaustion and their display of positive emotions at work. Using data from frontline sales employees and their immediate supervisors in a

Seeing mixed emotions: The specificity of emotion perception from static and dynamic facial expressions across cultures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fang, X.; Sauter, D.A.; van Kleef, G.A.

2018-01-01

Although perceivers often agree about the primary emotion that is conveyed by a particular expression, observers may concurrently perceive several additional emotions from a given facial expression. In the present research, we compared the perception of two types of nonintended emotions in Chinese

The accuracy of intensity ratings of emotions from facial expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kostić Aleksandra P.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The results of a study on the accuracy of intensity ratings of emotion from facial expressions are reported. The so far research into the field has shown that spontaneous facial expressions of basic emotions are a reliable source of information about the category of emotion. The question is raised of whether this can be true for the intensity of emotion as well and whether the accuracy of intensity ratings is dependent on the observer’s sex and vocational orientation. A total of 228 observers of both sexes and of various vocational orientations rated the emotional intensity of presented facial expressions on a scale-range from 0 to 8. The results have supported the hypothesis that spontaneous facial expressions of basic emotions do provide sufficient information about emotional intensity. The hypothesis on the interdependence between the accuracy of intensity ratings of emotion and the observer’s sex and vocational orientation has not been confirmed. However, the accuracy of intensity rating has been proved to vary with the category of the emotion presented.

Emotion categorization of body expressions in narrative scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Volkova, Ekaterina P; Mohler, Betty J; Dodds, Trevor J; Tesch, Joachim; Bülthoff, Heinrich H

2014-01-01

Humans can recognize emotions expressed through body motion with high accuracy even when the stimuli are impoverished. However, most of the research on body motion has relied on exaggerated displays of emotions. In this paper we present two experiments where we investigated whether emotional body expressions could be recognized when they were recorded during natural narration. Our actors were free to use their entire body, face, and voice to express emotions, but our resulting visual stimuli used only the upper body motion trajectories in the form of animated stick figures. Observers were asked to perform an emotion recognition task on short motion sequences using a large and balanced set of emotions (amusement, joy, pride, relief, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, shame, and neutral). Even with only upper body motion available, our results show recognition accuracy significantly above chance level and high consistency rates among observers. In our first experiment, that used more classic emotion induction setup, all emotions were well recognized. In the second study that employed narrations, four basic emotion categories (joy, anger, fear, and sadness), three non-basic emotion categories (amusement, pride, and shame) and the "neutral" category were recognized above chance. Interestingly, especially in the second experiment, observers showed a bias toward anger when recognizing the motion sequences for emotions. We discovered that similarities between motion sequences across the emotions along such properties as mean motion speed, number of peaks in the motion trajectory and mean motion span can explain a large percent of the variation in observers' responses. Overall, our results show that upper body motion is informative for emotion recognition in narrative scenarios.

Emotion Categorisation of Body Expressions in Narrative Scenarios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina P. Volkova

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Humans can recognise emotions expressed through body motion with high accuracy even when the stimuli are impoverished. However, most of the research on body motion has relied on exaggerated displays of emotions. In this paper we present two experiments where we investigated whether emotional body expressions could be recognised when they were recorded during natural narration. Our actors were free to use their entire body, face and voice to express emotions, but our resulting visual stimuli used only the upper body motion trajectories in the form of animated stick figures. Observers were asked to perform an emotion recognition task on short motion sequences using a large and balanced set of emotions (amusement, joy, pride, relief, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, shame and neutral. Even with only upper body motion available, our results show recognition accuracy significantly above chance level and high consistency rates among observers. In our first experiment, that used more classic emotion induction setup, all emotions were well recognised. In the second study that employed narrations, four basic emotion categories (joy, anger, fear and sadness, three non-basic emotion categories (amusement, pride and shame and the neutral category were recognised above chance. Interestingly, especially in the second experiment, observers showed a bias towards anger when recognising the motion sequences for emotions. We discovered that similarities between motion sequences across the emotions along such properties as mean motion speed, number of peaks in the motion trajectory and mean motion span can explain a large percent of the variation in observers' responses. Overall, our results show that upper body motion is informative for emotion recognition in narrative scenarios.

Emotional Laour in Teaching Secondary Physical Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Hoon Lee

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Teaching physical education is an emotion-laden context which requires physical education teachers to engage in emotional labor in order to foster their well-being, as well as student’s outcomes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictability of emotional labour strategies on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion among secondary physical education teachers in South Korea. Specifically, the four forms of emotional labour (i.e., surface acting, deep acting, genuine positive expression, and genuine negative expression were hypothesized to have different influences on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Method: A total of 225 full-time physical education teachers were invited to participate in the paper-pencil survey. The questionnaires contained items measuring the four forms of emotional labour, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction which had been modified to fit the physical education setting. Results: The results indicated that surface acting, genuine positive expression, and genuine expression was significantly associated with emotional exhaustion whereas only genuine positive expression was significantly associated with job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Finally, emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction, genuine positive expression and job satisfaction, and genuine negative expression and job satisfaction. Conclusion: These results suggest that emotional labour plays a critical role on physical education teachers’ well-being and job attitude.  Keywords: emotional regulation, physical education teacher, genuine expression, Asian culture, surface acting

Children's expressions of negative emotions and adults' responses during routine cardiac consultations.

Science.gov (United States)

Vatne, Torun M; Ruland, Cornelia M; Ørnes, Knut; Finset, Arnstein

2012-03-01

One function of expressing emotion is to receive support. The aim of this study was to assess how children with heart disease express negative emotions during routine consultations, and examine the interaction between children's expressions and adults' responses. Seventy children, aged 7-13 years, completed measures of anxiety and were videotaped during cardiology visits. Adult-child interactions were analyzed using the Verona Definitions of Emotional Sequences. Children expressed negative emotion, mainly in subtle ways; however, adults rarely recognized and responded to these expressions. The frequency of children's expressions and adults' responses were related to the child's age, level of anxiety, and verbal participation. Children do not openly express negative emotions frequently during routine cardiac consultations; they are more likely to provide subtle cues of negative emotion. When expression of negative emotions does occur, adults may consider using the opportunity to explore the child's emotional experiences.

Positive affect and markers of inflammation: discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.

Science.gov (United States)

Stellar, Jennifer E; John-Henderson, Neha; Anderson, Craig L; Gordon, Amie M; McNeil, Galen D; Keltner, Dacher

2015-04-01

Negative emotions are reliably associated with poorer health (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser, McGuire, Robles, & Glaser, 2002), but only recently has research begun to acknowledge the important role of positive emotions for our physical health (Fredrickson, 2003). We examine the link between dispositional positive affect and one potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health-proinflammatory cytokines, specifically levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). We hypothesized that greater trait positive affect would be associated with lower levels of IL-6 in a healthy sample. We found support for this hypothesis across two studies. We also explored the relationship between discrete positive emotions and IL-6 levels, finding that awe, measured in two different ways, was the strongest predictor of lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines. These effects held when controlling for relevant personality and health variables. This work suggests a potential biological pathway between positive emotions and health through proinflammatory cytokines. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationships Among Positive Emotions, Coping, Resilience and Mental Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Gloria, Christian T; Steinhardt, Mary A

2016-04-01

The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests that positive emotions can widen the range of potential coping strategies that come to mind and subsequently enhance one's resilience against stress. Studies have shown that high stress, especially chronic levels of stress, strongly contributes to the development of anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, researchers have also found that individuals who possess high levels of resilience are protected from stress and thus report lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Using a sample of 200 postdoctoral research fellows, the present study examined if (a) positive emotions were associated with greater resilience, (b) coping strategies mediated the link between positive emotions and resilience and (c) resilience moderated the influence of stress on trait anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results support the broaden-and-build theory in that positive emotions may enhance resilience directly as well as indirectly through the mediating role of coping strategies-particularly via adaptive coping. Resilience also moderated the association of stress with trait anxiety and depressive symptoms. Although stress is unavoidable and its influences on anxiety and depressive symptoms are undeniable, the likelihood of postdocs developing anxiety or depressive symptoms may be reduced by implementing programmes designed to increase positive emotions, adaptive coping strategies and resilience. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relating Specific Emotions to Intrinsic Motivation: On the Moderating Role of Positive and Negative Emotion Differentiation

Science.gov (United States)

Vandercammen, Leen; Hofmans, Joeri; Theuns, Peter

2014-01-01

Despite the fact that studies on self-determination theory have traditionally disregarded the explicit role of emotions in the motivation eliciting process, research attention for the affective antecedents of motivation is growing. We add to this emerging research field by testing the moderating role of emotion differentiation –individual differences in the extent to which people can differentiate between specific emotions– on the relationship between twelve specific emotions and intrinsic motivation. To this end, we conducted a daily diary study (N = 72) and an experience sampling study (N = 34). Results showed that the relationship between enthusiasm, cheerfulness, optimism, contentedness, gloominess, miserableness, uneasiness (in both studies 1 and 2), calmness, relaxation, tenseness, depression, worry (only in Study 1) on one hand and intrinsic motivation on the other hand was moderated by positive emotion differentiation for the positive emotions and by negative emotion differentiation for the negative emotions. Altogether, these findings suggest that for people who are unable to distinguish between different specific positive emotions the relationship between those specific positive emotions and intrinsic motivation is stronger, whereas the relationship between specific negative emotions and intrinsic motivation is weaker for people who are able to distinguish between the different specific negative emotions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. PMID:25517984

Positive Emotional Engagement and Autism Risk

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert-Brown, Brittany L.; McDonald, Nicole M.; Mattson, Whitney I.; Martin, Katherine B.; Ibañez, Lisa V.; Stone, Wendy L.; Messinger, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Positive emotional engagement develops in the context of face-to-face interactions during the first 6 months of life. Deficits in emotional engagement are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and may characterize the younger siblings of children with ASD (high-risk siblings). High-risk siblings are likely to exhibit a broad range of…

Mirroring Facial Expressions and Emotions in Dyadic Conversations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Navarretta, Costanza

2016-01-01

This paper presents an investigation of mirroring facial expressions and the emotions which they convey in dyadic naturally occurring first encounters. Mirroring facial expressions are a common phenomenon in face-to-face interactions, and they are due to the mirror neuron system which has been...... and overlapping facial expressions are very frequent. In this study, we want to determine whether the overlapping facial expressions are mirrored or are otherwise correlated in the encounters, and to what extent mirroring facial expressions convey the same emotion. The results of our study show that the majority...... of smiles and laughs, and one fifth of the occurrences of raised eyebrows are mirrored in the data. Moreover some facial traits in co-occurring expressions co-occur more often than it would be expected by chance. Finally, amusement, and to a lesser extent friendliness, are often emotions shared by both...

Impairment of vocal expression of negative emotions in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Kyung-Hun; Zaytseva, Yuliya; Bao, Yan; Pöppel, Ernst; Chung, Sun Yong; Kim, Jong Woo; Kim, Hyun Taek

2014-01-01

Vocal expression of emotions (EE) in retrieval of events from autobiographical memory was investigated in patients in early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Twenty-one AD patients and 19 controls were interviewed, and EE of the reported memories was rated by 8 independent evaluators. The AD group had lower EE of both recent and remote memory than controls, although EE in remote memories was better preserved in both groups. We observed positive correlations between EE and indicators of cognitive competence in AD patients. AD Patients are impaired in the ability to express emotions already at early stages of the disease, and EE seems to deteriorate along with the progression of cognitive impairment.

Encapsulated social perception of emotional expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Smortchkova, Joulia

2017-01-01

In this paper I argue that the detection of emotional expressions is, in its early stages, informationally encapsulated. I clarify and defend such a view via the appeal to data from social perception on the visual processing of faces, bodies, facial and bodily expressions. Encapsulated social perception might exist alongside processes that are cognitively penetrated, and that have to do with recognition and categorization, and play a central evolutionary function in preparing early and rapid responses to the emotional stimuli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeannette Haviland-Jones

2005-01-01

Full Text Available For more than 5000 years, people have cultivated flowers although there is no known reward for this costly behavior. In three different studies we show that flowers are a powerful positive emotion “inducer”. In Study 1, flowers, upon presentation to women, always elicited the Duchenne or true smile. Women who received flowers reported more positive moods 3 days later. In Study 2, a flower given to men or women in an elevator elicited more positive social behavior than other stimuli. In Study 3, flowers presented to elderly participants (55+ age elicited positive mood reports and improved episodic memory. Flowers have immediate and long-term effects on emotional reactions, mood, social behaviors and even memory for both males and females. There is little existing theory in any discipline that explains these findings. We suggest that cultivated flowers are rewarding because they have evolved to rapidly induce positive emotion in humans, just as other plants have evolved to induce varying behavioral responses in a wide variety of species leading to the dispersal or propagation of the plants.

Emotional Intensity Modulates the Integration of Bimodal Angry Expressions: ERP Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)