Positive emotional change: mediating effects of forgiveness and spirituality.

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Levenson, Michael R; Aldwin, Carolyn M; Yancura, Loriena

2006-01-01

We evaluated the efficacy of an emotional education program that seeks to reduce the intergenerational transmission of negative interaction patterns by increasing forgiveness and spirituality. We examined both reduction of psychological symptoms and increase in positive psychological outcomes over the course of a year, as well as the mediators of this change. At baseline, the sample consisted of 99 participants and 47 waiting list controls. Comparisons of scores from baseline (Time 1) to one week after the Hoffman Quadrinity Process (Time 2) showed large declines in negative affect (depressive symptoms) and increases in both positive outcomes (mastery, empathy, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, forgiveness, and spiritual experience) and health and well-being. Over the course of a year, most of these gains were sustained, in comparison with the control group. Further, increases in forgiveness and spirituality mediated the effect of program participation on depressive symptoms.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

Is valuing positive emotion associated with life satisfaction?

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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.

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

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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.

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.

Acute Stress Dysregulates the LPP ERP Response to Emotional Pictures and Impairs Sustained Attention: Time-Sensitive Effects.

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Alomari, Rima A; Fernandez, Mercedes; Banks, Jonathan B; Acosta, Juliana; Tartar, Jaime L

2015-05-20

Stress can increase emotional vigilance at the cost of a decrease in attention towards non-emotional stimuli. However, the time-dependent effects of acute stress on emotion processing are uncertain. We tested the effects of acute stress on subsequent emotion processing up to 40 min following an acute stressor. Our measure of emotion processing was the late positive potential (LPP) component of the visual event-related potential (ERP), and our measure of non-emotional attention was the sustained attention to response task (SART). We also measured cortisol levels before and after the socially evaluated cold pressor test (SECPT) induction. We found that the effects of stress on the LPP ERP emotion measure were time sensitive. Specifically, the LPP ERP was only altered in the late time-point (30-40 min post-stress) when cortisol was at its highest level. Here, the LPP no longer discriminated between the emotional and non-emotional picture categories, most likely because neutral pictures were perceived as emotional. Moreover, compared to the non-stress condition, the stress-condition showed impaired performance on the SART. Our results support the idea that a limit in attention resources after an emotional stressor is associated with the brain incorrectly processing non-emotional stimuli as emotional and interferes with sustained attention.

The neglected role of positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology.

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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.

Emotional Capital Development, Positive Psychology and Mindful Teaching: Which Links?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bénédicte Gendron

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The start of university life requires a period of adaptation, which can sometimes have an impact on the mental health of students. The latest results from the Observatoire National de la Vie Etudiante (OVE, 2013 show that more that 40% of university students report symptoms of psychological fragility (sleep problems, fatigue, depression, stress or loneliness, which can impact their level of wellbeing and performance. Beyond Savoirs [knowledge], Savoir Faire [knowing what to do], the role of Savoir Être [knowing how to be] referring to a set of emotional competencies, is crucial in sustaining human capital in a broad sense, personal development and health (Gendron 2004. During the Initiatives d'Excellence en Formations Innovantes (IDEFI Programme, [Initiatives of Excellence in Innovative Training] 132 first year university students of education underwent an intervention (a minimum of six workshops of four hours aimed at developing their emotional capital. Using two approaches PIA2 (European Management and Project Management Methodology and ACT Training derived from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT the objective was to develop trainees’ social and personal emotional competencies such as self-esteem, self-knowledge, empathy and conflict management. Using an interdisciplinary approach drawing on educational theory, theory of human resources and positive psychology, the results show that emotional capital, developed using positive psychology tools, can improve wellbeing and contribute to a holistic personal development.

Gender Differences in Positive Social-Emotional Functioning

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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…

Is the emotional Stroop task a special case of mood induction? Evidence from sustained effects of attention under emotion.

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Ben-Haim, Moshe Shay; Mama, Yaniv; Icht, Michal; Algom, Daniel

2014-01-01

Sustained effects of emotion are well known in everyday experience. Surprisingly, such effects are seldom recorded in laboratory studies of the emotional Stroop task, in which participants name the color of emotion and neutral words. Color performance is more sluggish with emotion words than with neutral words, the emotional Stroop effect (ESE). The ESE is not sensitive to the order in which the two groups of words are presented, so the effect of exposure to emotion words does not extend to disrupting performance in a subsequent block with neutral words. We attribute this absence of a sustained effect to habituation engendered by excessive repetition of the experimental stimuli. In a series of four experiments, we showed that sustained effects do occur when habituation is removed, and we also showed that the massive exposure to negative stimuli within the ESE paradigm induces a commensurately negative mood. A novel perspective is offered, in which the ESE is considered a special case of mood induction.

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...

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

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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.

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.

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.

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

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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.

Context shapes social judgments of positive emotion suppression and expression.

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Kalokerinos, Elise K; Greenaway, Katharine H; Casey, James P

2017-02-01

It is generally considered socially undesirable to suppress the expression of positive emotion. However, previous research has not considered the role that social context plays in governing appropriate emotion regulation. We investigated a context in which it may be more appropriate to suppress than express positive emotion, hypothesizing that positive emotion expressions would be considered inappropriate when the valence of the expressed emotion (i.e., positive) did not match the valence of the context (i.e., negative). Six experiments (N = 1,621) supported this hypothesis: when there was a positive emotion-context mismatch, participants rated targets who suppressed positive emotion as more appropriate, and evaluated them more positively than targets who expressed positive emotion. This effect occurred even when participants were explicitly made aware that suppressing targets were experiencing mismatched emotion for the context (e.g., feeling positive in a negative context), suggesting that appropriate emotional expression is key to these effects. These studies are among the first to provide empirical evidence that social costs to suppression are not inevitable, but instead are dependent on context. Expressive suppression can be a socially useful emotion regulation strategy in situations that call for it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality and emotional processing: A relationship between extraversion and the late positive potential in adolescence.

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Speed, Brittany C; Nelson, Brady D; Perlman, Greg; Klein, Daniel N; Kotov, Roman; Hajcak, Greg

2015-08-01

Neuroticism and extraversion are multifaceted affective-laden personality traits that have been associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). Research and theory have argued that extraversion, and particularly its facet positive emotionality, is specific to MDD, while neuroticism is common across internalizing disorders. Converging evidence has suggested that MDD is associated with reduced engagement with emotional stimuli, but it remains unclear whether either extraversion, neuroticism, or both modulate reactivity to emotional cues. The late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related brain potential that is uniquely suited to assess engagement with emotional stimuli because it reflects sustained attention toward emotional content. The current study examined the LPP in relation to personality traits that may confer risk for depression by examining the relationship between the LPP and both neuroticism and extraversion in never-depressed adolescent girls. Specifically, 550 girls aged 13.5-15.5 with no lifetime history of depression completed an emotional picture-viewing task, and the LPP was measured in response to neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant pictures. Personality traits were gathered via self- and informant report. Results indicated that high extraversion was associated with a potentiated LPP to emotional pictures-and this effect was accounted for by positive emotionality in particular. In contrast, there was no association between the LPP and neuroticism or its facets. The present study is one of the first to demonstrate that extraversion is associated with variation in neural indices of emotional picture processing, similar to what has been observed among individuals with depression and at high risk for depression. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

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

Beyond happiness: Building a science of discrete positive emotions.

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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).

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia is associated with tonic positive emotionality.

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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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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.

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�

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.

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.

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

Positivity bias in judging ingroup members' emotional expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazerus, Talya; Ingbretsen, Zachary A; Stolier, Ryan M; Freeman, Jonathan B; Cikara, Mina

2016-12-01

We investigated how group membership impacts valence judgments of ingroup and outgroup members' emotional expressions. In Experiment 1, participants, randomized into 2 novel, competitive groups, rated the valence of in- and outgroup members' facial expressions (e.g., fearful, happy, neutral) using a circumplex affect grid. Across all emotions, participants judged ingroup members' expressions as more positive than outgroup members' expressions. In Experiment 2, participants categorized fearful and happy expressions as being either positive or negative using a mouse-tracking paradigm. Participants exhibited the most direct trajectories toward the "positive" label for ingroup happy expressions and an initial attraction toward positive for ingroup expressions of fear, with outgroup emotion trajectories falling in between. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 and demonstrated that the effect could not be accounted for by targets' gaze direction. Overall, people judged ingroup faces as more positive, regardless of emotion, both in deliberate and implicit judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Positive Emotion Facilitates Cognitive Flexibility: An fMRI Study

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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.

Aging and emotional expressions: is there a positivity bias during dynamic emotion recognition?

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Alberto eDi Domenico

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In this study, we investigated whether age-related differences in emotion regulation priorities influence online dynamic emotional facial discrimination. A group of 40 younger and a group of 40 older adults were invited to recognize a positive or negative expression as soon as the expression slowly emerged and subsequently rate it in terms of intensity. Our findings show that older adults recognized happy expressions faster than angry ones, while the direction of emotional expression does not seem to affect younger adults’ performance. Furthermore, older adults rated both negative and positive emotional faces as more intense compared to younger controls. This study detects age-related differences with a dynamic online paradigm and suggests that different regulation strategies may shape emotional face recognition.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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

Expressing and Amplifying Positive Emotions Facilitate Goal Attainment in Workplace Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Elena; Tschan, Franziska; Messerli, Laurence; Semmer, Norbert K.

2013-01-01

Expressing emotions has social functions; it provides information, affects social interactions, and shapes relationships with others. Expressing positive emotions could be a strategic tool for improving goal attainment during social interactions at work. Such effects have been found in research on social contagion, impression management, and emotion work. However, expressing emotions one does not feel entails the risk of being perceived as inauthentic. This risk may well be worth taking when the emotions felt are negative, as expressing negative emotions usually has negative effects. When experiencing positive emotions, however, expressing them authentically promises benefits, and the advantage of amplifying them is not so obvious. We postulated that expressing, and amplifying, positive emotions would foster goal attainment in social interactions at work, particularly when dealing with superiors. Analyses are based on 494 interactions involving the pursuit of a goal by 113 employes. Multilevel analyses, including polynomial analyses, show that authentic display of positive emotions supported goal attainment throughout. However, amplifying felt positive emotions promoted goal attainment only in interactions with superiors, but not with colleagues. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of hierarchy for detecting, and interpreting, signs of strategic display of positive emotions. PMID:23675358

Expressing and amplifying positive emotions facilitate goal attainment in workplace interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena eWong

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Expressing emotions has social functions; it provides information, affects social interactions, and shapes relationships with others. Expressing positive emotions could be a strategic tool for improving goal attainment during social interactions at work. Such effects have been found in research on social contagion, impression management, and emotion work. However, expressing emotions one does not feel entails the risk of being perceived as inauthentic. This risk may well be worth taking when the emotions felt are negative, as expressing negative emotions usually has negative effects. When experiencing positive emotions, however, expressing them authentically promises benefits, and the advantage of amplifying them is not so obvious. We postulated that expressing, and amplifying, positive emotions would foster goal attainment in social interactions at work, particularly when dealing with superiors. Analyses are based on 494 interactions involving the pursuit of a goal by 113 employees. Multilevel analyses, including polynomial analyses, show that authentic display of positive emotions supported goal attainment throughout. However, amplifying felt positive emotions promoted goal attainment only in interactions with superiors, but not with colleagues. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of hierarchy for detecting, and interpreting, signs of strategic display of positive emotions.

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).

Shared Emotional Values in Sustainable Clothing Design Approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Durrani, Marium; Petersen, Louise Ravnløkke Munk; Niinimäki, Kirsi

2016-01-01

Recent sustainable initiatives in fashion companies are framing design practices that challenge the traditional role of clothing designers. This preliminary study aims to open discussion on challenging traditional clothing design, through an exploration of the shared emotional values between user...... and designers, when designing for longevity....

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…

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.

An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers

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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.

Positive emotion word use and longevity in famous deceased psychologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Pressman, Sarah D; Cohen, Sheldon

2012-05-01

This study examined whether specific types of positive and negative emotional words used in the autobiographies of well-known deceased psychologists were associated with longevity. For each of the 88 psychologists, the percent of emotional words used in writing was calculated and categorized by valence (positive or negative) and arousal (activated [e.g., lively, anxious] or not activated [e.g., calm, drowsy]) based on existing emotion scales and models of emotion categorization. After controlling for sex, year of publication, health (based on disclosed illness in autobiography), native language, and year of birth, the use of more activated positive emotional words (e.g., lively, vigorous, attentive, humorous) was associated with increased longevity. Negative terms (e.g., angry, afraid, drowsy, sluggish) and unactivated positive terms (e.g., peaceful, calm) were not related to longevity. The association of activated positive emotions with longevity was also independent of words indicative of social integration, optimism, and the other affect/activation categories. Results indicate that in writing, not every type of emotion correlates with longevity and that there may be value to considering different categories beyond emotional valence in health relevant outcomes.

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.

Cross-cultural decoding of positive and negative non-linguistic emotion vocalizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Laukka, Petri; Elfenbein, Hillary Anger; Söder, Nela; Nordström, Henrik; Althoff, Jean; Chui, Wanda; Iraki, Frederick K; Rockstuhl, Thomas; Thingujam, Nutankumar S

2013-01-01

Which emotions are associated with universally recognized non-verbal signals?We address this issue by examining how reliably non-linguistic vocalizations (affect bursts) can convey emotions across cultures. Actors from India, Kenya, Singapore, and USA were instructed to produce vocalizations that would convey nine positive and nine 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 non-linguistic vocalizations.

Enhanced Positive Emotional Reactivity Undermines Empathy in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

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Alice Y. Hua

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by profound changes in emotions and empathy. Although most patients with bvFTD become less sensitive to negative emotional cues, some patients become more sensitive to positive emotional stimuli. We investigated whether dysregulated positive emotions in bvFTD undermine empathy by making it difficult for patients to share (emotional empathy, recognize (cognitive empathy, and respond (real-world empathy to emotions in others. Fifty-one participants (26 patients with bvFTD and 25 healthy controls viewed photographs of neutral, positive, negative, and self-conscious emotional faces and then identified the emotions displayed in the photographs. We used facial electromyography to measure automatic, sub-visible activity in two facial muscles during the task: Zygomaticus major (ZM, which is active during positive emotional reactions (i.e., smiling, and Corrugator supercilii (CS, which is active during negative emotional reactions (i.e., frowning. Participants rated their baseline positive and negative emotional experience before the task, and informants rated participants' real-world empathic behavior on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. The majority of participants also underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. A mixed effects model found a significant diagnosis X trial interaction: patients with bvFTD showed greater ZM reactivity to neutral, negative (disgust and surprise, self-conscious (proud, and positive (happy faces than healthy controls. There was no main effect of diagnosis or diagnosis X trial interaction on CS reactivity. Compared to healthy controls, patients with bvFTD had impaired emotion recognition. Multiple regression analyses revealed that greater ZM reactivity predicted worse negative emotion recognition and worse real-world empathy. At baseline, positive emotional experience was higher in bvFTD than healthy controls and also

The Institution's position on sustainable energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sargent, M.A.

1999-01-01

The twenty-first century will be an era in which sustainability will be a powerful value espoused by the community. The sustainability of energy, in terms of production and consumption, and in relation to the broader impacts of energy on society and the environment, will be a particular focus of the community. Australia, as a nett exporter of energy, and with a high per capita energy consumption, has both an economic and environmental imperative to be a leader in sustainable energy concepts and technologies. Australia therefore needs to position itself strategically, with a policy framework that facilitates the strategic positioning, to use and foster its diverse resources to provide for the social and economic needs of this generation, in a manner that ensures that the energy needs of the future generations can be met. The Institution of Engineers Australia has developed a Position on Sustainable Energy. The principles and actions through which the country's transition to a sustainable energy future will be managed are outlined

Influence of different positive emotions on persuasion processing: a functional evolutionary approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Griskevicius, Vladas; Shiota, Michelle N; Neufeld, Samantha L

2010-04-01

Much research has found that positive affect facilitates increased reliance on heuristics in cognition. However, theories proposing distinct evolutionary fitness-enhancing functions for specific positive emotions also predict important differences among the consequences of different positive emotion states. Two experiments investigated how six positive emotions influenced the processing of persuasive messages. Using different methods to induce emotions and assess processing, we showed that the positive emotions of anticipatory enthusiasm, amusement, and attachment love tended to facilitate greater acceptance of weak persuasive messages (consistent with previous research), whereas the positive emotions of awe and nurturant love reduced persuasion by weak messages. In addition, a series of mediation analyses suggested that the effects distinguishing different positive emotions from a neutral control condition were best accounted for by different mediators rather than by one common mediator. These findings build upon approaches that link affective valence to certain types of processing, documenting emotion-specific effects on cognition that are consistent with functional evolutionary accounts of discrete positive emotions. Copyright 2010 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…

Drivers to and barriers against sustainable consumption : exploring the role of consumer anticipated emotions in the context of consumer adoption of alternative fuel vehicles

OpenAIRE

Rezvani, Zeinab

2017-01-01

With the increasing environmental problems, sustainable consumption is an important consumer behavior. Therefore, it is important to investigate further the significant drivers to and barriers against sustainable consumption, in order to increase the share of sustainable consumption and understanding of consumer behavior. This dissertation identifies two gaps. The first is in understanding consumer positive and negative anticipated emotions as an important factor influencing high-involvement ...

Empathy for positive and negative emotions in social anxiety disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Amanda S; Mateen, Maria A; Brozovich, Faith A; Zaki, Jamil; Goldin, Philippe R; Heimberg, Richard G; Gross, James J

2016-12-01

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with elevated negative and diminished positive affective experience. However, little is known about the way in which individuals with SAD perceive and respond emotionally to the naturally-unfolding negative and positive emotions of others, that is, cognitive empathy and affective empathy, respectively. In the present study, participants with generalized SAD (n = 32) and demographically-matched healthy controls (HCs; n = 32) completed a behavioral empathy task. Cognitive empathy was indexed by the correlation between targets' and participants' continuous ratings of targets' emotions, whereas affective empathy was indexed by the correlation between targets' and participants' continuous self-ratings of emotion. Individuals with SAD differed from HCs only in positive affective empathy: they were less able to vicariously share others' positive emotions. Mediation analyses revealed that poor emotional clarity and negative interpersonal perceptions among those with SAD might account for this finding. Future research using experimental methodology is needed to examine whether this finding represents an inability or unwillingness to share positive affect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Positive and negative emotions underlie motivation for L2 learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter D. MacIntyre

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The role of basic emotions in SLA has been underestimated in both research and pedagogy. The present article examines 10 positive emotions (joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love and 9 negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, embarrassment, guilt, hate, sadness, feeling scared, and being stressed. The emotions are correlated with core variables chosen from three well-known models of L2 motivation: Gardner’s integrative motive, Clément’s social-contextual model, and Dörnyei’s L2 self system. Respondents came from Italian secondary schools, and most participants were from monolingual Italian speaking homes. They described their motivation and emotion with respect to learning German in a region of Italy (South Tyrol that features high levels of contact between Italians and Germans. Results show that positive emotions are consistently and strongly correlated with motivation-related variables. Correlations involving negative emotions are weaker and less consistently implicated in motivation. The positivity ratio, that is, the relative prevalence of positive over negative emotion, showed strong correlations with all of the motivation constructs. Regression analysis supports the conclusion that a variety of emotions, not just one or two key ones, are implicated in L2 motivation processes in this high-contact context.

Good mood food. Positive emotion as a neglected trigger for food intake.

Science.gov (United States)

Evers, Catharine; Adriaanse, Marieke; de Ridder, Denise T D; de Witt Huberts, Jessie C

2013-09-01

Research on emotions as a trigger for food intake has mainly been focused on the role of negative emotions. In the present studies the role of positive emotions as a trigger for food intake is investigated in a sample of healthy participants with a normal weight. Two laboratory studies were conducted in which positive emotions or no emotions were induced (Study 1) or in addition negative emotions were induced (Study 2) after which unhealthy food intake was assessed by bogus taste tests. In Study 3, food intake was assessed by registering snack intake in a 7-day diary study together with the emotions accompanying each snacking episode to provide a more ecologically valid test of our hypothesis. Studies 1 and 2 showed that positive emotions, compared to the control conditions, evoked more caloric intake. Dietary restraint did not moderate this effect. Study 2 additionally showed that positive emotions evoked caloric intake to the same extent as negative emotions. Study 3 showed that snack intake in daily life was reported to result from positive emotions more frequently than from negative emotions. Positive emotions serve as an important but under-investigated trigger for unhealthy food intake that deserves further scrutiny. Future research should further investigate whether food intake results from emotional arousal in general, or from emotional valence in particular. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Positive emotional context eliminates the framing effect in decision-making.

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Cassotti, Mathieu; Habib, Marianne; Poirel, Nicolas; Aïte, Ania; Houdé, Olivier; Moutier, Sylvain

2012-10-01

Dual-process theories have suggested that emotion plays a key role in the framing effect in decision-making. However, little is known about the potential impact of a specific positive or negative emotional context on this bias. We investigated this question with adult participants using an emotional priming paradigm. First, participants were presented with positive or negative affective pictures (i.e., pleasant vs. unpleasant photographs). Afterward, participants had to perform a financial decision-making task that was unrelated to the pictures previously presented. The results revealed that the presentation framed in terms of gain or loss no longer affected subjects' decision-making following specific exposure to emotionally pleasant pictures. Interestingly, a positive emotional context did not globally influence risk-taking behavior but specifically decreased the risk propensity in the loss frame. This finding confirmed that a positive emotional context can reduce loss aversion, and it strongly reinforced the dual-process view that the framing effect stems from an affective heuristic belonging to intuitive System 1.

University Student and Lecturer Perceptions of Positive Emotions in Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, Anna Dluzewska; Fitness, Julie; Wood, Leigh Norma

2015-01-01

This paper presents results of an investigation exploring the experience and functionality of positive feelings and emotions in learning and teaching. The role of emotions in learning is receiving increasing attention; however, few studies have researched how university students and academics experience and perceive positive emotions. A prototype…

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.

Assessment of preschoolers’ positive empathy: concurrent and longitudinal relations with positive emotion, social competence, and sympathy

OpenAIRE

Sallquist, Julie; Eisenberg, Nancy; Spinrad, Tracy L.; Eggum, Natalie D.; Gaertner, Bridget M.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine a new measure of children’s dispositional positive empathy (i.e., reactions to others’ positive emotions) and its concurrent and longitudinal relations with positive emotion, social competence, and empathy/sympathy with negative emotions. At Time 1, 192 3.5-year-olds (88 girls) participated; at Time 2, 1 year later, 168 4.5-year-olds (79 girls) participated. Children’s positive empathy was reported by mothers and observed in the laboratory at Time 2. A...

Positive perfectionism, negative perfectionism, and emotional eating: The mediating role of stress.

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Wang, Hanwei; Li, Jie

2017-08-01

The current study examines the different impacts of positive perfectionism and negative perfectionism on individuals' emotional eating, as well as stress as the proposed underlying mediator that explains the abovementioned relationships. Overall, 386 adults in China reported their levels of positive perfectionism, negative perfectionism, perceived stress, and emotional eating behaviors. Results demonstrate that positive perfectionism is negatively associated with emotional eating, while negative perfectionism is positively associated with emotional eating. In addition, stress mediates the relationship between perfectionism and emotional eating. Specifically, positive perfectionism is indirectly related to emotional eating through the mediation of stress, whereas negative perfectionism is related to emotional eating directly and indirectly through the mediation of stress. Findings of the current study indicate that practitioners working with individuals who suffer from emotional eating problems should focus on ways to reduce negative perfectionism while finding approaches that enhance positive perfectionism. With this approach, individuals would experience less stress and, therefore, would be less likely to be involved in emotional eating. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Felt power explains the link between position power and experienced emotions.

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Bombari, Dario; Schmid Mast, Marianne; Bachmann, Manuel

2017-02-01

The approach/inhibition theory by Keltner, Gruenfeld, and Anderson (2003) predicts that powerful people should feel more positive and less negative emotions. To date, results of studies investigating this prediction are inconsistent. We fill this gap with four studies in which we investigated the role of different conceptualizations of power: felt power and position power. In Study 1, participants were made to feel more or less powerful and we tested how their felt power was related to different emotional states. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, participants were assigned to either a high or a low power role and engaged in an interaction with a virtual human, after which participants reported on how powerful they felt and the emotions they experienced during the interaction. We meta-analytically combined the results of the four studies and found that felt power was positively related to positive emotions (happiness and serenity) and negatively to negative emotions (fear, anger, and sadness), whereas position power did not show any significant overall relation with any of the emotional states. Importantly, felt power mediated the relationship between position power and emotion. In summary, we show that how powerful a person feels in a given social interaction is the driving force linking the person's position power to his or her emotional states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A misleading feeling of happiness: metamemory for positive emotional and neutral pictures.

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Hourihan, Kathleen L; Bursey, Elliott

2017-01-01

Emotional information is often remembered better than neutral information, but the emotional benefit for positive information is less consistently observed than the benefit for negative information. The current study examined whether positive emotional pictures are recognised better than neutral pictures, and further examined whether participants can predict how emotion affects picture recognition. In two experiments, participants studied a mixed list of positive and neutral pictures, and made immediate judgements of learning (JOLs). JOLs for positive pictures were consistently higher than for neutral pictures. However, recognition performance displayed an inconsistent pattern. In Experiment 1, neutral pictures were more discriminable than positive pictures, but Experiment 2 found no difference in recognition based on emotional content. Despite participants' beliefs, positive emotional content does not appear to consistently benefit picture memory.

A systematic review of the neural correlates of positive emotions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Machado

Full Text Available Objective: To conduct a systematic literature review of human studies reporting neural correlates of positive emotions. Methods: The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched in January 2016 for scientific papers written in English. No restrictions were placed on year of publication. Results: Twenty-two articles were identified and 12 met the established criteria. Five had been published during the last 4 years. Formation and regulation of positive emotions, including happiness, are associated with significant reductions in activity in the right prefrontal cortex and bilaterally in the temporoparietal cortex, as well as with increased activity in the left prefrontal regions. They are also associated with increased activity in the cingulate gyrus, inferior and middle temporal gyri, amygdalae, and ventral striatum. Conclusion: It is too early to claim that there is an established understanding of the neuroscience of positive emotions and happiness. However, despite overlap in the brain regions involved in the formation and regulation of positive and negative emotions, we can conclude that positive emotions such as happiness activate specific brain regions.

Positive emotions in earthquake survivors in El Salvador (2001).

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Vázquez, Carmelo; Cervellón, Priscilla; Pérez-Sales, Pau; Vidales, Diana; Gaborit, Mauricio

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze, within a more extensive intervention program, the existence of positive emotions and positive coping in the refugees at the two largest shelters created after the earthquakes of El Salvador in January, 2001. One hundred and fifteen survivors were interviewed in the shelters about different aspects related to positive cognitions and emotions experienced during their sojourn at the camps, as well as their perception of aspects of posttraumatic growth. The results show that most of the people affected by the earthquake revealed a consistent pattern of positive reactions and emotions. The potential implications of these results in the individual sphere, as buffering elements to protect people from the effects of a traumatic experience receive comment.

Positive Emotional Language in the Final Words Spoken Directly Before Execution.

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Hirschmüller, Sarah; Egloff, Boris

2015-01-01

How do individuals emotionally cope with the imminent real-world salience of mortality? DeWall and Baumeister as well as Kashdan and colleagues previously provided support that an increased use of positive emotion words serves as a way to protect and defend against mortality salience of one's own contemplated death. Although these studies provide important insights into the psychological dynamics of mortality salience, it remains an open question how individuals cope with the immense threat of mortality prior to their imminent actual death. In the present research, we therefore analyzed positivity in the final words spoken immediately before execution by 407 death row inmates in Texas. By using computerized quantitative text analysis as an objective measure of emotional language use, our results showed that the final words contained a significantly higher proportion of positive than negative emotion words. This emotional positivity was significantly higher than (a) positive emotion word usage base rates in spoken and written materials and (b) positive emotional language use with regard to contemplated death and attempted or actual suicide. Additional analyses showed that emotional positivity in final statements was associated with a greater frequency of language use that was indicative of self-references, social orientation, and present-oriented time focus as well as with fewer instances of cognitive-processing, past-oriented, and death-related word use. Taken together, our findings offer new insights into how individuals cope with the imminent real-world salience of mortality.

vmPFC activation during a stressor predicts positive emotions during stress recovery

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Yang, Xi; Garcia, Katelyn M; Jung, Youngkyoo; Whitlow, Christopher T; McRae, Kateri; Waugh, Christian E

2018-01-01

Abstract Despite accruing evidence showing that positive emotions facilitate stress recovery, the neural basis for this effect remains unclear. To identify the underlying mechanism, we compared stress recovery for people reflecting on a stressor while in a positive emotional context with that for people in a neutral context. While blood–oxygen-level dependent data were being collected, participants (N = 43) performed a stressful anagram task, which was followed by a recovery period during which they reflected on the stressor while watching a positive or neutral video. Participants also reported positive and negative emotions throughout the task as well as retrospective thoughts about the task. Although there was no effect of experimental context on emotional recovery, we found that ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activation during the stressor predicted more positive emotions during recovery, which in turn predicted less negative emotions during recovery. In addition, the relationship between vmPFC activation and positive emotions during recovery was mediated by decentering—the meta-cognitive detachment of oneself from one’s feelings. In sum, successful recovery from a stressor seems to be due to activation of positive emotion-related regions during the stressor itself as well as to their downstream effects on certain cognitive forms of emotion regulation. PMID:29462404

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

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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.

Positive emotions and the social broadening effects of Barack Obama.

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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.

The Role of Positive Emotion and Contributions of Positive Psychology in Depression Treatment: Systematic Review

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Santos, Veruska; Paes, Flavia; Pereira, Valeska; Arias-Carrión, Oscar; Silva, Adriana Cardoso; Carta, Mauro Giovanni; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; Machado, Sergio

2013-01-01

The present study aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature by checking the impact of positive emotion in the treatment of depression and on the use of strategies of positive psychology which involves positive emotion to treat and reduce symptoms of depression. For this purpose, we conducted searches in databases ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO and PubMed and found a total of 3400 studies. After inclusion application and exclusion criteria, 28 articles remained, presented and discussed in this study. The studies have important relations between humor and positive emotion as well as a significant improvement in signs and symptoms of depression using differents strategies of positive psychology. Another relevant aspect is the preventative character of the proposed interventions by positive psychology by the fact that increase well-being and produce elements such as resilience and coping resources that reduce the recurrent relapses in the treatment of depression. The strategies of positive psychology, such as increasing positive emotions, develop personal strengths: seeking direction, meaning and engagement for the day-to-day life of the patients, appear as potentially tools for the prophylaxis and treatment of depression, helping to reduce signs and symptoms as well as for prevention of relapses. PMID:24358052

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

The Health Significance of Positive Emotions in Adulthood and Later Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Anthony D; Mroczek, Daniel K; Riffin, Catherine

2011-08-01

A growing body of literature supports a link between positive emotions and health in older adults. In this article, we review evidence of the effects of positive emotions on downstream biological processes and meaningful clinical endpoints, such as adult morbidity and mortality. We then present relevant predictions from lifespan theories that suggest changes in cognition and motivation may play an important role in explaining how positive emotions are well maintained in old age, despite pervasive declines in cognitive processes. We conclude by discussing how the application of psychological theory can inform greater understanding of the adaptive significance of positive emotions in adulthood and later life.

Harnessing happiness? Uncontrollable positive emotion in bipolar disorder, major depression, and healthy adults.

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Kang, Yoona; Gruber, June

2013-04-01

The ability to adaptively exert control over negative emotions is associated with beneficial mental health outcomes. Less is known about the associated emotional sequelae surrounding controllable versus uncontrollable positive emotional experiences. The ability to harness positive emotions is of particular importance in populations involving disrupted positive emotion functioning. In the present study, participants engaged in a relived memory task in which they recalled either a controllable or uncontrollable past positive emotional experience in counterbalanced order, while concurrent experiential and autonomic responses were measured. Participants included adults with bipolar I disorder (BD; n = 32), major depression (MDD; n = 32), and or nonpsychiatric controls (CTLs; n = 31). Across all participants, reliving a controllable positive emotion experience was associated with exhibited increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia, an autonomic marker of regulatory control. Interestingly, only the MDD group reported increased positive emotion and decreased cardiovascular arousal when reliving an event involving uncontrollable positive emotion, compared to the BD and CTL groups. No other group differences emerged. These findings suggest that although controllable positive emotion experiences may be adaptive for most, individuals with a history of restricted affect and depressed mood may actually derive more pleasure from times of unharnessed happiness. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Positive Emotion in Nature as a Precursor to Learning

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Coleman, Tamara Chase

2014-01-01

This study was designed to examine the perception of learning in adults generated by the effect of a positive emotion-in this case, awe. For the study, a working definition of awe is an "impact-provoking reverence due to a powerful, positive emotional response to the natural world." This qualitative study used primarily face-to-face…

[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.

Aging and emotional expressions: is there a positivity bias during dynamic emotion recognition?

OpenAIRE

Di Domenico, Alberto; Palumbo, Rocco; Mammarella, Nicola; Fairfield, Beth

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated whether age-related differences in emotion regulation priorities influence online dynamic emotional facial discrimination. A group of 40 younger and a group of 40 older adults were invited to recognize a positive or negative expression as soon as the expression slowly emerged and subsequently rate it in terms of intensity. Our findings show that older adults recognized happy expressions faster than angry ones, while the direction of emotional expression does not...

Characterizing Positive and Negative Emotional Experiences in Young Adults With Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Carol; Victor, Sarah E; Klonsky, E David

2016-09-01

Some researchers suggest that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by elevated negative emotion; others argue that BPD involves both reduced positive and increased negative emotion. This study characterizes the emotional experiences of individuals with BPD symptoms in a combined university and community sample. Participants (N = 150) completed a clinical interview assessing BPD symptoms and self-report measures of positive and negative emotion. A subset (n = 106) completed a measure of emotion daily for 2 weeks. Pearson's correlations and multilevel modeling were used to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between BPD symptoms and emotions. BPD symptoms were robustly related to increased negative emotion; this relationship remained after accounting for positive emotion. BPD symptoms were weakly related to decreased positive emotion; this relationship was no longer significant after accounting for negative emotion. BPD symptoms predicted higher levels of negative and not positive emotion over 14 days. These patterns held for subscales assessing intensity, frequency, and duration of negative and positive emotions. Findings suggest that individuals with BPD features are chiefly distinguished by elevated negative emotional experience. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Positive schizotypy scores correlate with left visual field interference for negatively valenced emotional words: A lateralized emotional Stroop study.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Strien, Jan W; Van Kampen, Dirk

2009-10-30

Fourteen men scoring high and 14 men scoring low on a positive schizotypy scale participated in a lateralized emotional Stroop task. Vocal reaction times for color naming of neutral, positive and negative emotional words were recorded. Across participants, the color naming of neutral and emotional words was slightly faster to right than to left visual field presentations. In men with high scores on positive schizotypy, the presentation of negative words to the left visual field (right hemisphere) resulted in significant affective interference with color naming, which was significantly larger than in men with low scores. Correlational analysis also showed that positive schizotypy was significantly associated with emotional interference in response to LVF negative words. The outcome is discussed in terms of right hemispheric engagement in negative emotions in high positive schizotypic men.

Positive Behavior Support: Sustainability and Continuous Regeneration

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McIntosh, Kent; Turri, Mary G.

2014-01-01

Because of its widespread adoption and implementation (in over 13,000 schools in the US; Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2010), there has been increasing attention to how School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) systems can be sustained. Sustained implementation can be defined as "continued use of an…

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.

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.

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

Positive academic emotions moderate the relationship between self-regulation and academic achievement.

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Villavicencio, Felicidad T; Bernardo, Allan B I

2013-06-01

Research has shown how academic emotions are related to achievement and to cognitive/motivational variables that promote achievement. Mediated models have been proposed to account for the relationships among academic emotions, cognitive/motivational variables, and achievement, and research has supported such mediated models, particularly with negative emotions. The study tested the hypotheses: (1) self-regulation and the positive academic emotions of enjoyment and pride are positive predictors of achievement; and (2) enjoyment and pride both moderate the relationship between self-regulation and achievement. Participants were 1,345 students enrolled in various trigonometry classes in one university. Participants answered the Academic Emotions Questionnaire-Math (Pekrun, Goetz, & Frenzel, 2005) and a self-regulation scale (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) halfway through their trigonometry class. The students' final grades in the course were regressed to self-regulation, positive emotions, and the interaction terms to test the moderation effects. Enjoyment and pride were both positive predictors of grades; more importantly, both moderated the relationship between self-regulation and grades. For students who report higher levels of both positive emotions, self-regulation was positively associated with grades. However, for those who report lower levels of pride, self-regulation was not related to grades; and, for those who reported lower levels of enjoyment, self-regulation was negatively related to grades. The results are discussed in terms of how positive emotions indicate positive appraisals of task/outcome value, and thus enhance the positive links between cognitive/motivational variables and learning. ©2012 The British Psychological Society.

The Health Significance of Positive Emotions in Adulthood and Later Life

OpenAIRE

Ong, Anthony D.; Mroczek, Daniel K.; Riffin, Catherine

2011-01-01

A growing body of literature supports a link between positive emotions and health in older adults. In this article, we review evidence of the effects of positive emotions on downstream biological processes and meaningful clinical endpoints, such as adult morbidity and mortality. We then present relevant predictions from lifespan theories that suggest changes in cognition and motivation may play an important role in explaining how positive emotions are well maintained in old age, despite perva...

The positives of negative emotions: willingness to express negative emotions promotes relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Steven M; Huang, Julie Y; Clark, Margaret S; Helgeson, Vicki S

2008-03-01

Four studies support the hypothesis that expressing negative emotion is associated with positive relationship outcomes, including elicitation of support, building of new close relationships, and heightening of intimacy in the closest of those relationships. In Study 1, participants read vignettes in which another person was experiencing a negative emotion. Participants reported they would provide more help when the person chose to express the negative emotion. In Study 2, participants watched a confederate preparing for a speech. Participants provided more help to her when she expressed nervousness. In Study 3, self-reports of willingness to express negative emotions predicted having more friends, controlling for demographic variables and extraversion. In Study 4, self-reports of willingness to express negative emotion measured prior to arrival at college predicted formation of more relationships, greater intimacy in the closest of those relationships, and greater received support from roommates across participants' first semester of college.

Positive Emotions and Your Health: Developing a Brighter Outlook

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... Issues Subscribe August 2015 Print this issue Positive Emotions and Your Health Developing a Brighter Outlook En ... outlook doesn’t mean you never feel negative emotions, such as sadness or anger, says Dr. Barbara ...

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 ...

Affective match: Leader emotions, follower positive affect, and follower performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damen, F.; van Knippenberg, B.M.; van Knippenberg, D.

2008-01-01

Leader emotions may play an important role in leadership effectiveness. Extending earlier research on leader emotional displays and leadership effectiveness, we propose that the affective match between follower positive affect (PA) and leaders' emotional displays moderates the effectiveness of

Validation and psychometric properties of the Alcohol Positive and Negative Affect Schedule: Are drinking emotions distinct from general emotions?

Science.gov (United States)

Lac, Andrew; Donaldson, Candice D

2018-02-01

People vary in experiences of positive and negative emotions from consuming alcohol, but no validated measurement instrument exclusively devoted to assessing drinking emotions exists in the literature. The current research validated and evaluated the psychometric properties of an alcohol affect scale based on adjectives from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and tested the extent that emotions incurred from drinking were distinct from general trait-based emotions. Three studies tested independent samples of adult alcohol users. In Study 1 (N = 494), exploratory factor analyses of the Alcohol PANAS revealed that both the 20-item model and the 9-parcel model (represented by similar mood content) supported the 2-factor dimensionality of alcohol positive and negative affect. In Study 2 (N = 302), confirmatory factor analyses corroborated the measurement structure of alcohol positive and negative affect, and both constructs evidenced statistical independence from general positive and negative affect. In Study 3 (N = 452), alcohol positive and negative affect exhibited discriminant, convergent, and criterion validity with established alcohol scales. Incremental validity tests demonstrated that alcohol positive and negative affect uniquely contributed (beyond general positive and negative affect) to alcohol expectancies, use, and problems. Findings support that alcohol emotions are conceptually distinct from trait emotions, and underscore the necessity of an assessment instrument tailored to the former to examine associations with alcohol beliefs and behaviors. The Alcohol PANAS confers theoretical and practical applications to understand the emotional consequences of drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Culture and mixed emotions: co-occurrence of positive and negative emotions in Japan and the United States.

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Miyamoto, Yuri; Uchida, Yukiko; Ellsworth, Phoebe C

2010-06-01

Previous cross-cultural comparisons of correlations between positive and negative emotions found that East Asians are more likely than Americans to feel dialectical emotions. However, not much is known about the co-occurrence of positive and negative emotions in a given situation. When asked to describe situations in which they felt mixed emotions, Japanese and American respondents listed mostly similar situations. By presenting these situations to another group of respondents, we found that Japanese reported more mixed emotions than Americans in the predominantly pleasant situations, whereas there were no cultural differences in mixed emotions in the predominantly unpleasant situations or the mixed situations. The appraisal of self-agency mediated cultural differences in mixed emotions in the predominantly pleasant situations. Study 2 replicated the findings by asking participants to recall how they felt in their past pleasant, unpleasant, and mixed situations. The findings suggest that both Americans and Japanese feel mixed emotions, but the kinds of situation in which they typically do so depends on culture.

Positive schizotypy scores correlate with left visual field interference for negatively valenced emotional words: A lateralized emotional stroop study

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Strien, J.W.; van Kampen, D.

2010-01-01

Fourteen men scoring high and 14 men scoring low on a positive schizotypy scale participated in a lateralized emotional Stroop task. Vocal reaction times for color naming of neutral, positive and negative emotional words were recorded. Across participants, the color naming of neutral and emotional

Factor Structure and Initial Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Difficulties in the Regulation of Positive Emotions: The DERS-Positive.

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Weiss, Nicole H; Gratz, Kim L; Lavender, Jason M

2015-05-01

Emotion regulation difficulties are a transdiagnostic construct relevant to numerous clinical difficulties. Although the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a multidimensional measure of maladaptive ways of responding to emotions, it focuses on difficulties with the regulation of negative emotions and does not assess emotion dysregulation in the form of problematic responding to positive emotions. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a measure of clinically relevant difficulties in the regulation of positive emotions (DERS-Positive). Findings revealed a three-factor structure and supported the internal consistency and construct validity of the total and subscale scores. © The Author(s) 2015.

Positive emotions in early life and longevity: findings from the nun study.

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Danner, D D; Snowdon, D A; Friesen, W V

2001-05-01

Handwritten autobiographies from 180 Catholic nuns, composed when participants were a mean age of 22 years, were scored for emotional content and related to survival during ages 75 to 95. A strong inverse association was found between positive emotional content in these writings and risk of mortality in late life (p < .001). As the quartile ranking of positive emotion in early life increased, there was a stepwise decrease in risk of mortality resulting in a 2.5-fold difference between the lowest and highest quartiles. Positive emotional content in early-life autobiographies was strongly associated with longevity 6 decades later. Underlying mechanisms of balanced emotional states are discussed.

Common variant in OXTR predicts growth in positive emotions from loving-kindness training.

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Isgett, Suzannah F; Algoe, Sara B; Boulton, Aaron J; Way, Baldwin M; Fredrickson, Barbara L

2016-11-01

Ample research suggests that social connection reliably generates positive emotions. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide implicated in social cognition and behavior, is one biological mechanism that may influence an individual's capacity to extract positive emotions from social contexts. Because variation in certain genes may indicate underlying neurobiological differences, we tested whether several SNPs in two genes related to oxytocin signaling would show effects on positive emotions that were context-specific, depending on sociality. For six weeks, a sample of mid-life adults (N=122) participated in either socially-focused loving-kindness training or mindfulness training. During this timespan they reported their positive emotions daily. Five SNPs within OXTR and CD38 were assayed, and each was tested for its individual effect on daily emotions. The hypothesized three-way interaction between time, training type, and genetic variability emerged: Individuals homozygous for the G allele of OXTR rs1042778 experienced gains in daily positive emotions from loving-kindness training, whereas individuals with the T allele did not experience gains in positive emotions with either training. These findings are among the first to show how genetic differences in oxytocin signaling may influence an individual's capacity to experience positive emotions as a result of a socially-focused intervention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attentional Bias towards Positive Emotion Predicts Stress Resilience.

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Thoern, Hanna A; Grueschow, Marcus; Ehlert, Ulrike; Ruff, Christian C; Kleim, Birgit

2016-01-01

There is extensive evidence for an association between an attentional bias towards emotionally negative stimuli and vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology. Less is known about whether selective attention towards emotionally positive stimuli relates to mental health and stress resilience. The current study used a modified Dot Probe task to investigate if individual differences in attentional biases towards either happy or angry emotional stimuli, or an interaction between these biases, are related to self-reported trait stress resilience. In a nonclinical sample (N = 43), we indexed attentional biases as individual differences in reaction time for stimuli preceded by either happy or angry (compared to neutral) face stimuli. Participants with greater attentional bias towards happy faces (but not angry faces) reported higher trait resilience. However, an attentional bias towards angry stimuli moderated this effect: The attentional bias towards happy faces was only predictive for resilience in those individuals who also endorsed an attentional bias towards angry stimuli. An attentional bias towards positive emotional stimuli may thus be a protective factor contributing to stress resilience, specifically in those individuals who also endorse an attentional bias towards negative emotional stimuli. Our findings therefore suggest a novel target for prevention and treatment interventions addressing stress-related psychopathology.

Emotional Creativity as predictor of intrinsic motivation and academic engagement in university students: The mediating role of positive emotions

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ALBERTO AMUTIO

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: Emotional creativity implies experiencing a complex emotional life, which is becoming increasingly necessary in societies that demand innovation and constant changes. This research studies the relation of emotional creativity as a dispositional trait with intrinsic motivation and academic engagement.Methods: A sample of 428 university Chilean students, 36.5% men and 63.5% women, with ages from 18 to 45 years old (M = 20,37 DT = 2,71. Additionally, the mediating function of class-related positive emotions in this relation is explored.Results: The obtained data indicate that developing high levels of dispositional emotional creativity enhances the activation of positive emotions, such as gratitude, love and hope, in the classroom. Furthermore, emotional creativity predicts intrinsic motivation and academic engagement of university students by the experience of positive emotions. Conclusion: These results compel us to be aware of the importance that university students in their early years can understand the complexity of the emotional processes they undergo. A greater control of these emotions would allow students to maintain higher levels of interest in their studies at the different educational stages and to avoid the risk of school failure.

Animal emotions, behaviour and the promotion of positive welfare states.

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Mellor, D J

2012-01-01

This paper presents a rationale that may significantly boost the drive to promote positive welfare states in animals. The rationale is based largely, but not exclusively, on an experimentally supported neuropsychological understanding of relationships between emotions and behaviour, an understanding that has not yet been incorporated into animal welfare science thinking. Reference is made to major elements of the neural/cognitive foundations of motivational drives that energise and direct particular behaviours and their related subjective or emotional experiences. These experiences are generated in part by sensory inputs that reflect the animal's internal functional state and by neural processing linked to the animal's perception of its external circumstances. The integrated subjective or emotional outcome of these inputs corresponds to the animal's welfare status. The internally generated subjective experiences represent motivational urges or drives that are predominantly negative and include breathlessness, thirst, hunger and pain. They are generated by, and elicit specific behaviours designed to correct, imbalances in the animal's internal functional state. Externally generated subjective experiences are said to be integral to the operation of interacting 'action-orientated systems' that give rise to particular behaviours and their negative or positive emotional contents. These action-orientated systems, described in neuropsychological terms, give rise to negative emotions that include fear, anger and panic, and positive emotions that include comfort, vitality, euphoria and playfulness. It is argued that early thinking about animal welfare management focused mainly on minimising disturbances to the internal functional states that generate associated unpleasant motivational urges or drives. This strategy produced animal welfare benefits, but at best it could only lift a poor net welfare status to a neutral one. In contrast, strategies designed to manipulate the

The positioning of sustainability within residential property marketing.

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Kriese, Ulrich; Scholz, Roland W

2011-01-01

This article investigates the evolution of sustainability positioning in residential property marketing to shed light on the specific role and responsibility of housebuilders and housing investors in urban development. To this end, an analysis is made of housing advertisements published in Basel, Switzerland, over a period of more than 100 years. The paper demonstrates how to draw successfully on advertisements to discern sustainability patterns in housing, using criteria situated along the dimensions building, location and people. Cluster analysis allows five clusters of sustainability positioning to be described—namely, good location, green building, comfort living, pre-sustainability and sustainability. Investor and builder types are differently located in these clusters. Location emerges as an issue which, to a large extent, is advertised independently from other sustainability issues.

Affective processing in positive schizotypy: Loose control of social-emotional information.

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Papousek, Ilona; Weiss, Elisabeth M; Mosbacher, Jochen A; Reiser, Eva M; Schulter, Günter; Fink, Andreas

2014-10-30

Behavioral studies suggested heightened impact of emotionally laden perceptual input in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, in particular in patients with prominent positive symptoms. De-coupling of prefrontal and posterior cortices during stimulus processing, which is related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming affectively laden information, may underlie this abnormality. Pre-selected groups of individuals with low versus high positive schizotypy (lower and upper quartile of a large screening sample) were tested. During exposure to auditory displays of strong emotions (anger, sadness, cheerfulness), individuals with elevated levels of positive schizotypal symptoms showed lesser prefrontal-posterior coupling (EEG coherence) than their symptom-free counterparts (right hemisphere). This applied to negative emotions in particular and was most pronounced during confrontation with anger. The findings indicate a link between positive symptoms and a heightened impact particularly of threatening emotionally laden stimuli which might lead to exacerbation of positive symptoms and inappropriate behavior in interpersonal situations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Relationships between Language Learning Strategies and Positive Emotions among Malaysian ESL

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Mohammad Mohammadipour

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Emotions are an indispensable part of second language learning. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the use of language learning strategies and positive emotions. The present study adopted a sequential mixed methods design. The participants were 300 Malaysian ESL undergraduates selected through stratified random sampling from 5 public universities in Malaysia. The quantitative data were collected through two sets of questionnaires: (a Oxford's (1990 Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL, and (b Fredrickson's (2009 modified Differential Emotional Scale (mDES. The qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. With regard to the quantitative data analysis, a series of t-tests and correlational analyses were used. The data from the interviews were analysed qualitatively. A positive significant correlation was found between positive emotions and overall language learning strategy use. Also, the qualitative results of the study indicated that the learners who experienced more positive emotions tended to use a greater variety of language learning strategies. The findings of the study emphasise the importance of students’ positive emotions in their use of language learning strategies. It might be suggested that teachers by designing the classroom settings and instructions which promote positive emotions can inspire learners to use language learning strategies more frequently and with a greater variety which in sequence relate to learners’ language learning proficiency.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task.

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Qiao-Tasserit, Emilie; Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants' propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilie Qiao-Tasserit

Full Text Available Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral clips increased participants' propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task

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Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants’ propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions. PMID:28151976

Neural correlates of preparatory and regulatory control over positive and negative emotion.

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Seo, Dongju; Olman, Cheryl A; Haut, Kristen M; Sinha, Rajita; MacDonald, Angus W; Patrick, Christopher J

2014-04-01

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activation during preparatory and regulatory control while participants (N = 24) were instructed either to simply view or decrease their emotional response to, pleasant, neutral or unpleasant pictures. A main effect of emotional valence on brain activity was found in the right precentral gyrus, with greater activation during positive than negative emotion regulation. A main effect of regulation phase was evident in the bilateral anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC), precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, right putamen and temporal and occipital lobes, with greater activity in these regions during preparatory than regulatory control. A valence X regulation interaction was evident in regions of ventromedial PFC and anterior cingulate cortex, reflecting greater activation while regulating negative than positive emotion, but only during active emotion regulation (not preparation). Conjunction analyses revealed common brain regions involved in differing types of emotion regulation including selected areas of left lateral PFC, inferior parietal lobe, temporal lobe, right cerebellum and bilateral dorsomedial PFC. The right lateral PFC was additionally activated during the modulation of both positive and negative valence. Findings demonstrate significant modulation of brain activity during both preparation for, and active regulation of positive and negative emotional states.

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

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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.

Adult Perceptions of Positive and Negative Infant Emotional Expressions

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Bolzani Dinehart, Laura H.; Messinger, Daniel S.; Acosta, Susan I.; Cassel, Tricia; Ambadar, Zara; Cohn, Jeffrey

2005-01-01

Adults' perceptions provide information about the emotional meaning of infant facial expressions. This study asks whether similar facial movements influence adult perceptions of emotional intensity in both infant positive (smile) and negative (cry face) facial expressions. Ninety-five college students rated a series of naturally occurring and…

Positive emotions: A psychological tool for promoting resilience process in childhood

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Carolina Greco

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this theoretical work is to assess the relation between the capacity to experiment positive emotions and the process of resilience throughout childhood. Our interest arises from two research works being carried out in the province of Mendoza, in Argentina (INCIHUSA-CRICYT-CONICET, directed by Dr Mirta Ison. One the so called “Assessment of resilience in childhood maltreatment”, and the other “ Positive emotions as psycological tools for fostering mental health throughout childhood within vulnerable social contexts”. Resilience is always associated to risky or vulnerable social situations. Positive emotions constitute a resource favorable to the development of resilience. This working hypothesis is based on previous studies which hold that positive emotions favor creative thinking for the solution of interpersonal problems, promote cognitive flexibility, reduce risks at decision making, promote replies to generosity and altruism, increase intelectual resources and counteract depressive tendencies among others. Other authors support the fact that the features a resilient child holds are closely connected to cognitive flexibility, to creative capacity, to the capacity for solving interpersonal problems, to self esteem and attachment links among others. Thus, positive emotions are believed to be one of the psycological resources and tools needed for the development of resilience throughout childhood. 

Dissociable influences of reward motivation and positive emotion on cognitive control.

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Chiew, Kimberly S; Braver, Todd S

2014-06-01

It is becoming increasingly appreciated that affective and/or motivational influences contribute strongly to goal-oriented cognition and behavior. An unresolved question is whether emotional manipulations (i.e., direct induction of affectively valenced subjective experience) and motivational manipulations (e.g., delivery of performance-contingent rewards and punishments) have similar or distinct effects on cognitive control. Prior work has suggested that reward motivation can reliably enhance a proactive mode of cognitive control, whereas other evidence is suggestive that positive emotion improves cognitive flexibility, but reduces proactive control. However, a limitation of the prior research is that reward motivation and positive emotion have largely been studied independently. Here, we directly compared the effects of positive emotion and reward motivation on cognitive control with a tightly matched, within-subjects design, using the AX-continuous performance task paradigm, which allows for relative measurement of proactive versus reactive cognitive control. High-resolution pupillometry was employed as a secondary measure of cognitive dynamics during task performance. Robust increases in behavioral and pupillometric indices of proactive control were observed with reward motivation. The effects of positive emotion were much weaker, but if anything, also reflected enhancement of proactive control, a pattern that diverges from some prior findings. These results indicate that reward motivation has robust influences on cognitive control, while also highlighting the complexity and heterogeneity of positive-emotion effects. The findings are discussed in terms of potential neurobiological mechanisms.

Positive and negative emotions in motivation for second language learning

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MacIntyre, Peter D.; Vincze, Laszlo

2017-01-01

The role of basic emotions in SLA has been underestimated in both research and pedagogy. The present article examines 10 positive emotions (joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love) and 9 negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, embarrassment, guilt, hate, sadness, feeling scared, and being stressed). The emotions are correlated with core variables chosen from three well-known models of L2 motivation: Gardner’s integrative motive, Clément’s so...

Emotional Creativity as Predictor of Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Engagement in University Students: The Mediating Role of Positive Emotions.

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Oriol, Xavier; Amutio, Alberto; Mendoza, Michelle; Da Costa, Silvia; Miranda, Rafael

2016-01-01

Emotional creativity (EC) implies experiencing a complex emotional life, which is becoming increasingly necessary in societies that demand innovation and constant changes. This research studies the relation of EC as a dispositional trait with intrinsic motivation (IM) and academic engagement (AE). A sample of 428 university Chilean students, 36.5% men and 63.5% women, with ages from 18 to 45 years-old (M = 20.37; DT = 2.71). Additionally, the mediating function of class-related positive emotions in this relation is explored. The obtained data indicate that developing high levels of dispositional EC enhances the activation of positive emotions, such as gratitude, love and hope, in the classroom. Furthermore, EC predicts IM and AE of university students by the experience of positive emotions. These results compel us to be aware of the importance that university students can understand the complexity of the emotional processes they undergo. A greater control of these emotions would allow students to maintain higher levels of interest in their studies at the different educational stages and to avoid the risk of school failure.

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

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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.

Positive and Negative Emotions Underlie Motivation for L2 Learning

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MacIntyre, Peter D.; Vincze, Laszlo

2017-01-01

The role of basic emotions in SLA has been underestimated in both research and pedagogy. The present article examines 10 positive emotions ("joy," "gratitude," "serenity," "interest," "hope," "pride," "amusement," "inspiration," "awe," and "love")…

The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review.

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Zeng, Xianglong; Chiu, Cleo P K; Wang, Rong; Oei, Tian P S; Leung, Freedom Y K

2015-01-01

While it has been suggested that loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is an effective practice for promoting positive emotions, the empirical evidence in the literature remains unclear. Here, we provide a systematic review of 24 empirical studies (N = 1759) on LKM with self-reported positive emotions. The effect of LKM on positive emotions was estimated with meta-analysis, and the influence of variations across LKM interventions was further explored with subgroup analysis and meta-regression. The meta-analysis showed that (1) medium effect sizes for LKM interventions on daily positive emotions in both wait-list controlled RCTs and non-RCT studies; and (2) small to large effect sizes for the on-going practice of LKM on immediate positive emotions across different comparisons. Further analysis showed that (1) interventions focused on loving-kindness had medium effect size, but interventions focused on compassion showed small effect sizes; (2) the length of interventions and the time spent on meditation did not influence the effect sizes, but the studies without didactic components in interventions had small effect sizes. A few individual studies reported that the nature of positive emotions and individual differences also influenced the results. In sum, LKM practice and interventions are effective in enhancing positive emotions, but more studies are needed to identify the active components of the interventions, to compare different psychological operations, and to explore the applicability in clinical populations.

The Contributions of Positive and Negative Affect to Emotional Well-Being

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Randy Larsen

2009-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the definitions of subjective well-being have been reviewed with a focus on its emotional core, which we consider to be the ratio of positive to negative affect over time. The reviewed evidence showed that negative emotions tend to be of longer duration than positive and that the NA system produces stronger emotional responses than the PA system. Also, a variety of experimental results show that negative stimuli make unique demands on cognitive resources (particularly perception and attention compared to positive stimuli. The evidence that the negative affect system produces stronger affective output, per unit input, than the positive affect system, is a phenomenon known as negativity bias. I also went so far as to argue that negativity exceeds positivity by a factor of pi (3.14 and that efforts to speed adaptation to negative events may be more important to overall SWB then efforts to prolong responses to positive events (Larsen and Prizmic, 2008. The fact that negativity is stronger than positivity, combined with the notion of differential adaptation (people adapt faster to good events than to bad events, creates the conditions that drive the hedonic treadmill. However, most people are, to some degree, able to overcome the psychological forces of the hedonic treadmill and maintain at least a modicum of emotional well-being (Biswas-Diener, Vitterso, & Diener, 2005. It is likely that the ability called "emotional intelligence" refers in large part to the capacity to manage negative affect following unpleasant or stressful events (Larsen & Learner, 2006. Moreover, such an ability is likely to be made up of particular behaviors and strategies that each contributes specifically to the management of negative emotions (Larsen & Prizmic, 2004.

Income and Well-Being: Relative Income and Absolute Income Weaken Negative Emotion, but Only Relative Income Improves Positive Emotion.

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Yu, Zonghuo; Chen, Li

2016-01-01

Whether relative income or absolute income could affect subjective well-being has been a bone of contention for years. Life satisfaction and the relative frequency of positive and negative emotions are parts of subjective well-being. According to the prospect theory, hedonic adaptation helps to explain why positive emotion is often so hard to be maintained, and negative emotion wouldn't be easy to be eliminated. So we expect the relationship between income and positive emotion is different from that between income and negative emotion. Given that regional reference is the main comparison mechanism, effects of regional average income on regional average subjective well-being should be potentially zero if only relative income matters. Using multilevel analysis, we tested the hypotheses with a dataset of 30,144 individuals from 162 counties in China. The results suggested that household income at the individual level is associated with life satisfaction, happiness and negative emotions. On the contrary, at a county level, household income is only associated with negative emotion. In other words, happiness and life satisfaction was only associated with relative income, but negative emotion was associated with relative income and absolute income. Without social comparison, income doesn't improve happiness, but it could weaken negative emotion. Therefore, it is possible for economic growth to weaken negative emotion without improving happiness. These findings also contribute to the current debate about the "Esterling paradox."

Attentional bias for positive emotional stimuli: A meta-analytic investigation.

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Pool, Eva; Brosch, Tobias; Delplanque, Sylvain; Sander, David

2016-01-01

Despite an initial focus on negative threatening stimuli, researchers have more recently expanded the investigation of attentional biases toward positive rewarding stimuli. The present meta-analysis systematically compared attentional bias for positive compared with neutral visual stimuli across 243 studies (N = 9,120 healthy participants) that used different types of attentional paradigms and positive stimuli. Factors were tested that, as postulated by several attentional models derived from theories of emotion, might modulate this bias. Overall, results showed a significant, albeit modest (Hedges' g = .258), attentional bias for positive as compared with neutral stimuli. Moderator analyses revealed that the magnitude of this attentional bias varied as a function of arousal and that this bias was significantly larger when the emotional stimulus was relevant to specific concerns (e.g., hunger) of the participants compared with other positive stimuli that were less relevant to the participants' concerns. Moreover, the moderator analyses showed that attentional bias for positive stimuli was larger in paradigms that measure early, rather than late, attentional processing, suggesting that attentional bias for positive stimuli occurs rapidly and involuntarily. Implications for theories of emotion and attention are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of positive emotion priming on self-reported reckless driving.

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Taubman-Ben-Ari, Orit

2012-03-01

Five studies examined the effects of positive emotion priming on the willingness to drive recklessly. In all five, young drivers were exposed to one of the following primes of positive affect: a positive mood story; happy memories; an exciting film; a relaxing film; or thoughts on the meaning in life. Following the prime, the participants were asked to report on their willingness to drive recklessly. The responses were compared to those of groups exposed either to neutral affect, another kind of positive affect, or negative affect priming. In two of the studies, participants were also asked to report on their driving styles (risky, anxious, angry, or careful) as a second dependent variable. Positive affect, especially in the form of arousal, was found to be related to higher willingness to drive recklessly. Although men tended to report higher intentions to drive recklessly, men and women did not react differently to the emotional induction. Most interestingly, positive emotions of a relaxing nature, as well as thinking about the meaning in life, lowered the willingness to engage in risky driving. The discussion emphasizes the importance of looking for new ways to use positive emotions effectively in road safety interventions, and considers the practical implications of the studies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship of positive and negative expressiveness to the processing of emotion information.

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Knyazev, Gennady G; Barchard, Kimberly A; Razumnikova, Olga M; Mitrofanova, Larisa G

2012-06-01

The tendency to express emotions non-verbally is positively related to perception of emotions in oneself. This study examined its relationship to perception of emotions in others. In 40 healthy adults, EEG theta synchronization was used to indicate emotion processing following presentation of happy, angry, and neutral faces. Both positive and negative expressiveness were associated with higher emotional sensitivity, as shown by cortical responses to facial expressions during the early, unconscious processing stage. At the late, conscious processing stage, positive expressiveness was associated with higher sensitivity to happy faces but lower sensitivity to angry faces. Thus, positive expressiveness predisposes people to allocate fewer attentional resources for conscious perception of angry faces. In contrast, negative expressiveness was consistently associated with higher sensitivity. The effects of positive expressiveness occurred in cortical areas that deal with emotions, but the effects of negative expressiveness occurred in areas engaged in self-referential processes in the context of social relationships. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2012 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Can Companies Induce Sustainable Consumption? The Impact of Knowledge and Social Embeddedness on Airline Sustainability Programs in the U.S.

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Yohan Kim

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates how consumers’ level of knowledge and social embeddedness can influence sustainable consumption. An extended model of goal-directed behavior (MGB is tested by U.S. airline consumers who have participated in UNICEF’s Change for Good (CFG and voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO programs. Results show that consumers’ knowledge positively influenced their subjective norms and attitudes towards participation of VCO and CFG. Increasing consumers’ sense of social embeddedness is also found to be crucial in forming their subjective norms for both CFG and VCO. Moreover, positive anticipated emotion is found to influence consumers’ desire to participate in VCO, while negative anticipated emotion influences desire towards CFG participation. The findings of this research provide a practical implication on strategies for the airline industry to induce sustainable consumption behavior, as well as demonstrate the need for different emotional elicitation strategies for different sustainability programs.

Cognitive Engagement Mediates the Relationship between Positive Life Events and Positive Emotionality

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Alexander Strobel

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Need for Cognition (NFC is conceptualized as an individuals’ tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity and, thus, captures one’s cognitive engagement. It plays a well-established role in information processing in experimental or academic contexts. However, so far comparably little is known about its consequences for other than purely cognitive or academic outcomes. Indeed, NFC is positively associated with personality traits pertaining to Positive Emotionality (PE and negatively to traits related to Negative Emotionality (NE. Moreover, evidence suggests NFC to be related to an active, problem-focused coping style. We therefore hypothesized NFC to mediate between life events and individual differences in PE and NE. In a sample of N = 202 volunteers from the general population, we observed that the number of past positive and negative life events had direct effects on PE, and NE, respectively, and that for positive life events, a mediating effect on PE via NFC was observed, with a higher number of past positive life events being related to higher NFC that in turn was related to increased PE. Thus, the present results lend support to the notion of NFC as an important factor supporting personal well-being by way of its mediating role between the number of past positive life events and positive affect.

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

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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.

Dimorphous expressions of positive emotion: displays of both care and aggression in response to cute stimuli.

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Aragón, Oriana R; Clark, Margaret S; Dyer, Rebecca L; Bargh, John A

2015-03-01

Extremely positive experiences, and positive appraisals thereof, produce intense positive emotions that often generate both positive expressions (e.g., smiles) and expressions normatively reserved for negative emotions (e.g., tears). We developed a definition of these dimorphous expressions and tested the proposal that their function is to regulate emotions. We showed that individuals who express emotions in this dimorphous manner do so as a general response across a variety of emotionally provoking situations, which suggests that these expressions are responses to intense positive emotion rather than unique to one particular situation. We used cute stimuli (an elicitor of positive emotion) to demonstrate both the existence of these dimorphous expressions and to provide preliminary evidence of their function as regulators of emotion. © The Author(s) 2015.

Balance in Positive Emotional Expressivity across School Contexts Relates to Kindergartners' Adjustment

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Hernández, Maciel M.; Eisenberg, Nancy; Valiente, Carlos; Spinrad, Tracy L.; Berger, Rebecca H.; VanSchyndel, Sarah K.; Thompson, Marilyn S.; Southworth, Jody; Silva, Kassondra M.

2018-01-01

Positive emotional expressivity has been associated with increased social competence and decreased maladjustment in childhood. However, a few researchers have found null or even positive associations between positive emotional expressivity and maladjustment, which suggests that there may be nuanced associations of positive expressivity, perhaps as…

The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review

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Xianglong eZENG

2015-11-01

Full Text Available While it has been suggested that loving-kindness meditation (LKM is an effective practice for promoting positive emotions, the empirical evidence in the literature remains unclear. Here, we provide a systematic review of 24 empirical studies (N = 1759 on LKM with self-reported positive emotions. The effect of LKM on positive emotions was estimated with meta-analysis, and the influence of variations across LKM interventions was further explored with subgroup analysis and meta-regression. The meta-analysis showed that (1 medium effect sizes for LKM interventions on daily positive emotions in both wait-list controlled RCTs and non-RCT studies; and (2 small to large effect sizes for the on-going practice of LKM on immediate positive emotions across different comparisons. Further analysis showed that (1 interventions focused on loving-kindness had medium effect size, but interventions focused on compassion showed small effect sizes; (2 the length of interventions and the time spent on meditation did not influence the effect sizes, but the studies without didactic components in interventions had small effect sizes. A few individual studies reported that the nature of positive emotions and individual differences also influenced the results. In sum, LKM practice and interventions are effective in enhancing positive emotions, but more studies are needed to identify the active components of the interventions, to compare different psychological operations, and to explore the applicability in clinical populations.

Infant pupil diameter changes in response to others' positive and negative emotions.

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Elena Geangu

Full Text Available It has been suggested that infants resonate emotionally to others' positive and negative affect displays, and that these responses become stronger towards emotions with negative valence around the age of 12-months. In this study we measured 6- and 12-month-old infants' changes in pupil diameter when presented with the image and sound of peers experiencing happiness, distress and an emotionally neutral state. For all participants the perception of another's distress triggered larger pupil diameters. Perceiving other's happiness also induced larger pupil diameters but for shorter time intervals. Importantly, we also found evidence for an asymmetry in autonomous arousal towards positive versus negative emotional displays. Larger pupil sizes for another's distress compared to another's happiness were recorded shortly after stimulus onset for the older infants, and in a later time window for the 6-month-olds. These findings suggest that arousal responses for negative as well as for positive emotions are present in the second half of the first postnatal year. Importantly, an asymmetry with stronger responses for negative emotions seems to be already present at this age.

The association of positive emotion and first smoking lapse: An ecological momentary assessment study.

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Vinci, Christine; Li, Liang; Wu, Cai; Lam, Cho Y; Guo, Lin; Correa-Fernández, Virmarie; Spears, Claire A; Hoover, Diana S; Etcheverry, Paul E; Wetter, David W

2017-11-01

Individuals attempting to quit smoking typically have poor success rates, and the majority fail to maintain long-term abstinence. Although a large body of evidence documents the impact of negative affect on reducing abstinence, there is a much smaller body of research on positive emotions, which could be an important mechanism that is associated with successful cessation. As such, this study examined positive emotions in real-time via ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to determine whether discrete positive emotions were uniquely related to 2 cessation milestones: quit day lapse and first lapse. Participants were 391 smokers who received tobacco cessation treatment. EMAs were completed pre- and postquit, and positive emotion was assessed with 3 items (enthusiastic, happy, and relaxed) rated on 5-point Likert scales. Analyses examined the associations of the means and slopes of each emotion on the current day with the likelihood of lapse on the following day. When controlling for relevant covariates, prequit positive emotions were not related to quit day lapse. However, postquit positive emotions were associated with first lapse. Specifically, high levels of happiness and relaxation, as well as increasing levels of enthusiasm, happiness, and relaxation were related to a lower likelihood of next day lapse. These are some of the first real-time, real-world data to demonstrate that distinct positive emotions are associated with a lower risk of lapse during the postquit period among smokers attempting to quit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Facial Emotion Recognition Deficits following Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Re-examining the Valence Effect and the Role of Emotion Intensity

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Rosenberg, H.; McDonald, S.; Dethier, M.; Kessels, R.P.C.; Westbrook, R.F.

2014-01-01

Many individuals who sustain moderate-severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are poor at recognizing emotional expressions, with a greater impairment in recognizing negative (e.g., fear, disgust, sadness, and anger) than positive emotions (e.g., happiness and surprise). It has been questioned whether

Emotion and attention : Event-related brain potential studies

OpenAIRE

Schupp, Harald Thomas; Flaisch, Tobias; Stockburger, Jessica; Junghöfer, Markus

2006-01-01

Emotional pictures guide selective visual attention. A series of event-related brain potential (ERP) studies is reviewed demonstrating the consistent and robust modulation of specific ERP components by emotional images. Specifically, pictures depicting natural pleasant and unpleasant scenes are associated with an increased early posterior negativity, late positive potential, and sustained positive slow wave compared with neutral contents. These modulations are considered to index different st...

Expelling Stress for Primary School Teachers: Self-Affirmation Increases Positive Emotions in Teaching and Emotion Reappraisal.

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Morgan, James; Atkin, Lisa

2016-05-13

The aim of the present pilot study was to assess the effect of a brief work-related self-affirming implementation intention (WS-AII) on the well-being of primary school teachers. Participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: one in which they were asked to create a WS-AII or one in which they were asked to create a control implementation intention (C-II). State anxiety was measured pre- and post-manipulation, self-efficacy at post-manipulation only, and emotions in teaching and emotion regulation at baseline and at a two-week follow-up. There were statistically significant differences between the WS-AII condition and the control. Teachers who created work-related self-affirming implementation intentions reported an immediate reduction in state anxiety. Positive effects extended over the two-week period, with teachers in the WS-AII condition also reporting more positive emotions in teaching and the use of reappraisal emotion regulation strategies rather than emotion suppression. Results suggest that the integration of the WS-AII into existing organisational practice may be of benefit to the well-being of teachers and other highly stressed workers.

Gender moderates valence effects on the late positive potential to emotional distracters

OpenAIRE

Syrjänen, Elmeri

2013-01-01

Attention is captured more strongly by emotional pictures than by neutral pictures. This allocation of attention to emotional pictures is commonly indexed by the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential (ERP) that is larger for negative and positive pictures than for neutral pictures. However, findings are mixed in regards to valence effects, that is, whether the LPP is larger for negative pictures than for positive pictures (negativity bias) or vice versa (positivity bias). ...

Positive effects of television content on emotional and social behavior of children

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Popović-Ćitić Branislava

2012-01-01

Full Text Available For decades, the dominance of studies with various aspects of the negative impact of television content as their subject of interest is evident in the field of theoretical and empirical analysis of the impact of television content on the development of children and youth, while the consideration of positive impact was mostly beyond the systematic interest of scientists and researchers. Even though the general assessment is that viewing prosocial television content may result in positive changes in social and emotional behavior of young people, research studies committed to the positive effects of television content on emotional and social behavior of children are scarce and insufficiently perceive the character and nature of the impact of television on the development of emotions and prosocial behavior during childhood. Based on the critical review of the findings of a number of foreign empirical studies, this article summarizes the research evidence of the positive effects of television content on emotional empathy, altruism, learning about emotions, social interaction and acceptance of diversity, with presentation of conclusions about potential mediator factors that may interact with the influences of television portrayals.

Oscillatory brain dynamics associated with the automatic processing of emotion in words.

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Wang, Lin; Bastiaansen, Marcel

2014-10-01

This study examines the automaticity of processing the emotional aspects of words, and characterizes the oscillatory brain dynamics that accompany this automatic processing. Participants read emotionally negative, neutral and positive nouns while performing a color detection task in which only perceptual-level analysis was required. Event-related potentials and time frequency representations were computed from the concurrently measured EEG. Negative words elicited a larger P2 and a larger late positivity than positive and neutral words, indicating deeper semantic/evaluative processing of negative words. In addition, sustained alpha power suppressions were found for the emotional compared to neutral words, in the time range from 500 to 1000ms post-stimulus. These results suggest that sustained attention was allocated to the emotional words, whereas the attention allocated to the neutral words was released after an initial analysis. This seems to hold even when the emotional content of the words is task-irrelevant. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The mediating role of environmental emotions in transition from knowledge to sustainable use of groundwater resources in Iran's agriculture

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Aliakbar Raeisi

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The excessive use of groundwater resources has created numerous environmental consequences in Iran. Many water experts believe that this crisis can be overcome by fostering sustainable environmental behavior in the utilization of groundwater resources and increasing the farmers' environmental knowledge, attitude and emotions. The objective of this study was to investigate transformation of environmental knowledge to sustainable use of groundwater resources through the analysis of the mediating role of environmental emotions in Iran's agriculture. This research was carried out via a survey technique within the category of descriptive-correlation and causal-relational research. All the wheat producing farmers of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, which is a clear example of critical conditions for groundwater resources in Iran (N=168,873, constituted the statistical population of the study of whom 384 participants were selected using a stratified random sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of professionals in agricultural extension, education and water management. The reliability of the items of the questionnaire was also evaluated via a pilot study and Cronbach's alpha (0.70≤α≤0.84. The results of the causal analysis indicated that environmental knowledge (β=0.309 and environmental emotions (β=0.565 have the significant influence on sustainable environmental behavior in the utilization of groundwater among wheat farmers. Therefore, it can be said environmental emotions is an important mediating factor for potentially improving water stakeholders' sustainable environmental behavior. Keywords: Sustainable environmental behavior (SEB, Groundwater, Environmental knowledge (EK, Environmental emotions (EE, Causal analysis

Patients with bulimia nervosa do not show typical neurodevelopment of cognitive control under emotional influences.

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Dreyfuss, Michael F W; Riegel, Melissa L; Pedersen, Gloria A; Cohen, Alexandra O; Silverman, Melanie R; Dyke, Jonathan P; Mayer, Laurel E S; Walsh, B Timothy; Casey, B J; Broft, Allegra I

2017-08-30

Bulimia nervosa (BN) emerges in the late teen years and is characterized by binge eating and related compensatory behaviors. These behaviors often co-occur with periods of negative affect suggesting an association between emotions and control over eating behavior. In the current study, we examined how cognitive control and neural processes change under emotional states of arousal in 46 participants with (n=19) and without (n=27) BN from the ages of 18-33 years. Participants performed a go/nogo task consisting of brief negative, positive and neutral emotional cues and sustained negative, positive and neutral emotional states of arousal during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Overall task performance improved with age for healthy participants, but not for patients with BN. These age-dependent behavioral effects were paralleled by diminished recruitment of prefrontal control circuitry in patients with BN with age. Although patients with BN showed no difference in performance on the experimental manipulations of negative emotions, sustained positive emotions related to improved performance among patients with BN. Together the findings highlight a neurodevelopmental approach towards understanding markers of psychopathology and suggest that sustained positive affect may have potential therapeutic effects on maintaining behavioral control in BN. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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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.

Creating a Positive Social-Emotional Climate in Your Elementary Physical Education Program

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Gagnon, Amy G.

2016-01-01

Creating a positive social-emotional climate must be the backbone of a quality elementary physical education program. The need to belong, have friends, and feel emotionally safe are basic needs everyone has, but meeting these needs in the classroom can be challenging at times. Strategies regarding how to implement a positive social-emotional…

Impact of emotion on consciousness: positive stimuli enhance conscious reportability.

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Kristine Rømer Thomsen

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Emotion and reward have been proposed to be closely linked to conscious experience, but empirical data are lacking. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC plays a central role in the hedonic dimension of conscious experience; thus potentially a key region in interactions between emotion and consciousness. Here we tested the impact of emotion on conscious experience, and directly investigated the role of the ACC. We used a masked paradigm that measures conscious reportability in terms of subjective confidence and objective accuracy in identifying the briefly presented stimulus in a forced-choice test. By manipulating the emotional valence (positive, neutral, negative and the presentation time (16 ms, 32 ms, 80 ms we measured the impact of these variables on conscious and subliminal (i.e. below threshold processing. First, we tested normal participants using face and word stimuli. Results showed that participants were more confident and accurate when consciously seeing happy versus sad/neutral faces and words. When stimuli were presented subliminally, we found no effect of emotion. To investigate the neural basis of this impact of emotion, we recorded local field potentials (LFPs directly in the ACC in a chronic pain patient. Behavioural findings were replicated: the patient was more confident and accurate when (consciously seeing happy versus sad faces, while no effect was seen in subliminal trials. Mirroring behavioural findings, we found significant differences in the LFPs after around 500 ms (lasting 30 ms in conscious trials between happy and sad faces, while no effect was found in subliminal trials. We thus demonstrate a striking impact of emotion on conscious experience, with positive emotional stimuli enhancing conscious reportability. In line with previous studies, the data indicate a key role of the ACC, but goes beyond earlier work by providing the first direct evidence of interaction between emotion and conscious experience in the human

What is shared, what is different? Core relational themes and expressive displays of eight positive emotions.

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Campos, Belinda; Shiota, Michelle N; Keltner, Dacher; Gonzaga, Gian C; Goetz, Jennifer L

2013-01-01

Understanding positive emotions' shared and differentiating features can yield valuable insight into the structure of positive emotion space and identify emotion states, or aspects of emotion states, that are most relevant for particular psychological processes and outcomes. We report two studies that examined core relational themes (Study 1) and expressive displays (Study 2) for eight positive emotion constructs--amusement, awe, contentment, gratitude, interest, joy, love, and pride. Across studies, all eight emotions shared one quality: high positive valence. Distinctive core relational theme and expressive display patterns were found for four emotions--amusement, awe, interest, and pride. Gratitude was associated with a distinct core relational theme but not an expressive display. Joy and love were each associated with a distinct expressive display but their core relational themes also characterised pride and gratitude, respectively. Contentment was associated with a distinct expressive display but not a core relational theme. The implications of this work for the study of positive emotion are discussed.

Financial Incentives Differentially Regulate Neural Processing of Positive and Negative Emotions during Value-Based Decision-Making

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Anne M. Farrell

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Emotional and economic incentives often conflict in decision environments. To make economically desirable decisions then, deliberative neural processes must be engaged to regulate automatic emotional reactions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study, we evaluated how fixed wage (FW incentives and performance-based (PB financial incentives, in which pay is proportional to outcome, differentially regulate positive and negative emotional reactions to hypothetical colleagues that conflicted with the economics of available alternatives. Neural activity from FW to PB incentive contexts decreased for positive emotional stimuli but increased for negative stimuli in middle temporal, insula, and medial prefrontal regions. In addition, PB incentives further induced greater responses to negative than positive emotional decisions in the frontal and anterior cingulate regions involved in emotion regulation. Greater response to positive than negative emotional features in these regions also correlated with lower frequencies of economically desirable choices. Our findings suggest that whereas positive emotion regulation involves a reduction of responses in valence representation regions, negative emotion regulation additionally engages brain regions for deliberative processing and signaling of incongruous events.

Financial Incentives Differentially Regulate Neural Processing of Positive and Negative Emotions during Value-Based Decision-Making.

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Farrell, Anne M; Goh, Joshua O S; White, Brian J

2018-01-01

Emotional and economic incentives often conflict in decision environments. To make economically desirable decisions then, deliberative neural processes must be engaged to regulate automatic emotional reactions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we evaluated how fixed wage (FW) incentives and performance-based (PB) financial incentives, in which pay is proportional to outcome, differentially regulate positive and negative emotional reactions to hypothetical colleagues that conflicted with the economics of available alternatives. Neural activity from FW to PB incentive contexts decreased for positive emotional stimuli but increased for negative stimuli in middle temporal, insula, and medial prefrontal regions. In addition, PB incentives further induced greater responses to negative than positive emotional decisions in the frontal and anterior cingulate regions involved in emotion regulation. Greater response to positive than negative emotional features in these regions also correlated with lower frequencies of economically desirable choices. Our findings suggest that whereas positive emotion regulation involves a reduction of responses in valence representation regions, negative emotion regulation additionally engages brain regions for deliberative processing and signaling of incongruous events.

Parsing cognitive and emotional empathy deficits for negative and positive stimuli in frontotemporal dementia.

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Oliver, Lindsay D; Mitchell, Derek G V; Dziobek, Isabel; MacKinley, Julia; Coleman, Kristy; Rankin, Katherine P; Finger, Elizabeth C

2015-01-01

Behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by frontal and temporal lobe atrophy primarily affecting social cognition and emotion, including loss of empathy. Many consider empathy to be a multidimensional construct, including cognitive empathy (the ability to adopt and understand another's perspective) and emotional empathy (the capacity to share another's emotional experience). Cognitive and emotional empathy deficits have been associated with bvFTD; however, little is known regarding the performance of patients with bvFTD on behavioural measures of emotional empathy, and whether empathic responses differ for negative versus positive stimuli. 24 patients with bvFTD and 24 healthy controls completed the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET; Dziobek et al., 2008), a performance-based task that taps both cognitive and emotional facets of empathy, and allows for the discrimination of responses to negative versus positive realistic images. MET scores were also compared with caregiver ratings of patient behaviour on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, which assesses patients' everyday demonstrations of perspective taking and empathic concern. Patients with bvFTD were less accurate than controls at inferring mental states for negative and positive stimuli. They also demonstrated lower levels of shared emotional experience, more positive emotional reactions, and diminished arousal to negative social stimuli relative to controls. Patients showed reduced emotional reactions to negative non-social stimuli as well. Lastly, the MET and IRI measures of emotional empathy were found to be significantly correlated within the bvFTD group. The results suggest that patients with bvFTD show a global deficit in cognitive empathy, and deficient emotional empathy for negative, but not positive, experiences. Further, a generalized emotional processing impairment for negative stimuli was observed, which could contribute to the

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

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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.

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

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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.

Context matters: the benefits and costs of expressing positive emotion among survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

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Bonanno, George A; Colak, Deniz M; Keltner, Dacher; Shiota, Michelle N; Papa, Anthony; Noll, Jennie G; Putnam, Frank W; Trickett, Penelope K

2007-11-01

Positive emotions promote adjustment to aversive life events. However, evolutionary theory and empirical research on trauma disclosure suggest that in the context of stigmatized events, expressing positive emotions might incur social costs. To test this thesis, the authors coded genuine (Duchenne) smiling and laughter and also non-Duchenne smiling from videotapes of late-adolescent and young adult women, approximately half with documented histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), as they described the most distressing event of their lives. Consistent with previous studies, genuine positive emotional expression was generally associated with better social adjustment two years later. However, as anticipated, CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion in the context of describing a past CSA experience had poorer long-term social adjustment, whereas CSA survivors who expressed positive emotion while describing a nonabuse experience had improved social adjustment. These findings suggest that the benefits of positive emotional expression may often be context specific.

The Effect of Web Assisted Learning with Emotional Intelligence Content on Students' Information about Energy Saving, Attitudes towards Environment and Emotional Intelligence

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Ercan, Orhan; Ural, Evrim; Köse, Sinan

2017-01-01

For a sustainable world, it is very important for students to develop positive environmental attitudes and to have awareness of energy use. The study aims to investigate the effect of web assisted instruction with emotional intelligence content on 8th grade students' emotional intelligence, attitudes towards environment and energy saving, academic…

The role of experiential avoidance, psychopathology, and borderline personality features in experiencing positive emotions: a path analysis.

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Jacob, Gitta A; Ower, Nicole; Buchholz, Angela

2013-03-01

Experiential avoidance (EA) is an important factor in maintaining different forms of psychopathology including borderline personality pathology (BPD). So far little is known about the functions of EA, BPD features and general psychopathology for positive emotions. In this study we investigated three different anticipated pathways of their influence on positive emotions. A total of 334 subjects varying in general psychopathology &/or BPD features completed an online survey including self-ratings of BPD features, psychopathology, negative and positive emotions, and EA. Measures of positive emotions included both a general self-rating (PANAS) and emotional changes induced by two positive movie clips. Data were analyzed by means of path analysis. In comparing the three path models, one model was found clearly superior: In this model, EA acts as a mediator of the influence of psychopathology, BPD features, and negative emotions in the prediction of both measures of positive emotions. EA plays a central role in maintaining lack of positive emotions. Therapeutic implications and study limitations are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Older Adult Positivity Effect in Evaluations of Trustworthiness: Emotion Regulation or Cognitive Capacity?

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Zebrowitz, Leslie A; Boshyan, Jasmine; Ward, Noreen; Gutchess, Angela; Hadjikhani, Nouchine

2017-01-01

An older adult positivity effect, i.e., the tendency for older adults to favor positive over negative stimulus information more than do younger adults, has been previously shown in attention, memory, and evaluations. This effect has been attributed to greater emotion regulation in older adults. In the case of attention and memory, this explanation has been supported by some evidence that the older adult positivity effect is most pronounced for negative stimuli, which would motivate emotion regulation, and that it is reduced by cognitive load, which would impede emotion regulation. We investigated whether greater older adult positivity in the case of evaluative responses to faces is also enhanced for negative stimuli and attenuated by cognitive load, as an emotion regulation explanation would predict. In two studies, younger and older adults rated trustworthiness of faces that varied in valence both under low and high cognitive load, with the latter manipulated by a distracting backwards counting task. In Study 1, face valence was manipulated by attractiveness (low /disfigured faces, medium, high/fashion models' faces). In Study 2, face valence was manipulated by trustworthiness (low, medium, high). Both studies revealed a significant older adult positivity effect. However, contrary to an emotion regulation account, this effect was not stronger for more negative faces, and cognitive load increased rather than decreased the rated trustworthiness of negatively valenced faces. Although inconsistent with emotion regulation, the latter effect is consistent with theory and research arguing that more cognitive resources are required to process negative stimuli, because they are more cognitively elaborated than positive ones. The finding that increased age and increased cognitive load both enhanced the positivity of trustworthy ratings suggests that the older adult positivity effect in evaluative ratings of faces may reflect age-related declines in cognitive capacity rather

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Positivity effect in source attributions of arousal-matched emotional and non-emotional words during item-based directed forgetting.

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Gallant, Sara N; Yang, Lixia

2014-01-01

Consistent with their emphasis on emotional goals, older adults often exhibit a positivity bias in attention and memory relative to their young counterparts (i.e., a positivity effect). The current study sought to determine how this age-related positivity effect would impact intentional forgetting of emotional words, a process critical to efficient operation of memory. Using an item-based directed forgetting task, 36 young and 36 older adults studied a series of arousal-equivalent words that varied in valence (i.e., positive, negative, and neutral). Each word was followed by a cue to either remember or forget the word. A subsequent "tagging" recognition task required classification of items as to-be-remembered (TBR), to-be-forgotten (TBF), or new as a measure of directed forgetting and source attribution in participants' memory. Neither young nor older adults' intentional forgetting was affected by the valence of words. A goal-consistent valence effect did, however, emerge in older adults' source attribution performance. Specifically, older adults assigned more TBR-cues to positive words and more TBF-cues to negative words. Results are discussed in light of existing literature on emotion and directed forgetting as well as the socioemotional selectivity theory underlying the age-related positivity effect.

Positivity effect in source attributions of arousal-matched emotional and non-emotional words during item-based directed forgetting

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Sara N. Gallant

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Consistent with their emphasis on emotional goals, older adults often exhibit a positivity bias in attention and memory relative to their young counterparts (i.e., a positivity effect. The current study sought to determine how this age-related positivity effect would impact intentional forgetting of emotional words, a process critical to efficient operation of memory. Using an item-based directed forgetting task, 36 young and 36 older adults studied a series of arousal-equivalent words that varied in valence (i.e., positive, negative, and neutral. Each word was followed by a cue to either remember or forget the word. A subsequent tagging recognition task required classification of items as to-be-remembered (TBR, to-be-forgotten (TBF, or new as a measure of directed forgetting and source attribution in participants’ memory. Valence did not affect intentional forgetting in both young and older age groups. A goal-consistent valence effect did, however, emerge in older adults’ source attribution performance. Specifically, older adults assigned more TBR-cues to positive words and more TBF-cues to negative words. Results are discussed in light of existing literature on emotion and directed forgetting as well as the socioemotional selectivity theory underlying the age-related positivity effect.

Don't grin when you win: the social costs of positive emotion expression in performance situations.

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Kalokerinos, Elise K; Greenaway, Katharine H; Pedder, David J; Margetts, Elise A

2014-02-01

People who express positive emotion usually have better social outcomes than people who do not, and suppressing the expression of emotions can have interpersonal costs. Nevertheless, social convention suggests that there are situations in which people should suppress the expression of positive emotions, such as when trying to appear humble in victory. The present research tested whether there are interpersonal costs to expressing positive emotions when winning. In Experiment 1, inexpressive winners were evaluated more positively and rated as lower in hubristic-but not authentic-pride compared with expressive winners. Experiment 2 confirmed that inexpressive winners were perceived as using expressive suppression to downregulate their positive emotion expression. Experiment 3 replicated the findings of Experiment 1, and also found that people were more interested in forming a friendship with inexpressive winners than expressive winners. The effects were mediated by the perception that the inexpressive winner tried to protect the loser's feelings. This research is the first to identify social costs of expressing positive emotion, and highlights the importance of understanding the situational context when determining optimal emotion regulation strategies. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

An exploration of how positive emotions are expressed by older people and nurse assistants in homecare visits.

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Heyn, Lena; Ellington, Lee; Eide, Hilde

2017-11-01

We don´t know how positive emotions are being expressed by patients and health care providers in consultations. The aim of this study is to identify positive emotions expressed by older people and nurse assistants to discuss the function of these in the visits. This paper presents secondary analysis of consultations in the COMHOME project. In this pilot study, six transcribed consultations between nurse assistants and older people in home health care were analysed using a coding system for positive emotions with seven categories capturing both content and emotional intensity of positive affect. We found 114 expressions of positive emotions, 63% from nurse assistants and 37% from patients. Patients mostly expressed gratitude, indicating that patients are grateful for being helped. Nurse assistants mostly expressed Praise or Support, indicating that they gave their patients positive affirmation. The praise and support given by nurse assistants to older people in home health care seemed effective in fostering relationships and maintaining patient resilience. Thus, we claim that emotional talk in communication also should include positive emotions. Teaching health care providers about the importance of expressions of positive emotions should be integrated in communication skills training. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Smell of Memories. A Mexican Migrant’s Search for Emotional Sustainability through Mexican Films.

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Gabriela Coronado

2011-12-01

Full Text Available For more than 10 years living as a Mexican migrant, between two countries (Mexico and Australia, two cities (Mexico City and Sydney, and two social worlds (Mexican and multicultural Australian ‘families-friends’, I have been immersed in a systematic process of self observation and self reflection on my life in my country of destination. During this time I have explored my memories of place and their relationship with my emotional experiences, looking for strategies to continue to be connected with my country of origin and my people. In this process I discovered films were especially significant in sustaining me emotionally. I benefited from the memory associations triggered by representations of Mexico in films produced by Mexicans or by filmmakers from other nationalities. By reflecting on my responses to those films, in this paper I explore how representations of their country of origin can impact on migrants’ emotional life. Using autoethnography, examining my own subjectivity as a way to arrive at a deeper grasp of these processes, I analyse the roles played by different senses in the process of recollection and in the emotional effects produced, which come to embody the experience. My particular focus in this article is the sense of smell triggered by complex interactions within the sensorium while watching films, producing associations and feelings through which I re-live my memories and maintain my emotional sustainability.

Difficulties in emotion regulation mediate negative and positive affects and craving in alcoholic patients.

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Khosravani, Vahid; Sharifi Bastan, Farangis; Ghorbani, Fatemeh; Kamali, Zoleikha

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to assess the mediating effects of difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) on the relations of negative and positive affects to craving in alcoholic patients. 205 treatment-seeking alcoholic outpatients were included. DER, positive and negative affects as well as craving were evaluated by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Positive/Negative Affect Scales, and the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) respectively. Clinical factors including depression and severity of alcohol dependence were investigated by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) respectively. Results revealed that both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect indirectly influenced craving through limited access to emotion regulation strategies. It was concluded that limited access to emotion regulation strategies may be important in predicting craving for alcoholics who experience both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect. This suggests that treatment and prevention efforts focused on increasing positive affect, decreasing negative affect and teaching effective regulation strategies may be critical in reducing craving in alcoholic patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

“Monstrous Appetites and Positive Emotions in True Blood, The Vampire Diaries and The Walking Dead.”

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schubart, Rikke

2013-01-01

Looking at television series True Blood (2008–), The Vampire Diaries (2009–), and The Walking Dead (2010–) the article analyzes positive emotions in horror: the sexual emotions, trust, and hope. First part substitutes the positive-negative dichotomy of emotions with seeing emotions as coming......, positive and negative, from a functional and evolutionary perspective. Comparing horror to play-fighting and fiction to the pretend of play, the article suggests four reasons why horror is attractive: we learn to feel emotions (sensation), to react to emotions (evaluation), control our emotions (action...... tendency in the here-and-now), and to experiment (action tendency and planning for what-comes-next)....

Emotions in the Curriculum of Migrant and Refugee Students

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Anwaruddin, Sardar M.

2017-01-01

Emotions are often used to categorize migrant and refugee populations, and to place them into particular subject positions. In much of the literature on the education of migrant and refugee students, emotions are viewed through a therapeutic lens. Against this backdrop, I argue that curriculum inquiries need to pay more sustained attention to how…

Situational Variability of Means of Expression of Positive Emotions in Modern English

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Alina K. Kisil

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article investigates situational variability of means of expression of positive emotions in Modern English. This problem is topical for linguistics of emotions, pragma- and sociolinguistics. The author analyzes verbal, paraverbal and nonverbal means of expressing positive emotions of joy and surprise in three communicative registers: official, neutral and unofficial. These registers are singled out on the basis of situational context and participants of the situation. The investigation gave the author the opportunity to come to the conclusion that in the official register emotions are controlled and very often are subject to strategic purposes. They implement the upgrading strategy the aim of which is to give a high evaluation of the addressee and of everything what is happening. It stipulates the use of corresponding expressive words and word combinations, exclamatory sentences, repetitions and rhetorical questions. Paraverbal means include only light laughter and nonverbal – a smile, the expression of the eyes, nods and tangled breath. The range of the means in question is wider in the neutral register where the speaker can use such verbal means as interjections with long sounds, expletives, pauses, descriptions of own emotions. Such paraverbal means as the emotional color of the voice and its volume, intonation, different kinds of laughter and such nonverbal means as different kinds of smile, the expression of the face, gestures and movements are also used. Unofficial register is especially rich in means of expressing positive emotions. Besides means typical of other registers such verbal means as obscene lexicon, phrasal words and graphical means are used here. Paraverbal means include numerous verbs reflecting the volume of voice and nonverbal – rich mimic, friendly hugs and kisses.

Evidence for endogenous opioid release in the amygdala during positive emotion.

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Koepp, M J; Hammers, A; Lawrence, A D; Asselin, M C; Grasby, P M; Bench, C J

2009-01-01

Endogenous opioid release has been linked to relief from aversive emotional memories, thereby promoting a euphoric state and subsequent interactions towards social stimuli resulting in the formation of social preferences. However, this theory remains controversial. Using positron emission tomography and [(11)C]diprenorphine (DPN) in healthy volunteers, we found significantly reduced DPN binding to opioid receptor in the hippocampus during positive mood induction compared to neutral mood. Furthermore, the magnitude of positive mood change correlated negatively with DPN binding in the amygdala bilaterally. Our finding of reduced DPN binding is consistent with increased release of endogenous opioids, providing direct evidence that localised release of endogenous opioids is involved in the regulation of positive emotion in humans.

Impact of emotional intelligence on risk behaviour with mediating effect of positive and negative affect

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Khan, I. (Iqra)

2017-01-01

Abstract Emotional intelligence and risk taking behaviour are considered as significant factors through which people engage in organizations and in daily life. This dissertation formulates the linkage between emotional intelligence, positive affect, negative affect and risk taking behavior. The underlying principle of this study was to develop a sense of relationship between emotional intelligence, positive affect, negative...

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

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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).

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

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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…

Effects of positive emotion, extraversion, and dopamine on cognitive stability-flexibility and frontal EEG asymmetry.

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Wacker, Jan

2018-01-01

The influence of positive emotions on the balance between cognitive stability and flexibility has been suggested to (a) differ among various positive emotional/motivational states (e.g., of varying approach motivation intensity), and (b) be mediated by brain dopamine (DA). Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry (ASY) is considered an indicator of approach motivational states and may be modulated by DA. The personality trait of extraversion is strongly linked to positive emotions and is now thought to reflect DA-based individual differences in incentive/approach motivation. The present study independently manipulated positive emotion (high approach wanting-expectancy [WE] vs. low approach warmth-liking [WL]) and dopamine (placebo vs. DA D2 blocker sulpiride) to examine their effects on both cognitive stability-flexibility and emotion-related ASY changes. The results showed numerically lower stability-flexibility in WE versus WL under placebo and a complete reversal of this effect under the D2 blocker, no differentiation between WE and WL groups in terms of emotion-related ASY change, but an association between self-reported WE and WL and ASY changes toward left and right frontal cortical activity, respectively. Finally, extraversion was positively associated with both stability-flexibility and ASY changes toward left frontal cortical activity under placebo, and these associations were completely reversed under the D2 blocker. The results (a) support a dopaminergic basis for frontal EEG asymmetry, extraversion, and the modulating effect of positive emotions on stability-flexibility, and (b) extend previous reports of cognitive differences between introverts and extraverts. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Greater ability to express positive emotion is associated with lower projected cardiovascular disease risk.

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Tuck, Natalie L; Adams, Kathryn S; Pressman, Sarah D; Consedine, Nathan S

2017-12-01

Positive emotion is associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, yet some mechanisms remain unclear. One potential pathway is via emotional competencies/skills. The present study tests whether the ability to facially express positive emotion is associated with CVD risk scores, while controlling for potential confounds and testing for sex moderation. Eighty-two men and women underwent blood draws before completing self-report assessments and a performance test of expressive skill. Positive expressions were scored for degree of 'happiness' using expression coding software. CVD risk scores were calculated using established algorithms based on biological, demographic, and behavioral risk factors. Linear regressions revealed a main effect for skill, with skill in expressing positive emotion associated with lower CVD risk scores. Analyses also revealed a sex-by-skill interaction whereby links between expressive skill and CVD risk scores were stronger among men. Objective tests of expressive skill have methodological advantages, appear to have links to physical health, and offer a novel avenue for research and intervention.

Further support for association between GWAS variant for positive emotion and reward systems.

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Lancaster, T M; Ihssen, N; Brindley, L M; Linden, D E J

2017-01-31

A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a significant single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for trait-positive emotion at rs322931 on chromosome 1, which was also associated with brain activation in the reward system of healthy individuals when observing positive stimuli in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. In the current study, we aimed to further validate the role of variation at rs322931 in reward processing. Using a similar fMRI approach, we use two paradigms that elicit a strong ventral striatum (VS) blood oxygen-level dependency (BOLD) response in a sample of young, healthy individuals (N=82). In the first study we use a similar picture-viewing task to the discovery sample (positive>neutral stimuli) to replicate an effect of the variant on emotion processing. In the second study we use a probabilistic reversal learning procedure to identify reward processing during decision-making under uncertainly (reward>punishment). In a region of interest (ROI) analysis of the bilateral VS, we show that the rs322931 genotype was associated with BOLD in the left VS during the positive>neutral contrast (P ROI-CORRECTED =0.045) and during the reward>punishment contrast (P ROI-CORRECTED =0.018), although the effect of passive picture viewing was in the opposite direction from that reported in the discovery sample. These findings suggest that the recently identified GWAS hit may influence positive emotion via individual differences in activity in the key hubs of the brain's reward system. Furthermore, these effects may not be limited to the passive viewing of positive emotional scenes, but may also be observed during dynamic decision-making. This study suggests that future studies of this GWAS locus may yield further insight into the biological mechanisms of psychopathologies characterised by deficits in reward processing and positive emotion.

[Dimensional approach of emotion in psychiatry: validation of the Positive and Negative Emotionality scale (EPN-31)].

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Pélissolo, A; Rolland, J-P; Perez-Diaz, F; Jouvent, R; Allilaire, J-F

2007-01-01

This paper reports the first validation study of the EPN-31 scale (Positive and Negative Emotionality scale, 31 items) in a French psychiatric sample. This questionnaire has been adapted by Rolland from an emotion inventory developed by Diener, and is also in accordance with Watson and Clark's tripartite model of affects. Respondents were asked to rate the frequency with which they had experienced each affect (31 basic emotional states) during the last month. The answer format was a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 "Not experienced at all" to 7 "Experienced this affect several times each day". Three main scores were calculated (positive affects, negative affects, and surprise affects), as well as six sub-scores (joy, tenderness, anger, fear, sadness, shame). Four hundred psychiatric patients were included in this study, and completed the EPN-31 scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale was rated, as well as DSM IV diagnostic criteria. We performed a principal component analysis, with Varimax orthogonal transformation, and explored the factorial structure of the questionnaire, the internal consistency of each dimension, and the correlations between EPN-31 scores and HAD scores. The factorial structure of the EPN-31 was well-defined as expected, with a three-factor (positive, negative and surprise affects) solution accounting for 58.2% of the variance of the questionnaire. No correlation was obtained between positive and negative affects EPN-31 scores (r=0.006). All alpha Cronbach coefficients were between 0.80 and 0.95 for main scores, and between 0.72 and 0.90 for sub-scores. GAF scores were significantly correlated with EPN-31 positive affects scores (r=0.21; p=0.001) and with EPN-31 negative affects scores (r=- 0.45; p=0.001). We obtained significant correlations between positive affects score and HAD depression score (r=- 0.45; pemotionality. Significantly higher EPN-31 positive affect mean scores

Emotional climate of a pre-service science teacher education class in Bhutan

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Rinchen, Sonam; Ritchie, Stephen M.; Bellocchi, Alberto

2016-09-01

This study explored pre-service secondary science teachers' perceptions of classroom emotional climate in the context of the Bhutanese macro-social policy of Gross National Happiness. Drawing upon sociological perspectives of human emotions and using Interaction Ritual Theory this study investigated how pre-service science teachers may be supported in their professional development. It was a multi-method study involving video and audio recordings of teaching episodes supported by interviews and the researcher's diary. Students also registered their perceptions of the emotional climate of their classroom at 3-minute intervals using audience response technology. In this way, emotional events were identified for video analysis. The findings of this study highlighted that the activities pre-service teachers engaged in matter to them. Positive emotional climate was identified in activities involving students' presentations using video clips and models, coteaching, and interactive whole class discussions. Decreases in emotional climate were identified during formal lectures and when unprepared presenters led presentations. Emotions such as frustration and disappointment characterized classes with negative emotional climate. The enabling conditions to sustain a positive emotional climate are identified. Implications for sustaining macro-social policy about Gross National Happiness are considered in light of the climate that develops in science teacher education classes.

Afterschool Sustainability

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Hilary D. Joyce

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Youth participation in quality extended learning opportunities (ELOs results in positive academic, physical, mental health, and social/emotional outcomes. Funding is essential to implementing and sustaining quality ELOs; however multiple funding barriers and challenges exist. Understanding the types of funds available for ELOs and the factors that influence sustainability is critical. Through surveys and telephone interviews of ELO providers, this descriptive study identified and examined ELO funding streams, the ways ELO providers use these funding streams, and the barriers and challenges to sustainability. ELO programs often relied on one major funding stream coupled with nutrition supports as well as in-kind resources. Barriers to sustainability included year-to-year funding, transportation costs, reducing community partnerships, and difficulty in diversifying funds. Recommendations to enhance ELO sustainability are offered, particularly in relation to overcoming the challenges to diversification of funding resources and establishing mutually supportive partnerships and collaboration.

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

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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.

Understanding the positive and negative effects of emotional expressions in organizations: EASI does it

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Kleef, G.A.

2014-01-01

Emotions have a pervasive impact on organizational behavior. They do not just influence people’s own actions; when expressed, emotions may also exert influence on other organization members who perceive the expressions. Sometimes emotional expressions have ‘symmetrical’ effects, in that positive

Differential Language Functioning of Monolinguals and Bilinguals on Positive-Negative Emotional Expression

Science.gov (United States)

Kheirzadeh, Shiela; Hajiabed, Mohammadreza

2016-01-01

The present interdisciplinary research investigates the differential emotional expression between Persian monolinguals and Persian-English bilinguals. In other words, the article was an attempt to answer the questions whether bilinguals and monolinguals differ in the expression of positive and negative emotions elicited through sad and happy…

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

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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.

Nice to know you: Positive emotions, self-other overlap, and complex understanding in the formation of a new relationship.

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Waugh, Christian E; Fredrickson, Barbara L

2006-04-01

Based on Fredrickson's ((1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2, 300-319.; (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218-226) broaden-and-build theory and Aron and Aron's ((1986). Love as expansion of the self: Understanding attraction and satisfaction. New York: Hemisphere) self-expansion theory, it was hypothesized that positive emotions broaden people's feelings of self-other overlap in the beginning of a new relationship. In a prospective study of first-year college students, we found that, after 1 week in college, positive emotions predicted increased self-other overlap with new roommates, which in turn predicted a more complex understanding of the roommate. In addition, participants who experienced a high ratio of positive to negative emotions throughout the first month of college reported a greater increase in self-other overlap and complex understanding than participants with a low positivity ratio. Implications for the role of positive emotions in the formation of new relationships are discussed.

Nice to know you: Positive emotions, self–other overlap, and complex understanding in the formation of a new relationship

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WAUGH, CHRISTIAN E.; FREDRICKSON, BARBARA L.

2007-01-01

Based on Fredrickson's ((1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2, 300–319.; (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226) broaden-and-build theory and Aron and Aron's ((1986). Love as expansion of the self: Understanding attraction and satisfaction. New York: Hemisphere) self-expansion theory, it was hypothesized that positive emotions broaden people's feelings of self–other overlap in the beginning of a new relationship. In a prospective study of first-year college students, we found that, after 1 week in college, positive emotions predicted increased self–other overlap with new roommates, which in turn predicted a more complex understanding of the roommate. In addition, participants who experienced a high ratio of positive to negative emotions throughout the first month of college reported a greater increase in self–other overlap and complex understanding than participants with a low positivity ratio. Implications for the role of positive emotions in the formation of new relationships are discussed. PMID:21691460

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. 

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

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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.

Instructors' Positive Emotions: Effects on Student Engagement and Critical Thinking in U.S. and Chinese Classrooms

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Zhang, Qin; Zhang, Jibiao

2013-01-01

In this study, we used the broaden-and-build theory and emotional response theory as the framework to examine the effects of instructors' positive emotions on student engagement and critical thinking in U.S. and Chinese classrooms, as well as the mediating role of students' positive emotions in their relationships. MANOVA results revealed no…

Persuasion Model and Its Evaluation Based on Positive Change Degree of Agent Emotion

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Jinghua, Wu; Wenguang, Lu; Hailiang, Meng

For it can meet needs of negotiation among organizations take place in different time and place, and for it can make its course more rationality and result more ideal, persuasion based on agent can improve cooperation among organizations well. Integrated emotion change in agent persuasion can further bring agent advantage of artificial intelligence into play. Emotion of agent persuasion is classified, and the concept of positive change degree is given. Based on this, persuasion model based on positive change degree of agent emotion is constructed, which is explained clearly through an example. Finally, the method of relative evaluation is given, which is also verified through a calculation example.

Emotion and memory: a recognition advantage for positive and negative words independent of arousal.

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Adelman, James S; Estes, Zachary

2013-12-01

Much evidence indicates that emotion enhances memory, but the precise effects of the two primary factors of arousal and valence remain at issue. Moreover, the current knowledge of emotional memory enhancement is based mostly on small samples of extremely emotive stimuli presented in unnaturally high proportions without adequate affective, lexical, and semantic controls. To investigate how emotion affects memory under conditions of natural variation, we tested whether arousal and valence predicted recognition memory for over 2500 words that were not sampled for their emotionality, and we controlled a large variety of lexical and semantic factors. Both negative and positive stimuli were remembered better than neutral stimuli, whether arousing or calming. Arousal failed to predict recognition memory, either independently or interactively with valence. Results support models that posit a facilitative role of valence in memory. This study also highlights the importance of stimulus controls and experimental designs in research on emotional memory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nice to know you: Positive emotions, self–other overlap, and complex understanding in the formation of a new relationship

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WAUGH, CHRISTIAN E.; FREDRICKSON, BARBARA L.

2006-01-01

Based on Fredrickson's ((1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2, 300–319.; (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226) broaden-and-build theory and Aron and Aron's ((1986). Love as expansion of the self: Understanding attraction and satisfaction. New York: Hemisphere) self-expansion theory, it was hypothesized that positive emotions broaden people's feeling...

Integrating Emotional Attachment and Sustainability in Electronic Product Design

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Alex Lobos

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Current models for Information and Communication Technology (ICT products encourage frequent product replacement with newer versions that offer only minor incremental improvements. This pattern, named planned obsolescence, diminishes user experience and shortens product lifespan. This paper presents the conceptual basis for a two-part integrated approach to combating planned obsolescence in ICT devices. First, design for emotional attachment, which creates products that users enjoy, value, and use for longer. Second, technological adaptability, which anticipates product upgrades and repairs as new technologies emerge. A model interdisciplinary design course in industrial design and sustainability, also described herein, trains students to apply this approach to create innovative ICT products with smaller environmental footprints.

The Influence of Sleep on the Consolidation of Positive Emotional Memories: Preliminary Evidence

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Alexis M. Chambers

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Studies have not only shown that a period of sleep following learning offers greater benefits to later memory than a period of wakefulness, but also that sleep actively promotes those components of memories that are emotionally salient. However, sleep's role in emotional memory consolidation has largely been investigated with memories that are specifically negative in content, such as memory for negative images or texts, leaving open the question of whether sleep influences positive memories in a similar manner. The current study investigated the emotional memory trade-off effect for positive versus neutral information. Scenes in which a positive or neutral object was placed on a neutral background were encoded prior to a period of polysomnographically-monitored nocturnal sleep or daytime wakefulness. Recognition memory was tested for the objects and backgrounds separately following the delay using the Remember/Know paradigm. Compared to wake participants, those who slept during the delay had increased recollection memory performance for positive objects, but not the neutral components of the studied scenes. Further, familiarity of positive objects was negatively correlated with REM latency. These results provide preliminary evidence that sleep contributes to the selective processing of positive memories, and point toward a role for REM sleep in positive memory formation.

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

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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.

Dissociable contributions of amygdala and hippocampus to emotion and memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

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Guzmán-Vélez, Edmarie; Warren, David E; Feinstein, Justin S; Bruss, Joel; Tranel, Daniel

2016-06-01

The amygdala and the hippocampus are associated with emotional processing and declarative memory, respectively. Studies have shown that patients with bilateral hippocampal damage caused by anoxia/ischemia, and patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), can experience emotions for prolonged periods of time, even when they cannot remember what caused the emotion in the first place (Feinstein et al. (2010) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107:7674-7679; Guzmán-Vélez et al. (2014) Cogn Behav Neurol 27:117-129). This study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the roles of the amygdala and hippocampus in the dissociation between feelings of emotion and declarative memory for emotion-inducing events in patients with AD. Individuals with probable AD (N = 12) and age-matched healthy comparisons participants (HCP; N = 12) completed a high-resolution (0.44 × 0.44 × 0.80 mm) T2-weighted structural MR scan of the medial temporal lobe. Each of these individuals also completed two separate emotion induction procedures (sadness and happiness) using film clips. We collected real-time emotion ratings at baseline and multiple times postinduction, and administered a test of declarative memory shortly after each induction. Consistent with previous research, hippocampal volume was significantly smaller in patients with AD compared with HCP, and was positively correlated with memory for the film clips. Sustained feelings of emotion and amygdala volume did not significantly differ between patients with AD and HCP. Follow-up analyses showed a significant negative correlation between amygdala volume and sustained sadness, and a significant positive correlation between amygdala volume and sustained happiness. Our findings suggest that the amygdala is important for regulating and sustaining an emotion independent of hippocampal function and declarative memory for the emotion-inducing event. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Positive emotion-specific changes in the gene expression profile of tickled rats.

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Hori, Miyo; Hayashi, Takashi; Nakagawa, Yoshimi; Sakamoto, Shigeko; Urayama, Osamu; Murakami, Kazuo

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate changes in gene expression after tactile stimulation (tickling) accompanied by positive emotion in the adolescent rat brain. We observed a positive emotional response (50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations) after tickling using a modified version of the Panksepp method, and then comprehensively compared gene expression levels in the hypothalamus of the tickled rats and control rats using the microarray technique. After 4 weeks of stimulation, the expression levels of 321 of the 41,012 genes (including transcripts) were changed; 136 genes were up-regulated (>1.5-fold) and 185 were down-regulated (>0.67-fold) in the tickled rat group. Upon ontology analysis, the up-regulated genes were assigned to the following Gene Ontology (GO) terms: feeding behavior, neuropeptide signaling pathway, biogenic amine biosynthesis and catecholamine biosynthesis. Down-regulated genes were not assigned to any GO term categorized as a biological process. In conclusion, repeated tickling stimulation with positive emotion affected neuronal circuitry directly and/or indirectly, and altered the expression of genes related to the regulation of feeding in the adolescent rat hypothalamus.

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

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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.

Anterior cingulate activation is related to a positivity bias and emotional stability in successful aging.

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Brassen, Stefanie; Gamer, Matthias; Büchel, Christian

2011-07-15

Behavioral studies consistently reported an increased preference for positive experiences in older adults. The socio-emotional selectivity theory explains this positivity effect with a motivated goal shift in emotion regulation, which probably depends on available cognitive resources. The present study investigates the neurobiological mechanism underlying this hypothesis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired in 21 older and 22 young subjects while performing a spatial-cueing paradigm that manipulates attentional load on emotional face distracters. We focused our analyses on the anterior cingulate cortex as a key structure of cognitive control of emotion. Elderly subjects showed a specifically increased distractibility by happy faces when more attentional resources were available for face processing. This effect was paralleled by an increased engagement of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and this frontal engagement was significantly correlated with emotional stability. The current study highlights how the brain might mediate the tendency to preferentially engage in positive information processing in healthy aging. The finding of a resource-dependency of this positivity effect suggests demanding self-regulating processes that are related to emotional well-being. These findings are of particular relevance regarding implications for the understanding, treatment, and prevention of nonsuccessful aging like highly prevalent late-life depression. Copyright © 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Divergent Effects of Different Positive Emotions on Moral Judgment

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Strohminger, Nina; Lewis, Richard L.; Meyer, David E.

2011-01-01

Positive emotions are often treated as relatively similar in their cognitive-behavioral effects, and as having unambiguously beneficial consequences. For example, Valdesolo and DeSteno (2006) reported that a humorous video made people more prone to choose a utilitarian solution to a moral dilemma. They attributed this finding to increased positive…

Circle Solutions, a philosophy and pedagogy for learning positive relationships: What promotes and inhibits sustainable outcomes?

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Florence McCarthy

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Educators are increasingly aware that the efficacy of social and emotional learning (SEL is dependent on implementation factors, not just program content. These include the philosophy underpinning an intervention, the beliefs as well as the skills of facilitators, and the classroom/whole school context in which the intervention takes place. This article outlines the philosophy and pedagogy of Circle Solutions and presents findings from research where 18 undergraduate students supported and developed ‘Circle Time’ in 8 Greater Western Sydney primary schools for a university module on community service. The study indicates that when there is full teacher participation within the principles of the Circle philosophy, together with activeschool support that promotes relational values, the learning outcomes for positive relationship building are more sustainable.

The impact of positive and negative emotions on loyalty intentions and their interactions with customer equity drivers

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Ou, Yi-Chun; Verhoef, Peter C.

2017-01-01

Customer equity drivers (CEDs) include value, brand, and relationship equity, which have a strong link with loyalty intentions. This study aims to examine the incremental effects of positive and negative emotions on loyalty intentions and to determine whether these emotions moderate the positive link between CEDs and loyalty intentions. We use customer data with 102 leading firms across eighteen services industries in the Netherlands. The results show that (1) positive and negative emotions h...

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

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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

Positive valence music restores executive control over sustained attention.

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Baldwin, Carryl L; Lewis, Bridget A

2017-01-01

Music sometimes improves performance in sustained attention tasks. But the type of music employed in previous investigations has varied considerably, which can account for equivocal results. Progress has been hampered by lack of a systematic database of music varying in key characteristics like tempo and valence. The aims of this study were to establish a database of popular music varying along the dimensions of tempo and valence and to examine the impact of music varying along these dimensions on restoring attentional resources following performance of a sustained attention to response task (SART) vigil. Sixty-nine participants rated popular musical selections that varied in valence and tempo to establish a database of four musical types: fast tempo positive valence, fast tempo negative valence, slow tempo positive valence, and slow tempo negative valence. A second group of 89 participants performed two blocks of the SART task interspersed with either no break or a rest break consisting of 1 of the 4 types of music or silence. Presenting positive valence music (particularly of slow tempo) during an intermission between two successive blocks of the SART significantly decreased miss rates relative to negative valence music or silence. Results support an attentional restoration theory of the impact of music on sustained attention, rather than arousal theory and demonstrate a means of restoring sustained attention. Further, the results establish the validity of a music database that will facilitate further investigations of the impact of music on performance.

Trait Affect, Emotion Regulation, and the Generation of Negative and Positive Interpersonal Events.

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Hamilton, Jessica L; Burke, Taylor A; Stange, Jonathan P; Kleiman, Evan M; Rubenstein, Liza M; Scopelliti, Kate A; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-07-01

Positive and negative trait affect and emotion regulatory strategies have received considerable attention in the literature as predictors of psychopathology. However, it remains unclear whether individuals' trait affect is associated with responses to state positive affect (positive rumination and dampening) or negative affect (ruminative brooding), or whether these affective experiences contribute to negative or positive interpersonal event generation. Among 304 late adolescents, path analyses indicated that individuals with higher trait negative affect utilized dampening and brooding rumination responses, whereas those with higher trait positive affect engaged in rumination on positive affect. Further, there were indirect relationships between trait negative affect and fewer positive and negative interpersonal events via dampening, and between trait positive affect and greater positive and negative interpersonal events via positive rumination. These findings suggest that individuals' trait negative and positive affect may be associated with increased utilization of emotion regulation strategies for managing these affects, which may contribute to the occurrence of positive and negative events in interpersonal relationships. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Teacher Support and Math Engagement: Roles of Academic Self-Efficacy and Positive Emotions

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Liu, Ru-De; Zhen, Rui; Ding, Yi; Liu, Ying; Wang, Jia; Jiang, Ronghuan; Xu, Le

2018-01-01

The current study assessed 869 elementary school students in China using self-report questionnaires, to examine the multiple mediating effects of academic self-efficacy and positive academic emotions (enjoyment and relief) in the relations between teacher support and academic engagement (cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects) within a math…

ROLE AND CONSEQUENCES OF EMOTIONAL LABOR IN THE WORKPLACE

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Andreea Fortuna SCHIOPU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The use of emotions in the workplace has begun to be increasingly studied by theorists and researchers in organizational behavior. One essential construct in the literature is the emotional labor which is perceived to be the management of feelings to express organizationally desired emotions. This article aims to review existing perspectives on emotional labor, to differentiate the concepts of emotional labor and emotional dissonance, to analyze emotion regulation strategies, and to discuss the consequences of emotional labor in the workplace. These clarifications with regard to the emotional labor and its mechanisms can help manage their associated negative outcomes (such as emotional exhaustion, lower job satisfaction, higher levels of burnout, and intentions to quit the job and sustain their possible positive outcomes (such as feelings of accomplishment and enhanced identification with the work role.

Sustained experience of emotion after loss of memory in patients with amnesia.

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Feinstein, Justin S; Duff, Melissa C; Tranel, Daniel

2010-04-27

Can the experience of an emotion persist once the memory for what induced the emotion has been forgotten? We capitalized on a rare opportunity to study this question directly using a select group of patients with severe amnesia following circumscribed bilateral damage to the hippocampus. The amnesic patients underwent a sadness induction procedure (using affectively-laden film clips) to ascertain whether their experience of sadness would persist beyond their memory for the sadness-inducing films. The experiment showed that the patients continued to experience elevated levels of sadness well beyond the point in time at which they had lost factual memory for the film clips. A second experiment using a happiness induction procedure yielded similar results, suggesting that both positive and negative emotional experiences can persist independent of explicit memory for the inducing event. These findings provide direct evidence that a feeling of emotion can endure beyond the conscious recollection for the events that initially triggered the emotion.

Processing Distracting Non-face Emotional Images: No Evidence of an Age-Related Positivity Effect.

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Madill, Mark; Murray, Janice E

2017-01-01

Cognitive aging may be accompanied by increased prioritization of social and emotional goals that enhance positive experiences and emotional states. The socioemotional selectivity theory suggests this may be achieved by giving preference to positive information and avoiding or suppressing negative information. Although there is some evidence of a positivity bias in controlled attention tasks, it remains unclear whether a positivity bias extends to the processing of affective stimuli presented outside focused attention. In two experiments, we investigated age-related differences in the effects of to-be-ignored non-face affective images on target processing. In Experiment 1, 27 older (64-90 years) and 25 young adults (19-29 years) made speeded valence judgments about centrally presented positive or negative target images taken from the International Affective Picture System. To-be-ignored distractor images were presented above and below the target image and were either positive, negative, or neutral in valence. The distractors were considered task relevant because they shared emotional characteristics with the target stimuli. Both older and young adults responded slower to targets when distractor valence was incongruent with target valence relative to when distractors were neutral. Older adults responded faster to positive than to negative targets but did not show increased interference effects from positive distractors. In Experiment 2, affective distractors were task irrelevant as the target was a three-digit array and did not share emotional characteristics with the distractors. Twenty-six older (63-84 years) and 30 young adults (18-30 years) gave speeded responses on a digit disparity task while ignoring the affective distractors positioned in the periphery. Task performance in either age group was not influenced by the task-irrelevant affective images. In keeping with the socioemotional selectivity theory, these findings suggest that older adults preferentially

Mediator Effects of Positive Emotions on Social Support and Depression among Adolescents Suffering from Mobile Phone Addiction.

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Li, Menglong; Jiang, Xia; Ren, Yujia

2017-06-01

Depression is a common mental disorder that is widely seen among adolescents suffering from mobile phone addiction. While it is well known that both positive emtions in adolescents wiotions and social support can have a positive impact by helping individuals to maintain a positive attitude, the correlation between positive emotions, social support, and depression among these adolescents remains to be investigated. This study examined the mediator effects of positive emotions on the relationship between social support and depression among adolescents suffering from mobile phone addiction. For this study, conducted in 2016, we selected 1,346 adolescent students from three middle schools (ranging from Junior Grade One to Senior Grade Three) in Hunan Province of China, to participate in the survey. Participants were selected using the stratified cluster random sampling method, and all participants remained anonymous throughout the study. Each participant completed the Self-made General Situation Questionnaire, the Social Support Rating Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale. There was significant positive correlation between positive emotions and social support. Both positive emotions and social support demonstrated significant negative correlation with depression. Positive emotions had partial mediator effects on the relationship between social support and depression (Pphone addiction. Social support contributes to positive emoth mobile phone addiction, thereby reducing their levels of depression. These findings suggest that more support and care should be given to this particular adolescent population.

A perfect storm: examining the synergistic effects of negative and positive emotional instability on promoting weight loss activities in anorexia nervosa

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Selby, Edward A.; Cornelius, Talea; Fehling, Kara B.; Kranzler, Amy; Panza, Emily A.; Lavender, Jason M.; Wonderlich, Stephen A.; Crosby, Ross D.; Engel, Scott G.; Mitchell, James E.; Crow, Scott J.; Peterson, Carol B.; Grange, Daniel Le

2015-01-01

Growing evidence indicates that both positive and negative emotion potentially influence the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa, through both positive and negative reinforcement of weight loss activities. Such reactive emotional experience may be characterized by frequent and intense fluctuations in emotion, a construct known as “emotional instability.” The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between positive emotional instability and weight loss activities in anorexia nervosa, and to investigate the synergistic effects of positive and negative emotional instability on promoting weight loss activities. Using ecological momentary assessment methods, 118 participants with anorexia nervosa reported their emotional experiences and behaviors at least six times daily over 2 weeks using a portable digital device. Using generalized linear modeling, results indicated that high levels of both positive and negative emotional instability, and the interaction between the two, were associated with more frequent weight-loss activities, beyond anorexia subtype and mean levels of emotional intensity. These findings indicate that when women with anorexia exhibit both high levels of both positive and negative emotional instability they are more prone to a variety of weight loss activities. The importance of addressing the role of both positive and negative emotion in anorexia treatment is discussed. PMID:26379588

The Relationships between Language Learning Strategies and Positive Emotions among Malaysian ESL Undergraduates

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Mohammadipour, Mohammad; Rashid, Sabariah Md; Rafik-Galea, Shameem; Thai, Yap Ngee

2018-01-01

Emotions are an indispensable part of second language learning. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the use of language learning strategies and positive emotions. The present study adopted a sequential mixed methods design. The participants were 300 Malaysian ESL undergraduates selected through stratified random sampling…

The determination of contribution of emotional intelligence and parenting styles components to predicts positive psychological components

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hosein Ebrahimi moghadam

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Since the essential of positive psychological components, as compliment of deficiency oriented approaches, has begun in recent days,we decided to take into account this new branch of psychology which scientifically considers studying forces of human, as well as because of the importance of this branch of psychology, we also tried to search the contribution of emotional intelligence and parenting styles components to predict positive psychological components. Materials and Methods:In this cross sectional study 200 psychological students of Azad university (Rudehen branch selected using cluster sampling method. Then they were estimated by Bradbery and Grivers emotional intelligence questionnaire , Bamrind parenting styles and Rajayi et al positive psychological components questionnaire. Research data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation, inferential statistics (multiple regression and Pierson correlation coefficient and SPSS software. Results:Among the components of emotional intelligence, the component of emotional self consciousness (β=0.464 had the greatest predictable , and reaction leadership showed no predictability in this research between parenting styles , authority parenting styles had positive significance relationship with positive psychological components. And no significant relationship was found between despot parenting styles and positive psychological components. Conclusion: Regarding the results of this research and importance of positive psychological components, it is suggested to treat the emotional intelligence from childhood and to learn it to parents and remind them the parenting way to decrease the satisfaction of individuals which leads to promotion of society mental health.

Imagined Positive Emotions and Inhibitory Control: The Differentiated Effect of Pride versus Happiness

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Katzir, Maayan; Eyal, Tal; Meiran, Nachshon; Kessler, Yoav

2010-01-01

"Inhibitory control" is a cognitive mechanism that contributes to successful self-control (i.e., adherence to a long-term goal in the face of an interfering short-term goal). This research explored the effect of imagined positive emotional events on inhibition. The authors proposed that the influence of imagined emotions on inhibition…

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

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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.

Motivational intensity modulates the effects of positive emotions on set shifting after controlling physiological arousal.

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Zhou, Ya; Siu, Angela F Y

2015-12-01

Recent research on the construct of emotion suggests the integration of a motivational dimension into the traditional two-dimension (subjective valence and physiological arousal) model. The motivational intensity of an emotional state should be taken into account while investigating the emotion-cognition relationship. This study examined how positive emotional states varying in motivational intensity influenced set shifting, after controlling the potential confounding impacts of physiological arousal. In Experiment 1, 155 volunteers performed a set-shifting task after being randomly assigned to five states: high- vs. low-motivating positive affect (interest vs. serenity), high- vs. low-motivating negative affect (disgust vs. anxiety), and neutral state. Eighty-five volunteers participated in Experiment 2, which further examined the effects of higher vs. lower degree of interest. Both experiments measured and compared participants' physiological arousal (blood pressure and pulse rate) under the normal and experimental conditions as the covariate. Results showed no difference in switching performance between the neutral and serenity groups. As compared with the neutral state, the high-motivating positive affect significantly increased set-switching reaction time costs, but reduced error rate costs; the higher the motivational intensity, the greater the time-costs impairment. This indicates a role of the high-motivating positive affect in regulating the balance between the flexible and stable cognitive control. Motivational intensity also modulated the effects of negative emotional states, i.e., disgust caused a larger increase in time costs than anxiety. Further exploration into neurobiological mechanisms that may mediate the emotional effects on set shifting is warranted. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Exploring the relation between positive emotions and the functional status of older adults living independently: a systematic review.

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Cabrita, Miriam; Lamers, Sanne M A; Trompetter, Hester R; Tabak, Monique; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam M R

2017-11-01

Literature suggests that positive emotions positively influence physiological parameters but their relation to functioning in the daily life of older adults living independently remains unclear. The present work aims to investigate the relation between positive emotions and functional status in daily life of older people living independently. A systematic literature review was conducted using the PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus electronic databases. Included works were peer-reviewed empirical studies that analysed the relation between positive emotions and ability to perform activities of daily living with older adults living independently. After removal of duplicates, 10 out of 963 papers met the inclusion criteria. Cross-sectional studies (n = 6) provided limited evidence about a relation between positive emotions and functioning in daily life. However, longitudinal studies (n = 4) provide significant evidence for an interaction between the two factors, suggesting that time influences this interaction. The variety on the design and samples of the studies included in this review does not allow a cohesive conclusion of the results. Nevertheless, limited evidence suggests that higher frequency in the experience of positive emotions might be associated with lower functional limitations. The issue of causality in emotions-functioning remains unclear from the review. Further observational studies are highly recommended, supported by innovative technologies.

Emotional Self-Efficacy, Emotional Empathy and Emotional Approach Coping as Sources of Happiness

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Tarık Totan

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Among the many variables affecting happiness, there are those that arise from emotional factors. In this study, the hypothesis stating that happiness is affected by emotional self-efficacy, emotional empathy and emotional approach coping has been examined using the path model. A total of 334 university students participated in this study, 229 of whom were females and 105 being males. Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form, Emotional Self-efficacy Scale, Multi-Dimensional Emotional Empathy Scale, The Emotional Approach Coping Scale and personal information form have been used as data acquisition tools. As a result of path analysis, it was determined that the predicted path from emotional empathy to emotional approach coping was insignificant and thus it was taken out of the model. According to the modified path model, it was determined that there is a positive relationship between emotional self- efficacy and emotional empathy, that emotional self-efficacy positively affects emotional approach coping and happiness, that emotional empathy also positively affects happiness and that emotional approach coping also positively affects happiness.

Reciprocal associations between positive emotions and motivation in daily life: Network analyses in anhedonic individuals and healthy controls.

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van Roekel, Eeske; Heininga, Vera E; Vrijen, Charlotte; Snippe, Evelien; Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2018-04-19

Anhedonia reflects a dysfunction in the reward system, which can be manifested in an inability to enjoy pleasurable situations (i.e., lack of positive emotions), but also by a lack of motivation to engage in pleasurable activities (i.e., lack of motivation). Little is known about the interrelations between positive emotions and motivation in daily life, and whether these associations are altered in anhedonic individuals. In the present study, we used a network approach to explore the reciprocal, lagged associations between positive emotions and motivation in anhedonic individuals (N = 66) and controls (N = 68). Participants (aged between 18 and 24 years) filled out momentary assessments of affect 3 times per day for 30 consecutive days. Our results showed that (a) anhedonic individuals and controls had similar moment-to-moment transfer of positive emotions; (b) in the anhedonic network feeling cheerful was the node with the highest outstrength, both within this group and compared with the control group; (c) feeling relaxed had the highest outstrength in the control network, and (d) anhedonic individuals had stronger pathways from positive emotions to motivation than controls. Taken together, our findings suggest that low levels of positive emotions lead to decreased motivation in the anhedonic group, which could instigate a negative spiral of low pleasure and low motivation. On a more positive note, we showed that cheerfulness had the highest outstrength in the network of anhedonic participants. Hence, interventions may focus on increasing cheerfulness in anhedonic individuals, as this will likely have the greatest impact on other positive emotions and motivations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Happiness in motion: emotions, well-being, and active school travel.

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Ramanathan, Subha; O'Brien, Catherine; Faulkner, Guy; Stone, Michelle

2014-08-01

A pan-Canadian School Travel Planning intervention promoted active school travel (AST). A novel component was exploring emotion, well-being, and travel mode framed by the concept of "sustainable happiness." Relationships between travel mode and emotions, parent perceptions of their child's travel mode on well-being, and factors related to parent perceptions were examined. Questionnaires were administered to families (N = 5423) from 76 elementary schools. Explanatory variables were demographics (age and sex), school travel measures (mode, distance, accompaniment by an adult, safety, and barriers), and emotions (parent and child). Outcomes examined parent perceived benefits of travel mode on dimensions of well-being (physical, emotional, community, and environmental). Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and hierarchical regression were used. Parents and children who used AST reported more positive emotions versus passive travelers. Parents of active travelers reported stronger connections to dimensions of well-being. AST had the strongest association with parents' perceptions of their child's well-being, and positive emotions (parent and child) were also significantly related to well-being on the trip to school. As an additional potential benefit of AST, interventions should raise awareness of the positive emotional experiences for children and their parents. Future research should experimentally examine if AST causes these emotional benefits. © 2014, American School Health Association.

Positive erotic picture stimuli for emotion research in heterosexual females.

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Jacob, Gitta Anne; Arntz, Arnoud; Domes, Gregor; Reiss, Neele; Siep, Nicolette

2011-12-30

In most experimental studies, emotional pictures are widely used as stimulus material. However, there is still a lack of standardization of picture stimuli displaying erotic relationships, despite the association between a number of psychological problems and severe impairments and problems in intimate relationships. The aim of the study was to test a set of erotic stimuli, with the potential to be used in experimental studies, with heterosexual female subjects. Twenty International Affective Picture System (IAPS) pictures and an additional 100 pictures showing romantic but not explicitly sexual scenes and/or attractive single males were selected. All pictures were rated with respect to valence, arousal, and dominance by 41 heterosexual women and compared to pictures with negative, positive, and neutral emotional valence. Erotic IAPS pictures and our additional erotic pictures did not differ in any of the evaluation dimensions. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) for valence, arousal, and dominance comparing different picture valence categories showed strong effects for category. However, valence was not significantly different between erotic and positive pictures, while arousal and control were not significantly different between positive and neutral pictures. The pictures of our new set are as positive for heterosexual women as highly positive IAPS pictures, but higher in arousal and dominance. The picture set can be used in experimental psychiatric studies requiring high numbers of stimuli per category. Limitations are the restriction of stimuli application to heterosexual females only and to self-report data. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of positive and negative emotions on loyalty intentions and their interactions with customer equity drivers

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Ou, Yi-Chun; Verhoef, Peter C.

2017-01-01

Customer equity drivers (CEDs) include value, brand, and relationship equity, which have a strong link with loyalty intentions. This study aims to examine the incremental effects of positive and negative emotions on loyalty intentions and to determine whether these emotions moderate the positive

The impact of positive and negative emotions on loyalty intentions and their interactions with customer equity drivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ou, Yi-Chun; Verhoef, Peter C.

Customer equity drivers (CEDs) include value, brand, and relationship equity, which have a strong link with loyalty intentions. This study aims to examine the incremental effects of positive and negative emotions on loyalty intentions and to determine whether these emotions moderate the positive

Trait and State Positive Emotional Experience in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis

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Yan, Chao; Cao, Yuan; Zhang, Yang; Song, Li-Ling; Cheung, Eric F. C.; Chan, Raymond C. K.

2012-01-01

Background Prior meta-analyses indicated that people with schizophrenia show impairment in trait hedonic capacity but retain their state hedonic experience (valence) in laboratory-based assessments. Little is known about what is the extent of differences for state positive emotional experience (especially arousal) between people with schizophrenia and healthy controls. It is also not clear whether negative symptoms and gender effect contribute to the variance of positive affect. Methods and Findings The current meta-analysis examined 21 studies assessing state arousal experience, 40 studies measuring state valence experience, and 47studies assessing trait hedonic capacity in schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia demonstrated significant impairment in trait hedonic capacity (Cohen’s d = 0.81). However, patients and controls did not statistically differ in state hedonic (valence) as well as exciting (arousal) experience to positive stimuli (Cohen’s d = −0.24 to 0.06). They also reported experiencing relatively robust state aversion and calmness to positive stimuli compared with controls (Cohen’s d = 0.75, 0.56, respectively). Negative symptoms and gender contributed to the variance of findings in positive affect, especially trait hedonic capacity in schizophrenia. Conclusions Our findings suggest that schizophrenia patients have no deficit in state positive emotional experience but impairment in “noncurrent” hedonic capacity, which may be mediated by negative symptoms and gender effect. PMID:22815785

Effect of positive emotion on consolidation of memory for faces: the modulation of facial valence and facial gender.

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Wang, Bo

2013-01-01

Studies have shown that emotion elicited after learning enhances memory consolidation. However, no prior studies have used facial photos as stimuli. This study examined the effect of post-learning positive emotion on consolidation of memory for faces. During the learning participants viewed neutral, positive, or negative faces. Then they were assigned to a condition in which they either watched a 9-minute positive video clip, or a 9-minute neutral video. Then 30 minutes after the learning participants took a surprise memory test, in which they made "remember", "know", and "new" judgements. The findings are: (1) Positive emotion enhanced consolidation of recognition for negative male faces, but impaired consolidation of recognition for negative female faces; (2) For males, recognition for negative faces was equivalent to that for positive faces; for females, recognition for negative faces was better than that for positive faces. Our study provides the important evidence that effect of post-learning emotion on memory consolidation can extend to facial stimuli and such an effect can be modulated by facial valence and facial gender. The findings may shed light on establishing models concerning the influence of emotion on memory consolidation.

Emotion and attention: event-related brain potential studies.

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Schupp, Harald T; Flaisch, Tobias; Stockburger, Jessica; Junghöfer, Markus

2006-01-01

Emotional pictures guide selective visual attention. A series of event-related brain potential (ERP) studies is reviewed demonstrating the consistent and robust modulation of specific ERP components by emotional images. Specifically, pictures depicting natural pleasant and unpleasant scenes are associated with an increased early posterior negativity, late positive potential, and sustained positive slow wave compared with neutral contents. These modulations are considered to index different stages of stimulus processing including perceptual encoding, stimulus representation in working memory, and elaborate stimulus evaluation. Furthermore, the review includes a discussion of studies exploring the interaction of motivated attention with passive and active forms of attentional control. Recent research is reviewed exploring the selective processing of emotional cues as a function of stimulus novelty, emotional prime pictures, learned stimulus significance, and in the context of explicit attention tasks. It is concluded that ERP measures are useful to assess the emotion-attention interface at the level of distinct processing stages. Results are discussed within the context of two-stage models of stimulus perception brought out by studies of attention, orienting, and learning.

Intuitive Choices Lead to Intensified Positive Emotions: An Overlooked Reason for "Intuition Bias"?

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Kirkebøen, Geir; Nordbye, Gro H H

2017-01-01

People have, for many well-documented reasons, a tendency to overemphasize their intuitions and to follow them, even when they should not. This "intuition bias" leads to several kinds of specific intuitive biases in judgments and decision making. Previous studies have shown that characteristics of the decision process have a tendency to "leak" into the experience of the choice outcome. We explore whether intuitive choices influence the experience of the choice outcomes differently from "non-intuitive," analytic choices. Since intuition is feeling based, we examine in particular if intuitive choices have stronger affective consequences than non-intuitive ones. Participants in two scenario studies ( N = 90; N = 126) rated the feelings of decision makers who experienced a conflict between two options, one intuitively appealing and another that appeared preferable on analytic grounds. Choosing the intuitive alternative was anticipated to lead to somewhat more regret after negative outcomes and, in particular, much more satisfaction with positive outcomes. In two autobiographical studies, one with psychology students ( N = 88) and the other with experienced engineers ( N = 99), participants were asked to provide examples of choice conflicts between an intuitive and a non-intuitive option from their own private or professional lives. Both groups showed a tendency to report stronger emotions, in particular positive, after intuitive choices. One well-established explanation for intuition bias focuses on the nature of people's anticipated negative counterfactual thoughts if their decisions were to turn out badly. The present data indicate that intuitive choices intensify positive emotions, anticipated and real, after successful outcomes much more than negative emotions after failures. Positive outcomes are also more commonly expected than negative ones, when we make choices. We argue that markedly amplified emotions, mediated by stronger personal involvement, in the

Sex differences in brain activation patterns during processing of positively and negatively valenced emotional words.

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Hofer, Alex; Siedentopf, Christian M; Ischebeck, Anja; Rettenbacher, Maria A; Verius, Michael; Felber, Stephan; Wolfgang Fleischhacker, W

2007-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that men and women process emotional stimuli differently. In this study, we used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate gender differences in regional cerebral activity during the perception of positive or negative emotions. The experiment comprised two emotional conditions (positively/negatively valenced words) during which fMRI data were acquired. Thirty-eight healthy volunteers (19 males, 19 females) were investigated. A direct comparison of brain activation between men and women revealed differential activation in the right putamen, the right superior temporal gyrus, and the left supramarginal gyrus during processing of positively valenced words versus non-words for women versus men. By contrast, during processing of negatively valenced words versus non-words, relatively greater activation was seen in the left perirhinal cortex and hippocampus for women versus men, and in the right supramarginal gyrus for men versus women. Our findings suggest gender-related neural responses to emotional stimuli and could contribute to the understanding of mechanisms underlying the gender disparity of neuropsychiatric diseases such as mood disorders.

The Role of Reactance and Positive Emotions in Persuasive Health Messages: Refining the Theory of Psychological Reactance and the Politeness Theory and Testing the Theories of Positive Emotions

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Lee, Eunsoon

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to expand research on persuasion 1) by examining psychological reactance as a function of threats to positive identity above and beyond threats to freedom and 2) by examining the role of positive emotions. An online survey recruited 478 students from undergraduate courses at several universities in the U.S. The study…

Entrepreneurial Leadership, Performance, and Sustainability of Micro-Enterprises in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Al Mamun

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This study probed into the impact of entrepreneurial leadership dimensions (i.e., responsibility, accountability, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence on the performance and sustainability of micro-enterprises in Kelantan, Malaysia, through the lens of resource-based view (RBV theory. Through the implementation of a cross-sectional design, data were randomly gathered from 403 micro-entrepreneurs whose names appeared in the list of low-income households registered under “Majlis Amanah Rakyat” Kelantan and “Majlis Agama Islam Dan Adat Istiadat” Kelantan. The quantitative data were collected during structured interview sessions held between September and December 2017. The findings of the study revealed that the aspects of responsibility, accountability, and emotional intelligence exhibited significantly positive effects on micro-enterprise performance; while accountability, analytical thinking, and micro-enterprise performance displayed a significantly positive influence on sustainability among micro-enterprises owned by low-income households in Kelantan, Malaysia. The outcomes further portrayed a significant mediating effect of micro-enterprise performance on the correlations of responsibility, analytical thinking, and emotional intelligence with micro-enterprise sustainability. The outcomes of this study extend the scope of RBV theory and simultaneously enhance our understanding pertaining to leadership, performance, and sustainability interplay, particularly within the context of micro-enterprises in emerging economies. As such, it is recommended that the government of Malaysia formulate and to adopt policies that promote varied entrepreneurial-leadership-related traits among budding micro-entrepreneurs, which may not only boost sustainability performance among firms, but also encourage low-income household heads to actively engage in more entrepreneurial activities.

The Effects of "Positive Action" on Preschoolers' Social-Emotional Competence and Health Behaviors

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Schmitt, Sara A.; Lewis, Kendra M.; Duncan, Robert J.; Korucu, Irem; Napoli, Amy R.

2018-01-01

Children from low-income families are at greater risk for poor social-emotional development and physical health and may be in need of intervention. This study examined the extent to which the "Positive Action" ("PA") preschool lessons improved low-income children's social-emotional competence and health behaviors. Mixed…

The collective benefits of feeling good and letting go: positive emotion and (disinhibition interact to predict cooperative behavior.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David G Rand

Full Text Available Cooperation is central to human existence, forming the bedrock of everyday social relationships and larger societal structures. Thus, understanding the psychological underpinnings of cooperation is of both scientific and practical importance. Recent work using a dual-process framework suggests that intuitive processing can promote cooperation while deliberative processing can undermine it. Here we add to this line of research by more specifically identifying deliberative and intuitive processes that affect cooperation. To do so, we applied automated text analysis using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC software to investigate the association between behavior in one-shot anonymous economic cooperation games and the presence inhibition (a deliberative process and positive emotion (an intuitive process in free-response narratives written after (Study 1, N = 4,218 or during (Study 2, N = 236 the decision-making process. Consistent with previous results, across both studies inhibition predicted reduced cooperation while positive emotion predicted increased cooperation (even when controlling for negative emotion. Importantly, there was a significant interaction between positive emotion and inhibition, such that the most cooperative individuals had high positive emotion and low inhibition. This suggests that inhibition (i.e., reflective or deliberative processing may undermine cooperative behavior by suppressing the prosocial effects of positive emotion.

Disturbance in the neural circuitry underlying positive emotional processing in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An fMRI study.

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Jatzko, Alexander; Schmitt, Andrea; Demirakca, Traute; Weimer, Erik; Braus, Dieter F

2006-03-01

This study was designed to investigate the circuitry underlying movie-induced positive emotional processing in subjects with chronic PTSD. Ten male subjects with chronic PTSD and ten matched controls were studied. In an fMRI-paradigm a sequence of a wellknown Walt Disney cartoon with positive emotional valence was shown. PTSD subjects showed an increased activation in the right posterior temporal, precentral and superior frontal cortex. Controls recruited more emotion-related regions bilateral in the temporal pole and areas of the left fusiform and parahippocampal gyrus. This pilot study is the first to reveal alterations in the processing of positive emotions in PTSD possibly reflecting a neuronal correlate of the symptom of emotional numbness in PTSD.

Emotion Risk-Factor in Patients with Cardiac Diseases: The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies, Positive Affect and Negative Affect (A Case-Control Study).

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Bahremand, Mostafa; Alikhani, Mostafa; Zakiei, Ali; Janjani, Parisa; Aghei, Abbas

2015-05-17

Application of psychological interventions is essential in classic treatments for patient with cardiac diseases. The present study compared cognitive emotion regulation strategies, positive affect, and negative affect for cardiac patients with healthy subjects. This study was a case-control study. Fifty subjects were selected using convenient sampling method from cardiac (coronary artery disease) patients presenting in Imam Ali medical center of Kermanshah, Iran in the spring 2013. Fifty subjects accompanied the patients to the medical center, selected as control group, did not have any history of cardiac diseases. For collecting data, the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire and positive and negative affect scales were used. For data analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) Was applied using the SPSS statistical software (ver. 19.0). In all cognitive emotion regulation strategies, there was a significant difference between the two groups. A significant difference was also detected regarding positive affect between the two groups, but no significant difference was found regarding negative affect. We found as a result that, having poor emotion regulation strategies is a risk factor for developing heart diseases.

Emotion Risk-Factor in Patients With Cardiac Diseases: The Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies, Positive Affect and Negative Affect (A Case-Control Study)

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Bahremand, Mostafa; Alikhani, Mostafa; Zakiei, Ali; Janjani, Parisa; Aghaei, Abbas

2016-01-01

Application of psychological interventions is essential in classic treatments for patient with cardiac diseases. The present study compared cognitive emotion regulation strategies, positive affect, and negative affect for cardiac patients with healthy subjects. This study was a case-control study. Fifty subjects were selected using convenient sampling method from cardiac (coronary artery disease) patients presenting in Imam Ali medical center of Kermanshah, Iran in the spring 2013. Fifty subjects accompanied the patients to the medical center, selected as control group, did not have any history of cardiac diseases. For collecting data, the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire and positive and negative affect scales were used. For data analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was applied using the SPSS statistical software (ver. 19.0). In all cognitive emotion regulation strategies, there was a significant difference between the two groups. A significant difference was also detected regarding positive affect between the two groups, but no significant difference was found regarding negative affect. We found as a result that, having poor emotion regulation strategies is a risk factor for developing heart diseases. PMID:26234976

PERCEIVED AUTONOMY SUPPORT AND BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION: A CONDITIONAL PROCESS MODEL OF POSITIVE EMOTION AND AUTONOMOUS MOTIVATION.

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Yoo, Jin

2015-06-01

A variety of theoretical perspectives describe the crucial behavioral roles of motivation and emotion, but how these interact with perceptions of social contexts and behaviors is less well understood. This study examined whether autonomous motivation mediated the relationship between perceived autonomy support and behavioral engagement in physical education and whether this mediating process was moderated by positive emotion. A sample of 592 Korean middle-school students (304 boys, 288 girls; M age = 14.0 yr., SD = 0.8) completed questionnaires. Autonomous motivation partially mediated the positive association between perceived autonomy support and behavioral engagement. Positive emotion moderated the relationship between autonomous motivation and behavioral engagement. This indirect link was stronger as positive emotion increased. These findings suggest the importance of integrating emotion into motivational processes to understand how and when perceived autonomy support is associated with behavioral engagement in physical education.

The word concreteness effect occurs for positive, but not negative, emotion words in immediate serial recall.

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Tse, Chi-Shing; Altarriba, Jeanette

2009-02-01

The present study examined the roles of word concreteness and word valence in the immediate serial recall task. Emotion words (e.g. happy) were used to investigate these effects. Participants completed study-test trials with seven-item study lists consisting of positive or negative words with either high or low concreteness (Experiments 1 and 2) and neutral (i.e. non-emotion) words with either high or low concreteness (Experiment 2). For neutral words, the typical word concreteness effect (concrete words are better recalled than abstract words) was replicated. For emotion words, the effect occurred for positive words, but not for negative words. While the word concreteness effect was stronger for neutral words than for negative words, it was not different for the neutral words and the positive words. We conclude that both word valence and word concreteness simultaneously contribute to the item and order retention of emotion words and discuss how Hulme et al.'s (1997) item redintegration account can be modified to explain these findings.

Emotional bias of sleep-dependent processing shifts from negative to positive with aging.

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Jones, Bethany J; Schultz, Kurt S; Adams, Sydney; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

2016-09-01

Age-related memory decline has been proposed to result partially from impairments in memory consolidation over sleep. However, such decline may reflect a shift toward selective processing of positive information with age rather than impaired sleep-related mechanisms. In the present study, young and older adults viewed negative and neutral pictures or positive and neutral pictures and underwent a recognition test after sleep or wake. Subjective emotional reactivity and affect were also measured. Compared with waking, sleep preserved valence ratings and memory for positive but not negative pictures in older adults and negative but not positive pictures in young adults. In older adults, memory for positive pictures was associated with slow wave sleep. Furthermore, slow wave sleep predicted positive affect in older adults but was inversely related to positive affect in young adults. These relationships were strongest for older adults with high memory for positive pictures and young adults with high memory for negative pictures. Collectively, these results indicate preserved but selective sleep-dependent memory processing with healthy aging that may be biased to enhance emotional well-being. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Workaholism, work engagement and work-home outcomes: exploring the mediating role of positive and negative emotions.

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Clark, Malissa A; Michel, Jesse S; Stevens, Gregory W; Howell, Julia W; Scruggs, Ross S

2014-10-01

This study examines the mechanisms through which workaholism and work engagement impact work-home conflict and enrichment, respectively. Specifically, we examine the mediating role of positive and negative emotions (e.g. joviality and guilt) in the relationship between workaholism, work engagement and work-home outcomes. Results, based on a sample of 340 working adults participating in a two-wave study, indicate that negative emotions-particularly anxiety, anger and disappointment-mediate the relationship between workaholism and work-home conflict and positive emotions-particularly joviality and self-assurance-mediate the relationship between work engagement and work-home enrichment. These results provide further evidence that workaholism and work engagement are related to distinct sets of emotional variables and disparate work and home outcomes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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.

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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

Cross-cultural patterns in dynamic ratings of positive and negative natural emotional behaviour.

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Sneddon, Ian; McKeown, Gary; McRorie, Margaret; Vukicevic, Tijana

2011-02-18

Studies of cross-cultural variations in the perception of emotion have typically compared rates of recognition of static posed stimulus photographs. That research has provided evidence for universality in the recognition of a range of emotions but also for some systematic cross-cultural variation in the interpretation of emotional expression. However, questions remain about how widely such findings can be generalised to real life emotional situations. The present study provides the first evidence that the previously reported interplay between universal and cultural influences extends to ratings of natural, dynamic emotional stimuli. Participants from Northern Ireland, Serbia, Guatemala and Peru used a computer based tool to continuously rate the strength of positive and negative emotion being displayed in twelve short video sequences by people from the United Kingdom engaged in emotional conversations. Generalized additive mixed models were developed to assess the differences in perception of emotion between countries and sexes. Our results indicate that the temporal pattern of ratings is similar across cultures for a range of emotions and social contexts. However, there are systematic differences in intensity ratings between the countries, with participants from Northern Ireland making the most extreme ratings in the majority of the clips. The results indicate that there is strong agreement across cultures in the valence and patterns of ratings of natural emotional situations but that participants from different cultures show systematic variation in the intensity with which they rate emotion. Results are discussed in terms of both 'in-group advantage' and 'display rules' approaches. This study indicates that examples of natural spontaneous emotional behaviour can be used to study cross-cultural variations in the perception of emotion.

Cross-cultural patterns in dynamic ratings of positive and negative natural emotional behaviour.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian Sneddon

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Studies of cross-cultural variations in the perception of emotion have typically compared rates of recognition of static posed stimulus photographs. That research has provided evidence for universality in the recognition of a range of emotions but also for some systematic cross-cultural variation in the interpretation of emotional expression. However, questions remain about how widely such findings can be generalised to real life emotional situations. The present study provides the first evidence that the previously reported interplay between universal and cultural influences extends to ratings of natural, dynamic emotional stimuli.Participants from Northern Ireland, Serbia, Guatemala and Peru used a computer based tool to continuously rate the strength of positive and negative emotion being displayed in twelve short video sequences by people from the United Kingdom engaged in emotional conversations. Generalized additive mixed models were developed to assess the differences in perception of emotion between countries and sexes. Our results indicate that the temporal pattern of ratings is similar across cultures for a range of emotions and social contexts. However, there are systematic differences in intensity ratings between the countries, with participants from Northern Ireland making the most extreme ratings in the majority of the clips.The results indicate that there is strong agreement across cultures in the valence and patterns of ratings of natural emotional situations but that participants from different cultures show systematic variation in the intensity with which they rate emotion. Results are discussed in terms of both 'in-group advantage' and 'display rules' approaches. This study indicates that examples of natural spontaneous emotional behaviour can be used to study cross-cultural variations in the perception of emotion.

Sustaining Emotional Communication when Interacting with an Android Robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vlachos, Evgenios

The more human-like a robot appears and acts, the more users will have the belief of communicating with a human partner rather than with an artificial entity. However, current robotic technology displays limitations on the design of the facial interface and on the design of believable Human...... of an android related to its actions, perception and intelligence, or failure to identify which robot type is qualified to perform a specific task, might lead to disruption of HRI. This study is concerned with the problem of sustaining emotional communication when interacting with an android social robot......-ended evaluation method pertaining to the interpretation of Android facial expressions (g) a study on how users’ perception and attitude can change after direct interaction with a robot, (h) a study on how androids can maintain the focus of attention during short-term dyadic interactions, and (i) a state...

Pubertal changes in emotional information processing: pupillary, behavioral, and subjective evidence during emotional word identification.

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Silk, Jennifer S; Siegle, Greg J; Whalen, Diana J; Ostapenko, Laura J; Ladouceur, Cecile D; Dahl, Ronald E

2009-01-01

This study investigated pupillary and behavioral responses to an emotional word valence identification paradigm among 32 pre-/early pubertal and 34 mid-/late pubertal typically developing children and adolescents. Participants were asked to identify the valence of positive, negative, and neutral words while pupil dilation was assessed using an eyetracker. Mid-/late pubertal children showed greater peak pupillary reactivity to words presented during the emotional word identification task than pre-/early pubertal children, regardless of word valence. Mid-/late pubertal children also showed smaller sustained pupil dilation than pre-/early pubertal children after the word was no longer on screen. These findings were replicated controlling for participants' age. In addition, mid-/late pubertal children had faster reaction times to all words, and rated themselves as more emotional during their laboratory visit compared to pre-/early pubertal children. Greater recall of emotional words following the task was associated with mid-/late pubertal status, and greater recall of emotional words was also associated with higher peak pupil dilation. These results provide physiological, behavioral, and subjective evidence consistent with a model of puberty-specific changes in neurobehavioral systems underpinning emotional reactivity.

The collective benefits of feeling good and letting go: positive emotion and (dis)inhibition interact to predict cooperative behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Rand, David G; Kraft-Todd, Gordon; Gruber, June

2015-01-01

Cooperation is central to human existence, forming the bedrock of everyday social relationships and larger societal structures. Thus, understanding the psychological underpinnings of cooperation is of both scientific and practical importance. Recent work using a dual-process framework suggests that intuitive processing can promote cooperation while deliberative processing can undermine it. Here we add to this line of research by more specifically identifying deliberative and intuitive processes that affect cooperation. To do so, we applied automated text analysis using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to investigate the association between behavior in one-shot anonymous economic cooperation games and the presence inhibition (a deliberative process) and positive emotion (an intuitive process) in free-response narratives written after (Study 1, N = 4,218) or during (Study 2, N = 236) the decision-making process. Consistent with previous results, across both studies inhibition predicted reduced cooperation while positive emotion predicted increased cooperation (even when controlling for negative emotion). Importantly, there was a significant interaction between positive emotion and inhibition, such that the most cooperative individuals had high positive emotion and low inhibition. This suggests that inhibition (i.e., reflective or deliberative processing) may undermine cooperative behavior by suppressing the prosocial effects of positive emotion.

Positive and Negative Emotions and Coping as Mediators of Mother-Child Attachment and Peer Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Michelle M.; Kerns, Kathryn A.

2013-01-01

This study examined whether emotions and coping explain (mediate) the association between mother-child attachment and peer relationships. Attachment, positive and negative emotion experience, coping, and peer relationships were examined in 106 fourth-grade through sixth-grade girls attending a 6-day residential camp. Attachment, experience of…

Engaging in an experiential processing mode increases positive emotional response during recall of pleasant autobiographical memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Gadeikis, Darius; Bos, Nikita; Schweizer, Susanne; Murphy, Fionnuala; Dunn, Barnaby

2017-05-01

It is important to identify effective emotion regulation strategies to increase positive emotion experience in the general population and in clinical conditions characterized by anhedonia. There are indications that engaging in experiential processing (direct awareness of sensory and bodily experience) bolsters positive emotion experience but this has not been extensively tested during memory recall. To further test this notion, 99 community participants recalled two positive autobiographical memories. Prior to the second recall, participants either underwent an experiential, analytical, or distraction induction (n = 33 per condition). Subjective happiness and sadness ratings and heart rate variability (HRV) response were measured during each recall. Greater spontaneous use of experiential processing during the first memory was associated with greater happiness experience, but was unrelated to HRV and sadness experience. Inducing experiential processing increased happiness experience relative to both the analytical and distraction conditions (but had no impact on sadness experience). There was a significant difference in HRV between conditions. The experiential condition led to a trend-significant increase, and the other conditions a non-significant decrease, in HRV from the first to the second memory. These results suggest that engaging in experiential processing is an effective way to up-regulate positive emotion experience during positive memory recall. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Emotional distress and positive and negative memories from military deployment: The influence of PTSD symptoms and time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niziurski, Julie Ann; Johannessen, Kim Berg; Berntsen, Dorthe

2017-01-01

positive deployment memories from a company of 337 soldiers who were deployed together to Afghanistan. We examined how the level of emotional distress of the soldiers and the valence of the memory were related to the emotional intensity, experience of reliving, rehearsal and coherence of the memories......, and how the perceived impact of these memories changed over time. We found that soldiers with higher levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were more affected by both their negative and positive memories, compared with soldiers with lower levels of PTSD symptoms. Emotional intensity...... of the most negative memory increased over time in the group with highest levels of PTSD symptoms, but dropped in the other groups. The present study adds to the literature on emotion and autobiographical memory and how this relationship interacts with an individual’s present level of emotional distress...

Impact of Positive Emotions Enhancement on Physiological Processes and Psychological Functioning in Military Pilots

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-01

behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa: time course and mechanisms of change. Journal of Clinical consulting Psychology 2002, 20, 267-274. [44...RTO-MP-HFM-181 14 - 1 Impact of Positive Emotions Enhancement on Physiological Processes and Psychological Functioning in Military Pilots...practical tool using different techniques in order to improve regulation of emotions before, during and after actions [3]. This psychological training is

Emotional Resilience Mediates the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuzheng; Xu, Wei; Luo, Fei

2016-06-01

Previous studies have shown that mindfulness promotes positive mood states and reduces negative ones; however, the underlying mechanisms are still controversial. This study assessed the role of emotional resilience as a mediator between mindfulness and emotional regulation. A total of 421 college students (M age = 20.0 year, SD = 2.0; males/females/missing are 152/248/4) completed the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Profile of Mood States, and Adolescents' Emotional Resilience Questionnaire (AERQ). The ability to generate positive emotion (GP) and the ability to recover from negative emotion (RN) are two subscales of the AERQ. A Structural Equation Modeling analysis indicated that emotional resilience mediated the connection between mindfulness and emotion. Specifically, GP mediated the relationship between mindfulness and both positive and negative emotions while RN mainly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and negative emotions. These findings suggest that mindfulness may play a role in regulating positive and negative emotions through the two different aspects of emotional resilience. © The Author(s) 2016.

Regulating and facilitating: the role of emotional intelligence in maintaining and using positive affect for creativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Parke, Michael R; Seo, Myeong-Gu; Sherf, Elad N

2015-05-01

Although past research has identified the effects of emotional intelligence on numerous employee outcomes, the relationship between emotional intelligence and creativity has not been well established. We draw upon affective information processing theory to explain how two facets of emotional intelligence-emotion regulation and emotion facilitation-shape employee creativity. Specifically, we propose that emotion regulation ability enables employees to maintain higher positive affect (PA) when faced with unique knowledge processing requirements, while emotion facilitation ability enables employees to use their PA to enhance their creativity. We find support for our hypotheses using a multimethod (ability test, experience sampling, survey) and multisource (archival, self-reported, supervisor-reported) research design of early career managers across a wide range of jobs. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Numbing of Positive, Negative, and General Emotions: Associations With Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress, and Depressive Symptoms Among Justice-Involved Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerig, Patricia K; Bennett, Diana C; Chaplo, Shannon D; Modrowski, Crosby A; McGee, Andrew B

2016-04-01

Increasing attention has been drawn to the symptom of emotional numbing in the phenomenology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly regarding its implications for maladaptive outcomes in adolescence such as delinquent behavior. One change in the definition of emotional numbing according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) was the limitation to the numbing of positive emotions. Previous research with youth, however, has implicated general numbing or numbing of negative emotions in PTSD, whereas numbing of positive emotions may overlap with other disorders, particularly depression. Consequently, the goal of this study was to investigate whether numbing of positive emotions was associated with PTSD symptoms above and beyond numbing of negative emotions, general emotional numbing, or depressive symptoms among at-risk adolescents. In a sample of 221 detained youth (mean age = 15.98 years, SD = 1.25; 50.7% ethnic minority), results of hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that only general emotional numbing and numbing of anger accounted for significant variance in PTSD symptoms (total R(2) = .37). In contrast, numbing of sadness and positive emotions were statistical correlates of depressive symptoms (total R(2) = .24). Further tests using Hayes' Process macro showed that general numbing, 95% CI [.02, .45], and numbing of anger, 95% CI [.01, .42], demonstrated indirect effects on the association between trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Charles T; Pearlstein, Sarah L; Stein, Murray B

2017-06-01

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have difficulty forming social relationships. The prevailing clinical perspective is that negative emotions such as anxiety inhibit one's capacity to develop satisfying social connections. However, empirical findings from social psychology and affective neuroscience suggest that positive emotional experiences are fundamental to establishing new social bonds. To reconcile these perspectives, we collected repeated measurements of anxiety, positive emotions (pleasantness), and connectedness over the course of a controlled relationship formation encounter in 56 participants diagnosed with SAD (64% female; M age =23.3, SD=4.7). Participants experienced both increases in positive emotions and decreases in anxiety throughout the interaction. Change in positive emotions was the most robust predictor of subsequent increases in connectedness, as well as a greater desire to engage one's partner in future social activities, above and beyond reductions in anxiety (medium to large sized effects). Those findings suggest that anxiety-based models alone may not fully explain difficulties in relationship formation in SAD, and underscore the potential value of considering positive emotional experiences in conceptual and treatment models of SAD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MDMA enhances "mind reading" of positive emotions and impairs "mind reading" of negative emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hysek, Cédric M; Domes, Gregor; Liechti, Matthias E

2012-07-01

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) increases sociability. The prosocial effects of MDMA may result from the release of the "social hormone" oxytocin and associated alterations in the processing of socioemotional stimuli. We investigated the effects of MDMA (125 mg) on the ability to infer the mental states of others from social cues of the eye region in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. The study included 48 healthy volunteers (24 men, 24 women) and used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design. A choice reaction time test was used to exclude impairments in psychomotor function. We also measured circulating oxytocin and cortisol levels and subjective drug effects. MDMA differentially affected mind reading depending on the emotional valence of the stimuli. MDMA enhanced the accuracy of mental state decoding for positive stimuli (e.g., friendly), impaired mind reading for negative stimuli (e.g., hostile), and had no effect on mind reading for neutral stimuli (e.g., reflective). MDMA did not affect psychomotor performance, increased circulating oxytocin and cortisol levels, and produced subjective prosocial effects, including feelings of being more open, talkative, and closer to others. The shift in the ability to correctly read socioemotional information toward stimuli associated with positive emotional valence, together with the prosocial feelings elicited by MDMA, may enhance social approach behavior and sociability when MDMA is used recreationally and facilitate therapeutic relationships in MDMA-assisted psychotherapeutic settings.

Positive narratives: the stories young people with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) tell about their futures

OpenAIRE

Tellis-James, Charlie; Fox, Mark

2016-01-01

This research drew on positive psychology in order to offer an optimistic way of\\ud conceptualising the lives of young people who are often described as having ‘SEBD’\\ud (Social, emotional, behaviour difficulties), now SEMH (Social, emotional, mental\\ud health) in the new SEND Code of Practice (2014). Positive psychology places emphasis\\ud on: the future, strengths, resources and potential, and suggests that negative\\ud experiences can build positive qualities. A life path tool was used in or...

Loving-kindness meditation and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kearney, David J; McManus, Carolyn; Malte, Carol A; Martinez, Michelle E; Felleman, Benjamin; Simpson, Tracy L

2014-12-01

Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is a practice intended to enhance feelings of kindness and compassion for self and others. To assess whether participation in a 12-week course of LKM for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with improved positive emotions, decentering, and personal resources. In an open-pilot trial, veterans were assessed at baseline, after the course, and 3 months later. Effect sizes were calculated from baseline to each follow-up point for each construct of interest. Measures were chosen as an initial investigation of the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. A total of 42 veterans with active PTSD (40% female) participated. Emotions, decentering, psychological wellbeing including autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, self-acceptance, and sense of social support were measured at each time point. Significant increases in unactivated pleasant (d=0.73), but not activated pleasant, emotions were found over time. Activated and unactivated unpleasant emotions decreased over time (d=-0.69 and -0.53, respectively). There were also increases in environmental mastery (d=0.61), personal growth (d=0.54), purpose in life (d=0.71), self-acceptance (d=0.68), and decentering (d=0.96) at 3-month follow-up. Overall, positive emotions increased, and enhancement of personal resources occurred over time. Further investigation of LKM for PTSD is warranted.

Assessing positive emotional states in dogs using heart rate and heart rate variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Zupan, Manja; Buskas, Julia; Altimiras, Jordi; Keeling, Linda J

2016-03-01

Since most animal species have been recognized as sentient beings, emotional state may be a good indicator of welfare in animals. The goal of this study was to manipulate the environment of nine beagle research dogs to highlight physiological responses indicative of different emotional experiences. Stimuli were selected to be a more or a less positive food (meatball or food pellet) or social reward (familiar person or less familiar person). That all the stimuli were positive and of different reward value was confirmed in a runway motivation test. Dogs were tested individually while standing facing a display theatre where the different stimuli could be shown by lifting a shutter. The dogs approached and remained voluntarily in the test system. They were tested in four sessions (of 20s each) for each of the four stimuli. A test session consisted of four presentation phases (1st exposure to stimulus, post exposure, 2nd exposure, and access to reward). Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) responses were recorded during testing in the experimental room and also when lying resting in a quiet familiar room. A new method of 'stitching' short periods of HRV data together was used in the analysis. When testing different stimuli, no significant differences were observed in HR and LF:HF ratio (relative power in low frequency (LF) and the high-frequency (HF) range), implying that the sympathetic tone was activated similarly for all the stimuli and may suggest that dogs were in a state of positive arousal. A decrease of HF was associated with the meatball stimulus compared to the food pellet and the reward phase (interacting with the person or eating the food) was associated with a decrease in HF and RMSSD (root mean square of successive differences of inter-beat intervals) compared to the preceding phase (looking at the person or food). This suggests that parasympathetic deactivation is associated with a more positive emotional state in the dog. A similar reduction

Computer-mediated communication preferences predict biobehavioral measures of social-emotional functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Babkirk, Sarah; Luehring-Jones, Peter; Dennis-Tiwary, Tracy A

2016-12-01

The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a form of social interaction has become increasingly prevalent, yet few studies examine individual differences that may shed light on implications of CMC for adjustment. The current study examined neurocognitive individual differences associated with preferences to use technology in relation to social-emotional outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 91), a self-report measure, the Social Media Communication Questionnaire (SMCQ), was evaluated as an assessment of preferences for communicating positive and negative emotions on a scale ranging from purely via CMC to purely face-to-face. In Study 2, SMCQ preferences were examined in relation to event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with early emotional attention capture and reactivity (the frontal N1) and later sustained emotional processing and regulation (the late positive potential (LPP)). Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded while 22 participants passively viewed emotional and neutral pictures and completed an emotion regulation task with instructions to increase, decrease, or maintain their emotional responses. A greater preference for CMC was associated with reduced size of and satisfaction with social support, greater early (N1) attention capture by emotional stimuli, and reduced LPP amplitudes to unpleasant stimuli in the increase emotion regulatory task. These findings are discussed in the context of possible emotion- and social-regulatory functions of CMC.

The Emotional Stroop as an Emotion Regulation Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Kappes, Cathleen; Bermeitinger, Christina

2016-01-01

The present studies investigate age differences observed when performing the emotional Stroop task considered as an expression of emotion regulation. Previous studies employing this task showed mixed findings regarding age differences, with a lack of evidence for positivity effects. However, moderating factors such as arousal or dispositional (emotion) regulation strategies were mostly not taken into account. Moreover, relations between Stroop effects and emotional reactions were not examined. In two studies (Study 1/2: nyoung = 26/41; nold = 19/39), an emotional Stroop task was employed and valence (negative, neutral, positive [Study 2 only]) and arousal of the word stimuli were varied. Additionally, flexible goal adjustment (FGA), positive and negative affect in the last 12 months, and change in momentary affect (Study 2 only) were measured. Study 1 showed larger emotional Stroop effects (ESE) in older than younger adults with medium arousing negative words. We also found correlations between FGA (positive correlation) as well as negative affect (negative correlation) and the ESE with medium arousing negative words. Study 2 corroborates these findings by exhibiting positive change in momentary affect with larger ESEs for medium arousing negative words in the older age group. The findings emphasize the importance of including arousal level and dispositional regulation measures (such as FGA) as moderating factors in age differences and within-group differences in emotion regulation. Although we did not find evidence for a positivity effect, processing in the emotional Stroop task was related to positive change in momentary affect and less negative affect in the older age group. Taken together, our experiments demonstrate that the emotional Stroop task is suited as a measure for emotion induction and related emotion regulation mechanisms.

Transition management and the sustainable nutrients economy in the Netherlands: positioning paper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoppe, Thomas; Arentsen, Maarten J.; Mikkila, M.; Linnanen, L.

2012-01-01

In this positioning paper transition management (TM) and the sustainable nutrient economy are addressed. We discuss TM from its scholarly origins in the 1990’s to its implementation as a comprehensive sector-wide policy program on sustainability in The Netherlands during the first decade of the

Attention and emotion : An ERP analysis of facilitated emotional stimulus processing

OpenAIRE

Schupp, Harald Thomas; Junghöfer, Markus; Weike, Almut I.; Hamm, Alfons

2003-01-01

Recent event-related potential studies observed an early posterior negativity (EPN) reflecting facilitated processing of emotional images. The present study explored if the facilitated processing of emotional pictures is sustained while subjects perform an explicit non-emotional attention task. EEG was recorded from 129 channels while subjects viewed a rapid continuous stream of images containing emotional pictures as well as task-related checkerboard images. As expected, explicit selective a...

Distinct neural systems underlying reduced emotional enhancement for positive and negative stimuli in early Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Mistridis, Panagiota; Taylor, Kirsten I; Kissler, Johanna M; Monsch, Andreas U; Kressig, Reto W; Kivisaari, Sasa L

2013-01-01

Emotional information is typically better remembered than neutral content, and previous studies suggest that this effect is subserved particularly by the amygdala together with its interactions with the hippocampus. However, it is not known whether amygdala damage affects emotional memory performance at immediate and delayed recall, and whether its involvement is modulated by stimulus valence. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent more distributed neocortical regions involved in e.g., autobiographical memory, also contribute to emotional processing. We investigated these questions in a group of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), which affects the amygdala, hippocampus and neocortical regions. Healthy controls (n = 14), patients with AD (n = 15) and its putative prodrome amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 11) completed a memory task consisting of immediate and delayed free recall of a list of positive, negative and neutral words. Memory performance was related to brain integrity in region of interest and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses. In the brain-behavioral analyses, the left amygdala volume predicted the immediate recall of both positive and negative material, whereas at delay, left and right amygdala volumes were associated with performance with positive and negative words, respectively. Whole-brain analyses revealed additional associations between left angular gyrus integrity and the immediate recall of positive words as well as between the orbitofrontal cortex and the delayed recall of negative words. These results indicate that emotional memory impairments in AD may be underpinned by damage to regions implicated in emotional processing as well as frontoparietal regions, which may exert their influence via autobiographical memories and organizational strategies.

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

Facial emotion recognition deficits following moderate-severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): re-examining the valence effect and the role of emotion intensity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, Hannah; McDonald, Skye; Dethier, Marie; Kessels, Roy P C; Westbrook, R Frederick

2014-11-01

Many individuals who sustain moderate-severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are poor at recognizing emotional expressions, with a greater impairment in recognizing negative (e.g., fear, disgust, sadness, and anger) than positive emotions (e.g., happiness and surprise). It has been questioned whether this "valence effect" might be an artifact of the wide use of static facial emotion stimuli (usually full-blown expressions) which differ in difficulty rather than a real consequence of brain impairment. This study aimed to investigate the valence effect in TBI, while examining emotion recognition across different intensities (low, medium, and high). Twenty-seven individuals with TBI and 28 matched control participants were tested on the Emotion Recognition Task (ERT). The TBI group was more impaired in overall emotion recognition, and less accurate recognizing negative emotions. However, examining the performance across the different intensities indicated that this difference was driven by some emotions (e.g., happiness) being much easier to recognize than others (e.g., fear and surprise). Our findings indicate that individuals with TBI have an overall deficit in facial emotion recognition, and that both people with TBI and control participants found some emotions more difficult than others. These results suggest that conventional measures of facial affect recognition that do not examine variance in the difficulty of emotions may produce erroneous conclusions about differential impairment. They also cast doubt on the notion that dissociable neural pathways underlie the recognition of positive and negative emotions, which are differentially affected by TBI and potentially other neurological or psychiatric disorders.

No haste, more taste: An EMA study of the effects of stress, negative and positive emotions on eating behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichenberger, Julia; Kuppens, Peter; Liedlgruber, Michael; Wilhelm, Frank H; Tiefengrabner, Martin; Ginzinger, Simon; Blechert, Jens

2018-01-01

Stress and emotions alter eating behavior in several ways: While experiencing negative or positive emotions typically leads to increased food intake, stress may result in either over- or undereating. Several participant characteristics, like gender, BMI and restrained, emotional, or external eating styles seem to influence these relationships. Thus far, most research relied on experimental laboratory studies, thereby reducing the complexity of real-life eating episodes. The aim of the present study was to delineate the effects of stress, negative and positive emotions on two key facets of eating behavior, namely taste- and hunger-based eating, in daily life using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Furthermore, the already mentioned individual differences as well as time pressure during eating, an important but unstudied construct in EMA studies, were examined. Fifty-nine participants completed 10days of signal-contingent sampling and data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Results revealed that higher stress led to decreased taste-eating which is in line with physiological stress-models. Time pressure during eating resulted in less taste- and more hunger-eating. In line with previous research, stronger positive emotions went along with increased taste-eating. Emotional eating style moderated the relationship between negative emotions and taste-eating as well as hunger-eating. BMI moderated the relationship between negative as well as positive emotions and hunger-eating. These findings emphasize the importance of individual differences for understanding eating behavior in daily life. Experienced time pressure may be an important aspect for future EMA eating studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The emotional content of life stories: Positivity bias and relation to personality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Dorthe Kirkegaard; Olesen, Martin Hammershøj; Schnieber, Anette

2014-01-01

. Three hundred ten students and 160 middle-aged adults completed a measure of personality traits and identified chapters as well as past and future events in their life story. All life story components were rated on emotion and age. Negative future events were less likely to be a continuation of chapters...... and were more temporally distant than positive future events. Extraversion and Conscientiousness were related to more positive life stories, and Neuroticism was related to more negative life stories. This suggests that the life story is positively biased by minimising the negative future...

rTMS on left prefrontal cortex contributes to memories for positive emotional cues: a comparison between pictures and words.

Science.gov (United States)

Balconi, M; Cobelli, C

2015-02-26

The present research explored the cortical correlates of emotional memories in response to words and pictures. Subjects' performance (Accuracy Index, AI; response times, RTs; RTs/AI) was considered when a repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) was applied on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC). Specifically, the role of LDLPFC was tested by performing a memory task, in which old (previously encoded targets) and new (previously not encoded distractors) emotional pictures/words had to be recognized. Valence (positive vs. negative) and arousing power (high vs. low) of stimuli were also modulated. Moreover, subjective evaluation of emotional stimuli in terms of valence/arousal was explored. We found significant performance improving (higher AI, reduced RTs, improved general performance) in response to rTMS. This "better recognition effect" was only related to specific emotional features, that is positive high arousal pictures or words. Moreover no significant differences were found between stimulus categories. A direct relationship was also observed between subjective evaluation of emotional cues and memory performance when rTMS was applied to LDLPFC. Supported by valence and approach model of emotions, we supposed that a left lateralized prefrontal system may induce a better recognition of positive high arousal words, and that evaluation of emotional cue is related to prefrontal activation, affecting the recognition memories of emotions. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactions among emotional attention, encoding, and retrieval of ambiguous information: An eye-tracking study.

Science.gov (United States)

Everaert, Jonas; Koster, Ernst H W

2015-10-01

Emotional biases in attention modulate encoding of emotional material into long-term memory, but little is known about the role of such attentional biases during emotional memory retrieval. The present study investigated how emotional biases in memory are related to attentional allocation during retrieval. Forty-nine individuals encoded emotionally positive and negative meanings derived from ambiguous information and then searched their memory for encoded meanings in response to a set of retrieval cues. The remember/know/new procedure was used to classify memories as recollection-based or familiarity-based, and gaze behavior was monitored throughout the task to measure attentional allocation. We found that a bias in sustained attention during recollection-based, but not familiarity-based, retrieval predicted subsequent memory bias toward positive versus negative material following encoding. Thus, during emotional memory retrieval, attention affects controlled forms of retrieval (i.e., recollection) but does not modulate relatively automatic, familiarity-based retrieval. These findings enhance understanding of how distinct components of attention regulate the emotional content of memories. Implications for theoretical models and emotion regulation are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Dissociable neural systems underwrite logical reasoning in the context of induced emotions with positive and negative valence.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kathleen W; Vartanian, Oshin; Goel, Vinod

2014-01-01

How emotions influence syllogistic reasoning is not well understood. fMRI was employed to investigate the effects of induced positive or negative emotion on syllogistic reasoning. Specifically, on a trial-by-trial basis participants were exposed to a positive, negative, or neutral picture, immediately prior to engagement in a reasoning task. After viewing and rating the valence and intensity of each picture, participants indicated by keypress whether or not the conclusion of the syllogism followed logically from the premises. The content of all syllogisms was neutral, and the influence of belief-bias was controlled for in the study design. Emotion did not affect reasoning performance, although there was a trend in the expected direction based on accuracy rates for the positive (63%) and negative (64%) versus neutral (70%) condition. Nevertheless, exposure to positive and negative pictures led to dissociable patterns of neural activation during reasoning. Therefore, the neural basis of deductive reasoning differs as a function of the valence of the context.

Dissociable Neural Systems Underwrite Logical Reasoning in the Context of Induced Emotions with Positive and Negative Valence

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kathleen W.; Vartanian, Oshin; Goel, Vinod

2014-01-01

How emotions influence syllogistic reasoning is not well understood. fMRI was employed to investigate the effects of induced positive or negative emotion on syllogistic reasoning. Specifically, on a trial-by-trial basis participants were exposed to a positive, negative, or neutral picture, immediately prior to engagement in a reasoning task. After viewing and rating the valence and intensity of each picture, participants indicated by keypress whether or not the conclusion of the syllogism followed logically from the premises. The content of all syllogisms was neutral, and the influence of belief-bias was controlled for in the study design. Emotion did not affect reasoning performance, although there was a trend in the expected direction based on accuracy rates for the positive (63%) and negative (64%) versus neutral (70%) condition. Nevertheless, exposure to positive and negative pictures led to dissociable patterns of neural activation during reasoning. Therefore, the neural basis of deductive reasoning differs as a function of the valence of the context. PMID:25294997

Crowdedness Mediates the Effect of Social Identification on Positive Emotion in a Crowd: A Survey of Two Crowd Events

Science.gov (United States)

Novelli, David; Drury, John; Reicher, Stephen; Stott, Clifford

2013-01-01

Exposure to crowding is said to be aversive, yet people also seek out and enjoy crowded situations. We surveyed participants at two crowd events to test the prediction of self-categorization theory that variable emotional responses to crowding are a function of social identification with the crowd. In data collected from participants who attended a crowded outdoor music event (n = 48), identification with the crowd predicted feeling less crowded; and there was an indirect effect of identification with the crowd on positive emotion through feeling less crowded. Identification with the crowd also moderated the relation between feeling less crowded and positive emotion. In data collected at a demonstration march (n = 112), identification with the crowd predicted central (most dense) location in the crowd; and there was an indirect effect of identification with the crowd on positive emotion through central location in the crowd. Positive emotion in the crowd also increased over the duration of the crowd event. These findings are in line with the predictions of self-categorization theory. They are inconsistent with approaches that suggest that crowding is inherently aversive; and they cannot easily be explained through the concept of ‘personal space’. PMID:24236079

Crowdedness mediates the effect of social identification on positive emotion in a crowd: a survey of two crowd events.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Novelli

Full Text Available Exposure to crowding is said to be aversive, yet people also seek out and enjoy crowded situations. We surveyed participants at two crowd events to test the prediction of self-categorization theory that variable emotional responses to crowding are a function of social identification with the crowd. In data collected from participants who attended a crowded outdoor music event (n = 48, identification with the crowd predicted feeling less crowded; and there was an indirect effect of identification with the crowd on positive emotion through feeling less crowded. Identification with the crowd also moderated the relation between feeling less crowded and positive emotion. In data collected at a demonstration march (n = 112, identification with the crowd predicted central (most dense location in the crowd; and there was an indirect effect of identification with the crowd on positive emotion through central location in the crowd. Positive emotion in the crowd also increased over the duration of the crowd event. These findings are in line with the predictions of self-categorization theory. They are inconsistent with approaches that suggest that crowding is inherently aversive; and they cannot easily be explained through the concept of 'personal space'.

Positively versus negatively charged moral emotion expectancies in adolescence: the role of situational context and the developing moral self.

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Krettenauer, Tobias; Johnston, Megan

2011-09-01

The study analyses adolescents' positively charged versus negatively charged moral emotion expectancies. Two hundred and five students (M= 14.83 years, SD= 2.21) participated in an interview depicting various situations in which a moral norm was either regarded or transgressed. Emotion expectancies were assessed for specific emotions (pride, guilt) as well as for overall strength and valence. In addition, self-importance of moral values was measured by a questionnaire. Results revealed that positively charged emotion expectancies were more pronounced in contexts of prosocial action than in the context of moral transgressions, whereas the opposite was true for negatively charged emotions. At the same time, expectations of guilt and pride were substantially related to the self-importance of moral values. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention

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Onozuka, Minoru

2015-01-01

Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64%) showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5%) showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23%) showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9%) showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function. PMID:26075234

Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiyuki Hirano

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64% showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5% showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23% showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9% showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function.

Chewing and attention: a positive effect on sustained attention.

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Hirano, Yoshiyuki; Onozuka, Minoru

2015-01-01

Chewing is crushing food not only to aid swallowing and digestion, but also to help stress relief and regulate cognitive function, especially in attention. It is well known that chewing gum is used for sleepiness prevention during work, learning, and driving, suggesting a link between chewing and sustained attention. We hypothesized that chewing elevates attention and/or alertness, leading to improvements in cognitive performance. We carried out a systematic review of the PubMed database. We inspected the attributes of effects on attention in studies investigating the effects of chewing on attention or alertness conducted with pre-post design in healthy subjects, except elderly. We identified 151 references, 22 of which were included: 14 (64%) showed positive attributes of effects on attention, 1 (5%) showed negative attributes of effects on attention, 5 (23%) showed both positive and negative attributes of effects on attention, and 2 (9%) showed no significant attributes of effects on attention. Thus, positive attributes of effects of chewing on attention, especially on sustained attention, were shown in over half of the reports. These effects also appeared with improvement in mood and stress relief and were influenced by time-on-task effect. Further studies are needed, but chewing could be useful for modifying cognitive function.

Trait emotional intelligence and mental distress: the mediating role of positive and negative affect.

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Kong, Feng; Zhao, Jingjing; You, Xuqun

2012-01-01

Over the past decade, emotional intelligence (EI) has received much attention in the literature. Previous studies indicated that higher trait or ability EI was associated with greater mental distress. The present study focused on mediating effects of positive and negative affect on the association between trait EI and mental distress in a sample of Chinese adults. The participants were 726 Chinese adults (384 females) with an age range of 18-60 years. Data were collected by using the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that EI was a significant predictor of positive affect, negative affect and mental distress. Further mediation analysis showed that positive and negative affect acted as partial mediators of the relationship between EI and mental distress. Furthermore, effect contrasts showed that there was no significant difference between the specific indirect effects through positive affect and through negative affect. This result indicated that positive affect and negative affect played an equally important function in the association between EI and distress. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.

Does Gender Influence Emotions Resulting from Positive Applause Feedback in Self-Assessment Testing? Evidence from Neuroscience

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Liu, Chia-Ju; Huang, Chin-Fei; Liu, Ming-Chi; Chien, Yu-Cheng; Lai, Chia-Hung; Huang, Yueh-Min

2015-01-01

Computerized self-assessment testing can help learners reflect on learning content and can also promote their motivation toward learning. However, a positive affective state is the key to achieving these learning goals. This study aims to examine learning gains and emotional reactions resulting from receiving emotional feedback in the form of…

Wealth, Poverty, and Happiness: Social Class Is Differentially Associated With Positive Emotions.

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Piff, Paul K; Moskowitz, Jake P

2017-12-18

Is higher social class associated with greater happiness? In a large nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 1,519), we examined the association between social class (household income) and self-reported tendencies to experience 7 distinct positive emotions that are core to happiness: amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, enthusiasm, love, and pride. Consistent with past research indicating that social class underlies differential patterns of attending to the self versus orienting to others, higher social class was associated with greater self-oriented feelings of contentment and pride, and with greater amusement. In contrast, lower social class was associated with more other-oriented feelings of compassion and love, and with greater awe. There were no class differences in enthusiasm. We discuss that individuals from different social class backgrounds may exhibit different patterns of emotional responding due to their distinct social concerns and priorities. Whereas self-oriented emotions may follow from, foster, and reinforce upper class individuals' desire for independence and self-sufficiency, greater other-oriented emotion may enable lower class individuals to form more interdependent bonds to cope with their more threatening environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Vocal and visual stimulation, congruence and lateralization affect brain oscillations in interspecies emotional positive and negative interactions.

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Balconi, Michela; Vanutelli, Maria Elide

2016-01-01

The present research explored the effect of cross-modal integration of emotional cues (auditory and visual (AV)) compared with only visual (V) emotional cues in observing interspecies interactions. The brain activity was monitored when subjects processed AV and V situations, which represented an emotional (positive or negative), interspecies (human-animal) interaction. Congruence (emotionally congruous or incongruous visual and auditory patterns) was also modulated. electroencephalography brain oscillations (from delta to beta) were analyzed and the cortical source localization (by standardized Low Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography) was applied to the data. Frequency band (mainly low-frequency delta and theta) showed a significant brain activity increasing in response to negative compared to positive interactions within the right hemisphere. Moreover, differences were found based on stimulation type, with an increased effect for AV compared with V. Finally, delta band supported a lateralized right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity in response to negative and incongruous interspecies interactions, mainly for AV. The contribution of cross-modality, congruence (incongruous patterns), and lateralization (right DLPFC) in response to interspecies emotional interactions was discussed at light of a "negative lateralized effect."

Personality dimensions, positive emotions and coping strategies in the caregivers of people living with HIV in Lahore, Pakistan.

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Ashraf, Mujeeba; Sitwat, Aisha

2016-08-01

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between personality dimensions, positive emotions and coping mechanisms of caregivers of patients living with HIV. This study used a cross-sectional research design. A sample comprising 56 caregivers was recruited from HIV/AIDS clinics in three teaching hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected between February and July 2010. Most caregivers were men, and of low socio-economic status. Individuals with both high and low extraversion used problem-focused coping, self-control and accepting responsibility, but those with low extraversion used more escape-avoidance coping, and they had also high levels of negative emotions. Those high in neuroticism used more tension-reduction coping than problem-focused coping, and experienced fewer positive emotions. Regression analysis findings revealed neuroticism as a significant predictor of negative emotions as well as emotion-focused coping, and only extraversion significantly predicted negative emotions. This research could help in devising psychological management plans for caregivers of patients living with HIV in order to assist them in coping with the burden of care. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Maternal depression and anxiety, social synchrony, and infant regulation of negative and positive emotions.

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Granat, Adi; Gadassi, Reuma; Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva; Feldman, Ruth

2017-02-01

Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) exerts long-term negative effects on infants; yet the mechanisms by which PPD disrupts emotional development are not fully clear. Utilizing an extreme-case design, 971 women reported symptoms of depression and anxiety following childbirth and 215 high and low on depressive symptomatology reported again at 6 months. Of these, mothers diagnosed with major depressive disorder (n = 22), anxiety disorders (n = 19), and controls (n = 59) were visited at 9 months. Mother-infant interaction was microcoded for maternal and infant's social behavior and synchrony. Infant negative and positive emotional expression and self-regulation were tested in 4 emotion-eliciting paradigms: anger with mother, anger with stranger, joy with mother, and joy with stranger. Infants of depressed mothers displayed less social gaze and more gaze aversion. Gaze and touch synchrony were lowest for depressed mothers, highest for anxious mothers, and midlevel among controls. Infants of control and anxious mothers expressed less negative affect with mother compared with stranger; however, maternal presence failed to buffer negative affect in the depressed group. Maternal depression chronicity predicted increased self-regulatory behavior during joy episodes, and touch synchrony moderated the effects of PPD on infant self-regulation. Findings describe subtle microlevel processes by which maternal depression across the postpartum year disrupts the development of infant emotion regulation and suggest that diminished social synchrony, low differentiation of attachment and nonattachment contexts, and increased self-regulation during positive moments may chart pathways for the cross-generational transfer of emotional maladjustment from depressed mothers to their infants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the impact of positive and negative emotions on cooperative behaviour in a Prisoner's Dilemma Game.

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Kjell, Oscar N E; Thompson, Sam

2013-12-19

Objective. To explore the influences of discrete positive and negative emotions on cooperation in the context of a social dilemma game. Design. Two controlled studies were undertaken. In Study 1, 69 participants were randomly assigned to an essay emotion manipulation task designed to induce either guilt, joy or no strong emotion. In Study 2, 95 participants were randomly assigned to one of the same three tasks, and the impact of emotional condition on cooperation was explored using a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma Game. Results. Study 1 established that the manipulation task was successful in inducing the specified emotions. The analysis from Study 2 revealed no significant main effects for emotions, in contrast to previous research. However, there was a significant effect for participants' pre-existing tendency to cooperate (social value orientation; SVO). Conclusion. Methodological explanations for the result are explored, including the possible impact of trial-and-error strategies, different cooperation games and endogenous vs exogenous emotions.

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

OpenAIRE

Raluca ePetrican; Morris eMoscovitch; Cheryl eGrady

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 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...

Cognitive reserve and emotional stimuli in older individuals: level of education moderates the age-related positivity effect.

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Bruno, Davide; Brown, Adam D; Kapucu, Aycan; Marmar, Charles R; Pomara, Nunzio

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: A frequently observed age-related effect is a preference in older individuals for positive stimuli. The cognitive control model proposes that this positivity effect may be mediated by executive functions. We propose that cognitive reserve, operationally defined as years of education, which tempers cognitive decline and has been linked to executive functions, should also influence the age-related positivity effect, especially as age advances. An emotional free recall test was administered to a group of 84 cognitively intact individuals aged 60 to 88, who varied in years of education. As part of a larger test battery, data were obtained on measures of executive functioning and depression. Multiple regression and moderation analyses were performed, controlling for general cognitive function, severity of depressive symptoms, and executive function. In our data, years of education appeared to moderate the effect of age on the positivity effect; age was negatively associated with recall of positive words in participants with fewer years of education, whereas a nonsignificant positive correlation was observed between age and positivity in participants with more education. Cognitive reserve appears to play a role in explaining individual differences in the positivity effect in healthy older individuals. Future studies should investigate whether cognitive reserve is also implicated in the ability to process a wide range of emotional stimuli and whether greater reserve is reflected in improved emotional regulation.

Emotion regulation mediates age differences in emotions.

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Yeung, Dannii Y; Wong, Carmen K M; Lok, David P P

2011-04-01

This study aimed at testing the proposition of socioemotional selectivity theory whether older people would use more antecedent-focused emotion regulatory strategies like cognitive reappraisal but fewer response-focused strategies like suppression. It also aimed at investigating the mediating role of emotion regulation on the relationship between age and emotions. The sample consisted of 654 younger and older adults aged between 18 and 64. Results showed that age was significantly associated with positive emotions and cognitive reappraisal. No difference was found in negative emotions and suppression between younger and older adults. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the effect of age on positive emotions. Findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the underlying mechanism of age variations in emotional experiences.

Discursive Positioning and Emotion in School Mathematics Practices

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Evans, Jeff; Morgan, Candia; Tsatsaroni, Anna

2006-01-01

Our approach to emotion in school mathematics draws on social semiotics, pedagogic discourse theory and psychoanalysis. Emotions are considered as socially organised and shaped by power relations; we portray emotion as a charge (of energy) attached to ideas or signifiers. We analyse transcripts from a small group solving problems in mathematics…

When green is positive and red is negative: Aging and the influence of color on emotional memories.

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Mammarella, Nicola; Di Domenico, Alberto; Palumbo, Rocco; Fairfield, Beth

2016-12-01

Numerous studies have reported age-related differences in memory for emotional information. One explanation places emphasis on an emotion processing preference in older adults that reflects their socioemotional self-relevant goals. Here, we evaluate the degree to which this preference in memory may be modulated by color. In 2 experiments, younger and older adults were asked to study a series of affective words (Experiment 1) or affective pictures (Experiment 2) and then presented with an immediate yes/no memory recognition task. In particular, words and pictures were colored according to the following valence-color associations: positive-green, negative-red, and neutral-blue. Each study condition included both congruent (e.g., positive-green) and incongruent associations (e.g., positive-red). For both experiments, participants showed an advantage for congruent associations compared with other types of valence-color pairings that emphasized a robust joint effect of color and affective valence in memory. More specifically, older adults' memory was sensitive to positive-green stimuli only. We discussed results in line with mechanisms underlying positivity effects in memory and the effect of color on emotional memory encoding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Attention and emotion: an ERP analysis of facilitated emotional stimulus processing.

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Schupp, Harald T; Junghöfer, Markus; Weike, Almut I; Hamm, Alfons O

2003-06-11

Recent event-related potential studies observed an early posterior negativity (EPN) reflecting facilitated processing of emotional images. The present study explored if the facilitated processing of emotional pictures is sustained while subjects perform an explicit non-emotional attention task. EEG was recorded from 129 channels while subjects viewed a rapid continuous stream of images containing emotional pictures as well as task-related checkerboard images. As expected, explicit selective attention to target images elicited large P3 waves. Interestingly, emotional stimuli guided stimulus-driven selective encoding as reflected by augmented EPN amplitudes to emotional stimuli, in particular to stimuli of evolutionary significance (erotic contents, mutilations, and threat). These data demonstrate the selective encoding of emotional stimuli while top-down attentional control was directed towards non-emotional target stimuli.

Neural reactivity to monetary rewards and losses in childhood: longitudinal and concurrent associations with observed and self-reported positive emotionality.

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Kujawa, Autumn; Proudfit, Greg Hajcak; Kessel, Ellen M; Dyson, Margaret; Olino, Thomas; Klein, Daniel N

2015-01-01

Reward reactivity and positive emotion are key components of a theoretical, early-emerging approach motivational system, yet few studies have examined associations between positive emotion and neural reactivity to reward across development. In this multi-method prospective study, we examined the association of laboratory observations of positive emotionality (PE) at age 3 and self-reported positive affect (PA) at age 9 with an event-related potential component sensitive to the relative response to winning vs. losing money, the feedback negativity (ΔFN), at age 9 (N=381). Males had a larger ΔFN than females, and both greater observed PE at age 3 and self-reported PA at age 9 significantly, but modestly, predicted an enhanced ΔFN at age 9. Negative emotionality and behavioral inhibition did not predict ΔFN. Results contribute to understanding the neural correlates of PE and suggest that the FN and PE may be related to the same biobehavioral approach system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Psychophysiological study of the information theory of emotions using the model of positive emotion].

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Rusalova, M N; Kostiunina, M B

2003-01-01

The pattern of inter-hemisphere distribution of EEG amplitude and frequency as a function of the levels of emotional experience and motivation as well as probability of the goal achievement was studied in 20 subjects. An emotional state was evoked by simulating emotionally colored events. A modified test of Prise et al. (1985) was used to evaluate the level of motivation for the simulated event as well as the probability of goal achievement from the lengths of line segments marked by the subjects. Here we studied simulated emotion of joy. The highest correlation coefficients were observed between the awareness and alpha activity in the both hemispheres. The levels of emotional experience and motivation inversely correlated with the delta and theta activity mostly in the left hemisphere. The beta activity correlated with both the emotional and motivation levels.

The emotional and academic consequences of parental conditional regard: comparing conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support as parenting practices.

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Roth, Guy; Assor, Avi; Niemiec, Christopher P; Deci, Edward L; Ryan, Richard M

2009-07-01

The authors conducted 2 studies of 9th-grade Israeli adolescents (169 in Study 1, 156 in Study 2) to compare the parenting practices of conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support using data from multiple reporters. Two socialization domains were studied: emotion control and academics. Results were consistent with the self-determination theory model of internalization, which posits that (a) conditional negative regard predicts feelings of resentment toward parents, which then predict dysregulation of negative emotions and academic disengagement; (b) conditional positive regard predicts feelings of internal compulsion, which then predict suppressive regulation of negative emotions and grade-focused academic engagement; and (c) autonomy support predicts sense of choice, which then predicts integrated regulation of negative emotions and interest-focused academic engagement. These findings suggest that even parents' use of conditional positive regard as a socialization practice has adverse emotional and academic consequences, relative to autonomy support.

Development of the PROMIS positive emotional and sensory expectancies of smoking item banks.

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Tucker, Joan S; Shadel, William G; Edelen, Maria Orlando; Stucky, Brian D; Li, Zhen; Hansen, Mark; Cai, Li

2014-09-01

The positive emotional and sensory expectancies of cigarette smoking include improved cognitive abilities, positive affective states, and pleasurable sensorimotor sensations. This paper describes development of Positive Emotional and Sensory Expectancies of Smoking item banks that will serve to standardize the assessment of this construct among daily and nondaily cigarette smokers. Data came from daily (N = 4,201) and nondaily (N =1,183) smokers who completed an online survey. To identify a unidimensional set of items, we conducted item factor analyses, item response theory analyses, and differential item functioning analyses. Additionally, we evaluated the performance of fixed-item short forms (SFs) and computer adaptive tests (CATs) to efficiently assess the construct. Eighteen items were included in the item banks (15 common across daily and nondaily smokers, 1 unique to daily, 2 unique to nondaily). The item banks are strongly unidimensional, highly reliable (reliability = 0.95 for both), and perform similarly across gender, age, and race/ethnicity groups. A SF common to daily and nondaily smokers consists of 6 items (reliability = 0.86). Results from simulated CATs indicated that, on average, less than 8 items are needed to assess the construct with adequate precision using the item banks. These analyses identified a new set of items that can assess the positive emotional and sensory expectancies of smoking in a reliable and standardized manner. Considerable efficiency in assessing this construct can be achieved by using the item bank SF, employing computer adaptive tests, or selecting subsets of items tailored to specific research or clinical purposes. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Distinct neural systems underlying reduced emotional enhancement for positive and negative stimuli in early Alzheimer’s disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panagiota eMistridis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Emotional information is typically better remembered than neutral content, and previous studies suggest that this effect is subserved particularly by the amygdala together with its interactions with the hippocampus. However, it is not known whether amygdala damage affects emotional memory performance at immediate and delayed recall, and whether its involvement is modulated by stimulus valence. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent more distributed neocortical regions involved in e.g. autobiographical memory, also contribute to emotional processing. We investigated these questions in a group of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, which affects the amygdala, hippocampus and neocortical regions. Healthy controls (n = 14, patients with AD (n = 15 and its putative prodrome amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 11 completed a memory task consisting of immediate and delayed free recall of a list of positive, negative and neutral words. Memory performance was related to brain integrity in region of interest and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses. In the brain-behavioral analyses, the left amygdala volume predicted the immediate recall of both positive and negative material, whereas at delay, left and right amygdala volumes were associated with performance with positive and negative words, respectively. Whole-brain analyses revealed additional associations between left angular gyrus integrity and the immediate recall of positive words as well as between the orbitofrontal cortex and the delayed recall of negative words. These results indicate that emotional memory impairments in AD may be underpinned by damage to regions implicated in emotional processing as well as frontoparietal regions, which may exert their influence via autobiographical memories and organizational strategies.

The effects of early positive parenting and developmental delay status on child emotion dysregulation.

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Norona, A N; Baker, B L

2017-02-01

Emotion regulation has been identified as a robust predictor of adaptive functioning across a variety of domains (Aldao et al. ). Furthermore, research examining early predictors of competence and deficits in ER suggests that factors internal to the individual (e.g. neuroregulatory reactivity, behavioural traits and cognitive ability) and external to the individual (e.g. caregiving styles and explicit ER training) contribute to the development of ER (Calkins ). Many studies have focused on internal sources or external sources; however, few have studied them simultaneously within one model, especially in studies examining children with developmental delays (DD). Here, we addressed this specific research gap and examined the contributions of one internal factor and one external factor on emotion dysregulation outcomes in middle childhood. Specifically, our current study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine prospective, predictive relationships between DD status, positive parenting at age 4 years and child emotion dysregulation at age 7 years. Participants were 151 families in the Collaborative Family Study, a longitudinal study of young children with and without DD. A positive parenting factor was composed of sensitivity and scaffolding scores from mother-child interactions at home and in the research centre at child age 4 years. A child dysregulation factor was composed of a dysregulation code from mother-child interactions and a parent-report measure of ER and lability/negativity at age 7 years. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that positive parenting would mediate the relationship between DD and child dysregulation. Mothers of children with DD exhibited fewer sensitive and scaffolding behaviours compared with mothers of typically developing children, and children with DD were more dysregulated on all measures of ER. SEM revealed that both DD status and early positive parenting predicted emotion dysregulation in middle childhood. Furthermore

Whole-brain functional connectivity during emotional word classification in medication-free Major Depressive Disorder: Abnormal salience circuitry and relations to positive emotionality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Tol, Marie-José; Veer, Ilya M.; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; Aleman, André; van Buchem, Mark A.; Rombouts, Serge A. R. B.; Zitman, Frans G.; Veltman, Dick J.; Johnstone, Tom

2013-01-01

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been associated with biased processing and abnormal regulation of negative and positive information, which may result from compromised coordinated activity of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions involved in evaluating emotional information. We tested whether

Whole-brain functional connectivity during emotional word classification in medication-free Major Depressive Disorder : Abnormal salience circuitry and relations to positive emotionality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Tol, Marie-Jose; Veer, Ilya M.; van der Wee, Nic J. A.; Aleman, Andre; van Buchem, Mark A.; Rombouts, Serge A. R. B.; Zitman, Frans G.; Veltman, Dick J.; Johnstone, Tom

2013-01-01

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been associated with biased processing and abnormal regulation of negative and positive information, which may result from compromised coordinated activity of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions involved in evaluating emotional information. We tested whether

Exploring the impact of positive and negative emotions on cooperative behaviour in a Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar N.E. Kjell

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Objective. To explore the influences of discrete positive and negative emotions on cooperation in the context of a social dilemma game.Design. Two controlled studies were undertaken. In Study 1, 69 participants were randomly assigned to an essay emotion manipulation task designed to induce either guilt, joy or no strong emotion. In Study 2, 95 participants were randomly assigned to one of the same three tasks, and the impact of emotional condition on cooperation was explored using a repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma Game.Results. Study 1 established that the manipulation task was successful in inducing the specified emotions. The analysis from Study 2 revealed no significant main effects for emotions, in contrast to previous research. However, there was a significant effect for participants’ pre-existing tendency to cooperate (social value orientation; SVO.Conclusion. Methodological explanations for the result are explored, including the possible impact of trial-and-error strategies, different cooperation games and endogenous vs exogenous emotions.

Brand emotional credibility: effects of mixed emotions about branded products with varying credibility.

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Mileti, Antonio; Prete, M Irene; Guido, Gianluigi

2013-10-01

This research investigates the effects of mixed emotions on the positioning and on the intention to purchase different categories of branded products (i.e., Attractiveness-products, Expertise-products, and Trustworthiness-products), in relation to their main component of credibility (Ohanian, 1990). On the basis of a focus group (n = 12) aimed to identify the three branded products used as stimuli and a pre-test (n = 240) directed to discover emotions elicited by them, two studies (n = 630; n = 240) were carried out. Positioning and multiple regression analyses showed that positive and negative emotions are positively related with the positioning and the purchase intention of Attractiveness-products, and, respectively, positively and negatively related with those of Trustworthiness-products; whereas negative emotions are negatively associated with those of Expertise-products. Brand Emotional Credibility--i.e., the emotional believability of the brand positioning signals--may help to identify unconscious elements and the simultaneous importance of mixed emotions associated with different products to match consumers' desires and expectations.

The effect of emotional content on brain activation and the late positive potential in a word n-back task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliane Kopf

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: There is mounting evidence for the influence of emotional content on working memory performance. This is particularly important in light of the emotion processing that needs to take place when emotional content interferes with executive functions. In this study, we used emotional words of different valence but with similar arousal levels in an n-back task. METHODS: We examined the effects on activation in the prefrontal cortex by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS and on the late positive potential (LPP. FNIRS and LPP data were examined in 30 healthy subjects. RESULTS: BEHAVIORAL RESULTS SHOW AN INFLUENCE OF VALENCE ON THE ERROR RATE DEPENDING ON THE DIFFICULTY OF THE TASK: more errors were made when the valence was negative and the task difficult. Brain activation was dependent both on the difficulty of the task and on the valence: negative valence of a word diminished the increase in activation, whereas positive valence did not influence the increase in activation, while difficulty levels increased. The LPP also differentiated between the different valences, and in addition was influenced by the task difficulty, the more difficult the task, the less differentiation could be observed. CONCLUSIONS: Summarized, this study shows the influence of valence on a verbal working memory task. When a word contained a negative valence, the emotional content seemed to take precedence in contrast to words containing a positive valence. Working memory and emotion processing sites seemed to overlap and compete for resources even when words are carriers of the emotional content.

Psilocybin biases facial recognition, goal-directed behavior, and mood state toward positive relative to negative emotions through different serotonergic subreceptors.

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Kometer, Michael; Schmidt, André; Bachmann, Rosilla; Studerus, Erich; Seifritz, Erich; Vollenweider, Franz X

2012-12-01

Serotonin (5-HT) 1A and 2A receptors have been associated with dysfunctional emotional processing biases in mood disorders. These receptors further predominantly mediate the subjective and behavioral effects of psilocybin and might be important for its recently suggested antidepressive effects. However, the effect of psilocybin on emotional processing biases and the specific contribution of 5-HT2A receptors across different emotional domains is unknown. In a randomized, double-blind study, 17 healthy human subjects received on 4 separate days placebo, psilocybin (215 μg/kg), the preferential 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin (50 mg), or psilocybin plus ketanserin. Mood states were assessed by self-report ratings, and behavioral and event-related potential measurements were used to quantify facial emotional recognition and goal-directed behavior toward emotional cues. Psilocybin enhanced positive mood and attenuated recognition of negative facial expression. Furthermore, psilocybin increased goal-directed behavior toward positive compared with negative cues, facilitated positive but inhibited negative sequential emotional effects, and valence-dependently attenuated the P300 component. Ketanserin alone had no effects but blocked the psilocybin-induced mood enhancement and decreased recognition of negative facial expression. This study shows that psilocybin shifts the emotional bias across various psychological domains and that activation of 5-HT2A receptors is central in mood regulation and emotional face recognition in healthy subjects. These findings may not only have implications for the pathophysiology of dysfunctional emotional biases but may also provide a framework to delineate the mechanisms underlying psylocybin's putative antidepressant effects. Copyright © 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neural substrate of the late positive potential in emotional processing

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuelu; Huang, Haiqing; McGinnis, Menton; Keil, Andreas; Ding, Mingzhou

2012-01-01

The late positive potential (LPP) is a reliable electrophysiological index of emotional perception in humans. Despite years of research the brain structures that contribute to the generation and modulation of LPP are not well understood. Recording EEG and fMRI simultaneously, and applying a recently proposed single-trial ERP analysis method, we addressed the problem by correlating the single-trial LPP amplitude evoked by affective pictures with the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity. Three results were found. First, relative to neutral pictures, pleasant and unpleasant pictures elicited enhanced LPP, as well as heightened BOLD activity in both visual cortices and emotion-processing structures such as amygdala and prefrontal cortex, consistent with previous findings. Second, the LPP amplitude across three picture categories was significantly correlated with BOLD activity in visual cortices, temporal cortices, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, and insula. Third, within each picture category, LPP-BOLD coupling revealed category-specific differences. For pleasant pictures, the LPP amplitude was coupled with BOLD in occipitotemporal junction, medial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and precuneus, whereas for unpleasant pictures, significant LPP-BOLD correlation was observed in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, and posterior cingulate cortex. These results suggest that LPP is generated and modulated by an extensive brain network comprised of both cortical and subcortical structures associated with visual and emotional processing and the degree of contribution by each of these structures to the LPP modulation is valence-specific. PMID:23077042

Positive Healthy Organizations: Promoting Well-Being, Meaningfulness, and Sustainability in Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Fabio, Annamaria

2017-01-01

This contribution deals with the concept of healthy organizations and starts with a definition of healthy organizations and healthy business. In healthy organizations, culture, climate, and practices create an environment conducive to employee health and safety as well as organizational effectiveness (Lowe, 2010). A healthy organization thus leads to a healthy and successful business (De Smet et al., 2007; Grawitch and Ballard, 2016), underlining the strong link between organizational profitability and workers' well-being. Starting from a positive perspective focused on success and excellence, the contribution describes how positive organizational health psychology evolved from occupational health psychology to positive occupational health psychology stressing the importance of a primary preventive approach. The focus is not on deficiency and failure but on a positive organizational attitude that proposes interventions at different levels: individual, group, organization, and inter-organization. Healthy organizations need to find the right balance between their particular situation, sector, and culture, highlighting the importance of well-being and sustainability. This contribution discusses also the sustainability of work-life projects and the meaning of work in healthy organizations, stressing the importance of recognizing, respecting, and using the meaning of work as a key for growth and success. Finally, the contribution discusses new research and intervention opportunities for healthy organizations.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, EMOTIONAL EDUCATION AND THE HAPPY CLASSROOMS PROGRAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Bisquerra Alzina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Positive psychology has multiple applications. This article is focused on formal education, from the ages of 3 to 18 years. The development of well-being should be one of the aims of education, which would affect teachers, students, families and by extension society at large. This has been a clear aim for emotional education (Bisquerra, 2000, 2009, from the outset. With the emergence of positive psychology, there was a renewed effort in this direction, as a means of providing a better foundation. GROP (Grup de Recerca en Orientación Psicopedagógica [Research in Psychopedagogical Education Group] at the University of Barcelona is conducting research on this subject. The Happy Classrooms (“Aulas felices” program developed by the SATI team is the first program in Spanish aimed at working on positive education. It is designed for children and youths in pre-school, primary and secondary education. The program focuses its applications on character strengths and mindfulness. It is freely available for access and distribution. This article argues for the importance of enhancing well-being in education. Practical activities and intervention strategies are presented, with special reference to the importance of teacher training.

Emotional job resources and emotional support seeking as moderators of the relation between emotional job demands and emotional exhaustion : A two-wave panel study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van de Ven, B.; van den Tooren, M.; Vlerick, P.

2013-01-01

In the present study, the relation between emotional job demands and emotional exhaustion was investigated, as was the moderating role of emotional job resources and emotional support seeking on this relation. We hypothesized a positive lagged effect of emotional job demands on emotional exhaustion,

Parental emotional management benefits family relationships: A randomized controlled trial in Hong Kong, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabrizio, Cecilia S; Lam, Tai Hing; Hirschmann, Malia R; Pang, Irene; Yu, Nancy Xiaonan; Wang, Xin; Stewart, Sunita M

2015-08-01

There is a shortage of culturally appropriate, brief, preventive interventions designed to be sustainable and acceptable for community participants in nonwestern cultures. Parents' ability to regulate their emotions is an important factor for psychological well-being of the family. In Chinese societies, emotional regulation may be more important in light of the cultural desirability of maintaining harmonious family relationships. The objectives of our randomized controlled trial were to test the effectiveness of our Effective Parenting Programme (EPP) to increase the use of emotional management strategies (primary outcome) and enhance the parent-child relationship (secondary outcome). We utilized design characteristics that promoted recruitment, retention, and intervention sustainability. We randomized a community sample of 412 Hong Kong middle- and low-income mothers of children aged 6-8 years to the EPP or attention control group. At 3, 6 and 12- month follow up, the Effective Parent Program group reported greater increases in the use of emotion management strategies during parent-child interactions, with small to medium effect size, and lower negative affect and greater positive affect, subjective happiness, satisfaction with the parent-child relationship, and family harmony, compared to the control group, with small to medium effect size. Our results provided evidence of effectiveness for a sustainable, preventive, culturally appropriate, cognitive behaviorally-based emotion management program, in a non-clinical setting for Chinese mothers. HKCTR-1190. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do sustainability experienced travellers prefer a more rational communication of the sustainability of a tourism product?

OpenAIRE

Wehrli, Roger; Priskin, Julianna; Schaffner, Dorothea; Schwarz, Juerg; Stettler, Juerg

2013-01-01

This study examines empirically in four countries which communication style (emotional or rational) is most appropriate to address sustainability experienced travellers. There are only small differences compared to the average tourist. Rational communication elements which explain the sustainability of the product become more important for this specific customer group. However, most emotional communication elements are still more important in most countries, indicating that experienced touris...

Positive and negative affect mediate the bidirectional relationship between emotional processing and symptom severity and impact in irritable bowel syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibelli, Alice; Chalder, Trudie; Everitt, Hazel; Chilcot, Joseph; Moss-Morris, Rona

2018-02-01

Individuals with IBS report higher levels of psychological distress compared to healthy controls. Distress has been associated with emotional processing difficulties but studies have not explored how the relationship between distress and emotional processing affects IBS. There is little research on the role of positive affect (PA) in IBS. (a) If difficulties in self-reported emotional processing are associated with affect and IBS measures (i.e., symptom severity, interference in life roles) (b1) If affect mediates the relationship between emotional processing and IBS measures (b2) Alternative model: if affect mediates the relationship between IBS and emotional processing (c) If PA moderates the relationship between distress and IBS. Participants with a confirmed diagnosis of IBS (n=558) completed a questionnaire including measures of emotional processing (i.e., unhelpful beliefs about negative emotions, impoverished emotional experience), distress, PA, and IBS symptoms/interference. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted with Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Distress and PA mediated or partly mediated the relationship between unhelpful beliefs about negative emotions/impoverished emotional experience and both IBS measures. The alternative models were also valid, suggesting a two-way relationship between emotional processing and IBS through affect. PA did not moderate the relationship between distress and IBS. Future interventions in IBS may benefit from not only targeting the management of physical symptoms and their daily impact but also aspects related to the experience of both negative and positive affect, and the acceptance and expression of negative emotions. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causal relationships within the explored models. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

Centrality of event across cultures. Emotionally positive and negative events in Mexico, China, Greenland, and Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zaragoza Scherman, Alejandra; Salgado, Sinué; Shao, Zhifang

During their lifetime, people experience both emotionally positive and negative events. The Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen and Rubin, 2006; Berntsen, Rubin and Siegler, 2011) measures the extent to which an event is central to someone’s identity and life story. An event becomes central...... disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms: Participants with higher PTSD and depression scores reported that a traumatic or negative event was highly central to their identity and life story; and 3) A significant number of positive event occurred during participants’ adolescence and early adulthood, while...... an emotional event into our life story and our identity. Key findings: 1) Positive events are rated as more central to identity than negative events; 2) The extent to which highly traumatic and negative events become central to a person’s life story and identity varies as a function of post-traumatic stress...

State Anxiety Carried Over From Prior Threat Increases Late Positive Potential Amplitude During an Instructed Emotion Regulation Task

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Walker S.; Larson, Christine L.

2018-01-01

Emotion regulation has important consequences for emotional and mental health (Saxena, Dubey & Pandey, 2011) and is dependent on executive function (Eisenberg, Smith & Spinrad, 2011). Because state anxiety disrupts executive function (Robinson, Vytal, Cornwell & Grillon, 2013), we tested whether state anxiety disrupts emotion regulation by having participants complete an instructed emotion regulation task, while under threat of unpredictable shock and while safe from shock. We used the late positive potential (LPP) component of the event related potential to measure emotion regulation success. We predicted that LPP responses to negatively valenced images would be modulated by participants’ attempts to increase and decrease their emotions when safe from shock, but not while under threat of shock. Our manipulation check revealed an order effect such that for participants who completed the threat of shock condition first self-reported state anxiety carried over into the subsequent safe condition. Additionally, we found that although instructions to regulate affected participants’ ratings of how unpleasant the images made them feel, instructions to regulate had no effect on LPP amplitude regardless of threat condition. Instead we found that participants who received the threat condition prior to safe had greater LPP responses to all images in the safe condition. We posit that the carryover of anxiety resulted in misattribution of arousal and potentiation of neural responses to the images in the safe condition. Thus, our results imply that physiological arousal and cognition combine to influence the basic neural response to emotional stimuli. PMID:27055095

Factors Predicting Sustainability of the Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention Support Model

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Chitiyo, Jonathan; May, Michael E.

2018-01-01

The Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention Support model (SWPBIS) continues to gain widespread use across schools in the United States and abroad. Despite its widespread implementation, little research has examined factors that influence its sustainability. Informed by Rogers's diffusion theory, this study examined school personnel's…

Positive benefits of caring on nurses' motivation and well-being: a diary study about the role of emotional regulation abilities at work.

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Donoso, Luis Manuel Blanco; Demerouti, Evangelia; Garrosa Hernández, Eva; Moreno-Jiménez, Bernardo; Carmona Cobo, Isabel

2015-04-01

Recent research reveals that not all job demands have negative effects on workers' well-being and suggests that the negative or positive effects of specific job demands depend on the occupational sector. Specifically, emotional job demands form the heart of the work for nurses and for this reason they can be interpreted by nurses as a challenge that promotes motivation and well-being among these professionals, especially if personal and job resources become available. The study had two objectives. First, to examine whether daily emotional demands within a nursing work context have a positive effect on nurses' daily motivation at work (vigour) and well-being at home (vitality and positive affect). Second, to explore whether this positive effect could be enhanced by nurses' emotional regulation abilities. This research used a diary design to explore daily experiences and to analyze how variations in specific job or personal characteristics can affect levels of motivation and well-being across days. Fifty-three nurses working in different Spanish hospitals and primary health care centres completed a general questionnaire and a diary booklet over 5 consecutive working days in two different moments, after work and at night (N=53 participants and N=265 observations). In line with our hypotheses, multi-level analyses revealed that, on the one hand, day-level emotional demands at work had a positive effect on vigour at work and on vitality at home. On the other hand, analyses showed that nurses with higher emotional regulation abilities have more motivation at work and well-being at home when they have to face high emotional demands at work, showing a spill over effect after work. These findings support the idea that emotional demands from the nursing profession can act as challenges which promote motivation and well-being, especially if internal emotional resources become available. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review article Toward positive and systemic mental health practices in schools: Fostering social-emotional learning through service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felicia L. Wilczenski

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Mental health services in schools in the 21st century will be prevention-oriented with a grounding in positive psychology and strong school-family-community partnerships that emphasize proactive and systemic practices to build social-emotional competencies for all children. This article makes the case for youth development through service learning to promote social and emotional wellness.

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

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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.

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

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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.

"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.

Origin of Emotion Effects on ERP Correlates of Emotional Word Processing: The Emotion Duality Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Imbir, Kamil Konrad; Jarymowicz, Maria Teresa; Spustek, Tomasz; Kuś, Rafał; Żygierewicz, Jarosław

2015-01-01

We distinguish two evaluative systems which evoke automatic and reflective emotions. Automatic emotions are direct reactions to stimuli whereas reflective emotions are always based on verbalized (and often abstract) criteria of evaluation. We conducted an electroencephalography (EEG) study in which 25 women were required to read and respond to emotional words which engaged either the automatic or reflective system. Stimulus words were emotional (positive or negative) and neutral. We found an effect of valence on an early response with dipolar fronto-occipital topography; positive words evoked a higher amplitude response than negative words. We also found that topographically specific differences in the amplitude of the late positive complex were related to the system involved in processing. Emotional stimuli engaging the automatic system were associated with significantly higher amplitudes in the left-parietal region; the response to neutral words was similar regardless of the system engaged. A different pattern of effects was observed in the central region, neutral stimuli engaging the reflective system evoked a higher amplitudes response whereas there was no system effect for emotional stimuli. These differences could not be reduced to effects of differences between the arousing properties and concreteness of the words used as stimuli.

MEDIATOR EFFECTS OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS ON SOCIAL SUPPORT AND DEPRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS SUFFERING FROM MOBILE PHONE ADDICTION

OpenAIRE

Li, Menglong; Jiang, Xia; Ren, Yujia

2017-01-01

Background: Depression is a common mental disorder that is widely seen among adolescents suffering from mobile phone addiction. While it is well known that both positive emtions in adolescents wiotions and social support can have a positive impact by helping individuals to maintain a positive attitude, the correlation between positive emotions, social support, and depression among these adolescents remains to be investigated. This study examined the mediator effects of positive emoti...

The effect of emotion and physician communication behaviors on surrogates' life-sustaining treatment decisions: a randomized simulation experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnato, Amber E; Arnold, Robert M

2013-07-01

Surrogate decision makers for critically ill patients experience strong negative emotional states. Emotions influence risk perception, risk preferences, and decision making. We sought to explore the effect of emotional state and physician communication behaviors on surrogates' life-sustaining treatment decisions. 5 × 2 between-subject randomized factorial experiment. Web-based simulated interactive video meeting with an intensivist to discuss code status. Community-based participants 35 and older who self-identified as the surrogate for a parent or spouse recruited from eight U.S. cities through public advertisements. Block random assignment to emotion arousal manipulation and each of the four physician communication behaviors. Surrogate's code status decision (cardiopulmonary resuscitation vs do not resuscitate/allow natural death). Two hundred fifty-six of 373 respondents (69%) logged-in and were randomized: average age was 50; 70% were surrogates for a parent; 63.5% were women; 76% were white, 11% black, and 9% Asian; and 81% were college educated. When asked about code status, 56% chose cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The emotion arousal manipulation increased the score on depression-dejection scale (β = 1.76 [0.58 - 2.94]) but did not influence cardiopulmonary resuscitation choice. Physician attending to emotion and framing the decision as the patient's rather than the surrogate's did not influence cardiopulmonary resuscitation choice. Framing no cardiopulmonary resuscitation as the norm rather than cardiopulmonary resuscitation resulted in fewer surrogates choosing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (48% vs 64%, odds ratio, 0.52 [95% CI, 0.32-0.87]), as did framing the alternative to cardiopulmonary resuscitation as "allow natural death" rather than do not resuscitate (49% vs 61%, odds ratio, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.35-0.96]). Experimentally induced emotional state did not influence code status decisions, although small changes in physician communication behaviors

Neural Temporal Dynamics of Facial Emotion Processing: Age Effects and Relationship to Cognitive Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyan Liao

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study used event-related potentials (ERPs to investigate the effects of age on neural temporal dynamics of processing task-relevant facial expressions and their relationship to cognitive functions. Negative (sad, afraid, angry, and disgusted, positive (happy, and neutral faces were presented to 30 older and 31 young participants who performed a facial emotion categorization task. Behavioral and ERP indices of facial emotion processing were analyzed. An enhanced N170 for negative faces, in addition to intact right-hemispheric N170 for positive faces, was observed in older adults relative to their younger counterparts. Moreover, older adults demonstrated an attenuated within-group N170 laterality effect for neutral faces, while younger adults showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, older adults exhibited sustained temporo-occipital negativity deflection over the time range of 200–500 ms post-stimulus, while young adults showed posterior positivity and subsequent emotion-specific frontal negativity deflections. In older adults, decreased accuracy for labeling negative faces was positively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scores, and accuracy for labeling neutral faces was negatively correlated with age. These findings suggest that older people may exert more effort in structural encoding for negative faces and there are different response patterns for the categorization of different facial emotions. Cognitive functioning may be related to facial emotion categorization deficits observed in older adults. This may not be attributable to positivity effects: it may represent a selective deficit for the processing of negative facial expressions in older adults.

Culture and group-based emotions: could group-based emotions be dialectical?

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Lu, Minjie; Hamamura, Takeshi; Doosje, Bertjan; Suzuki, Satoko; Takemura, Kosuke

2017-08-01

Group-based emotions are experienced when individuals are engaged in emotion-provoking events that implicate the in-group. This research examines the complexity of group-based emotions, specifically a concurrence of positive and negative emotions, focusing on the role of dialecticism, or a set of folk beliefs prevalent in Asian cultures that views nature and objects as constantly changing, inherently contradictory, and fundamentally interconnected. Study 1 found that dialecticism is positively associated with the complexity of Chinese participants' group-based emotions after reading a scenario depicting a positive intergroup experience. Study 2 found that Chinese participants experienced more complex group-based emotions compared with Dutch participants in an intergroup situation and that this cultural difference was mediated by dialecticism. Study 3 manipulated dialecticism and confirmed its causal effect on complex group-based emotions. These studies also suggested the role of a balanced appraisal of an intergroup situation as a mediating factor.

Improved emotional conflict control triggered by the processing priority of negative emotion.

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Yang, Qian; Wang, Xiangpeng; Yin, Shouhang; Zhao, Xiaoyue; Tan, Jinfeng; Chen, Antao

2016-04-18

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for emotional conflict resolution, and this control mechanism is affected by the emotional valence of distracting stimuli. In the present study, we investigated effects of negative and positive stimuli on emotional conflict control using a face-word Stroop task in combination with functional brain imaging. Emotional conflict was absent in the negative face context, in accordance with the null activation observed in areas regarding emotional face processing (fusiform face area, middle temporal/occipital gyrus). Importantly, these visual areas negatively coupled with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, the significant emotional conflict was observed in the positive face context, this effect was accompanied by activation in areas associated with emotional face processing, and the default mode network (DMN), here, DLPFC mainly negatively coupled with DMN, rather than visual areas. These results suggested that the conflict control mechanism exerted differently between negative faces and positive faces, it implemented more efficiently in the negative face condition, whereas it is more devoted to inhibiting internal interference in the positive face condition. This study thus provides a plausible mechanism of emotional conflict resolution that the rapid pathway for negative emotion processing efficiently triggers control mechanisms to preventively resolve emotional conflict.

Sustaining Air Force Space Systems: A Model for the Global Positioning System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Snyder, Don; Mills, Patrick; Comanor, Katherine; Roll, Jr, Charles R

2007-01-01

... and sustainment affect the performance of space systems. In this monograph, we develop a pilot framework for analyzing these and related questions in the ground segment of the Global Positioning System and recommend steps for implementing this framework...

Emotional and uncontrolled eating styles and chocolate chip cookie consumption. A controlled trial of the effects of positive mood enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Sally Ann; Luszczynska, Aleksandra; Warner, Lisa; Schwarzer, Ralf

2010-02-01

The study tested the effects of positive mood enhancement on chocolate chip cookie consumption in the context of emotional and uncontrolled eating styles. The relationship between emotional eating style and chocolate chip cookie intake was assumed to be mediated by uncontrolled eating style. Further, it was hypothesized that the effectiveness of the positive mood enhancement may be more salient among those who have effective control of their eating. In this experimental study, respondents (N=106, 70% women, aged 16-45 years old) were assigned by means of cluster randomization to the control or positive mood enhancement condition (a comedy movie clip). Compared to the control condition, positive mood enhancement resulted in consuming on average 53.86 kcal less. Relationships between emotional eating style and cookie intake were mediated by uncontrolled eating. Moderated mediation analysis indicated that the effect of a mediator (uncontrolled eating) on cookie intake was moderated by the group assignment. Positive mood enhancement resulted in eating on average 3.3 cookies less among individuals with a more controlled eating style. By contrast, among those who presented uncontrolled eating, positive mood enhancement led to consuming an average of 1.7 cookies more. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

Computer-Mediated Communication Preferences and Individual Differences in Neurocognitive Measures of Emotional Attention Capture, Reactivity and Regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Babkirk, Sarah; Luehring-Jones, Peter; Dennis, Tracy A.

2016-01-01

The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to engage socially has become increasingly prevalent, yet few studies examined individual differences that may shed light on implications of CMC for adjustment. The current study examined neurocognitive individual differences associated with preferences to use technology in relation to social-emotional outcomes. In Study 1 (N =91), a self-report measure, the Social Media Communication Questionnaire (SMCQ), was evaluated as an assessment of preferences for communicating positive and negative emotions on a scale ranging from purely via CMC to purely face-to-face. In Study 2, SMCQ preferences were examined in relation to event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with early emotional attention capture and reactivity (the frontal N1) and later sustained emotional processing and regulation [the late positive potential (LPP)]. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded while 22 participants passively viewed emotional and neutral pictures and completed an emotion regulation task with instructions to increase, decrease or maintain their emotional responses. A greater preference for CMC was associated with reduced size of and satisfaction with social support, greater early (N1) attention capture by emotional stimuli, and reduced LPP amplitudes to unpleasant stimuli in the increase emotion regulatory task. These findings are discussed in the context of possible emotion- and social-regulatory functions of CMC. PMID:26613269

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

OpenAIRE

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 mo...

Positive emotion, reward, and cognitive control: emotional versus motivational influences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly Sarah Chiew

2011-10-01

Full Text Available It is becoming increasingly appreciated that affective influences can contribute strongly to goal-oriented cognition and behaviour. However, much work is still needed to properly characterize these influences and the mechanisms by which they contribute to cognitive processing. An important question concerns the nature of emotional manipulations (i.e., direct induction of affectively-valenced subjective experience versus motivational manipulations (e.g., delivery of performance-contingent rewards and punishments and their impact on cognitive control. Empirical evidence suggests that both kinds of manipulations can influence cognitive control in a systematic fashion, but investigations of both have largely been conducted independently of one another. Likewise, some theoretical accounts suggest that emotion and motivation may modulate cognitive control via common neural mechanisms, while others suggest the possibility of dissociable influences. Here, we provide an analysis and synthesis of these various accounts, suggesting potentially fruitful new research directions to test competing hypotheses.

The role of emotional capital during the early years of marriage: Why everyday moments matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Courtney M; Neff, Lisa A; Gleason, Marci E J

2017-06-01

Throughout a marriage couples will share countless ordinary moments together that may seem trivial, but which actually have potential to affirm and strengthen relational bonds. According to theories of emotional capital, the accumulation of shared positive moments in a relationship should serve as an essential resource for protecting the relationship against threats. To date, however, few empirical studies have explored the role emotional capital may play in shaping responses to negative relationship experiences. In the current study, newly married couples completed 3 14-day daily diary tasks assessing emotional capital, negative partner behaviors, and marital satisfaction over a 3-year period, for a total of 42 potential days of diary data. Contrary to predictions, emotional capital on a given day was not associated with reactivity to relationship threats on the following day. However, conceptually replicating prior work, individuals who accumulated more emotional capital on average across the diary tasks did exhibit lower reactivity to daily relationship threats; that is, on days of greater relationship threat (i.e., negative partner behaviors), those spouses who generally accrued more shared positive moments with their partner maintained greater feelings of marital satisfaction compared with spouses who accrued fewer positive moments. These findings contribute to a growing literature illustrating how positive shared activities between partners help sustain relationship quality over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Relationship Between Emotions, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being of Professional Caregivers of People With Dementia.

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Bassal, Catherine; Czellar, Judith; Kaiser, Susanne; Dan-Glauser, Elise S

2016-05-01

So far, limited research has been carried out to better understand the interplay between the emotions, the use of emotion regulation strategies, and the well-being of professional caregivers of People with Dementia (PwD). This pilot study (N = 43 professional caregivers) aimed to (1) describe the type and frequency of emotions experienced at work; (2) analyze the associations between experienced emotions, emotion regulation strategies, and well-being; and (3) test whether the use of specific emotion regulation strategies moderates the relationship between experienced emotions and emotional exhaustion. In the challenging context of professionally caring for PwD, results suggest that (1) caregivers experience positive emotions more frequently than negative emotions; (2) caregivers using relatively inappropriate regulation strategies are more likely to experience negative emotions, less likely to experience positive emotions, and have poorer physical and mental health; and (3) expressive suppression significantly moderates the relationship between positive experienced emotions and emotional exhaustion. © The Author(s) 2015.

AMPLITION IN THE WORKPLACE: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE THROUGH INDIVIDUAL POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS

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Pascale M. Le Blanc

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Workforce sustainability is of vital utmost importance for the viability and competitive advantage of contemporary organizations. Therefore, and in parallel with the rise of positive organizational psychology, organizations have become increasingly interested in how to enhance their employees’ positive psychological well being. In this paper, amplition interventions – i.e. interventions aimed at enhancing positive work-related well being - are presented as a valuable tool to increase workforce sustainability. In the past decade, some work-related interventions focused on amplition have been developed and tested for their effectiveness. In this paper, we will first outline some important preconditions for successful interventions and briefly discuss the intervention process itself. Next, we will give an overview of empirical work on amplition interventions, focusing on interventions that are aimed at enhancing employee work engagement. Future research should focus on testing the effects of these type of interventions on outcomes at the team and organizational level.

Evidence in promoting positive parenting through the Program-Guide to Develop Emotional Competences