Unpacking reappraisal: different appraisal shifts underlie reappraisal effects on valence and activation

Reappraisal is a common emotion regulation strategy that involves adjusting how a situation is appraised. According to the reAppraisal framework (Uusberg et al., 2019), reappraisal operates through shifts along appraisal dimensions. To complement existing evidence, we investigated which appraisal shifts, measured at a more granular level, are involved in reappraisal targeting different affective states with different affective outcomes. In an online study (N = 510), participants read four illustrated vignettes designed to elicit positive and negative affect with high and low activation and rated appraisals of each situation before and after applying reappraisal. Latent change score models revealed that changes in affective outcomes following reappraisal were significantly associated with shifts in conceptually related appraisal dimensions. Specifically, changes in negative and positive affect were related to shifts in aspects of congruence, while changes in affective activation were associated with shifts in aspects of relevance and controllability. Reappraisals targeting different affective states relied on largely similar appraisal shifts. Many of our findings involved specific aspects of broader appraisal dimensions, underscoring the value of granular appraisal measurement. This study strengthens the case for considering appraisal shifts among the cognitive mechanisms of reappraisal.

Positive and negative affect play critical roles in depression and anxiety treatment, but the dynamic processes of how affect changes over treatment in relation to changes in symptoms is unclear. The study goal was to examine relationships among changes in positive and negative affect with changes in depression and anxiety symptoms. This secondary analysis used a combined sample (N = 196) of two trials (Craske et al., 2019, 2023) comparing positive affect treatment (PAT) to negative affect treatment. Longitudinal cross-lag panel models explored whether changes in positive and negative affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; Watson et al., 1988) predicted subsequent changes in depression and anxiety symptoms (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), whether symptoms predicted subsequent changes in affect, and whether treatment condition moderated these relationships. Increases in positive affect predicted subsequent decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms, regardless of treatment condition. Symptoms did not reciprocally predict changes in positive affect. For individuals in PAT, decreases in negative affect predicted subsequent decreases in symptoms. Moreover, decreases in symptoms predicted subsequent decreases in negative affect, regardless of treatment condition. Results did not support a reciprocal relationship between positive affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety since positive affect predicted depression and anxiety symptoms but not vice versa. Results supported a reciprocal relationship between negative affect and symptoms of depression and anxiety since negative affect predicted depression and anxiety symptoms in PAT, and depression and anxiety symptoms predicted negative affect in both treatment conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Changes in affect and state anxiety across an in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle

Eveningness Predicts Negative Affect Following Sleep Restriction

An emerging body of evidence indicates that short-term immersion in cold water facilitates positive affect and reduces negative affect. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these effects remain largely unknown. For the first time, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify topological clusters of networks coupled with behavioural changes in positive and negative affect after a 5 min cold-water immersion. Perceived changes in positive affect were associated with feeling more active, alert, attentive, proud, and inspired, whilst changes in negative affect reflected reductions in distress and nervousness. The increase in positive affect was supported by a unique component of interacting networks, including the medial prefrontal node of the default mode network, a posterior parietal node of the frontoparietal network, and anterior cingulate and rostral prefrontal parts of the salience network and visual lateral network. This component emerged as a result of a focal effect confined to few connections. Changes in negative affect were associated with a distributed component of interacting networks at a reduced threshold. Affective changes after cold-water immersion occurred independently, supporting the bivalence model of affective processing. Interactions between large-scale networks linked to positive affect indicated the integrative effects of cold-water immersion on brain functioning.

Nightshift workers experience circadian misalignment thus negatively impacting many physiological systems which can change subjective states such as affect. The current study examined change in affect and affective state across a simulated first nightshift. Ninety sleep-deprived college students (33% female) completed a series of surveys and tasks across four testing sessions during the night. The participants completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule at the beginning of each testing session. Using these affect scores, we derived four affective state types defined by high and low positive and negative affect (Self-actualizing-high positive affect with low negative affect, High affective-high positive affect with high negative affect, Self-destructive-low positive affect with high negative affect, Low affective-low positive affect with low negative affect). A 2 (positive affect/negative affect) x 4 (time) repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine change over time in the positive and negative affect scores. A Friedman test with a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was performed to determine if there was a significant change in affective state across the four testing sessions. The current results indicate that positive affect decreased across the night while negative affect remained low and stable. The four derived affective states changed across the night with decreases in the high positive affective states, and increases in low positive affective states. These results suggests that nightshift workers experience stress-inducing conditions that negatively impact positive affect and affective state. Workers and organisations should anticipate decreased positive affect and positive affective states during nightshifts and consider appropriate mitigation strategies.

Mood Changes in Adolescents Using Depot-Medroxyprogesterone Acetate for Contraception: A Prospective Study

ANTICIPATED REWARD IN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

The present study aimed to examine how changes in positive and negative affect and their interaction predict changes in felt age in a longitudinal design of two waves drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Participants (n = 4174) at an average age of 67.97 completed the 2008 and 2012 left behind questionnaire of the HRS. Our results showed that an increase in positive affect and a decrease in negative affect from Wave 1 to Wave 2 predicted an accelerated decrease in felt age. There was an interaction effect showing that for those with an increase in negative affect, a higher change in positive affect predicted reduced odds for accelerated increase in felt age. To conclude, improving favorable change in the combination between positive and negative affect might in turn relate to the individual’s self-perceptions of aging, in the second half of life.

Changes in positive and negative affect following prolonged exposure for PTSD comorbid with alcohol use disorder: Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial

This study examines the coping styles, affect, and distress at three time points during the 6-months following the loss of a spouse, in the context of Dual process model of coping with bereavement. The research aim was to examine the mediation effect of the change in positive and negative affect in the relationship between the coping orientations and psychological distress. Three repeated measures were performed using a multilevel structural equation modeling, on a sample of 64 older adults, aged between 65 and 89 years (M = 71.94; SD = 6.02). The results show that change in positive affect is a full mediator of the relationship between change in loss-oriented coping and change in psychological distress, while the change in negative affect is a partial mediator of this relationship. Loss-oriented coping is important for overcoming the loss of a spouse and together with increase in positive affect and decrease in negative affect contributes to successful adaptation to bereavement.

Late-life development of affect may unfold terminal changes that are driven more by end-of-life processes and not so much by time since birth. This study aimed to explore time-to-death-related effects in measures of affect in a sample of the very old. We used longitudinal data (2 measurement occasions: 2002 and 2003) from 140 deceased participants, covering a period of up to 9 years to death, from a German oldest-old sample between 80 and 90 years old at baseline measurement (Projects ENABLE-AGE and LateLine). Nonlinear time-to-death and age effects on baseline level and intraindividual 1-year changes in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) were analyzed with latent change score models. With respect to PA, no time-to-death-related effects were discovered, but linear age-related decline was found. For NA, time-to-death effects were found for both baseline level and 1-year change, indicating an increase of NA closer to death, which turns around to a rapid reduction of NA in the approach of the end of life. These effects suggest a twofold dynamic of terminal changes in NA. First, a general increase of NA across a larger period preceding death potentially mirrors basic processes of degradation of the human system. Second, approaching the end, these processes may exhaust negative activation, prompting a terminal drop of NA close to death.

Positive and negative affect are associated with salivary cortisol in the everyday life of older adults: A quantitative synthesis of four aging studies

Adolescence has long been purported to be a period of emotional upheaval, yet relatively little is known regarding normative patterns of change in youth positive and negative affect across the adolescent transition. This study addressed this gap by examining normative patterns of mean-level change in youth positive and negative affect from middle childhood through late adolescence, encompassing the full span of adolescent development. Participants included 665 youth recruited in 3rd, 6th, and 9th grade cohorts (55.0% female; age 9-16 at baseline) who provided self-report ratings of positive and negative affect every 18 months for a period of three years in an accelerated longitudinal cohort design. Multi-level growth curve models revealed that adolescence is characterized by declines in positive affect and non-linear patterns of alternating decreases and increases in negative affect. Patterns of change differed across boys and girls. The findings from this study indicate that adolescence is characterized by normative reductions in positive affect in the context of labile negative affect, with implications for understanding processes of risk and resilience across the adolescent transition.

Objectives The PANAS is the most widely used measure to detect changes in mood following sleep loss. Although insufficient sleep is associated with enhanced negativity, negative affect items on the PANAS appear unaffected. We examined whether PANAS items were deemed relevant to sleep and subsequently developed a novel tool reflecting changes in negative and positive affect with sleep (NAP-AS). Methods Four hundred and forty-nine online respondents (18–79y) indicated the extent to which 100 positive and negative word-items (n = 48 new; n = 52 from any PANAS) were useful in describing the experience of insufficient sleep. Using factor analysis, a new questionnaire to reflect changing mood in relation to insufficient sleep was developed and validated under sleep deprivation conditions (n = 24, 18–34y). Results Four out of 10 original negative affect (NA) PANAS items (and 0/10 positive affect (PA) items) were deemed irrelevant to sleep by >50% of respondents (“guilt”, “afraid”, “scared”, “ashamed”). To address this, we developed the NAP-AS using factor analysis (from 100 word items) resulting in 14 items reflecting NA and PA (71.4% new items for PA and NA equally; final fit model: RMSEA = 0.048, CFI = 0.98). In a validation study, this tool was sensitive to sleep deprivation (p < .001), such that NA significantly increased (p = .017, d > 0.47), while PA decreased (p < .001, d > 0.75), relative to when well-rested. Conclusions Despite the PANAS being a valid tool assessing changes in affect, several items appear irrelevant to the experience of poor sleep. The NAP-AS was developed to specifically capture changes in positive and negative affect following insufficient sleep. The new tool was sensitive to sleep loss, although further validation for clinical populations is recommended.