Affective Dimensions Research Articles

Yearning for care: an examination of South Asian women’s experiences of physical activity in gymnasiums on the Gold Coast, Australia

ABSTRACT This article considers the ways in which South Asian women negotiate care through fitness cultures in gymnasiums. Drawing on contemporary literature at the intersections of geographies of care, cultures of fitness focussed on gymnasiums and intersectional feminist thinking, we examine the ways in which South Asian women engage in physical activities in gymnasiums in hyper-sexualized tourist cities such as the Gold Coast, in Southeast Queensland in Australia. In doing so, the article explores the affective dimensions of engaging in physical activities for South Asian women and how these can be reimagined through momentary experiences of ‘care’. Using a post-humanist feminist lens, we employ in-depth interviews and observational research in exploring how race and gender are inter-implicated in South Asian women’s experiences in gymnasiums.

How destination image projected on social media influences online sales of tourism services: exploring the moderating role of tourists’ experience

ABSTRACT While previous research has focused on the cognitive and affective dimensions of destination image and their effects on tourists’ attitudes and intentions (rather than actual behaviours), this study takes a three-dimensional approach to examine tourists’ objective responses. It examines how cognitive, affective, and sensory destination images projected by the destination marketing organisation (DMO) through social media influence its online sales of tourism services. Analysing 1676 social media posts from a DMO, findings reveal that cognitive and sensory images positively affect online sales. Additionally, tourists’ previous experience with the destination moderates the effects of the three dimensions of projected destination image.

Black Girls Seeing Urban Schools: Visual, Affective, and Discursive (Re)Conceptualizations of Safety

Joining the chorus of Black/Critical Race Feminist scholarship in education, this article explores how both affect and visuality inform understandings of safety for Black girls in schools. Using participatory visual ethnography, I explore how five young Black women at a Philadelphia magnet school conceptualize safety as an affective achievement of visionary school design. I argue that any attempt to address safety for Black girls in urban schools must include attention to the visual school culture and the affective dimensions of the school environment to fully account for the ways these dimensions counter or enable further physical, emotional, or spiritual harm.

Exploring Positive Emotions and Teaching Effectiveness in Language Education: Insights From the PERMA Model

ABSTRACTPositive emotions play a significant role in facilitating successful language learning by enhancing motivation, engagement, and overall academic achievements. Nonetheless, there remains a paucity of research exploring how language educators perceive and manifest positive emotions in the context of their teaching practices. This study endeavors to fill this gap by exploring the experiences, practices, and beliefs of language educators regarding positive emotions in effective teaching. Additionally, it seeks to elucidate the pedagogical strategies they associate with fostering conducive learning environments through the lens of Seligman's PERMA model. Employing thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 60 Chinese language educators, the study uncovers key positive emotions integral to effective teaching, including passion, trust, joy, and empathy. Despite the prevalence of these positive emotions, teachers reported a diminished sense of meaning and accomplishment when instructing foreign languages in comparison to the engagement and relationship elements outlined in the PERMA model. The findings shed light on a spectrum of teaching strategies embraced by these educators that align with the components of the PERMA model. By illuminating the affective dimension of language teaching, this study not only provides valuable insights into understanding positive emotions, engagement, and relationships in language education but also offers practical implications for integrating PERMA elements into language teaching and learning practices.

“Feeling like” upholding conservative politics: The material and affective dimensions of women's support for AKP

Through progressive and regressive periods, during electoral victories or unexpected losses, Turkish women's support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been critical. The appeal of conservative patriarchal politics for women have been largely overlooked but they support the ruling party not only by showing up at the ballot box but also by active engagement and volunteerism. This article investigates how women explain their support for a government that undermines their rights and freedoms. Looking at the emotional pathways that result in attachment to the party, I argue that women's compliance with and support for the AKP regime cannot be understood solely as typical vote buying or a bargain. Instead, following Sara Ahmed's conceptualization of emotions as the “sticky” element of women's relationship with the regime, I complement the material dimensions of support with emotions. I explore the idea that support for the regime is rooted in material and affective realms which emerges through three emotional pathways: gratitude for recognition and redistribution, altruistic and egoistic senses of pride, and denial of resentment toward the party. I conclude that hegemonic success is not only a political and cognitive achievement but also an affective one, a necessary distinction in discussions of feminisms.

Office soundscape assessment: A model of acoustic environment perception in open-plan officesa).

The soundscape approach has been utilised in recent research for residential environments, but applications to indoor working environments remain limited. This study investigated the suitability of affective quality evaluations of open-plan office acoustics. Perceptual assessments were completed by occupants of eight open-plan office floorplates, using affective dimensions outlined in PD ISO/TS 12913-3:2019 and indoor soundscape studies. Participant demographic, contextual, work-related quality, and psychological well-being data were collected. Workstation noise levels were measured following BS ISO 22955:2021. Principal component analysis identified Pleasantness, Eventfulness, and Emptiness as the main perceptual dimensions, cumulatively explaining 56% of the total variance. Results indicate the suitability of the PD ISO/TS 12913-3:2019 two-dimensional model for open-plan offices. The perceived presence of human sounds negatively correlated with ISO Pleasantness yet positively correlated with ISO Eventfulness. Participant gender and aural diversity mediated ISO Pleasantness. Psychological well-being and work-related quality correlated positively with soundscape pleasantness. No correlations were found between level-based acoustical indicators-equivalent continuous sound level (LAeq), level exceeded 10% (LA10) and 90% (LA90) of the time, level variability (LA10-LA90) and Liveliness-and perceptual scores. A conceptual representation of open-plan office soundscape perception is presented, offering a framework for evaluating and designing workspaces to enhance well-being.

Exploring the role of cultural values, trust and empathy on satisfaction: Research on hotel customers

Hotels that serve customers having different cultural values should improve their service capabilities to achieve customer satisfaction. This study researches how empathy, trust and cultural values affect hotel customer satisfaction and looks at the combinations of these components that lead to high customer satisfaction. The current literature on Hofstede’s five-dimensional cultural values, cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy, trust and customer satisfaction were used to develop the research model and present recommendations. To ensure cultural diversity, a face-to-face survey was administered to 553 tourists from six countries. The data obtained were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). According to the results, the effects of hotel customers’ empathy levels on their satisfaction occur through their trust in the business. The fsQCA revealed combinations of cultural values, empathy and trust that would generate high levels of satisfaction. The present study contributes to the relevant literature by addressing the relatively under-emphasized components that ensure that hotel customers are highly satisfied.

Pengaruh Kindness terhadap Subjective Well-being pada Orang Tua Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus

Subjective well-being plays a crucial role in helping parents of children with special needs find meaning and positivity in life. Research indicates a positive relationship between subjective well-being and kindness. This study aims to investigate the influence of kindness on the subjective well-being of parents who have children with special needs. The research employs a quantitative method with a correlational approach. Participants included 150 parents of children with special needs, selected through snowball sampling techniques. The instruments used for measurement were the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), the Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS 120). Data analysis was conducted using simple regression. The results demonstrated a significant influence of kindness on the positive affect dimension (\( p < 0.001 \)). This finding suggests that as kindness increases, so does positive affect among parents of children with special needs.

Death and mourning in times of COVID-19. The experience of Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa

The paper deals with the effects of the regulations and restrictions on the handling of corpses and funerals among Zimbabwean migrant families who lost relatives in South Africa during the COVID-19 epidemic in the years 2020 and 2021. Interviews were conducted with members of this migrant community. The interviews revealed a range of affective and material dimensions entangled in these multiple losses, highlighting therefore experiences of truncated grief. Restrictions on funerals and burials forced immobility on the living and their dead; on bereaved communities, themselves and their corpses are forms of biopower that multiplied losses among cross-border migrant communities. The loss of autonomy of communities around death rituals and burial places constitute realms where the materiality of death is revealed. I look at both the loss of human life and the emotional losses associated with the limitations imposed on the dead body under COVID-19.

Gambaran Kecenderungan Perilaku Self Injury pada Siswa SMP

This research is motivated by the phenomenon of junior high school students who have difficulty channeling negative emotions when facing problems. Self-injury behavior will have a negative impact on students, therefore students are expected to be able to carry out positive activities to vent their negative emotions. The objectives of this study are (1) to describe the tendency of students' self-injury behavior, (2) to describe the tendency of students' self-injury behavior from the environmental dimension, (3) to describe the tendency of students' self-injury behavior from the biological dimension, (4) to describe the tendency of students' self-injury behavior from the cognitive dimension, (5) to describe the tendency of students' self-injury behavior from the affective dimension and (6) to describe the tendency of students' self-injury behavior from the behavioral dimension. The method used is quantitative descriptive, with a sample of 49 students and the instrument used is a self-injury behavior tendency instrument with a Likert scale. The results of the study showed that: (1) the tendency of self-injury behavior in students as a whole is in the moderate category (56.44%), (2) the tendency of self-injury behavior in students from the environmental dimension is in the moderate category (55.10%), (3) the tendency of self-injury behavior in students from the biological dimension is in the moderate category (61.22%), (4) the tendency of self-injury behavior in students from the cognitive dimension is in the low category (48.98%), (5) the tendency of self-injury behavior in students from the affective dimension is in the moderate category (42.86%) and (6) the tendency of self-injury behavior in students from the behavioral dimension is in the moderate category (46.94%). Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that guidance and counseling teachers provide services to reduce the tendency of self-injury behavior in students in the form of information services, individual counseling services, group counseling services and group guidance services.

Mobilising tensions: transnational union network formation in the Asia-Pacific region

Trade unions are an important actor in the social regulation of the transnational corporation. How and why trade unions engage with the continued rise of global corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives remains largely under-researched, particularly in transnational arenas beyond Europe. Transnational trade union networks are a concerted development intended to advance collective worker voice and influence, especially in contexts without a history of strong social dialogue. Our qualitative fieldwork centres on a transnational trade union network comprised of global, national, and local union representatives from different countries in the Asia-Pacific representing workers from one Germany-headquartered multinational corporation in the chemical sector. We examine how labour actors involved in the network engage with global CSR initiatives to advance worker voice and influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Our micro-sociological and relational approach focused on the practices, relations, and affective dimensions of building and sustaining a transnational network. What emerged is the centrality of tensions and how actors creatively utilise and shape those tensions into resources for building the network. We analyse the nature of the tensions and their effects and discuss how key actors work generatively with tensions.

Understanding the formation process of positive customer engagement behaviors: a quantitative and qualitative interpretation

PurposeTo investigate the impact of cognition, emotion and other factors on positive customer engagement behaviors and to identify the differential formation processes and dynamic changes in these behaviors.Design/methodology/approachWe used cognitive appraisals and coping theory as well as justice theory, to analyze comment data from the Xiaomi Community with natural language processing and binary logistic regression.FindingsOur results indicate that cognition and emotion are unnecessary for positive customer engagement. Users expressing different cognitions and emotions exhibit varied positive engagement behaviors. The behavioral dimension was the most frequently combined, followed by the affective and cognitive dimensions. Managers should adopt material or spiritual incentives to encourage users with positive emotions and cognition to become loyal. Additionally, addressing comments with distributive justice cognition can promote positive customer engagement.Originality/valueThis study clarifies the complex interplay between cognition, emotion and customer engagement behaviors, providing actionable insights for brand managers to foster customer loyalty and positive customer engagement.

Learning how to explore spiritual aspects in encounters with patients with chronic pain: a pre-test post-test trial on the effectiveness of a web-based learning intervention

BackgroundIntegrating spiritual aspects into treatment plans can release essential resources for coping with chronic pain. However, some spiritual aspects may also induce distress and hinder the coping process. There is a lack of evidence regarding how to perform the clinical tasks of exploring spiritual aspects and of instruments assessing related competencies. Therefore, we developed a web-based learning module to provide education on the subject alongside corresponding assessment instruments. The module presents the InSpiRe (Integration of Spirituality and/or Religion in patient encounters) protocol. The instruments encompass cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions.MethodsThis paper aims to determine (i) the learning effects associated with completing the web-based spiritual-care learning module and (ii) the reliability and validity of the instruments employed. To address these aims, we conducted a pre-test/post-test trial with N = 32 randomly selected fourth-year medical students. During the pre-test, we assessed the students’ knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding exploring spiritual aspects. For this purpose, we developed a short-answer knowledge test, an attitude questionnaire, and a self-efficacy scale. Additionally, the students explored spiritual aspects with a simulated patient portraying a person with chronic pain. Three trained raters evaluated the students’ performances using a self-developed scale. In the intervention phase, the students completed the 45-minute learning module on a personal computer. The module presented InSpiRe-related content as text and step-by-step video demonstrations, including hints that denote critical actions. The subsequent post-test was identical to the pre-test.ResultsThe internal consistency was suitable for all respective instruments, and there was an indication of solid validity of the performance test. After completing the spiritual care learning module, the students showed statistically significant increases in knowledge scores and significant positive shifts in their attitudes and levels of self-efficacy regarding exploring spiritual aspects. They also attained significantly higher performance scores in the same regard.ConclusionsCompleting the spiritual-care module is associated with meaningful learning effects on cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions related to exploring spiritual aspects, as demonstrated in the post-test conducted shortly after the intervention. Due to good reliability and validity scores, the self-developed instruments can be applied appropriately.

Explanations for language choice in the social context of the L2 classroom

AbstractThe use of students’ first language (L1) in additional language (L2) instruction has been a recurring theme in language education research. While research has documented the amount of L1 use and its purposes in L2 instruction, little research has investigated the multifaceted motives that influence language choices at the micro level of social activity where language learning takes place. This study contributes new perspectives by exploring the beliefs of teachers and students from two cases of Norwegian use during English lessons, applying video‐stimulated recall in semistructured interviews to elicit reflections about observed language choices in concrete classroom interactions. The findings revealed the complexity of factors influencing language choice in the L2 classroom. First, although teachers agreed on a mainly English ideal, competing beliefs led to varying instructional practices. Second, monolingual ideals were stronger among the students in comparison with their teachers, but these ideals operated alongside an affective dimension of language choice in interactions with the teacher and group work with peers. The study demonstrates how teacher and student beliefs are influenced by macro‐level sociopolitical discourses about multilingualism and indicates that language choice is influenced by such beliefs in combination with more temporary stances and roles.

Compassion questionnaire for animals: Scale development and validation

ObjectivesNo measure of compassion for animals exists. Previous scales measured empathy or attitudes towards animals. In line with previous compassion questionnaires for self (CQS) and others (CQO), the proposed Compassion Questionnaire for Animals (CQA) aims to operationalize compassion for animals by grounding it in affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness dimensions, each representing a set of skills that can be cultivated through training and practice. MethodsBased on the proposed theoretical approach, the CQA items were developed through consultations with a panel of eight graduate students. A large study was conducted to validate the CQA, investigate the relationship between empathy/compassion for other human beings and compassion for animals, and test the role of gender and age in compassion for animals. ResultsResults suggested the presence of three dimensions along with a global latent variable. Psychometric characteristics of the CQA and its subscales were robust. These findings were additionally supported by convergent and discriminate evidence; as such, the CQA presented strong associations with measures of empathy for animals and nature relatedness. In addition, empathy and compassion for other human beings and for animals were found to be moderately associated. Gender and age were found to be related to compassion for animals, with women and older individuals displaying higher levels of compassion. ConclusionsThe CQA is the first scale that operationalizes compassion for animals as a set of affective, cognitive, behavioral, and interrelatedness skills/abilities with important theoretical and practical implications. Limitations as well as theoretical and practical implications of the CQA are thoroughly discussed.

The role of gender in emotional reactions elicited by music: Autonomic reactivity, facial expression, and self-reports

Studies in the field of emotions have yielded mixed findings regarding differences between women’s and men’s emotional reactivity. In the majority, emotional scenes, facial expressions, and movies were used as stimuli. However, music has been less frequently used, despite its capacity to evoke strong emotional responses in the listeners. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of gender in emotional reactivity to music. A sample of 110 healthy participants (60 women) listened to 42 excerpts (14 pleasant, 14 neutral, 14 unpleasant) from the Film Music Stimulus Set (FMSS) for 8 s, while their autonomic reactivity and facial expression were continuously recorded. Participants then rated each excerpt on affective dimensions (hedonic valence, tension arousal, and energy arousal), discrete emotions (happiness, anger, fear, tenderness, and sadness), musical preference, and familiarity. Some differences were found between women’s and men’s reactivity to the stimuli, such that women showed a greater deceleration of heart rate while listening to both emotional (pleasant and unpleasant) and neutral music, and rated unpleasant excerpts as less preferred. Women also scored higher on trait anxiety compared to men. These results suggest that women may have heightened sensitivity to emotional stimuli, particularly unpleasant music, which could have implications for better understanding clinical pathologies that vary in prevalence based on gender.

Cognitive, affective and social dimensions of migration

Cognitive, affective and social dimensions of migration

Music-induced emotion flow modeling by ENMI Network.

The relation between emotions and music is substantial because music as an art can evoke emotions. Music emotion recognition (MER) studies the emotions that music brings in the effort to map musical features to the affective dimensions. This study conceptualizes the mapping of music and emotion as a multivariate time series regression problem, with the aim of capturing the emotion flow in the Arousal-Valence emotional space. The Efficient Net-Music Informer (ENMI) Network was introduced to address this phenomenon. The ENMI was used to extract Mel-spectrogram features, complementing the time series data. Moreover, the Music Informer model was adopted to train on both time series music features and Mel-spectrogram features to predict emotional sequences. In our regression task, the model achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0440 and 0.0352 in the arousal and valence dimensions, respectively, in the DEAM dataset. A comprehensive analysis of the effects of different hyperparameters tuning was conducted. Furthermore, different sequence lengths were predicted for the regression accuracy of the ENMI Network on three different datasets, namely the DEAM dataset, the Emomusic dataset, and the augmented Emomusic dataset. Additionally, a feature ablation on the Mel-spectrogram features and an analysis of the importance of the various musical features in the regression results were performed, establishing the effectiveness of the model presented herein.

Influence of temperament and emotional dysregulation on depressive symptoms in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A structural equation modelling analysis

ObjectiveDepressive symptoms in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are common. Clinical evidence suggests that affective temperaments and emotional dysregulation are reasonable putative explanatory factors of this association. In this study, we thus investigated the role of these features in influencing concomitant depressive symptoms in adults with ADHD. MethodsOutpatients with ADHD were consecutively enrolled. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R), while the Temperament Evaluation Memphis for Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) was used to assess the affective temperament dimensions. We tested emotional dysregulation using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Structural equation modeling was performed to test the interplay between temperament, emotional dysregulation, and depressive symptoms, accounting for other clinical variables that showed an association with depressive symptoms at univariate level. ResultsA total of 164 individuals with ADHD (mean age of 29.8 ± 10.7 years), of which 61 (37.2%) women, were recruited. Data showed that, accounting for the possible influence of psychopharmacological treatment and ADHD severity, both emotional dysregulation (p < 0.001) and dysthymic temperament (p = 0.003), though not other affective temperament dimensions, might influence depressive symptoms in people with ADHD. ConclusionsDespite some limitations, our study emphasizes the role of dysthymic temperament and emotional dysregulation in contributing to levels of depressive symptoms among individuals with ADHD. A comprehensive temperament assessment in adults with ADHD can offer valuable insights for developing tailored treatment strategies and enhancing overall patient care.

Can we do this together? Exploring the transformative potential of care for academic work, labor, and life

Through a reflective account of our own experiences as early career academics, we explore the nuanced ways in which care materializes and is embodied in the micro-relations and mundane practices that constitute academic life. By emphasizing the affective dimension of an ethic of care, we bring the destabilizing and unsettling promise of affect to bear on our understanding of care and, in turn, highlight care’s transformative potential. We show how care, when mobilized by affect, manifests in ambiguous and at times contradictory ways, which leaves us asking whether care can be a straightforward and unproblematic antidote to feelings of dissatisfaction with neoliberal institutions. Yet, at the same time, we speculate that care holds rich potential to problematize the structural norms and demands that organize our academic (work) lives, and to offer new and different ways of living instead.