Current Affective State Research Articles

Desperately seeking friends: How expectation of punishment modulates attention to angry and happy faces

ABSTRACTIn the literature, a well-known processing advantage for angry schematic faces was largely observed in the “Face in the Crowd” (FIC) visual search task. A debate about automaticity and guidance of these effects by emotional/perceptual features is still raging. In order to modify the emotional context, the present study used a state of expectation of punishment (versus safety state). There was an angry superiority effect in the present study. However, we hypothesized and found that the presentation of a cue signalling an imminent threat (punishment) prior to the FIC task impairs the well-known processing advantage for angry schematic faces. On the reverse, the threat cue also facilitates the detection of happy (smiling) schematic faces. These results suggest that selective attention serves at least two basic affective purposes: (1) To efficiently detect threatening signals and (2) to detect potential coping resources in the environment, depending on motivational context. These findings are further discussed in terms of the threat detection system whose role is to respond to potentially dangerous situations [Öhman, A., & Mineka, S. (2001). Fears, phobias, and preparedness: Toward an evolved module of fear and fear learning. Psychological Review, 108(3), 483–522] and with regards to the counter-regulation principle which suggests that people may be biased towards searching for objects whose valence is opposite to their current affective state [Rothermund, K., Voss, A., & Wentura, D. (2008). Counter-regulation in affective attentional biases: A basic mechanism that warrants flexibility in emotion and motivation. Emotion, 8(1), 34–46].

Why do we keep interrupting ourselves? Exploring the reasons for internal interruptions at work

Today, employees struggle with multiple work demands often occurring simultaneously and resulting in interruptions at work, which frequently affects work performance and employee well-being. Especially the reasons for internal interruptions, a self-started change of focus, remain mostly unknown but seem to be relevant when it comes to self-regulative behaviour. Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory and the Self-Regulation Theory this study provides a theoretical framework on affective and situational antecedents of internal interruptions. Using the critical incident technique in a cross-sectional design, 151 employees reported either a situation in which they interrupted themselves or a situation in which they engaged in focused work, as well as their current affective state and situational characteristics. The results support our assumption that employees tend to interrupt themselves more often when they experience low levels of energy, when they are bored or overstrained, and when situations are associated with a social character. Whereas employees tend to engage in focused work when situations are dutiful and intellectually stimulating. Based on the theoretical framework I conclude that internal interruptions can be used as energy management strategies when employees are confronted with straining tasks and thus help the process of resource replenishment and overall goal achievement.

Fear Level Classification Based on Emotional Dimensions and Machine Learning Techniques.

There has been steady progress in the field of affective computing over the last two decades that has integrated artificial intelligence techniques in the construction of computational models of emotion. Having, as a purpose, the development of a system for treating phobias that would automatically determine fear levels and adapt exposure intensity based on the user’s current affective state, we propose a comparative study between various machine and deep learning techniques (four deep neural network models, a stochastic configuration network, Support Vector Machine, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Random Forest and k-Nearest Neighbors), with and without feature selection, for recognizing and classifying fear levels based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) and peripheral data from the DEAP (Database for Emotion Analysis using Physiological signals) database. Fear was considered an emotion eliciting low valence, high arousal and low dominance. By dividing the ratings of valence/arousal/dominance emotion dimensions, we propose two paradigms for fear level estimation—the two-level (0—no fear and 1—fear) and the four-level (0—no fear, 1—low fear, 2—medium fear, 3—high fear) paradigms. Although all the methods provide good classification accuracies, the highest F scores have been obtained using the Random Forest Classifier—89.96% and 85.33% for the two-level and four-level fear evaluation modality.

A closed-loop, music-based brain-computer interface for emotion mediation.

Emotions play a critical role in rational and intelligent behavior; a better fundamental knowledge of them is indispensable for understanding higher order brain function. We propose a non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) system to feedback a person’s affective state such that a closed-loop interaction between the participant’s brain responses and the musical stimuli is established. We realized this concept technically in a functional prototype of an algorithm that generates continuous and controllable patterns of synthesized affective music in real-time, which is embedded within a BCI architecture. We evaluated our concept in two separate studies. In the first study, we tested the efficacy of our music algorithm by measuring subjective affective responses from 11 participants. In a second pilot study, the algorithm was embedded in a real-time BCI architecture to investigate affective closed-loop interactions in 5 participants. Preliminary results suggested that participants were able to intentionally modulate the musical feedback by self-inducing emotions (e.g., by recalling memories), suggesting that the system was able not only to capture the listener’s current affective state in real-time, but also potentially provide a tool for listeners to mediate their own emotions by interacting with music. The proposed concept offers a tool to study emotions in the loop, promising to cast a complementary light on emotion-related brain research, particularly in terms of clarifying the interactive, spatio-temporal dynamics underlying affective processing in the brain.

Relationships among affective states, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in children: Moderation by perceived stress.

We examined the acute bidirectional relationships between affective states and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) or sedentary behavior (SB) in children, and whether perceived stress moderates these associations. A total of 180 children (mean age = 9.6 years, 51.7% female, 53.9% Hispanic) completed a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, where they received 3-7 random prompts per day asking about their current affective states. MVPA and SB during this period were measured by waist-worn accelerometers. Children's and mothers' perceived stress were measured by paper questionnaires. Multilevel models tested the within-person (WP) and between-person (BP) associations of (a) MVPA and SB 30 and 60 min before an EMA prompt with subsequent affective states at the prompt, and (b) affective states at the prompt with MVPA and SB in the subsequent 30 and 60 min after the prompt. Interaction terms were used to assess whether children's and mothers' perceived stress moderated these associations. Children reported a higher positive affect after engaging in more MVPA than usual (WP; β = 0.04, SE = 0.02, p < .05) and a lower positive affect after spending more SB than usual (WP; β = -0.02, SE = 0.01, p < .05) in the previous 30 min. Children's affective states were unrelated to time in MVPA and SB within the subsequent 30 min. Parent's perceived stress level attenuated the relationship between children's time spent in MVPA 60 min before a prompt and self-reported positive affect at that prompt (β = -0.01, SE = 0.01, p < .05). MVPA and SB acutely impacted children's psychological well-being, with the benefits of MVPA on positive affect across longer intervals attenuated among children whose mothers had higher perceived stress. (PsycINFO Database Record

Gut microbiota composition in patients with newly diagnosed bipolar disorder and their unaffected first-degree relatives

ObjectiveAn aberrant gut microbiota may be associated with a broad spectrum of diseases including mental illness. The gut microbiota is scarcely studied in bipolar disorder (BD). We examined the gut microbiota composition in patients with newly diagnosed BD, their unaffected first-degree relatives and healthy individuals. MethodsStool samples were collected from 113 patients with BD, 39 unaffected first-degree relatives and 77 healthy individuals and the microbiota was profiled using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. ResultsThe gut microbiota community membership of patients with BD differed from that of healthy individuals (R2 = 1.0%, P = 0.008), whereas the community membership of unaffected first-degree relatives did not. Flavonifractor was present in 61% of patients with BD, 42% of their unaffected relatives and 39% of healthy individuals. Presence of Flavonifractor was associated with an odds ratio of 2.9 (95%CI: 1.6–5.2, P = 5.8 × 10−4, Q = 0.036) for having BD. When excluding smokers, presence of Flavonifractor was associated with an odds ratio of 2.3 (95%CI: 1.1–5.3, P = 0.019) for having BD. However, when considering the subsample of non-smokers only, BD and presence of Flavonifractor were no longer associated when adjusted for all possible tests at genus level (Q = 0.6). Presence of Flavonifractor in patients with BD was associated with smoking and female sex, but not with age, waist circumference, exercise level, high-sensitive C-reactive protein, current affective state, subtype of BD, illness duration or psychotropic medication, respectively. ConclusionFlavonifractor, a bacterial genus that may induce oxidative stress and inflammation in its host, was associated with BD. Higher prevalence of smoking among patients with BD contributed to our findings, and it cannot be excluded that findings are influenced by residual confounding.

Personalised, Multi-Modal, Affective State Detection for Hybrid Brain-Computer Music Interfacing

Brain-computer music interfaces (BCMIs) may be used to modulate affective states, with applications in music therapy, composition, and entertainment. However, for such systems to work they need to be able to reliably detect their user's current affective state. We present a method for personalised affective state detection for use in BCMI. We compare it to a population-based detection method trained on 17 users and demonstrate that personalised affective state detection is significantly ( $p p 0 . 01 ) more accurate, with average improvements in accuracy of 10.2 percent for valence and 9.3 percent for arousal. We also compare a hybrid BCMI (a BCMI that combines physiological signals with neurological signals) to a conventional BCMI design (one based upon the use of only EEG features) and demonstrate that the hybrid design results in a significant ( $p p 0 . 01 ) 6.2 percent improvement in performance for arousal classification and a significant ( $p p 0 . 01 ) 5.9 percent improvement for valence classification.

Affective instability across the lifespan in borderline personality disorder – a cross‐sectional e‐diary study

Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies suggest that affective instability is inversely related to greater age in borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, existing studies relied on retrospective self-reports of perceived instability. We examined affective instability in everyday life in patients with BPD and healthy controls (HCs) by age in a cross-sectional e-diary study. Two hundred and sixty female participants between 14 and 53years of age (130 patients with BPD and 130 HCs) carried an e-diary over 4days. The e-diaries emitted a prompting signal in approximately hourly intervals asking participants to rate their current affective state, that is valence (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant) and tense arousal (ranging from calm/relaxed to restless/under tension). Multilevel analyses revealed a significant interaction of age and group predicting affective instability (valence: F(1,255.6) =7.59; P<0.01; tense arousal: F(1,252) =6.08; P<0.01), suggesting that affective instability significantly declines with greater age in patients with BPD. Controlling for the number of comorbid disorders and BPD severity did not change the results, illustrating an inverse relationship between age and affective instability in BPD (significant interaction of age*group for valence: F(1,238.7) =5.74; P<0.02 and tense arousal: F(1,235.2) =5.28; P<0.02). Affective instability during daily life declines with greater age in BPD. This decline is irrespective of comorbidity and BPD severity.

Temporal structure of narratives reveals the intensity of the narrator’s current affective state

Remembering on past emotional episodes frequently elicits an affective state in the remembering person, and remembering in a social context is usually accompanied by narration. This study considers the relationship between the narrator’s affective state and the structure of narratives. More specifically, the study addressees the question whether the temporal structure of narratives reveals the intensity of narrators’ current affective state. The study included 75 participants. They were asked to recount past emotion episodes applying a cue word paradigm with the following emotion category labels: anger, sadness, joy, and pride. Intensity of the narrators’ current affective state was assessed by physiological and self-report measures. The temporal structure of narratives was reflected by the two features of specific temporal reference and temporal unfolding. These features were coded by the method of automated linguistic analysis. The results show that specific temporal reference reflects affective intensity measured as the level of arousal while temporal unfolding reflects affective intensity measured as the valence of the narrator’s current affective state. Results are discussed by highlighting the function of temporal structure of narratives in reliving past experiences during narration.

An Electronic Ecological Momentary Assessment Study to Examine the Consumption of High-Fat/High-Sugar Foods, Fruits/Vegetables, and Affective States Among Women

ObjectiveTo examine the associations between high-fat/high-sugar foods (HFHS) and fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption and affective states in women. MethodsThe researchers used electronic ecological momentary assessment to capture HFHS and FV consumption in the past 2 hours (predictor) and current affective states (outcome) across 1 week among 202 women. Multilevel linear regression was conducted. Weight status was tested as a moderator. ResultsConsumption of FV in the past 2 hours was positively associated with feeling happy (P < .05). Women who consumed more HFHS or fewer FV than others in the study reported higher average sadness (both P < .05). Overweight or obese women who reported more frequent HFHS consumption than others had higher average stress than normal weight women (P < .05). Conclusions and ImplicationsThe association between HFHS consumption and stress might be stronger in overweight or obese than normal weight women. Future studies could further enhance the electronic ecological momentary assessment method to explore other time-varying moderators and mediators of food consumption and affect.

The quality of experience of students with and without special educational needs in everyday life and when relating to peers

The aim of this paper is to investigate the quality of experience of students with and without SEN in everyday life in general and when relating to peers in particular: (1) How do they experience everyday school life vs. leisure time? (2) How much time per week do they spend with peers outside school? and (3) How do they experience those peer contacts? The data comprised 120 grade 8 (20%) and grade 9 (80%) students from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, with a mean age of 15.8 years (SD = 0.8 years). Of these students, 42 were diagnosed with SEN, of which 32 were taught in regular classes and 10 in special classes. Students were asked to report their current affective states on about 31 randomly selected occasions during one week, with a total of 3758 ‘snapshots’ of their activities and their emotional experience in everyday life. Data were collected using the experience sampling method. Momentary affective states were measured by the PANA short-scales. The findings show, first, that students with and without SEN from regular classes interact as often with peers during leisure time, while students with SEN from special classes are presumably more likely to interact with family. Second, adolescents experience leisure activities more positively than instruction. Third, social interactions generally have a positive effect on the quality of experience. The quality of experience is especially good for teenagers when they are with peers – best with peers during leisure time. There are no differences between the student groups.

Disability in bipolar affective disorder patients in relation to the duration of illness and current affective state

Background: Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) is an episodic illness in which episodes of depression/Mania/Mixed/Hypomania occur. BPAD has been found to be associated with the following types of disability: increased suicidal behavior, higher unemployment, higher dependence on public assistance, lower annual income, and increased work absenteeism owing to illness, decreased work productivity, poorer overall functioning, lower quality of life, and decreased lifespan. The two affective disorders, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorders were associated with the large decrements in functioning. Bipolar disorder was particularly strongly associated with having missed time at work. Depressive disorders have been associated with a larger number of disability days and poorer role functioning than several common general medical diseases – arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes. Aims: This study aims to study the disability in bipolar patients in relation to the duration of their illness and current effective state. Methodology: Clinical and sociodemographic details of patients and caregivers were collected using a semi-structured pro forma. Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale is used to assess patients' disability. The diagnosis of BPAD is made in accordance with the International Classification of Disease-10 criteria. Results: Severe disability is seen where the duration of illness is Conclusions: Severe disability is seen where the duration of illness is

Considering sex differences clarifies the effects of depression on facial emotion processing during fMRI

BackgroundSex differences in emotion processing may play a role in women's increased risk for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). However, studies of sex differences in brain mechanisms involved in emotion processing in MDD (or interactions of sex and diagnosis) are sparse. MethodsWe conducted an event-related fMRI study examining the interactive and distinct effects of sex and MDD on neural activity during a facial emotion perception task. To minimize effects of current affective state and cumulative disease burden, we studied participants with remitted MDD (rMDD) who were early in the course of the illness. In total, 88 individuals aged 18–23 participated, including 48 with rMDD (32 female) and 40 healthy controls (HC; 25 female). ResultsfMRI revealed an interaction between sex and diagnosis for sad and neutral facial expressions in the superior frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus. Results also revealed an interaction of sex with diagnosis in the amygdala. LimitationsData was from two sites, which might increase variability, but it also increases power to examine sex by diagnosis interactions. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the importance of taking sex differences into account when examining potential trait (or scar) mechanisms that could be useful in identifying individuals at-risk for MDD as well as for evaluating potential therapeutic innovations.

The influence of current mood state, number of previous affective episodes and predominant polarity on insight in bipolar disorder

Background: Although many studies have explored the effect of current affective episodes on insight into bipolar disorder, the potential interaction between current mood state and previous affective episodes has not been consistently investigated.Objective: To explore the influence of dominant polarity, number of previous affective episodes and current affective state on insight in bipolar disorder patients in euthymia or mania.Methods: A total of 101 patients with bipolar disorder were recruited for the study, including 58 patients in euthymia (30 with no defined predominant polarity and 28 with manic predominant polarity) and 43 in mania (26 with no defined predominant polarity and 17 with manic predominant polarity). Patients underwent a clinical assessment and insight was evaluated through the Insight Scale for Affective Disorders.Results: Bipolar disorder patients in mania had worse insight than those in euthymia, with no effect of dominant polarity. In addition, positive psychotic symptoms showed a significant effect on insight and its inclusion as a covariate eliminated differences related to mood state. Finally, the number of previous manic or depressive episodes did not correlate with insight level.Conclusions: Mania is a predictor of loss of insight into bipolar disorder. However, it is possible that its contribution is linked to the more frequent presence of psychotic symptoms in this state. Dominant polarity and number/type of previous affective episodes have a limited impact on insight.

Individual differences in hedonic capacity, depressed mood, and affective states predict emotional reactivity.

Identifying factors that contribute to inter-individual differences in emotional reactivity is central to understanding the basic mechanisms that give rise to adaptive emotion reactivity and to disruptions that may occur in psychopathology. The current study related emotional reactivity in an unselected young adult sample (N = 101) to individual difference factors relevant to emotional functioning and mood pathology, specifically anhedonia, depressed mood, and current affective state. To assess emotional reactivity, participants rated their emotional responses to 100 pictures from the International Affective Picture System. Increased self-reported anhedonia (i.e. reduced hedonic capacity) predicted blunted emotional reactivity to both positive and negative images, relative to neutral images, while elevated depressed mood predicted potentiated emotional reactivity to negative vs. neutral images. Anhedonia also accounted for far greater variance in emotional reactivity than depressed mood. Further, more positive affective state predicted potentiated reactivity to positive versus neutral images while more negative affective state predicted potentiated reactivity to negative versus neutral images beyond effects of anhedonia and depressed mood. The current study identified separable effects of anhedonia, depressed mood, and current affect on emotional reactivity.

Interactive Self Assessment Tool for Analysis of Emotional Status

Objective: Emotions are the indicators of mental wellbeing. In this paper, we present an interactive tool called SAEIT (Self-Assessment of Emotions by Interactive Tool) for recognition of six basic emotions which includes anger, disgust, fear, happy, sad and surprise based on the 2D Valence-Arousal emotional model. Method: The tool is developed using LabVIEW software and uses two parameters namely valence and arousal to identify the emotional status. This interactive tool enables the user to enter the valence-arousal parameters of their current affective state; the tool then determines the emotion being experienced based on these inputs. Experimental boundary conditions are used for designing the classifier rules. Further these conditions helps in the classification of emotions which includes quadrant I, II and III emotions of the 2D valence-arousal model. The user can also feed in the activity being performed at the time, which too will be recorded along with the date and time for further analysis. Application: The programmed interactive tool displays personalized messages or suggestions based on the mood of the user to help make better decisions in their present emotional state.

Acquisition of likes and dislikes: No evidence for an influence of current dysphoric symptoms on evaluative conditioning effects in a sub-clinical sample

Summary Evaluative Conditioning (EC) refers to changes in the liking of a Conditioned Stimulus (CS), which are due to the fact that the stimulus has been paired with an emotional stimulus (Unconditioned Stimulus [US]). Some authors suggested that current affective states of a person could be thought of as an emotional stimulus (US) that can change the liking of environmental stimuli (CSs) encountered by the person. In the present study, we investigated the influence of current dysphoric symptoms on acquisition of likes and dislikes in a sub-clinical sample. 183 participants were engaged in an EC procedure in which CS valence was assessed after a conditioning procedure. Finally, the influence of current dysphoric symptoms on evaluative learning was investigated. We observed an Evaluative Conditioning effect, however, no effect of dysphoria levels on EC effect was observed. Implications are discussed.

Character and Temperament Dimensions in Subjects with Depressive Disorder: Impact of the Affective State on Their Expression.

BACKGROUND:The depression is a cross-cultural condition that occurs in all cultures and within all nations with certain specificities, even though there are some differences in its manifestation. The hereditary load is of major importance, but also the individual personality factors, in the form of risk factors, are associated with the occurrence of depression. Personality characteristics have a significant impact on the occurrence of the recurrent depressive disorder and the outcome of the treatment as well.AIM:To identify the specific personality traits in people with the recurrent depressive disorder and the impact of the affective state on them.METHODS:Three questionnaires were used: a general questionnaire, Beck’s scale of depressive symptoms, and TCI-R (inventory for temperament and character).RESULTS:The most indicative differences in the dimensions are found in the Harm avoidance and the Self-direction dimensions, and most variable dimensions dependent on effective state are Novelty seeking and Reward dependence.CONCLUSION:The people with the recurrent depressive disorder have a different profile of personality traits (temperament and character) compared with the control group, and their characteristics depend on their current affective state.

What's in a Face? How Face Gender and Current Affect Influence Perceived Emotion.

Faces drive our social interactions. A vast literature suggests an interaction between gender and emotional face perception, with studies using different methodologies demonstrating that the gender of a face can affect how emotions are processed. However, how different is our perception of affective male and female faces? Furthermore, how does our current affective state when viewing faces influence our perceptual biases? We presented participants with a series of faces morphed along an emotional continuum from happy to angry. Participants judged each face morph as either happy or angry. We determined each participant’s unique emotional ‘neutral’ point, defined as the face morph judged to be perceived equally happy and angry, separately for male and female faces. We also assessed how current state affect influenced these perceptual neutral points. Our results indicate that, for both male and female participants, the emotional neutral point for male faces is perceptually biased to be happier than for female faces. This bias suggests that more happiness is required to perceive a male face as emotionally neutral, i.e., we are biased to perceive a male face as more negative. Interestingly, we also find that perceptual biases in perceiving female faces are correlated with current mood, such that positive state affect correlates with perceiving female faces as happier, while we find no significant correlation between negative state affect and the perception of facial emotion. Furthermore, we find reaction time biases, with slower responses for angry male faces compared to angry female faces.

Affective brain–computer music interfacing

Objective. We aim to develop and evaluate an affective brain–computer music interface (aBCMI) for modulating the affective states of its users. Approach. An aBCMI is constructed to detect a user's current affective state and attempt to modulate it in order to achieve specific objectives (for example, making the user calmer or happier) by playing music which is generated according to a specific affective target by an algorithmic music composition system and a case-based reasoning system. The system is trained and tested in a longitudinal study on a population of eight healthy participants, with each participant returning for multiple sessions. Main results. The final online aBCMI is able to detect its users current affective states with classification accuracies of up to 65% (3 class, ) and modulate its user's affective states significantly above chance level . Significance. Our system represents one of the first demonstrations of an online aBCMI that is able to accurately detect and respond to user's affective states. Possible applications include use in music therapy and entertainment.