Decrease In Negative Affect Research Articles

Controlled study on an eating disorders group treatment: The body project treatment

Background and aims Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among mental disorders. Group treatment can be an effective alternative to individual therapy because it's easier to implement and less expensive. The body project treatment is an American eating disorders group treatment based on cognitive dissonance that has produced significantly higher remission from eating disorder diagnoses than a supportive/mindfulness group treatment (77 % vs. 60 %) in the United States. Participants complete activities in and between sessions in which they discuss negative effects of pursuing the beauty ideal and engaging in disordered eating behaviors. The goal is to create dissonance that reduces internalization of the beauty ideal and eating disorder behaviors. Materials and method Women with eating disorders were assigned to the body project treatment (n = 12) or to a mindfulness-based intervention adapted to eating disorders (n = 11). Each program was composed of 1 h 30-sessions once per week over eight weeks. Participants completed a pre- and post-questionnaire assessing eating disorders, negative affect, body dissatisfaction and thin ideal internalization. Results The trial is still on-going. Expected results are a greater decrease in eating disorders symptoms, body dissatisfaction and thin internalization in the body project treatment group compared to the mindfulness based intervention group and a greater decrease in negative affect in the mindfulness based intervention group than in the body project treatment. Conclusion These results will show if cognitive dissonance is an effective means to reduce eating disorders in the French population. If results are positive, this study can help to improve the offer of efficacy of care in France.

Implicit affectivity in clinically depressed patients during acute illness and recovery

BackgroundClinical depression is characterized by high levels of negative affect (NA) and attenuated positive affect (PA). Psychological and pharmacological treatments have been shown to reduce NA and to enhance PA in depressed patients. Following dual-process models, two types of affect can be distinguished: explicit (or self-reported) affect, which is formed by conscious reflections, and implicit affect, which relates to automatic affective reactions. The present study was conducted to examine, for the first time, both implicit and explicit affectivity in patients suffering from acute depression. Moreover, changes in patients’ implicit and explicit affectivity were investigated over the course of inpatient treatment.MethodsThirty-nine patients suffering from major depression and 39 healthy individuals participated in the study. Implicit affectivity was assessed using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test. The explicit state and trait affectivity were measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. The level of depressive symptoms was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory. Tests were administered to patients after admission and after 7 weeks of therapy, whereas healthy controls were investigated only once. We examined whether either comorbidity or antidepressant medication has an effect on affectivity.ResultsPatients with acute depression had lower implicit and explicit PA scores and higher implicit and explicit NA scores than the healthy controls. After treatment, patients’ level of depression decreased significantly. At posttreatment, patients exhibited heightened implicit and explicit PA and diminished explicit trait NA. Independent of antidepressant medication and comorbidity, no significant change in implicit NA was observed over the course of treatment. Implicit NA was correlated with explicit NA in acute depression but not during recovery.ConclusionsAcute depression appears to be characterized by decreased implicit and explicit PA and increased implicit and explicit NA. After 7 weeks of treatment, depressed patients’ implicit and explicit PA increased, and explicit trait NA decreased. No decrease in implicit NA and explicit state NA occurred over the course of treatment. Finally, it seems that in the state of acute depression, the interplay between the automatic and reflective systems could be increased for negative affectivity.

Effects of processing positive memories on posttrauma mental health: A preliminary study in a non-clinical student sample

Background and objectivesAlthough trauma research and therapy primarily focus on traumatic memories, recent evidence indicates positive memory processes play a role in the etiology/maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. We examined the effects of a novel positive memory processing technique on PTSD symptom severity, depression symptom severity, affect, posttrauma cognitions, and self-esteem. MethodsSixty-five trauma-exposed participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (narrating/processing vs. writing/processing two specific positive memories, or a time-matched control) and completed self-report measures pre- and post-task (T0). About one week later, participants repeated their assigned task condition and completed self-report measures pre- and post-task (T1). We conducted mixed ANOVAs to examine the impact of the technique on study variables over time. ResultsThe narrating condition had significant decreases in PTSD symptom severity, posttrauma cognitions, and negative affect from T0 pre-task to T1 post-task; and significant increases in positive affect from T0 pre-to-post-task and from T1 pre-to-post-task. The writing condition had significant increases in positive affect from T0 pre-to-post-task, but a significant decrease from T0 post-task to T1 post-task; and significant decreases in negative affect from T0 pre-to-post-task with an increase from T0 post-task to T1 post-task. LimitationsUse of self-report measures, non-clinical convenience sample with less gender/ethnic/racial diversity, small sample size, methodological differences in time frames for measures, and no examination of follow-up effects. ConclusionsNarrating and processing specific positive memories had a beneficial impact on PTSD symptom severity, posttrauma maladaptive cognitions, and affect; such results provide an impetus to examine positive memory interventions in trauma clinical work.

"The within-person effects of validation and invalidation on in-session changes in affect,": Correction to Benitez et al. (2019).

Reports an error in "The within-person effects of validation and invalidation on in-session changes in affect" by Cinthia Benitez, Matthew W. Southward, Erin M. Altenburger, Kristen P. Howard and Jennifer S. Cheavens (Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, Advanced Online Publication, Feb 04, 2019, np). In the article, some values in Table 1 were incorrectly marked with asterisks as significant. The corrected table appears in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2019-05703-001.) Validation is the accurate reflection of someone's internal experiences. Validation has been theorized to enhance the process of therapy and facilitate effective outcomes (Lynch, Chapman, Rosenthal, Kuo, & Linehan, 2006). Additionally, validation may play an integral role in reducing emotional arousal specifically for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). There is little research on the relation between validation and therapy outcomes such as affect change. In the current study, we tested the relations among self-reported validation and invalidation and in-session changes in positive and negative affect with a sample of 52 clients in treatment. Further, we examined BPD features as a moderator of the relations between self-reported validation and invalidation and in-session changes in affect. We disaggregated within-person from between-person effects using client reports of validation and invalidation during Sessions 3 to 7. Greater within-person validation was associated with decreased postsession negative affect, whereas greater within-person invalidation was associated with increased postsession NA. Neither validation nor invalidation was related to changes in positive affect. Further, at elevated levels of BPD features, validation, but not invalidation, was associated with decreases in negative affect. BPD features did not moderate the relation between validation or invalidation and postsession positive affect. These results provide empirical evidence that patient-reported validation and invalidation predict changes in negative affect during sessions. Additionally, these results suggest that patients with elevated BPD features are particularly responsive to validation during therapy sessions, and as such, provide an avenue for navigating the in-session negative emotional arousal that these patients often experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The within-person effects of validation and invalidation on in-session changes in affect.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 10(5) of Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment (see record 2019-50033-001). In the article, some values in Table 1 were incorrectly marked with asterisks as significant. The corrected table appears in the erratum.] Validation is the accurate reflection of someone's internal experiences. Validation has been theorized to enhance the process of therapy and facilitate effective outcomes (Lynch, Chapman, Rosenthal, Kuo, & Linehan, 2006). Additionally, validation may play an integral role in reducing emotional arousal specifically for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). There is little research on the relation between validation and therapy outcomes such as affect change. In the current study, we tested the relations among self-reported validation and invalidation and in-session changes in positive and negative affect with a sample of 52 clients in treatment. Further, we examined BPD features as a moderator of the relations between self-reported validation and invalidation and in-session changes in affect. We disaggregated within-person from between-person effects using client reports of validation and invalidation during Sessions 3 to 7. Greater within-person validation was associated with decreased postsession negative affect, whereas greater within-person invalidation was associated with increased postsession NA. Neither validation nor invalidation was related to changes in positive affect. Further, at elevated levels of BPD features, validation, but not invalidation, was associated with decreases in negative affect. BPD features did not moderate the relation between validation or invalidation and postsession positive affect. These results provide empirical evidence that patient-reported validation and invalidation predict changes in negative affect during sessions. Additionally, these results suggest that patients with elevated BPD features are particularly responsive to validation during therapy sessions, and as such, provide an avenue for navigating the in-session negative emotional arousal that these patients often experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Good for self or good for others? The well-being benefits of kindness in two cultures depend on how the kindness is framed

ABSTRACT In light of cultural differences in conceptions of happiness, we investigated whether members of independent (vs. interdependent) cultures would benefit from prosocial behavior when self-focus is highlighted (vs. when other-focus is highlighted). In a 1-week randomized controlled intervention, U.S. (N = 280) and South Korean (N = 261) participants were randomly assigned to read a news article that described kind acts as good for oneself or good for others, or to read a control article. All participants then performed kind acts throughout the week, and completed pre- and post- measures of subjective well-being, connectedness, competence, and autonomy. Consistent with independent self-construals, U.S. participants who read that kindness was good for themselves showed greater increases in positive affect, satisfaction with life, and feelings of connectedness – and greater decreases in negative affect – than those who read the control article. Future research is needed to continue developing culturally-sensitive designs of positive activities.

Improvements in adolescent mental health and positive affect using creative arts therapy after a school shooting: A pilot study

Mass shootings have increased in the United States in recent decades and are associated with adverse psychological outcomes. This pilot study used a pre-post design to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-week creative arts therapy camp at improving the mental health of adolescents exposed to the horrific February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Participants (n = 34) were rising high school students and participated in visual art, drama, or music therapy. At baseline, a third of participants indicated clinically significant moderate-to-severe depression, a third indicated clinically significant moderate-to-severe anxiety, and nearly two thirds indicated high levels of posttraumatic stress. There were statistically significant reductions in posttraumatic stress (d = .54), depression (d = .34), and anxiety symptoms (d = .52), significant decreases in negative affect (d = .42), and significant increases in positive affect (d = .81) between pre- and post-treatment time points. When drama, music, and visual arts treatments were examined separately, drama therapy significantly improved mental health and positive affect. The vast majority of participants reported that they had fun, gained a deeper understanding of themselves, and felt safe during the treatment. Group-delivered arts therapy may be an effective treatment to improve mental health and affect in adolescents exposed to a school shooting.

Drinking Problems and Social Anxiety among Young Adults: The Roles of Drinking to Manage Negative and Positive Affect in Social Situations

Background: Socially anxious individuals seem to be at a high risk for alcohol-related problems because they drink to cope. Yet social anxiety is unique among the anxiety conditions in that it is characterized by lower positive affect (PA). It is unclear whether drinking to cope is related to drinking to decrease negative affect (NA) or increase PA. Objectives: We tested whether social anxiety was related to more drinking problems via the sequential relations between affect (NA or PA), drinking to change affect (decrease NA or increase PA), and drinking quantity. We also tested whether the indirect effect of drinking to increase PA was significantly less than that of drinking to decrease NA. Methods: Past-month drinkers with clinically elevated social anxiety (n = 174) and those with more normative or lower social anxiety (n = 362) completed an online survey. Results: Social anxiety was indirectly related to drinking problems via the sequential effect of NA, drinking to decrease NA, and drinking quantity. Social anxiety was indirectly related to drinking problems via the sequential relations of PA and drinking quantity and of drinking to increase PA and drinking quantity. The indirect effect of drinking to increase PA did not significantly differ from drinking to decrease NA. Conclusions/Importance: Socially anxious drinkers may drink not only to decrease NA but also to increase PA in social situations. Both of these drinking motives appear to play important roles in socially anxious drinkers’ experience of drinking-related problems.

Examining processing speed as a predictor of subjective well-being across age and time in the German Aging Survey

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between cognition, measured via the Digit Symbol Substitution Task, and subjective well-being (measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect scale) in a community-based sample of middle-aged and older adults. Specifically, we examined both the cross-sectional and the longitudinal relationships between processing speed and subjective well-being. Data are from participants between 40–85 years-old (at baseline) who participated in the German Aging Survey across four waves. Results showed that processing speed was a weak but consistent predictor of positive affect, while age was associated with decreases in negative affect and positive affect, and increases in life satisfaction cross-sectionally. Conversely, cross-lagged panel analyses showed that the temporal relationship between processing speed and positive affect was close to zero, and non-significant. The results of this study shed additional light on the relationship between subjective well-being and cognition.

Empirical validation of the integrative psychological group intervention for women with breast cancer - preliminary results

Background/Aim. Breast cancer diagnosis is an extremely stressful life event that brings a number of physical and psychological challenges. However, supportive and psychoeducational group interventions can significantly decrease psychological distress in patients. The aim of this study was to empirically validate the effects of the integrative psychological group intervention, regarding the affective state of women who underwent breast cancer surgery at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina. Methods. This study was conducted on a sample of 30 women, with the average age of 53.17 years (standard deviation ? SD = 10.09). Following the surgical intervention, the inpatients participated in an integrative group session consisting of the following parts: 1) supportive-expressive, 2) psycho-educational and 3) healtheducational. Before the session, participants filled in a demographic data questionnaire, measures of positive and negative affect (PANAS), optimism (LOT-R), hope (AHS), neuroticism (BFI) and symptoms of depression (DASS-21). At the end of the group sessions, the participants filled in the PANAS again. Results. A paired-samples t-test showed that following an intervention, a statistically significant increase in positive affect had occurred (t(29) = -4.44, p < 0.001). For negative affect, the t-test also yields the statistically significant results (t(29) = 5.60, p < 0.001), showing that intervention led to a significant decrease in negative affect. The nonparametric Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test also confirmed these results. The multiple regression analysis (F (4, 25) = 3.46, p = 0.02) showed that high neuroticism and low symptoms of depression significantly predicted a greater increase in positive affect following the session. Another regression analysis (F (4, 25) = 3.32, p = 0.03) showed that the higher symptoms of depression and, marginally, higher hope significantly predicted a greater decrease in negative affect. Conclusion. Our results showed that the integrative psychological group intervention had positive short-term effects regarding the affective state of women who underwent breast cancer surgery, and that different psychological variables can play a significant role in prediction of changes in patients? affect.

Imagery and verbal thought during rumination and distraction: Does imagery amplify affective response?

ABSTRACTRumination has long been considered a verbal thought process, though emerging evidence suggests that some individuals dwell on maladaptive imagery. This series of studies evaluated imagery and verbal thought during experimentally induced rumination and distraction. In Study 1, imagery and verbal thought during rumination resulted in similar increases in negative affect. Greater imagery during distraction, on the other hand, was associated with greater decreases in negative affect while verbal thought was not related to affect change. Given that greater verbal thought was reported in the rumination condition and greater imagery was reported in the distraction condition, Study 2 evaluated whether the rumination/distraction induction was confounded by concurrent induction of imagery or verbal thought. The rumination prompts induced both rumination and verbal thought and the distraction prompts induced both distraction and imagery. Using a revised induction, Study 3 tested whether imagery and verbal thought during rumination and distraction impacted affective response. Rumination maintained negative affect and distraction relieved negative affect, regardless of the degree to which imagery or verbal thought was experienced. This paper provides evidence that imagery-based rumination is just as impairing as verbally-based rumination and highlights imagery-based distraction as a potentially effective alternative to rumination.

Changes in cognitive distortions and affectivity levels in adolescent depression after acute phase fluoxetine treatment

ABSTRACTIntroduction: It is supposed that both antidepressants and psychotherapies work in a manner consistent with cognitive theories of depression when changing negative affective and cognitive distortions. This study evaluated changes in cognitive distortions (i.e. systematic misinterpretations of new information) and affectivity in adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) after acute phase treatment with fluoxetine.Methods: Twenty-five adolescents (mean age 15.10 years (SD = 1.19); 17 (68%) females) with MDD receiving fluoxetine were followed for 8 weeks. Clinician rating scales of MDD and self-reports of cognitive distortions and affectivity were completed before and after the treatment.Results: Seven (28%) adolescents showed significant improvement in cognitive distortions, 11 (44%) showed a significant decrease in negative affect, and 15 (60%) showed a significant increase in positive affect. The responders to fluoxetine had significantly decreased level of negative affect (62.5%) and an increased level in positive affect (81.2%) compared to non-responders, whereas there were no differences between the two regarding changes in cognitive distortions.Conclusions: Treatment with fluoxetine over 8 weeks led to reductions in cognitive distortions, with decreased negative and increased positive affect in adolescents with MDD. Improvements in affectivity levels closely corresponded to reductions in depressive symptoms and were greater than improvements in cognitive distortions.

Thinking About the Joneses?

Abstract. Social comparison and rumination are associated with lower levels of subjective well-being. We expected that an intervention to change the appraisal of social comparison situations would improve well-being among young adults (n = 74). A 9-week online training program was designed, combining elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and positive psychology. A pre-post assessment of subjective well-being, affect, social comparison orientation, rumination, and an appraisal of personal negatively perceived social situations served as dependent variables. Results indicate that the training led to an increase in subjective well-being and positive affect, and a decrease in negative affect and rumination. Initially unhappier individuals benefited slightly more from the training. The negative affective response toward personal social situations decreased, while positive affect increased. The overall level of social comparison orientation remained stable. Change in rumination was the strongest predictor of increased well-being, indicating that not social comparison per se, but ruminating about social comparison affects well-being.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Life Narrative Interview Program for Medical Inpatients

ABSTRACTObjectives: Two studies in the early 1990s demonstrated that life narrative interviews conducted by age-peer volunteers strengthened the coping of older patients undergoing invasive medical procedures. The present article reports on the implementation of a similar life narrative interview program for medical inpatients and subsequent evaluation of the mood and coping effects of the intervention.Methods: Three volunteers (mean age = 69 years) were trained to administer 45- to 60-minute life narrative interviews. Fifty-three inpatients (mean age = 70 years) on various units of a Mid-Atlantic non-profit hospital agreed to participate. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and Coping Self-Efficacy Inventory (CSEI) were administered before and after the interviews.Results: T-tests indicated a significant increase in positive affect and decrease in negative affect following the interview but no changes in the CSEI. Patient satisfaction questions administered after the interview indicated that patients had a high level of satisfaction with the interview experience.Conclusions: The life narrative interview program appeared to improve the overall mood of participants while providing a satisfying activity to engage in while in the hospital.Clinical Implications: The project demonstrated a cost-effective method for employing volunteers to enhance the experience of patients at healthcare facilities.

Framing gratitude journaling as prayer amplifies its hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, but not health, benefits

Gratitude is commonly practiced as prayer, but experimental studies testing the ability of gratitude journaling interventions to increase well-being have only examined secular forms of thanksgiving. We hypothesized that framing gratitude journaling as prayer would amplify its well-being effects. Undergraduate participants (N = 196) were instructed to write 10 things for which they were grateful once a week for five weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to read their thanks aloud to themselves, read their thanks to another person, or pray their thanks aloud to God. Participants in the prayer condition experienced a decrease in negative affect, and participants in the prayer condition who also exerted high effort demonstrated gains in gratitude, positive affect, and hope. Results indicate that the prayer condition may have led to increased health symptoms. Non-significant effects for the social condition suggest that the mechanisms explaining the effects of prayer are related to the theistic and sacred elements of prayer rather than its social features.

The effect of therapist use of validation strategies on change in client emotion in individual dbt treatment sessions.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a treatment for borderline personality disorder, a disorder for which emotion dysregulation is central. Within DBT, there are 6 explicitly defined validation strategies that range hierarchically from validation level (VL) 1 to VL 6. To date, there have been no studies on the frequency of use of VLs in actual DBT sessions. The aim of the current study was to explore DBT therapists' use of VLs and examine the relationship between VLs and change in a client emotion during therapy sessions. DBT treatment sessions (n = 121) across 35 participants in a DBT training clinic were coded for therapist use of VLs. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess for change in therapist use of VLs over time and hierarchical linear modeling was used to correlate therapist use of these strategies with change in client emotion. Results indicated no significant relationship between overall frequency of VLs and change in client emotion. However, an increase in frequency of high VLs was associated with an increase in positive affect (PA) and a decrease in negative affect (NA) while an increase in frequency of low VLs was associated with a decrease in PA and no change in NA. An increase in frequency of VL 4 was associated with an increase in NA. VL 6 was associated with an increase in PA and a decrease in NA. Findings suggest that specific validation strategies may be related to session changes in affect and have implications for identifying potential mechanisms of change. (PsycINFO Database Record

Adolescents’ dual affective response to dance in training, grading, and competition

The aim of this in-situ research was to measure the changes in affect in adolescent dancers in three situations, before and after: a) training, b) performance grading, and c) competition. With the cooperation of a dance school, 26 girls (mean age = 15.58, SD = 1.58 years) completed the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) six times. Results yielded a multivariate main effect for time, showing that both positive- and negative affect decreased from pre- to post events in all conditions, while another main effect for condition showed that negative affect was greater during competition than in the other situations. The ending of the dance, that also concludes its social context, could explain the attenuation in positive affect, while the ending of performance-related conformity might explain the decrease in negative affect after the events. Heightened negative affect in competition reveals that adolescent dancers favour the least this situation. It is concluded that adolescent girls exhibit dual affective response to dance, one to its context and one to its content. It also suggested, that youngsters may not enjoy the competition situations as much as the training situations.

Estudo experimental: Impacto de grupos de canto no bem-estar subjetivo de seniores

ObjetivoAvaliar o impacto da participação num programa de canto no bem-estar subjetivo (BES) de seniores.MétodoO presente estudo, com metodologia experimental, utilizou medidas estruturadas das dimensões afetiva e cognitiva do BES (Afeto Positivo e Negativo – PANAS – e Satisfação com a Vida - SWLS) e entrevistas semiestruturadas para testar o impacto de um programa de canto de curta duração (10 sessões, durante cinco semanas), no BES de um grupo de seniores, com idades entre 61 e 92 anos, num centro de dia. Trinta seniores aceitaram participar no programa de canto e foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos (experimental e de controlo), sendo que 26 participantes no total terminaram a intervenção nos dois grupos (quatro homens, 15.3%; 22 mulheres, 84.6%; M = 75 anos de idade).ResultadosObservou-se um decréscimo significativo do nível de afeto negativo no grupo experimental, após a intervenção, que foi significativamente inferior ao do grupo de controlo. No entanto, este efeito não se manteve na medida de follow-up, oito semanas após a intervenção. Numa análise qualitativa à perceção dos indivíduos sobre a sua participação no programa indicou benefícios na interação e apoio social entre os seniores, na expressão de emoções positivas e em novas aprendizagens.ConclusãoOs resultados sugerem que programas de grupos de canto podem promover variáveis de BES.

Life Span Changes in Affectivity and Influence of Gender, Health Self-rate, Morbidity, Memory and Mental Stress

Background: The aim of the present study was (i) examine positive and negative affectivity, its rate of change, gender specificity and (ii) explore the association between health self-rating, number of chronic diseases, memory, and mental stress. Methods: Data obtained from the Longitudinal Study of Generation was used to assess participants in 3-year intervals from 1985 to 2000. Positive and negative affect along with health self-rating, morbidity, memory, mental stress were assessed. Results: A total of 2024 participants (aged 16-99 years; 57% Female) were considered for analysis. Linear growth models showed that both positive and negative affect decrease over generations. There was no difference between genders for positive affect; negative affect decreased in higher degree in females than in males. Health self-rates increased along the life span with no gender differences. Morbidity increased; memory did not change over generations in both genders. Mental stress didn’t change over generations, but was higher in females. Lower health self-rate was associated with higher negative affect and a deeper drop of positive affect later in life. Higher morbidity was associated with lower positive affect. Memory worsening was associated with a decrease of positive affect. Mental stress was a predictive factor for lower positive and higher negative affect. Conclusion: Possible unfavorable influence of decrease of positive affect with life progression is balanced with concomitant decrease of negative affect. Negative affect seems to be more independent from somatic morbidity than positive affect and has higher gender specificity by being lower in females.

The effects of mother–infant singing on emotional closeness, affect, anxiety, and stress hormones

Among mammals who invest in the production of a relatively small number of offspring, bonding is a critical strategy for survival. Mother–infant bonding among humans is not only linked with the infant’s survival but also with a range of protective psychological, biological, and behavioral responses in both mothers and infants in the post-birth period and across the life span. Anthropological theories suggest that one behavior that may have evolved with the aim of enhancing mother–infant bonding is infant-directed singing. However, to date, despite mother–infant singing being practiced across cultures, there remains little quantitative demonstration of any effects on mothers or their perceived closeness to their infants. This within-subjects study, comparing the effects of mother–infant singing with other mother–infant interactions among 43 mothers and their infants, shows that singing is associated with greater increases in maternal perceptions of emotional closeness in comparison to social interactions. Mother–infant singing is also associated with greater increases in positive affect and greater decreases in negative affect as well as greater decreases in both psychological and biological markers of anxiety. This supports previous findings about the effects of singing on closeness and social bonding in other populations. Furthermore, associations between changes in closeness and both affect and anxiety support previous research suggesting associations between closeness, bonding, and wider mental health.