Emotional Research Articles

Physician’s prosodic behavior and the regulation of patient anxiety: A quantitative study within the communication accommodation theory framework

ObjectivesPatients commonly experience anxiety when visiting a medical provider. While regulating its level, the physician may adjust their own prosodic behavior to express different levels of affective empathy and shape the emotional outcome. The primary aim was to examine the impact of convergence and divergence with the patient’s prosodic emotional cues on the patient-perceived physician’s affective empathy and the emotion regulation process. MethodsAnalog patients (n = 132) made assessments after the exposure to an audio vignette of a physician – patient conversation in the prosodic convergence or divergence condition. ResultsConvergence with the prosodic cues of anxiety was associated with the physician experiencing the same as or a similar emotional state to the patient. The former type of emotional reaction was related to lower odds of anxiety alleviation. Prosodic convergence had a negative effect on anxiety alleviation through the mediation of experiencing the same emotional state as the patient. ConclusionsDivergence from the prosodic cues of anxiety and, therefore, a low patient-perceived level of this emotion may facilitate the anxiety regulation process. Practice implicationsA careful use of convergence and divergence with prosodic emotional cues and adequate control of prosody in general are strongly recommended for practitioners.

Assessment of auditory hypersensitivity in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: integrative review

Introduction: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder may present impairments in communication, behavior, social interaction and changes in sensory processing with atypical responses to information from the senses, such as auditory hypersensitivity. Objective: to describe the methods of evaluating auditory hypersensitivity used in babies, children and/or adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, through an integrative review. Data Synthesis: The study was carried out with the PVO strategy, in the months of October and November 2023, with the search key: “Infant” OR “Child” OR “Adolescent” AND “Autism Spectrum Disorder” AND “Hyperacusis” OR “ Hyperacuses” OR "Hearing” in 11 databases. Results: 7,071 studies were identified, after reading titles and abstracts, 59 were selected, 30 of which were duplicates and 29 were read in full. In the end, 10 articles were included. The majority of studies carried out audiological exams followed by a questionnaire, with the Sensory Profile questionnaire being the most common and the Otoacoustic Emissions, Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential and Immittance Tests being the most common. The sounds that cause the most discomfort are: sounds of strong intensity in general, such as, vacuum cleaner and hairdryer. The most common emotional reaction was crying and physical reactions, covering the ears and running away. Conclusion: It was noticed that the majority of studies reported in this review demonstrate that for the investigation of auditory hypersensitivity, it can be both questionnaires and hearing exams were used in children and adolescents with auditory hypersensitivity, making it necessary to carry out more studies on the subject to standardize an assessment for auditory hypersensitivity.

Preventing Trauma and Grief in Emergency and Critical Care Units: A Mixed Methods Study on a Psycho-Educational Defusing Intervention.

Emergency and critical care services inevitably expose their staff to potential work stressors and traumatic events, which can cause emotional, behavioral, and physical reactions. The literature presents a wide range of evidence-based knowledge on the effectiveness of interventions to promote mental health after traumatic events. However, little is known about the effectiveness of prevention programs. In this study, we sought to improve the empirical understanding of the potential of a combination of psycho-educational-defusing training for trauma prevention. We employed a mixed methods approach using statistical modeling and content/focus group analysis to describe the sample of investigation and the effectiveness of the prevention training. A retrospective quantitative chart measured and evaluated the psychological state of physicians, nurses, and registered nurses (N = 222). A retrospective qualitative chart examined staff accounts of traumas and their coping strategies via autobiographies (n = 26). Prospective focus groups examined participants of the psycho-educational defusing intervention administered (n = 61). Findings revealed different forms of experiencing grief and trauma. Prospective analysis of the training effectiveness revealed favorable perceptions by participants. Results support the formal implementation of continuous prevention, building relational support, and coping strategies as keys to recovery and preventing traumas.

From Emotional Labour to Affectual Bodies: Moving Towards an ‘Affective Ethnography’ of the Criminal Court Space

Participation in, and attendance at, court often positions people amid a charged emotional environment, where the evidence frequently involves distressing accounts and the stakes of decision-making are high. Research has explored the impact of this environment on various court protagonists. What this research has failed to consider in detail, however, are the ways in which such vectors of emotional reaction, containment and contagion interact and flow across the criminal court space: yielding affective environments in which emotion is not a commodity held (or denied) by one person, but a force that permeates and seeps into the spaces of justice. In this article, we set out the case for why such an understanding is necessary and instructive.

Beyond the “wow” factor: the analytic importance of boredom in qualitative research

ABSTRACT In this paper, we perceive boredom as a potential resource for creativity in qualitative research. We present three main arguments. First, boredom is often an inevitable stage on the way to research excitement and can even serve as an important clue leading to analytic surprises. Second, there is a methodological need to reflect on boredom in order to understand the researcher’s perception of meaningfulness and meaninglessness. Particularly, we show how the ‘interview society’, characterized by the dominance of the therapeutic discourse, shapes researchers’ expectations regarding what is considered ‘interesting’ or ‘boring.’ Finally, the researcher’s experience of boredom may provide insights into the very phenomenon under investigation. We flesh out these arguments by showing how the researcher’s boredom during interviews reflects the interviewees’ emotional style, expected of (women) managers in the neoliberal culture: emotional restraint and a façade of rationality and objectivity.

Reactive guardianship: Who intervenes? How? And why?

AbstractGuardianship is a core tenet of routine activity theory and collective efficacy. At its outset, routine activity research assumed that the mere presence of a guardian was sufficient to disrupt many forms of crime. More recent research, however, has taken as a starting point that would‐be‐guardians must take on an active role for a reduction in crime to occur. Integrating research on bystander intervention and guardianship‐in‐action, the current study elaborates the individual‐level motivations and decision processes of guardianship to answer the following questions: Who serves as a reactive guardian? How do they do so? And why? We tasked young adults (N = 1,032) included in the recent waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z‐proso) to assess a 70‐second video depicting a sexual harassment event. We examined participants’ willingness to engage in a range of intervention options as a function of their prosocial attitudes, safety considerations, socioemotional motivations, and moral considerations. Results show a complex decision process leading to whether and how a would‐be guardian decides to intervene to disrupt sexual harassment, such that prosocial motivations and emotional reactions are weighed against perceptions of danger when deciding on a specific course of action.

Feeling Our Way Through the Spectrum of Videographic Criticism

Critical argument can be generative in much the same way as art can be, inspiring different “correct” interpretations and new arguments. Academic filmmaking enhances this property by incorporating affective tools and texts, such as vivid footage or popular music, that move us emotionally at the same time as they form part of a critical argument—and, indeed, those emotional reactions form part of the argument. In this piece, I present a spectrum of approaches that academic filmmaking takes in the videographic criticism tradition: straightforwardly explanatory on one end and enigmatically poetic on the other. I argue that this scholarly methodology is simultaneously deeply personal and affective and, to at least the same degree, imbricated with technological infrastructures.

Impact of NGOs’ undercover videos on citizens’ emotions and pro-social behaviors

Undercover videos have become a popular tool among NGOs to influence public opinion and generate engagement for the NGO’s cause. These videos are seen as a powerful and cost-effective way of bringing about social change, as they provide first-hand evidence and generate a strong emotional response among those who see them. In this paper, we empirically assess the impact of undercover videos on support for the cause. We in addition analyze whether the increased engagement among viewers is driven by the negative emotional reactions produced by the video. To do so, we design an online experiment that enables us to estimate both the total and emotion-mediated treatment effects on engagement by randomly exposing participants to an undercover video (of animal abuse) and randomly introducing a cooling-off period. Using a representative sample of the French population (N=3,310), we find that the video successfully increases actions in favor of animals (i.e., donations to NGOs and petitions), but we fail to prove that this effect is due to the presence of primary emotions induced by the video. Last, we investigate whether activists correctly anticipate their undercover videos’ (emotional) impact via a prediction study involving activists (exploratory analysis).Protocol registrationThis manuscript is a Stage-2 working paper of a Registered Report that receivedIn-Principle-Acceptance from Scientific Reports on November 20th, 2023 [Link to Stage-1]. The Stage-1 that received In-Principal-Acceptance can be found here: https://osf.io/8cg2d.

Social anxiety and weight interact with body salience to affect experiences of social exclusion

ABSTRACT Background Individuals at a higher weight experience greater victimization and exclusion by peers, and limited research suggests that the salience of one’s body image may increase negative emotional reactions to social rejection. Additionally, social exclusion is related to higher levels of social anxiety (SA). We examined how body salience interacts with SA and weight to predict anxiety, self-esteem, and negative affect following social rejection. Methods Participants were undergraduate women (N = 186). We explored the interactive effects of SA, body mass index (BMI), and body salience (i.e., face versus body photo condition) on emotional response to exclusion in a social ostracism paradigm, Cyberball. BMI and self-reported SA were collected at baseline. One week later, participants played Cyberball and reported state affect, anxiety, and self-esteem before and after the game. Results The 3-way interaction of BMI, SA, and photo condition did not significantly predict post-exclusion state measures. Photo condition moderated the relationship between SA and post-exclusion anxiety and between BMI and post-exclusion anxiety. Conclusions Those with higher SA were particularly anxious following exclusion if their bodies were visible to others. Additionally, those with lower BMI experienced greater anxiety after exclusion when their body was visible than those with higher BMI.

The Impact of Virtual Reality Simulations on Social Work Education: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the potential of virtual reality (VR) simulations for use as an effective learning modality for social work education. At a public college in a large U.S. Northeastern city with a mostly self-identified non-White student body, 19 respondents, including five BA and seven MSW social work students, as well as seven graduated former MSW students, participated in one of three focus groups in which they shared their thoughts and feelings regarding two VR simulations they experienced. One of the VR applications concerned racism and the other homelessness. The study found that VR has the ability to be an immersive and immediate experience that arouses intense emotional reactions in participants, thereby enhancing their empathy toward the individuals portrayed in the simulations and increasing participants’ motivation to participate in social action. The respondents overwhelmingly expressed that VR should be integrated into social work education, but that the emotional intensity it engenders creates the need for careful pre-briefing and debriefing. Issues of physical discomfort for some participants during the simulations need to be addressed as well.

The development of the Sensory Emotional Engagement Checklist (SEE-C): Preliminary reliability and validity

ABSTRACT The Sensory Emotional Engagement Checklist (SEE-C) was developed to assess social emotional challenges in children whose sensory integration and sensory processing differences impact daily life. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the SEE-C for identifying social emotional patterns. Retrospective data were used from parent interviews and consultations at a pediatric clinic in the northeast with occupational therapists that produced items representative of hypothesized social-emotional behavioral subtypes. Factor analysis was conducted to explore construct validity, followed by internal consistency reliability of factor groupings. Correlational analyses were computed for factors within the SEE-C as well as between the SEE-C and the Sensory Processing 3 Dimensions Checklist (SP3D-C). Data were collected from 167 individuals’ charts of children ranging from 4.5 to 13.5 years who were evaluated for sensory integration and sensory processing differences. Factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution that explained the proposed structure of the SEE-C. Internal reliability for SEE-C factors ranged from α = .7 to .8. Correlations were weak but significant within the SEE-C, as well as between factors of the SEE-C and the SP3D-C subscales. Evidence supports the preliminary reliability and validity of the SEE-C as well as suggesting a link between children’s social emotional styles and sensory-related behaviors. The proposed social emotional behavior patterns of the SEE-C also suggest behaviors commonly considered in the mental health field may be reflective of sensory integration and sensory processing differences. These sensory-emotional patterns can further justify the inclusion of pediatric Occupational Therapists as part of the therapeutic intervention team for social emotional challenges in children.

Parental Sexual Socialization, Sexual Subjectivity, and Emotional Responses to Sexual Experiences among Adolescent Girls.

This study explored girls' sexual subjectivity as a pathway through which parental socialization influenced their emotions about past sexual experiences. A national online survey of 397 adolescent girls (Mage = 16.8 years) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds (33.0% Black, 25.7% Latina, 28.0% non-Hispanic White) assessed (1) parental messaging emphasizing relational, sex-positive, gendered sex role, abstinence-only, and sex-is-taboo discourses; (2) girls' sexual subjectivity including sexual body esteem, entitlement to sexual pleasure, and perceived sexual control; and (3) positive and negative emotional reactions to sexual experiences. Sexual subjectivity fully mediated the positive effect of relational messaging on positive emotional reactions and the negative effect on negative emotional reactions. Additionally, sexual subjectivity partially mediated the positive effect of gendered sex role messaging on negative emotional reactions. This study draws critical attention to placing the psychological aspects of girls' sense of their own sexuality and the emotional components of their sexual experience at the forefront of understanding the influence of parental sexual socialization on the sexual experiences of adolescent girls.

Indominable Color Schemes

This ten-page visual, poetic essay captures my disenfranchisement from my own art and poetry, as well as the continuous instability of my life. I start with parental expectations, symbolized by negative space or violent lines and shapes, pondering the cost of these expectations on the joys and freedom of youth. I move into encounters of transphobic and racist bullying at primary school, a time when it was impossible to bear the terms for such experiences. This is followed by representations of abuse, only retroactively understood throughout the subsequent exploration of it, as well as the chronic deprivation of opportunity that these kinds of injuries cause. The exponential costs, particularly the emotional ones, that incur from the practical losses that come with life are then considered, along with the re-traumatization of simply trying to survive them. Finally, there are discordant uses of space, cluttered and overlayered images and words, alongside isolating negative spaces, to represent the constant feeling of failure, including being broken even during instances of stability or minor success.

Gynecologic cancer survivor preferences for provider communication regarding sexual health after treatment: a qualitative study.

Survivorship from gynecologic cancers is becoming increasingly prevalent. There are significant sexual side effects that influence quality of life that would be reduced with proper intervention; however, existing literature highlights the lack of understanding of the sexual health needs within this population. Furthermore, multiple studies show that one contributing factor to sexual well-being in survivorship is provider-patient communication. The aim of this study is to explore experiences of sexual distress and survivor experiences of sexual health communication. Adult participants who had been out of active treatment for 3months were recruited to participate in focus groups. Six focus groups (n = 32) were conducted with survivors of gynecologic cancers via Zoom. Research team members analyzed content using thematic analysis. Two broad themes were identified: Experiences of provider communication and Preferences for provider communication, with subthemes nested under both. Subthemes from the Experiences theme included absent/lacking communication, negative experiences, emotional reaction to lack of communication, and feeling like sexuality was not valued. Subthemes from the Preferences theme included more conversation and open communication about sexuality, more resources/referrals, and more provider training on sexuality. Survivor experiences of subjective sexual health are often dependent on the type and quality of information they receive from their healthcare team during treatment. Unfortunately, the majority of participants endorsed negative or absent communication related to their sexual health needs, leading to additional distress.

Impact of psychological factors on investment decisions in Nepalese share market: A mediating role of financial literacy

Psychological factors such as emotional reactions, cognitive biases, and herd behavior influence investment decisions because they shape investor behavior, drive market dynamics, and affect rational decision-making. Similarly, financial literacy improves investment decisions by facilitating informed choices, minimizing biases, enhancing risk management, and promoting long-term financial planning. This study aims to examine the influence of psychological factors on investment decisions in the Nepalese share market, emphasizing the mediating role of financial literacy. Smart PLS 4.0 was used to analyze the structural relationships within the proposed theoretical model. Data were collected from the primary source using a structured questionnaire administered through a random sampling technique. The respondents included 410 active individual investors from the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE). The study's findings reveal that psychological factors have a positive and significant effect on investment decisions among investors in the Nepalese stock market. Furthermore, the study revealed that financial literacy mediates the relationship between psychological factors and investment decisions by enhancing individuals' understanding and confidence, leading to more informed and rational investment choices. The results highlight the critical role of financial literacy in investment decisions in the share market. The findings indicate that investors with higher financial literacy levels are better equipped to mitigate the adverse effects of psychological biases, leading to more rational and informed investment decisions. By understanding the interplay between psychological factors and financial literacy, policymakers and financial institutions can develop targeted strategies to foster a more robust and resilient financial market in developing economies such as Nepal.

Sensory room: Naturalistic assessment of auditory and visual perception in developing children

IntroductionHearing is essential for language acquisition and understanding the environment. Understanding how children react to auditory and visual information is essential for appropriate management in case of hearing loss. Objective and subjective assessments can diagnose hearing loss, but do not measure natural perception in children. We developed a “sensory room” for complementary assessment of children's perceptions so as to assess behavioral responses to meaningful natural sounds and visual stimuli in an ecologic environment suited to children. Material and methodsSixteen normal-hearing children and 10 with congenital hearing loss before cochlear implantation, aged 13 to 32months, were included in this feasibility study. They perceived 18 environmental sounds and 9 visual stimuli, and their behavioral responses were coded accordingly as: stopping, looking, moving, pointing, language or emotional reactions. ResultAll children completed the task, demonstrating its feasibility in children. Percentage responses to auditory versus visual stimuli did not differ in normal-hearing children; those with congenital hearing loss responded like normal-hearing children to visual stimuli, but did not react to auditory stimuli. Progression in normal-hearing children's behavioral responses corresponded to cognitive and linguistic development according to age. ConclusionThe “sensory room” quantified children's responses to various auditory and visual stimuli, providing clinicians with measurable insight into the children's sensory perception and processing.

Experiences and needs of Chinese women after a stillbirth: a qualitative phenomenological study

ObjectivesWe aimed to explore the lived experiences and needs of women after a recent stillbirth event.DesignQualitative phenomenological study.SettingThe current study was conducted in a tertiary obstetric hospital in East China...

Rendering Frankenstein's monsters? The emergence and impacts of human digital twins

AbstractHuman digital twins (HDTs) are set to revolutionise human–system integration and improve human capacities, productivity, and well‐being by including human characteristics in system design. Reflecting real‐life behaviours and emotional reactions, HDTs render virtual data‐driven models of people. Their presence in many fields—including office work, education, and healthcare—showcases their ability to advance diagnoses, workforce training, and individualised learning. However, the general HDTs acceptance hypothesis calls for a critical analysis of their ethical ramifications and social influence. Emphasising the need of social adaptations to maintain stability, structural functionalism provides a suited framework to examine the roles of HDTs inside social systems. Despite their obvious advantages, HDTs raise ethical questions. While addressing concerns about user acceptance and ethical norms, engineers, designers and the legal regulators, but also the users—by means of ‘owners’—must consider the substantial consequences of HDTs and their customisation. HDTs' duality, like a double‐edged sword, calls for deliberate usage and considerable thought to negotiate the changing terrain of human–machine interaction.

Цифровое моделирование интерсубъективности в социальном конструировании и феноменологических анализах мира повседневности

The widespread introduction of digital information and communication tech­nologies is changing the very nature of interpersonal and mass social interaction, creating new practices, meanings and forms of intersubjectivity. The article ana­lyzes a number of approaches to the creation of general artificial intelligence (AGI) systems based on the convergence of methods of phenomenological ana­lysis of intentional structures of intersubjectivity with technologies for creating and training artificial neural network systems of generative intelligence – Chat­GPT. It is shown that one of the most promising areas of constructing the cogni­tive architecture of AGI is the theory of frames as modeling schemes or matrices of stereotypical organization and interpretation of everyday experience. This conclusion is based on the fact that frames, as well as the procedures for swit­ching and configuring them, act as a kind of “spiritual automata” that control typical behavior of people in typical situations. The dual role of digital platforms in the social construction of reality is shown. On the one hand, digital platforms allow users to realize their aspirations and express the uniqueness of their indi­viduality, facilitate access to information, etc. On the other hand, our digital alter Ego, generated by intelligent systems, acquires the ability to recursively target, direct and control our thinking, motivations, emotional reactions, etc. The direct digital access to our spiritual life is not an inevitable consequence of the intro­duction of digital technologies into the world of everyday life, but a political project that can and should be sought for effective alternatives

The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Organizational Citizenship Behavior with Job Satisfaction as Mediating Variable at PT PLN South and Central Kalimantan

The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of emotional intelligence on organizational citizenship behavior with the mediation of job satisfaction at PT. PLN UP2D Kalselteng. The research uses quantitative methods and collects data through field surveys by filling out questionnaires by employees. The research location is at PT. PLN UP2D Kalselteng in Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan. The unit of analysis of this research is the behavior and emotional reactions of the unit being observed. The population of this research is employees of PT. PLN UP2D Kalselteng, totaling 60 people in the second semester of 2023. The sample used was the entire population, with a "saturated sample" approach. The data collection technique used was distributing questionnaires. The measurement scale used is the Likert scale. The data analysis technique used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) with the help of Smart PLS software. The results of the research found that emotional intelligence has a positive and significant influence on job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior among employees of PT. PLN UP2D Kalselteng. The results of the study suggest that developing emotional intelligence in employees can lead to improved job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior.