Emotional Valence Research Articles

Keep bright in the dark: Multimodal emotional effects on donation-based crowdfunding performance and their empathic mechanisms.

How to raise donations effectively, especially in the E-era, has puzzled fundraisers and scientists across various disciplines. Our research focuses on donation-based crowdfunding projects and investigates how the emotional valence expressed verbally (in textual descriptions) and visually (in facial images) in project descriptions affects project performance. Study 1 uses field data (N = 3817), grabs project information and descriptions from a top donation-based crowdfunding platform, computes visual and verbal emotional valence using a deep-learning-based affective computing method and analyses how multimodal emotional valence influences donation outcomes. Study 2 conducts experiments in GPT-4 (Study 2a, N = 400) and humans (Study 2b, N = 240), manipulates the project's visual and verbal emotional valence through AI-generated stimuli and then assesses donation decisions (both GPT-4 and humans) and corresponding state empathy (humans). The results indicate a multimodal positivity superiority effect: both visual and verbal emotional valence promote initial whether-to-donate decisions, whereas only verbal emotional valence further promotes the how-much-to-donate decisions. Notably, such multimodal emotional effects can be explained through different mediating paths of empathic concern and empathic hopefulness. The current study theoretically facilitates our understanding of the emotional motivations underlying human prosociality and provides insights into crafting impactful advertisements for online donations.

Mixing groups of sheep changes vocalizations when an individual animal is isolated

In recent years, welfare, which includes pleasurable and unpleasant emotions, is of utmost importance in animals reared under intensive farming systems. Various indices have been reported to evaluate welfare. Among them, vocalizations form non-invasive indices of animals’ inner state. The aim of the study was to determine whether changes in ewes’ raising group composition may alter differences in their vocal characteristics. Forty animals of two dairy sheep breeds (Chios and Karagouniki) were used. The experiment lasted for six months divided into three equal periods (A, B, and C). During period A, the animals were divided in two groups based on their breed. In period B the animals were equally mixed in two groups, while in period C the animals returned to their initial state, as in period A. The behaviour of the ewes was recorded during the entire experimental period. At the end of each period, each ewe was isolated, and its vocalizations and behaviour recorded. The composition of the group influenced (p < 0.05) the basic parameters related to frequency and amplitude, which indicates a negative emotional valence. This negative effect was also supported by the behavioural observations. Breed influenced parameters related to the bleat duration, fundamental frequency disturbance (i.e., shivering, shimmering) and behavioural indices including success index during an agonistic intersection and proportion of related affiliative behaviours. The study showed that changes in group composition can affect the emotional state of animals providing information for better handling practices with regard to improving welfare.

Identification of the subventricular tegmental nucleus as brainstem reward center.

Rewards are essential for motivation, decision-making, memory, and mental health. We identified the subventricular tegmental nucleus (SVTg) as a brainstem reward center. In mice, reward and its prediction activate the SVTg, and SVTg stimulation leads to place preference, reduced anxiety, and accumbal dopamine release. Mice self-stimulate the SVTg, which can also be activated directly by the neocortex, resulting in effective inhibition of the lateral habenula, a region associated with depression. This mechanism may also explain why SVTg suppression induces aversion and increases fear. The translational relevance of these findings is supported by evidence in the rat, monkey, and human brainstem, establishing SVTg as a key hub for reward processing, emotional valence, and motivation.

Neural cue reactivity and intrinsic functional connectivity in individuals with alcohol use disorder following treatment with topiramate or naltrexone.

Both topiramate and naltrexone have been shown to affect neural alcohol cue reactivity in alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, their comparative effects on alcohol cue reactivity are unknown. Moreover, while naltrexone has been found to normalize hyperactive localized network connectivity implicated in AUD, no studies have examined the effect of topiramate on intrinsic functional connectivity or compared functional connectivity between these two widely used medications. This study compared topiramate versus naltrexone on alcohol cue-elicited brain activation and intrinsic functional connectivity in patients with alcohol use disorder. Forty-seven participants with alcohol use disorder received daily topiramate (titrating the dose up to 200mg/day n = 21) or naltrexone (50mg/day, n = 26) for at least 6 weeks. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined intrinsic functional connectivity during rest and alcohol cue-elicited neural activation during a visual alcohol cue reactivity task 120min following treatment administration. Functional connectivity and alcohol cue reactivity and percentage of heavy drinking days (% HDD) associations were assessed. No differences in either intrinsic functional connectivity or alcohol cue-elicited neural activity were seen between topiramate and naltrexone-treated groups. Overall, participants showed increased alcohol cue-elicited activation in three clusters spanning occipital regions involved in visual recognition of stimuli, and hypoactivation to both alcohol and control cues in three clusters involved in salience attribution and processing of emotional valence of external stimuli. No differences between topiramate versus naltrexone were observed for either functional measure or associations with post-scan % HDD. Topiramate and naltrexone enacted comparable alcohol cue reactivity and intrinsic functional connectivity patterns. Some overall responses of increased brain activation to alcohol cues in visual processing regions coupled with reduced activation to alcohol and control cues were evidenced for both treatments. These activation patterns were in regions expected to show attenuation of brain activity resulting from treatment. Topiramate and naltrexone may thus enact functional effects through similar modulation of functional neural activity in individuals with AUD. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03479086 https://www. gov/study/NCT03479086 .

Approach–Avoidance Bias in Virtual and Real-World Simulations: Insights from a Systematic Review of Experimental Setups

Background: Approach and avoidance bias (AAB) describes automatic behavioral tendencies to react toward environmental stimuli regarding their emotional valence. Traditional setups have provided evidence but often lack ecological validity. The study of the AAB in naturalistic contexts has recently increased, revealing significant methodological challenges. This systematic review evaluates the use of virtual reality (VR) and real-world setups to study the AAB, summarizing methodological innovations and challenges. Methods: We systematically reviewed peer-reviewed articles employing VR and real-world setups to investigate the AAB. We analyzed experimental designs, stimuli, response metrics, and technical aspects to assess their alignment with research objectives and identify limitations. Results: This review included 14 studies revealing diverse methodologies, stimulus types, and novel behavioral responses, highlighting significant variability in design strategies and methodological coherence. Several studies used traditional reaction time measures yet varied in their application of VR technology and participant interaction paradigms. Some studies showed discrepancies between simulated and natural bodily actions, while others showcased more integrated approaches that preserved their integrity. Only a minority of studies included control conditions or acquired (neuro)physiological data. Conclusions: VR offers a potential ecological setup for studying the AAB, enabling dynamic and immersive interactions. Our results underscore the importance of establishing a coherent framework for investigating the AAB tendencies using VR. Addressing the foundational challenges of developing baseline principles that guide VR-based designs to study the AAB within naturalistic contexts is essential for advancing the AAB research and application. This will ultimately contribute to more reliable and reproducible experimental paradigms and develop effective interventions that help individuals recognize and change their biases, fostering more balanced behaviors.

CNEV: A corpus of Chinese nonverbal emotional vocalizations with a database of emotion category, valence, arousal, and gender.

Nonverbal emotional vocalizations play a crucial role in conveying emotions during human interactions. Validated corpora of these vocalizations have facilitated emotion-related research and found wide-ranging applications. However, existing corpora have lacked representation from diverse cultural backgrounds, which may limit the generalizability of the resulting theories. The present paper introduces the Chinese Nonverbal Emotional Vocalization (CNEV) corpus, the first nonverbal emotional vocalization corpus recorded and validated entirely by Mandarin speakers from China. The CNEV corpus contains 2415 vocalizations across five emotion categories: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and neutrality. It also includes a database containing subjective evaluation data on emotion category, valence, arousal, and speaker gender, as well as the acoustic features of the vocalizations. Key conclusions drawn from statistical analyses of perceptual evaluations and acoustic analysis include the following: (1) the CNEV corpus exhibits adequate reliability and high validity; (2) perceptual evaluations reveal a tendency for individuals to associate anger with male voices and fear with female voices; (3) acoustic analysis indicates that males are more effective at expressing anger, while females excel in expressing fear; and (4) the observed perceptual patterns align with the acoustic analysis results, suggesting that the perceptual differences may stem not only from the subjective factors of perceivers but also from objective expressive differences in the vocalizations themselves. For academic research purposes, the CNEV corpus and database are freely available for download at https://osf.io/6gy4v/ .

Effect of Emotional Valence on Text Comprehension by French Fourth and Fifth Graders

Effect of Emotional Valence on Text Comprehension by French Fourth and Fifth Graders

Acoustic features of instrumental movie soundtracks elicit distinct and mostly non-overlapping extra-musical meanings in the mind of the listener

Music can evoke powerful emotions in listeners. However, the role that instrumental music (music without any vocal part) plays in conveying extra-musical meaning, above and beyond emotions, is still a debated question. We conducted a study wherein participants (N = 121) listened to twenty 15-second-long excerpts of polyphonic instrumental soundtrack music and reported (i) perceived emotions (e.g., happiness, sadness) as well as (ii) movie scene properties imagined during listening (e.g., scene brightness, character role). We systematically investigated how acoustic features of instrumental soundtrack excerpts (e.g., tempo, loudness) contributed to mental imagery of movie scenes. We show distinct and mostly non-overlapping contributions of acoustic features to the imagination of properties of movie scene settings, characters, actions, and objects. Moreover, we find that negatively-valenced emotions fully mediate the relation between a subset of acoustic features and movie scene properties, providing evidence for the importance of emotional valence in evoking mental imagery. The data demonstrate the capacity of music to convey extra-musical semantic information through audition.

For better or for worse: differential effects of the emotional valence of words on children’s recall

ABSTRACT Recent research has revealed the widespread effects of emotion on cognitive functions and memory. However, the influence of emotional valence on verbal short-term memory remains largely unexplored, especially in children. This study measured the effect of emotional valence on word immediate serial recall in 4–6-year-old French children (N = 124). Results show a robust effect of emotional valence on recall performances and recall errors. More precisely, we observed a facilitating effect of the positive valence of words: it allows better performance and causes few recall errors. On the contrary, the data indicated a disruptive impact of negative word valence: the latter causes very low recall performance and is associated with a high proportion of recall errors. These findings add new evidence of the influence of emotion on children’s verbal short-term memory. Our results are discussed in relation to current semantic and attentional explanations of the emotional enhancement of memory.

AI Performer Bias: Listeners Like Music Less When They Think it was Performed by an AI

Contextual information can shape the aesthetic judgements of music compositions. Recently, a study proposed the existence of an AI composer bias; namely, listeners tend to like music less when they think (or are told) that it was composed by an AI. In this online study ( N = 120), we used a cross-over experimental design to verify whether such bias extends to audiovisual music performance. The participants rated three videos of classic piano music performances in two versions with identical audio: one with a professional pianist who pretended to play, and one with the piano playing automatically, allegedly thanks to an AI. As hypothesised, the participants rated the performances as more likeable, engaging, higher in emotional valence, and of higher quality when the pieces were “performed” by the pianist. Notably, these effects were insensitive to the participants’ musical expertise but moderated by their attitudes toward AI. Interestingly, when asked what differences they had found between the two renditions, the participants confabulated about differences in rhythm, tempo variations, dynamics, and dissonances, pointing to underlying psychological processes, such as expectations and beliefs about humanness. Implications for Aesthetics and the Psychology of Art are discussed.

Emotion Estimation Using Noncontact Environmental Sensing with Machine and Deep Learning Models

This paper presents a method for estimating arousal and emotional valence levels using non-contact environmental sensing, addressing challenges such as discomfort from long-term device wear and privacy concerns associated with facial image analysis. We employed environmental data to develop machine learning models, including Random Forest, Gradient Boosting Decision Trees, and the deep learning model CNN-LSTM, and evaluated their accuracy in estimating emotional states. The results indicate that decision tree-based methods, particularly Random Forest, are highly effective for estimating emotional states from environmental data.

Moderating effects of chord progressions on the emotional experience of major and minor chords.

Numerous studies have shown the major chords express positive emotions, while minor chords convey negative emotions. However, several research suggest that the association between major/minor chords and emotional valence may vary due to certain musical contextual factors. This study investigates whether the emotional experience associated with major and minor chords is influenced by chord progressions. Employing subjective evaluations, participants were asked to evaluate the emotional valence, stability, and tension of individual chords (Experiment 1) and the final chords in chord sequences (Experiment 2). Results indicate that the pleasantness ratings of major chords are significantly higher than those of minor chords, while tension ratings are significantly lower. However, stability ratings between major and minor chords did not significantly differ. Notably, when major chords served as the final chords in stable termination progressions, their ratings in pleasantness and stability will be significantly higher compared to those of minor chords, and at the same time, they will also elicit lower tension ratings. While unstable terminations show no significant differences in ratings between major and minor chords across the dimensions of pleasantness, stability, and tension. Thus, this study reveals that chord progressions, as a musical context, influence the emotional valence of major and minor chords through variations in their stability and tension.

Neural dynamics of social verb processing: an MEG study.

Human vocabularies include specific words to communicate interpersonal behaviors, a core linguistic function mainly afforded by social verbs (SVs). This skill has been proposed to engage dedicated systems subserving social knowledge. Yet, neurocognitive evidence is scarce, and no study has examined spectro-temporal and spatial signatures of SV access. Here, we combined magnetoencephalography and time-resolved decoding methods to characterize the neural dynamics underpinning SVs, relative to nonsocial verbs (nSVs), via a lexical decision task. Time-frequency analysis revealed stronger beta (20 Hz) power decreases for SVs in right fronto-temporal sensors at early stages. Time-resolved decoding showed that beta oscillations significantly discriminated SVs and nSVs between 180 and 230 ms. Sources of this effect were traced to the right anterior superior temporal gyrus (a key hub underpinning social conceptual knowledge) as well as parietal, pre/motor and prefrontal cortices supporting nonverbal social cognition. Finally, representational similarity analyses showed that the observed fronto-temporal neural patterns were specifically predicted by verbs' socialness, as opposed to other psycholinguistic dimensions such as sensorimotor content, emotional valence, arousal, and concreteness. Overall, verbal conveyance of socialness seems to involve distinct neurolinguistic patterns, partly shared by more general sociocognitive and lexicosemantic processes.

Caregiving Appraisals and Emotional Valence: Moderating Effects of Activity Participation.

The present study examines the extent to which a two-factor model of affect explains how caregiving appraisals experienced by caregivers influence their own well-being. We used data from three waves of Nation Study of Caregiving (NSOC) to conduct latent growth curve models with the time-varying predictors to investigate the effect of between-person (BP) and within-person (WP) caregiving appraisals on positive and negative affect. Furthermore, we simultaneously modeled WP differences in activity participation and affective experience with multilevel modeling. Then, we tested the moderating effect of activity participation in the association between WP caregiving appraisals and emotional valence. We found that BP and WP caregiving negative appraisal also contribute to caregiver positive affect similar to that of negative affect. Time-varying effects of negative appraisals and emotional valence are consistent with the two-factor model. Future longitudinal investigations could target WP and BP activity participation to alleviate caregiving cognitive appraisal among caregivers.

Emotional words evoke region- and valence-specific patterns of concurrent neuromodulator release in human thalamus and cortex.

Words represent a uniquely human information channel-humans use words to express thoughts and feelings and to assign emotional valence to experience. Work from model organisms suggests that valence assignments are carried out in part by the neuromodulators dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Here, we ask whether valence signaling by these neuromodulators extends to word semantics in humans by measuring sub-second neuromodulator dynamics in the thalamus (N= 13) and anterior cingulate cortex (N= 6) of individuals evaluating positive, negative, and neutrally valenced words. Our combined results suggest that valenced words modulate neuromodulator release in both the thalamus and cortex, but with region- and valence-specific response patterns, as well as hemispheric dependence for dopamine release in the anterior cingulate. Overall, these experiments provide evidence that neuromodulator-dependent valence signaling extends to word semantics in humans, but not in a simple one-valence-per-transmitter fashion.

Visual Angles and Emotional Valence Affect Temporal Dynamics of Neural Representations of Facial Expression: An MEG Study

Visual Angles and Emotional Valence Affect Temporal Dynamics of Neural Representations of Facial Expression: An MEG Study

Affective modulation of emotional reactivity in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder.

Affective modulation of startle reflex (AMSR) is a widely used experimental tool for assessing emotional reactivity. Previous research has shown inconsistent findings of emotional reactivity in amplitude in bipolar patients (BP). This study examined emotional reactivity (ER) in euthymic BP compared to healthy controls using both subjective and objective measures. This study compared ER between 33 euthymic BP (I and II) and 35 healthy controls. Subjective experiences, valence, and arousal scores were assessed using the Self-Assessment Manikin. Objective measures included startle reflex parameters - amplitude, area, and latency - from the orbicularis oculi muscle via electromyography. To assess the AMSR, pictures of varying emotional valences from the International Affective Picture System were used during acoustic stimulation. A significant picture category effect was observed in the subjective picture evaluation; however, no substantial group effect or picture category-group interaction was detected. In the controls, picture categories exerted a significant effect on amplitude, but did not in euthymic BP. A linear pattern of startle amplitude across different picture categories was evident in the control group but not in patients. Analyses of the area did not reveal significant group differences. Onset latency was also similar between groups. This study indicates impaired emotional processing in euthymic individuals with bipolar disorder, as shown by altered startle reflex measurements. Future research with larger samples and consideration of bipolar disorder subtypes is needed to explore these findings further.

The Impact of Campus Soundscape on Enhancing Student Emotional Well-Being: A Case Study of Fuzhou University

As the primary setting for students’ daily life and learning, university campuses are facing a growing concern about the impact of increased stress on students’ emotional well-being. The sound environment plays a critical role in affecting students’ mental health, learning efficiency, and overall well-being. However, research on the influence of campus soundscapes on students’ emotions is limited, and the mechanisms behind these effects remain to be explored. This study, using the Qishan Campus of Fuzhou University as a case, investigates the impact of campus soundscapes on students’ emotional perception and restorative effects. Four typical functional areas (academic zone (ACZ), residential zone (RDZ), recreational zone (RCZ), and administrative zone (ADZ)) were selected to analyze the effects of natural and artificial sounds on students’ emotions and physiological states. Based on EEG, eye tracking, sound level measurements, and questionnaire surveys, a one-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess students’ emotional arousal, valence, and physiological restoration under different soundscape conditions. The results showed that natural sounds, such as the sound of wind-blown leaves and flowing water, significantly improved students’ emotions and restorative effects, while artificial noises like construction sounds and traffic noise had negative impacts. Additionally, subjective perceptions of soundscape restoration were positively correlated with arousal, valence, and acoustic comfort, and negatively correlated with gaze frequency and pupil size. The findings provide a theoretical foundation for optimizing campus soundscape design and highlight the importance of natural sounds in enhancing students’ mental health and academic environment.

A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria

The umami taste is well validated in Asian culture but remains less recognized and accepted in European cultures despite its presence in natural local products. This study explored the sensory and emotional perceptions of umami in 233 Austrian participants who had lived in Austria for most of their lives. Using blind tasting, participants evaluated monosodium glutamate (MSG) dissolved in water, providing open-ended verbal descriptions, pleasantness ratings, and comparisons to a sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. Discrimination tests excluded MSG ageusia, and basic demographic data were collected. A text semantic-based analysis (TSA) was employed to analyze the emotional valence and descriptive content of participants’ responses. The results showed that MSG was predominantly associated with neutral sentiments across the group, including both female and male subgroups. “Sour” was the most frequent taste descriptor, while “unfamiliar” characterized the perceptual experience. Pleasantness ratings for MSG and NaCl were positively correlated, suggesting that overcoming the unfamiliarity of umami could enhance its acceptance and align it with the pleasantness of salt. These findings advance the understanding of umami sensory perception and its emotional and cultural acceptance in European contexts, offering valuable insights for integrating umami into Western dietary and sensory frameworks.

Minority joy, minority growth, and minority peace: Transgender and gender diverse people’s varied positive lived experiences

Background Compared to negative experiences and ill health, little attention has been paid to positive experiences connected to being transgender and gender diverse (TGD). Aim The aim of the current study was to explore TGD people’s positive experiences in depth. Methods In total, 33 TGD people were interviewed. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Results show that participants had various positive experiences related to their gender identity. While some of these experiences can be conceptualized as “minority joy,” capturing experiences evoking happy emotions, others are better understood as “minority growth”—a personal development and sense of authenticity—and “minority peace”—a sense of comfortability and calmness. The emotional valence of experiences was further explored to better understand the themes. Discussion In line with earlier research, some of the positive experiences could be seen as buffers between stressors and ill health and some were clearly connected to experiencing stressors. However, some experiences were freestanding from stressors and positive in their own right. The results of this study give an alternative to the prevailing view of TGD experiences necessarily connected to suffering. The results are relevant for professionals meeting TGD people, since a focus on strengths and positive aspects could be an important, but previously under focused tool to improve general health and quality of life. It may give hope to TGD people themselves, who are often presented with the trope of the suffering TGD person. Not the least, results could inform general society and policy makers.