Positive Emotional Expressions Research Articles

Guiding student learning in video lectures: Effects of instructors’ emotional expressions and visual cues

In video lectures, instructors often use spontaneous emotional expressions (facial expressions, tone of voice) and visual cues (underlining, circling) to guide students’ attention toward key instructional information. While previous research has confirmed the benefits of visual cues in guiding attention and processing specific information, there’s a notable gap in understanding the role of emotional expression in this context. Moreover, there is a lack of comprehensive exploration regarding the specific design of both behaviors (whether they emphasize the same instructional information) and their effect on students. This study conducted two experiments. Experiment 1 first confirmed the guiding effect of an instructor’s emotional expression on students, establishing the foundation for our research. Additionally, Experiment 1 explored the impact of the consistency/inconsistency of facial expressions and tone of voice, including student motivation, cognitive load, and learning performance. Results revealed the benefits of consistent positive emotional expressions on motivation and transfer performance, and the benefits of consistent negative emotional expressions on retention performance. Furthermore, we found that tone of voice was a key factor in guiding students, while facial expressions were associated with students’ immediate memory. Building upon Experiment 1, Experiment 2 introduced visual cues to investigate the combined impact of these two guiding behaviors on students. Results regarding emotional expressions were replicated, confirming the positive effects of both. Moreover, we found that the irrelevance of visual cues weakened the guiding influence of emotional expression on students, leading to the loss of relevant information. Therefore, we suggest encouraging instructors to convey positive emotions to enhance the learning experience while emphasizing key information through negative emotional expressions accompanied by visual cues. Additionally, minimizing or concealing visual cues whenever possible is advisable when delivering content beyond visual representations.

Determinants of social loneliness among older adults in job retirement and the role of emotional expressivity

Objectives The study examined the possibility that a mediating role of positive and negative emotional expressivity may contribute to understanding the associations between social loneliness and its previously identified predictors (i.e. health, age, sex, and social living situation). Method Self-reported assessments were collected from community-dwelling Swedish residents (aged 65 and above) in job retirement. Structural equation modeling with manifest variables was applied to cross-sectional data (N = 601) to analyze two competing models; one main-effect regression model, examining the predictive effect of emotional expressivity (along with health and sociodemographics) on social loneliness, and one mediation model, examining the mediating effect of emotional expressivity (using the bootstrapping technique provided in Mplus). Results The results indicated that the mediation model fit the data considerably better than the main-effect regression model (Δχ2 [Δdf = 8] = 72.69, p < 0.00001), and demonstrated a good fit on its own, with CFI = 0.986 and RMSEA = 0.030. This suggests that emotional expressivity contributes to the understanding of the connection between social loneliness and its previously identified predictors. Conclusion Recognizing the significance of emotional expressivity has the potential to enhance our understanding of loneliness in older adults, both in theory and in practice.

Interaction dynamics of social support expressions predict future support-seeking behaviors in online support groups

Maintaining the sustainability of online support groups (OSGs) presents a significant challenge. Integrating the literature on interaction dynamics and supportive communication, this study investigated how interaction dynamics in supportive communication foster long-term support-seeking behaviors that are crucial to sustaining continuous support exchanges in OSGs. Using a large-scale dataset of 48,868 posts and 468,243 comments over ten years from an OSG, this study examined how reciprocity and compensation of emotional and informational support, signaled by emotional expressions and analytical expressions, predicted a poster's future support-seeking behaviors in the OSG. Results showed that a poster's future support-seeking behaviors were positively associated with receiving (a) reciprocity of analytical expressions and (b) compensation of negative emotional expressions with positive emotional expressions in their past posts. However, reciprocity of negative emotional expressions was negatively associated with a poster's future support-seeking behaviors. This study emphasizes social support as an ongoing interactive process and its importance in motivating support-seeking behaviors and fostering a thriving OSG.

Advance Care Planning in the Context of Dementia: Defining Concordance.

Individuals with dementia may require a surrogate decision maker as their disease progresses. To prepare for this potential role, dementia care partners need to develop a thorough understanding of their care recipient's end-of-life values and preferences, or care dyad advance care planning (ACP) concordance. As part of our pilot study implementing the LEAD intervention with dementia care dyads, we conducted a multimethod investigation to define care dyad ACP concordance. We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies published after 1991 in English focusing on care dyad ACP concordance in dementia care and included 34 articles. Concurrently, we used descriptive qualitative analysis to analyze 7 dyadic ACP conversations from a pilot study about dyadic dementia ACP. The scoping review demonstrated (a) no definition of care dyad ACP concordance was reported; (b) surrogate accuracy in end-of-life decisions varies widely; and (c) best practices for ACP in dementia may aid in achieving ACP concordance, but do not prioritize it as an outcome. Qualitative analysis identified 7 elements for achieving concordance: Respect/Regard; use of Clarifying Processes; Conveying Health Care Scenarios; Affirmation of Understanding; Recognizing Uncertainty; Expression of Positive Emotions; and Trust. Care dyad ACP concordance occurs when care recipients and care partners both understand a care recipient's end-of-life values, understand the end-of-life preferences informed by those values, and the care partner expresses a willingness to accomplish the care recipient's wishes to the best of their ability. ACP concordance can be further operationalized for research and clinical care.

The role of maternal emotional expressivity in maternal marital satisfaction and adolescents' depressive symptoms among Chinese families: Moderated by family socioeconomic status

The present study aims to investigate the complex interplay among three family factors: maternal marital satisfaction, maternal emotional expressivity, and family socioeconomic status, and their impact on adolescent depression in Chinese families. A total of 542 Chinese adolescents and their mothers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds completed the survey. The data revealed that higher maternal marital satisfaction correlated with more positive emotional expressivity and less negative emotional expressivity. Both types of maternal emotional expressivity were associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents. Moreover, both maternal positive and negative emotional expressivity mediated the relationship between maternal marital satisfaction and adolescents’ depressive symptoms. Notably, the mediating role of maternal negative expressivity was only evident when the family’s socioeconomic status was moderate to high. These findings underscore the important role played by maternal emotional expressivity and family socioeconomic status in the dyadic processes between the marital relationship of mothers and the emotional well-being of adolescents in Chinese families. The present study also indicates potential targets for parenting interventions aimed at promoting the mental health of adolescents.

Fake human but real influencer: the interplay of authenticity and humanlikeness in Virtual Influencer communication?

Recently, there has been a lot of interest in industry and academia in virtual influencers (VIs). This study aimed to augment the understanding of VI marketing by exploring the relationship between VI’s characteristics (i.e., their humanlikeness level and operator type), their social media post characteristics (i.e., emotional expression, use of pronouns, use of punctuation marks), and consumer engagement. The analysis of three popular VIs’ Instagram profiles and posts revealed that VIs with less humanlike appearances tend to exhibit stronger positive emotional expressions. Interestingly, the level of humanlikeness in appearance was not associated with VI's other post characteristics, suggesting other intrinsic factors (e.g., the VI’s character and virtual universe) may play a pivotal role. Whether a brand operates the VI or not made a statistically significant difference in the VI’s post characteristics. Assessment of user engagement metrics (i.e., number of likes and comments) showed that users prefer hyper-realistic VIs and VIs operated by non-brand agencies, underscoring the importance of perceived authenticity in the digital realm. The emotions expressed by VIs, along with their use of punctuation, were positively related to user engagement.

What do you do or with whom? Understanding happiness with the tourism experience: an AI approach applied to Instagram

More and more tourists are sharing their experiences on their social media through a combination of photos, texts, and hashtags. But there is a scarcity of studies in literature on analyzing tourists’ visual content in relation to tourism destinations. To address this gap in literature, this study explores how and with whom users express the greatest happiness in holiday destinations, and how they share it with their community, through a mixed methods approach composed of analysis of images, text, and metadata. This approach allows us to address the objective of this research, which is the prediction of the happiness felt by tourists during their experience, using innovative techniques that allow the independent variables to be obtained. To predict tourist satisfaction, two sources of data, photos and texts, are analyzed: a novel approach and little explored in the literature, but necessary due to the interaction of both variables. This study applies various artificial intelligence analyses on visual content (deep learning), and textual and metadata content (machine learning) to 39,235 Instagram posts shared by tourists since the emergence of Instagram thirteen years ago, at a cultural and gastronomic tourist destination. The findings of the visual content analysis showed that socialization and company, that is, traveling and interacting with people, was a key aspect of a positive tourism experience. In addition, the gender of the people with whom they traveled, and the tourist’s narcissism were also key aspects in the generation and expression of positive emotions. Regarding the analysis of the textual content, the results showed that when tourists enjoyed a positive experience, they became more involved in the generation of content, that is, they showed their happiness through positive words.

Disgust-based approach-avoidance modification training for individuals suffering from elevated stress: A randomized controlled pilot study.

Perceived stress, a global health problem associated with various mental disorders, is assumed to be influenced by dysfunctional beliefs. It can be hypothesized that these beliefs can be modified with the help of approach-avoidance modification trainings (AAMTs). In the present study (conducted 2020-2022), we aimed to clarify whether the efficacy of AAMTs can be enhanced by utilizing the expression of emotions to move AAMT stimuli. For this purpose, we tested the feasibility and acceptability of a new AAMT paradigm in which the expression of disgust is used to move stress-increasing beliefs away from oneself and the expression of positive emotions is used to move stress-reducing beliefs towards oneself (AAMT-DP). Additionally, we explored the therapeutic potential of the AAMT-DP intervention by comparing it to an inactive control condition and to a conventional AAMT in which stimuli are moved by swipe movements (n=10 in each condition). The primary outcome was perceived stress 1week after the training as assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale. Findings indicate sufficient feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and that the decrease in perceived stress in the AAMT-DP condition was greater than in the inactive control condition (g=0.72 [0.10, 1.72]) and than in the swipe control condition (g=0.64 [0.01, 1.41]). In sum, findings provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, and the therapeutic potential of the AAMT-DP intervention.

The role of emotion and social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic phase transitions: a cross-cultural comparison of China and the United States

Leveraging substantial data from China’s Weibo and datasets from Reddit and X (previously Twitter) in the United States, this research explores the disparities and complex dynamics of emotions and social connections among social media users in China and the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that the expression of three negative emotions (anxiety, sadness, and anger) and positive emotions exhibited distinctive dynamics under the impact of the pandemic, with China individuals expressing more anxiety but less sadness and anger than those in the US. Moreover, Chinese social media experienced a surge in positive emotional expressions under lockdown, whereas the US witnessed a conspicuous decline in positive emotions. Also, the expression of three types of social connections - “family”, “collective”, and “country”-exhibited significant differences under the impact of the pandemic, with Chinese individuals establishing deeper connections with their country and American individuals leaning towards familial connections. Further analysis on the moderating effects of social connections substantiated that the “country” connection in China and the “family” connection in the US mitigated the negative emotions affected by the pandemic. These findings facilitate a deeper understanding of how cultural contexts shape social and psychological responses in crises. Based on topic analysis and forward-looking orientation analysis, this study dissects the aforementioned findings through the dichotomy of collectivist and individualist cultures, providing new insights for social psychological support and emotional guidance in the development of public health communication strategies in the future.

Valence and Intensity of Emotional Expression in Autistic and Non-Autistic Toddlers.

Differences in emotional experience and expression have long been recognized as common in the presentation of autism, yet research examining emotional expression in early childhood is limited, with mixed findings. Understanding emotional reactivity and expression in autism in early life is an essential step towards uncovering the mechanisms of these risks and identifying targets for intervention. The present study examined emotional expression in autistic (N = 17) and non-autistic (N = 20) toddlers (mean age = 25.27; SD = 1.88) during emotion elicitation tasks aimed at eliciting joy, frustration, and unease. Video recorded tasks were coded in ten second intervals for emotional valence and intensity, and the following variables were computed: proportion of time in positive, neutral, and negative affect; maximum intensity of positive and negative affect; and range of affect (i.e., most negative to most positive intensity). Autistic toddlers spent more time in neutral facial expressions, less time displaying positive affect, and had somewhat less intense positive emotional expression than non-autistic peers. Small differences were apparent in intensity of negative affect expression, while no differences emerged in duration of time spent in negative affect. Findings emphasize that differences may be more apparent in duration, rather than intensity of emotional expression, and that it may be particularly important to examine periods of "neutral" affect in young autistic children. Future research should consider the best ways to understand emotional reactivity in this population considering their unique interests, challenges, and communication styles.

“We Can Come in Together and Garden”: A Mixed Methods Study of School Connectedness in a Middle School Garden Project

ABSTRACT School connectedness is important for students’ current and future outcomes but may decline in the middle school years. This mixed methods study investigated the impact of a school garden project on 6th-graders’ school connectedness. Surveys were completed by 46 middle school students at the beginning and end of a garden unit. In addition, individual interviews were conducted with 25 participants. Quantitative findings indicated that most participants had some gardening experience at home and enjoyed being part of the garden at school. However, pre-post results did not show increased connectedness following the garden unit, as connectedness ratings were moderately high both before and after the garden unit. Analysis of student interviews found that the garden project facilitated home-school, student-student, and student-teacher connections. Qualitative results also highlighted the garden as a context for engagement as students shared what they were learning and doing in the garden, the choices and autonomy they experienced there, and their anticipation of upcoming activities. Finally, interviews documented students’ enjoyment of the school garden through their expression of positive emotion and appreciation for the outdoor setting and activities, which students described as stress-relieving and a valued break from traditional schooling. Implications for educators are discussed.

Comparing the language style of heads of state in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a global threat to nearly every society around the world. Individuals turned to their political leaders to safely guide them through this crisis. The most direct way political leaders communicated with their citizens was through official speeches and press conferences. In this report, we compare psychological language markers of four different heads of state during the early stage of the pandemic. Specifically, we collected all pandemic-related speeches and press conferences delivered by political leaders in the USA (Trump), UK (Johnson), Germany (Merkel), and Switzerland (Swiss Federal Council) between February 27th and August 31st, 2020. We used natural language analysis to examine language markers of expressed positive and negative emotions, references to the community (we-talk), analytical thinking, and authenticity and compare these language markers across the four nations. Level differences in the language markers between the leaders can be detected: Trump’s language was characterized by a high expression of positive emotion, Merkel’s by a strong communal focus, and Johnson’s and the Swiss Federal Council by a high level of analytical thinking. Overall, these findings mirror different strategies used by political leaders to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the Impact of Second-Child Mothers' Dislike on the Eldest Child: Understand its Influence and the Path to Building Intimate Relationships

This study aims to explore the influence of the mother's dislike on the eldest child in the second-child family, and to understand its influence and the way to establish intimate relationship. By interviewing and analyzing the mothers and eldest children of five groups of second-child families, the study found that the mother's dislike had a significant impact on the behavior and psychological state of the eldest children. The results show that the mother's dislike will lead the eldest children to feel neglected and ignored, thus affecting their study, mood, behavior and career choice. In addition, this study proposes to promote the establishment of intimate relationship between mother and eldest child through positive parent-child interaction, emotional expression and support. This study is of great significance to understand the influence of mother's dislike on the eldest child in the second child family and to establish a healthy parent-child relationship.

The influencing factors of college students' legal emotion and the mechanism of its effect on aggressive behavior.

Current research has increasingly focused on the preventive role of individual legal socialization in crime. The socialization of legal emotions is an important part of legal socialization. Building upon existing literature, this study, conducted through two sub-studies, investigated the influencing factors of legal emotions in N mainland Chinese university students and the mechanisms through which legal emotions impact aggressive behavior. In study 1, the results indicated that mother-child attachment, innovation spirit, and positive emotional expression positively predicted positive legal emotion, while mother-child attachment, dependency dimension in adult attachment, and positive emotional expression negatively predicted negative legal emotions. The anxiety dimension in adult attachment and negative emotional expression positively predicted negative legal emotions. In study 2, Positive legal emotion among university students could directly negatively predict aggressive behavior or exert influence through social alienation. Negative legal emotions could not only directly positively predict aggressive behavior but also partly affect it through social alienation. In summary, our study not only identified factors that influence legal emotions, but also found that legal emotions have an impact on aggressive behavior directly or indirectly through social alienation. Our research findings have significant implications for cultivating positive legal emotion in university students and curbing aggressive behavior. This can be achieved by promoting the legal socialization of university students and ultimately contributing to crime prevention.

The Effectiveness of Emotion Focused Group Therapy (EFT) on Rumination and Emotional Expression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Aim: Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease. This disease has many negative and positive effects on the physical and mental health of patients. The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of emotion focused group therapy (EFT) on emotional expression and rumination in patients with multiple sclerosis in Shiraz. Method: The statistical population of this research includes all patients with M. S. In the city of Shiraz in 1401, their diagnosis was confirmed by a neurologist based on McDonald's 2017 criteria. After identifying patients with MS. 30 people who met the criteria for entering the research were selected purposefully and randomly and in equal numbers were placed in an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group underwent emotion focused group therapy sessions during 8 sessions of 90 minutes. During this period, the control group remained waiting without receiving any intervention. The main data of this research was obtained using Nolenhoeksma and Maro (1991) rumination questionnaires and King and Emmons (1962) emotional expressiveness questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (variance analysis with repeated measurements) were used in data analysis. Findings: Data analysis showed that after the implementation of the intervention, there was a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in both variables of emotional expression and rumination (P&lt;0.05). A significant difference was observed in emotional expression components (positive emotion expression, sincerity expression and negative emotion expression) and rumination components (rumination responses and distracting responses) between patients with multiple sclerosis in the experimental and control groups (05 /0&gt;P). Conclusion: The use of emotion-oriented therapy is a suitable intervention to improve emotional expression and rumination in multiple sclerosis patients and can be used to improve psychological status and better cope with the disease.

어머니의 양육태도와 유아의 정서조절능력이 유아의 문제행동에 미치는 영향

Objectives In this study, we aimed to examine how maternal parenting attitudes and young children's emotion regulation abilities influence problem behaviors in young children.&#x0D; Methods For the study, 291 young children aged 3-5 years old and 291 mothers enrolled in a daycare center located in G city were surveyed from December 12, 2022 to January 8, 2023. A questionnaire survey was conducted on attitude, emotional regulation ability of young children, and problem behaviors of young children. For the collected data, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between each variable using the SPSS 21.0 program, and multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze the effect relationship of the variables.&#x0D; Results The analysis results are as follows. Firstly, it was found that the mother's parenting attitude and the young children's emotional regulation ability were correlated with the young children's problem behavior. Secondly, in the relative explanatory power of independent variables that affect young children's intrinsic problem behaviors, negative emotional expression, affectionate, controlling, and rejecting influences in the order shown. In the relative explanatory power of independent variables that affect extrinsic problem behaviors of young children, affectionate, negative emotional expression, controlling, and positive emotional expression were found to have an effect in the order.&#x0D; Conclusions This study provides valuable information on the variables affecting young children's problem behaviors, such as maternal parenting attitudes and young children's emotion regulation abilities. It can serve as foundational data to enhance maternal parenting attitudes and young children's emotion regulation abilities, which, in turn, may help improve young children's problem behaviors.&#x0D;

The interpersonal effects of emotional expressions with both and single valences on work-related satisfaction: an examination of emotions and perceived openness as mediators

ABSTRACT Work-related satisfaction has critical benefits. To predict work-related satisfaction, we investigated how a counterpart’s expressions of emotional complexity (both positive and negative emotions), positive emotions, and negative emotions influenced a perceiver’s work-related satisfaction during discussions over different work-relevant ideas. We conducted a three-wave coworker survey (N = 529) and an experiment with a confederate as a task partner (N = 378). The results consistently showed significant positive impacts of a counterpart’s emotional complexity and positive emotion expressions on a perceiver’s work-related satisfaction by enhancing the perceiver’s positive emotions and evaluation of the counterpart’s openness. Conversely, a counterpart’s negative emotion expression significantly decreased a perceiver’s work-related satisfaction by reducing perceived counterpart openness. We also did not find a perceiver’s negative emotion as a significant mediator of the associations between the three emotional expressions and work-related satisfaction. Therefore, our investigation highlights similar positive effects of emotional complexity and positive emotion expressions and suggests that an expression of both positive and negative emotions promotes satisfaction by enhancing positive emotions and openness perception.

Relationships among teacher enjoyment, emotional labor, and perceived student engagement: A daily diary approach

The present daily diary study among 587 Canadian primary and secondary school teachers assessed teachers' genuine expression, faking, hiding of happiness and enthusiasm, and their daily associations with perceived student emotional and behavioral engagement. Moreover, we measured teachers' trait enjoyment before and after the diary study to examine whether teacher trait enjoyment predicted the use of emotional labor strategies that, in turn, were related to teachers' perceptions of their students' engagement. In addition, we examined whether perceived student engagement predicted future levels of teacher trait enjoyment. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling showed that, at the between-person level, teachers who had higher levels of trait enjoyment tended to spontaneously show their positive feelings to their students (β = 0.381, p < .001), which was further positively related to student engagement (β = 0.257, p < .001). In turn, teachers' perceptions of heightened student engagement led to even greater enjoyment in the future (β = 0.134, p < .05). In contrast, teacher trait enjoyment was negatively related to faking (β = −0.297, p < .001) and hiding positive emotions (β = −0.130, p < .05), but was further unrelated to student engagement or future enjoyment. At the within-person level, genuine expression of positive emotions was positively related to student engagement (β = 0.219, p < .001), faking was negatively related to student engagement (β = −0.134, p < .001), and hiding was unrelated to student engagement.

Multidimensional mental representations of natural environment among Chinese preadolescents via draw‐and‐write mapping

Abstract The mental associations that children have with the natural environment can be referred to as their natural representations. These representations encompass a blend of shared consensus and individual differences, playing a pivotal role in shaping human relationships with nature and influencing attitudes and behaviours. However, comprehending children's natural representations, particularly among preadolescents with limited verbal narrative abilities, remains a challenge. To address this challenge, we conducted a study employing a draw‐and‐write task and a questionnaire survey. Our investigation aimed to understand how the level of nature experiences and demographic variables affects the multidimensional representations of nature among preadolescents (aged 9–12) in China. Specifically, we examined the impacts of direct, indirect and vicarious nature experiences on their natural representations. These representations included dimensions such as the level of wildness, cognitive complexity, extent of elaboration, expression of emotion and representation style. These dimensions were based on literature review and supported by empirical data collected from children's drawings. Our findings showed that children's drawings of nature not only share similarities but also display significant variations. Most of their drawings include natural components, such as living and non‐living elements, while a notable proportion of drawings depicts human activities. Interestingly, we observed notable differences in the level of wildness, elaboration and representation style among preadolescents from different regions. Additionally, we found that vicarious nature experiences have a significant positive impact on the cognitive complexity, extent of elaboration and positive emotional expression in children's drawings, while direct nature experiences also have a weaker but still significant positive effect on the elaboration. Moreover, female students exhibit greater proficiency in these three aspects compared to their male counterparts. The study highlights the significance of the surrounding environment and nature experiences, especially vicarious nature experience, in shaping the natural representations of preadolescents. Using draw‐and‐write mapping is recommended as a valuable approach to understanding the children's mental representations of the natural environment. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

LEADing advance care conversations: concordance amongst ADRD dyads

AbstractBackgroundThe LEAD Guide (Life‐Planning in Early Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias)1 is a validated paper‐based dementia‐focused advance care planning (ACP) guide that addresses changes in cognition and goals of care along the ADRD continuum, preparing surrogate decision‐makers for loss of the care recipient’s decisional abilities. Achieving agreement on decision elements of ACP in care partner (CP)/care recipient (CR) dyads may reduce ambiguity, increase CP confidence, and assure that preferences and values are honored. Using multiple approaches, we developed a working definition of ACP concordance amongst ADRD dyads.MethodUsing the LEAD Guide as the foundation we developed the pilot LEAD Intervention, a community‐based NIH Stage‐1 behavioral intervention.2 This 9‐month study guided CP/CR dyads through a dementia‐focused ACP process that integrates a digital version of the LEAD Guide with ACP educational modules delivered through a web‐based platform. Dyads had the option of recording their care conversation. To understand the process of achieving dyadic consensus in elements of ACP, we conducted a scoping review of the literature and a qualitative analysis of recorded interviews.ResultOf 61 eligible dyads, 41 completed the LEAD intervention; 7 in‐depth recordings were obtained. Our scoping review of 6,788 manuscripts identified no operational definitions of ACP concordance, 35 that revealed essential elements of successful discussion processes and only one that characterized essential qualities of CPs. Using descriptive analysis,3 seven themes illustrating agreement on ACP issues were discerned: Respect/Regard for each other; use of Clarifying Processes; Conveying Health Care Scenarios to justify wishes; Affirmation of Understanding; Recognizing Uncertainty; Humor and Expression of Positive Emotions; and Trust. Notably, all seven dyads voiced confidence that they “finished the discussion successfully,” meaning reaching a state of concordance.ConclusionOur synthesis of the research literature and our qualitative findings suggests that a working definition of ACP decision concordance is when the caregiver understands the patient’s values that inform the preferences and choices of the patient, understands those choices and preferences and the rationale for the choices and preferences, and expresses a willingness to accomplish the patient’s wishes to the best of their ability. This definition contributes to research clarity in ACP investigations.