Greater Pleasantness Research Articles

Undergraduate training for medical students on breaking bad news in oncology: A continuation study exploring the patient perspective

Social interaction quality is related to cardiovascular functioning. Trait emotional reactivity may amplify cardiovascular responses to social interactions, but is often examined as a tendency to react to negative events. We took a broader approach by examining the joint effects of positive and negative emotional reactivity and social interaction quality on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and heart rate (HR) responses to daily social interactions.Participants were part of a larger study on BP and cardiovascular health (N = 805; MAge = 45.3; 40.1% male). Participants completed a measure of emotional reactivity (BIS/BAS) and 24-hour ABP monitoring accompanied by ecological momentary assessments (EMA) about just-experienced social interactions and their pleasantness. Multilevel models tested the associations of emotional reactivity, average pleasantness, and momentary pleasantness with BP and HR.Participants who reported more pleasant interactions on average had lower BP (systolic BP: B = −0.51 mmHg; diastolic BP: B = −0.46 mmHg). These effects did not depend on emotional reactivity. The effect of momentary pleasantness depended on BIS/BAS; in less reactive participants, greater pleasantness was associated with lower HR, B = −0.13 bpm; in more reactive participants, greater pleasantness was associated with increased HR, B = 0.16).Participants who had more pleasant social interactions throughout the day had lower mean ABP. The acute effect of a given social interaction on HR depended on emotional reactivity: HR increased for participants high in emotional reactivity during pleasant interactions. Thus, emotional reactivity may influence cardiovascular responses to social stimuli.

The joint influence of emotional reactivity and social interaction quality on cardiovascular responses to daily social interactions in working adults

ObjectiveSocial interaction quality is related to cardiovascular functioning. Trait emotional reactivity may amplify cardiovascular responses to social interactions, but is often examined as a tendency to react to negative events. We took a broader approach by examining the joint effects of positive and negative emotional reactivity and social interaction quality on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and heart rate (HR) responses to daily social interactions. MethodsParticipants were part of a larger study on BP and cardiovascular health (N = 805; MAge = 45.3; 40.1% male). Participants completed a measure of emotional reactivity (BIS/BAS) and 24-hour ABP monitoring accompanied by ecological momentary assessments (EMA) about just-experienced social interactions and their pleasantness. Multilevel models tested the associations of emotional reactivity, average pleasantness, and momentary pleasantness with BP and HR. ResultsParticipants who reported more pleasant interactions on average had lower BP (systolic BP: B = −0.51 mmHg; diastolic BP: B = −0.46 mmHg). These effects did not depend on emotional reactivity. The effect of momentary pleasantness depended on BIS/BAS; in less reactive participants, greater pleasantness was associated with lower HR, B = −0.13 bpm; in more reactive participants, greater pleasantness was associated with increased HR, B = 0.16). ConclusionsParticipants who had more pleasant social interactions throughout the day had lower mean ABP. The acute effect of a given social interaction on HR depended on emotional reactivity: HR increased for participants high in emotional reactivity during pleasant interactions. Thus, emotional reactivity may influence cardiovascular responses to social stimuli.

Quantification of Oral Roughness Perception and Comparison with Mechanism of Astringency Perception.

Texture contributes to food acceptance, but oral texture perception is incompletely understood. Presently, we quantified individual sensitivities to lingual tactile roughness and assessed the impact of age, salivary flow (SF), and fungiform papillae density (FPD) on threshold and suprathreshold perception. Additionally, we tested the hypothesis that individuals highly sensitive to tactile roughness exhibit sensitivity to astringent stimuli. Detection thresholds (DTs) were determined using the staircase method for surface roughness from stainless steel coupons (Ra; 0.177-0.465 µm) and astringency elicited by epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG; 0-1.64 mM) and tannic acid (TA; 0-0.71 mM) from 30 individuals. Suprathreshold sensitivity was assessed from intensity ratings of electroforming comparator surfaces with roughnesses ranging from 0.51 to 22.8 µm and astringent stimuli ranging from 0 to 5.2 mM (EGCG) and from 0 to 1.9 mM (TA). SF, FPD, and astringent food pleasantness scores were collected. Variability in threshold roughness sensitivity enabled dividing subjects into high (RHi; n = 16) and low (RLo; n = 14) sensitivity groups; however, no significant differences in age, FPD, or SF were observed across these cohorts. Interestingly, compared with RLo, the RHi group exhibited greater sensitivity to EGCG but not TA astringency and indicated greater pleasantness from astringent foods (e.g., unripe bananas and dark chocolate). When participants were allocated into high (SalivaHi; n = 15) or low SF (SalivaLo; n = 15) groups, TA-evoked astringency thresholds were significantly lower in SalivaHi whom also indicated greater pleasantness from astringent red wines. For suprathreshold assessments of surface roughness or astringency, no significant associations were identified with age, FPD, or SF. Suprathreshold roughness sensitivity was, however, associated with suprathreshold sensitivity to EGCG but not TA astringency.

How did They Say That? Ethics Statements and Normative Frameworks at Best Companies to Work For

This empirical study explores aspects of how companies that are positively recognized by their workforce as “Best Companies to Work For” convey the underlying principles of their “trustworthy” culture. The study examines the normative ethical frameworks (deontological, teleological, and ethic of care) and affective language utilized in the ethics statements. Although multiple studies have considered normative ethical frameworks in individual ethical decision making, few have considered normative ethical frameworks in organization ethics statements. In addition, this study expands the analysis to include the ethic of care. Of the “Best Companies to Work for” in this study, 93 had accessible online ethics statements. Findings indicated 70 % (65 of 93) of the ethics statements utilized combinations of three types of normative ethics studied, while 30 % (28 of 93) used a single framework. In statements with combined frameworks, the deontological framework had the highest frequency (40 %), while the ethic of care was present in 33 % of statements and the teleological framework had the lowest frequency (27 %). In ethics statements with a singular framework, the framework rankings were consistent with findings for combined frameworks. Using the Dictionary of Affect in Language, there were statistically significant differences on pleasantness between statements that mentioned ethic of care and those that did not. This study sheds light on how these trustworthy companies communicate (1) by publishing their ethics statements and (2) by using a multidimensional approach in their ethics statements that has greater pleasantness when an ethic of care is utilized.

Using computer-scored measures of emotion and style to discriminate among disputed and undisputed Pauline and non-Pauline epistles.

The Dictionary of Affect in Language that allows measurement of Pleasantness, Activation, and Imagery in texts and a computer program that provides several additional stylistic measures were used to score samples from Disputed (n = 22 samples) and Undisputed (n = 40) Pauline epistles and from Other New Testament epistles (n= 16). All samples came from an English translation. Several significant mean differences were noted between samples from Disputed and Undisputed epistles. A discriminant function predicting Disputed or Undisputed authorship limited to five predictors was 85% successful in assigning samples to either category. The majority of samples from Other epistles were classified as Disputed, i.e., less likely to have been written by Paul. Undisputed Pauline samples were predicted to be those with lower Imagery, shorter words, less frequent words, greater repetitiveness, and greater Pleasantness. There were significant differences in patterns of word use (vocabulary) between Disputed and Undisputed samples.

Is Leisure Time Worth More Than Working Time?

Abstract No abstract available.

Three Comparisons of Incandescent and Fluorescent: Color or Luninaire?

Three experiments using 132 subjects and two different scale models primarily tested the hypothesis that there is no difference in pleasantness when extraneous factors of luminaire size, shape and distribution were controlled. Subjects, who were not aware what the light color was nor that light color was being studied, found incandescent and fluorescent equally pleasant. Much verbal comparison and comparison by selection of one or the other has been made of incandescent and fluorescent light. While in recent years even more efficient sources have replaced fluorescent, fluorescent has been used in place of incandescent in spaces where pleasantness has not been considered paramount. This has included many factories and stores, most schools and offices and some home spaces where utility is considered more important than aesthetics (like laundry rooms). The greater pleasantness of incandescent has been so “obvious” that hardly anyone - lay or lighting -has questioned the aesthetic superiority of incandescent. Thus, despite the energy crisis and increasing cost of electricity, most designers and users have clung to incandescent in aesthetic spaces. In addition to light color installations and luminaries for these speces vary drastically.

A Dictionary of Affect in Language: I. Establishment and Preliminary Validation

73 subjects participated in a two-phase experiment. In the first phase, 33 subjects rated more than 4000 words in terms of the affective dimensions of Evaluation (Pleasantness) and Activation (Arousal). Mean scores for the words were normally distributed on both dimensions, and the correlation between dimensions was very low (.15). In the second phase, 40 subjects responded in a free written format to four “imaginary” situations distinguished by their Outcome (“A” Grade, Failing Grade) and their implied Locus of Causality (Internal or Self, External or Other). Ratings from the words in Phase One were used to score subjects' protocols for both dimensions, and greater pleasantness was evident for the positive outcome and the internally-attributed situations while greater arousal was evident for externally attributed situations; data were the frequencies of occurrence of high Activation and high Evaluation words.