Intense Positive Emotions Research Articles

Anticipated Emotions in Initial Trust Evaluations of a Drone System Based on Performance and Process Information

ABSTRACTTrust in automation has been largely studied through a cognitive lens, though theories suggest that emotions play an important role. Understanding the affective aspects of human-automation trust can inform the design of systems that garner appropriate trust calibration. Toward this, we designed 4 videos describing a hypothetical drone system: one control, and three with additional performance or process information, or both. Participants reported the intensity of 19 emotions they would anticipate as system operator, perceptions of the system’s trustworthiness, individual differences, and perceptions of the institution behind the system. Emotions factored into hostility, positive, anxiety, and loneliness components that were regressed on system information, individual differences, and institutional trust. We found that financial risk-taking, recreational risk-taking, and propensity to trust influenced the intensity of different emotion factors. Moreover, greater perceptions of the institution’s ability led to more intense hostility emotions, greater perceptions of the institution’s benevolence led to less intense hostility, and integrity perceptions decreased anxiety and increased positive emotions. Lastly, structural assurance led to less intense hostility and anxiety and more intense positive emotions. These results offer support for the relationship between human-automation trust and emotions, warranting future research on how operator emotions can be addressed to improve trust calibration.

Development of Positive Emotions in Physical Education: Person-Centred Approach for Understanding Motivational Stability and Change

ABSTRACT A person-centered exploration of positive emotions in relation to self-determination theory might shed light on the hidden dynamics in the motivational processes in physical education (PE). In the present longitudinal study, PE students were followed during three years at secondary school (N = 1681). Latent class growth analysis revealed a three-class solution: The largest class (n = 1121) reported high levels of positive emotions over the three years. The second largest class (n = 275) reported low levels of positive emotions over the three years, and the smallest class (n = 112) reported a decrease in positive emotions over the three years. Further, the results revealed an association between the intensity of positive emotions, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and quality of motivation. This person-centered study contributes to the identification of students’ emotional engagement in PE as an indicator for understanding their processes of learning, development, and well-being.

Cognitive and Emotional Outcomes of Latino Threat Narratives in News Media: An Exploratory Study

Objective: Although negative news portrayals can influence attitudes and beliefs about immigrants, little is known about how different types of threat narratives influence Americans’ emotions and perceptions of Latino immigrants specifically. This study examines cognitive and emotional responses to Latino threat narratives in the news media. Method: We conducted an online experiment using a posttest-only randomized design to assess participants’ perceptions of Latino immigrants and their emotional responses to threat narratives in news media. Participants (N = 208) were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. In one experimental group, participants (n = 68) read a news story about Latino immigrants as economic threats; in the other, participants (n = 70) read a news article about Latino immigrants as cultural threats. In the control group, participants (n = 70) read an article that did not implicate Latinos as threats. We used ANCOVA to test mean differences in responses to threat narratives across the experimental and control groups. Results: Participants who read the story about a Latino economic threat reported more intense negative emotions and significantly higher levels of perceived realistic threats from Latino immigrants than participants in the control group. Participants who read the article discussing a Latino cultural threat reported more intense positive emotions and significantly higher levels of perceived symbolic threats from Latino immigrants than the control group. Conclusions: Findings suggest that different types of Latino threat narratives have distinct influences on individuals’ emotions and threat perceptions of Latino immigrants. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

Communicating Antibiotic Stewardship: Emotional Responses and Their Impact on Adherence

ABSTRACTAlthough watchful watching has been recommended as a means of reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics, nonadherence has frequently been observed. Drawing from appraisal theories of emotion, this study (n = 579) examined (a) the factors that shape pediatric caregivers’ emotional experiences in the medical contexts and (b) the influence of emotions on (non)adherence behavioral intentions. Caregivers reported more intense negative emotions and less intense positive emotions following watchful waiting advice versus receiving an antibiotic prescription. The differences were mostly driven by false beliefs about antibiotics’ effectiveness. Emotional responses predicted intentions to adhere to watchful waiting advice (e.g., counterargue and seek another healthcare provider), with anger being the most consistent determinant of these outcomes. Improving antibiotic stewardship can be achieved by educational efforts to correct false beliefs and by training healthcare providers to manage caregiver emotions.

Is it worth turning a trigger into a joke? Humor as an emotion regulation strategy in remitted depression.

AimHumor has long been considered as an effective emotion regulation strategy for people vulnerable to depression, but empirical evidence in this area is scarce. To address this issue, we investigated the emotional consequences of humor in remitted depressed patients and compared them with the effects of positive reappraisal and spontaneous emotion regulation.MethodsFifty‐five patients with remitted major depression took part in a laboratory computer experiment in which they were shown negative pictures twice. First, the patients simply viewed the pictures and rated their reactions. Second, they viewed each of the pictures according to instructions, which are to (a) use humor, (b) use positive reappraisal, or (c) simply view the pictures, and then, they again rated their reactions.ResultsHumor was found to decrease negative emotions, increase positive emotions, and enhance the distance from adversity; it was more effective than spontaneous emotion regulation and similarly as effective as positive reappraisal. Humor was the most effortful form of emotion regulation. Patients were able to successfully produce humorous comments, and their failure to do so did not lead to worse emotional outcomes than regulating emotions spontaneously. The analyses also indicated that distancing mediates between using humor and the intensity of positive and negative emotions.ConclusionsOur findings provide preliminary empirical support for the idea that for individuals vulnerable to depression, humor can be an adaptive tool in dealing with negative responses to aversive events, and, thus, it may impair their potential of these events to trigger depressive episodes. Further studies in this area are warranted to determine the most adaptive forms of humor and analyze their effects in various depressogenic contexts.

Sustaining school-based improvement: considering emotional responses to change

PurposeEmotions of school leaders influence school culture and structure. Understanding emotions is under-researched and under-theorized in non-western contexts, especially during educational change. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the leadership team’s (LT’s) emotional responses to change, their coping strategies and conditions that maintain their commitment to change.Design/methodology/approachThe study used intrinsic case study research, drawing on data from interviews and a focus group that illuminated perceptions of the LT in a school. The data set was analyzed following the general inductive approach.FindingsThe LT’s experienced three critical incidents (CI) of educational change that provoked a range of intense negative and positive emotions, a national curriculum reform. Despite the team’s attempt to cope with the national curriculum reform (i.e. CI1), negative emotions and unsupportive conditions challenged their commitment to change. In CI2, supportive conditions and effective personal coping strategies helped elicit positive emotions, which led to sustained commitment to change. Emotions experienced during the capacity-building program (i.e. CI3) were predominantly positive due to support from the school principal and coaches, resulting in sustained commitment to change.Research limitations/implicationsFindings from this small-scale case study in Lebanon are not generalizable to other contexts. The time lag could have affected the recollection of experiences. All participants were female, and their experiences might not reflect those of other school members affected by the changes.Practical implicationsExamining emotions during change uncovers insight into school leaders’ subjective experience, facilitates a more nuanced understanding of change, and supports change implementation. Considering emotions during change informs the development of tailored interventions that provide effective support.Originality/valueThis study examines how emotions affect the success of educational change. Contrary to common understanding, change does not always generate negative emotions that impede implementation. School-based improvement creates structural and cultural conditions for effective change as it considers practitioners’ socio-emotional needs, eliciting positive emotions.

A Survey to Understand Emotional Situations on the Road and What They Mean for Affective Automotive UIs

In this paper, we present the results of an online survey (N = 170) on emotional situations on the road. In particular, we asked potential early adopters to remember a situation where they felt either an intense positive or negative emotion while driving. Our research is motivated by imminent disruptions in the automotive sector due to automated driving and the accompanying switch to selling driving experiences over horsepower. This creates a need to focus on the driver’s emotion when designing in-car interfaces. As a result of our research, we present a set of propositions for affective car interfaces based on real-life experiences. With our work we aim to support the design of affective car interfaces and give designers a foundation to build upon. We find respondents often connect positive emotions with enjoying their independence, while negative experiences are associated mostly with traffic behavior. Participants who experienced negative situations wished for better information management and a higher degree of automation. Drivers with positive emotions generally wanted to experience the situation more genuinely, for example, by switching to a “back-to-basic” mode. We explore these statements and discuss recommendations for the design of affective interfaces in future cars.

Optimal Emotional Profiles for Peak Performance in Strength and Conditioning.

Cooper, JJ, Johnson, M, Radcliffe, J, and Fisher, J. Optimal emotional profiles for peak performance in strength and conditioning. J Strength Cond Res 35(3): 833-840, 2021-This study investigated athletes' performance-related emotions and emotional profiles for optimal performance in strength and conditioning (S&C). It is suggested that the identification and control of emotions associated with successful and unsuccessful performances are essential for achieving peak psychological states and optimal performance in sports-related tasks. The individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF) model outlines an idiographic and comprehensive conceptual framework of interrelated dimensions that describe the structure and dynamics of subjective emotional experiences and performance-related psychobiological states. With institutional ethics approval, 13 competitive elite athletes (male, n = 7; female, n = 6: mean age = 21.7 ± 4.0 years) completed IZOF-based emotion profiling, in which subjects were asked to recall their perceived best and worst S&C session, outlining emotions and intensity within 4 global emotional categories. A significant difference was evidenced between best ever and worst ever performance within positive functional emotions (p < 0.001, d = 3.63) and negative dysfunctional emotions (p < 0.001, d = 4.92). Initial findings suggest that perceived peak performance states within S&C are associated with a high intensity of positive functional emotions (confident, motivated, and energetic) and a low intensity of negative dysfunctional emotions (worn out, sluggish, annoyed, and discouraged). Although future research is necessary to fully understand this area, the present data suggest that to assist athletes in achieving perceived peak performance states within S&C, psychological skills and strategies should be informed and developed in collaboration with sport psychologists, with the aim of achieving an optimal emotional profile.

Emotional responses toward Tourism Performing Arts Development: A comparison of urban and rural residents in China

In contrast to the substantial work on resident perceptions toward tourism development, relatively little is known about residents' emotional responses. By applying cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to identify the causes and consequences of resident emotions toward Tourism Performing Arts (TPA) developments across urban and rural communities. Based on a quota sampling method, surveys of 438 and 435 residents were undertaken in two typical urban (Hangzhou) and rural (Yangshuo) TPA destinations in China. Results revealed that rural residents reported a higher intensity of positive emotions and were more supportive towards TPA development. Positive emotions (i.e., happy, loving and grateful) for rural and urban residents were elicited by outcome desirability, fairness, and coping potential whereas negative emotions were generated differently. Complex emotions, rather than specific emotions were found to be related behavioral intentions towards TPA development. Findings suggest targeted strategies such as promoting TPA in urban communities and offering preferential local access for rural communities.

Keeping the magic alive: social sharing of positive life experiences sustains happiness

ABSTRACTSocial sharing of positive life experiences has been linked to increased intensity of positive emotion. Less is known about the relations among sharing, the perceived response of the listener, and the duration of positive emotion. We hypothesised that sharing an experience would sustain positive emotion when listeners responded in a manner that highlighted the appraised importance and remarkability of the experience, thereby slowing hedonic adaptation. College students who received a desirable exam grade (N = 165) reported their emotional response, appraisals, and sharing on the day they received their grade and again the following evening. Sharing was associated with longer episodes of positive emotion and more time spent thinking about the positive event. The association between sharing and emotion duration was greatest when sharing partners were perceived as highlighting the importance and remarkability of the event. This type of sharing also mitigated the fading of emotion intensity over time. These findings suggest that sharing sustains positive emotion by promoting appraisals that “keep the magic alive.”

Emotional congruence between clients and therapists and its effect on treatment outcome.

The present study aimed to (a) explore 2 indices of emotional congruence-temporal similarity and directional discrepancy-between clients' and therapists' ratings of their emotions as they cofluctuate session-by-session; and (b) examine whether client/therapist emotional congruence predicts clients' symptom relief and improved functioning. The sample comprised 109 clients treated by 62 therapists in a university setting. Clients and therapists self-reported their negative (NE) and positive emotions (PE) after each session. Symptom severity and functioning level were assessed at the beginning of each session using the clients' self-reports. To assess emotional congruence, an adaptation of West and Kenny's (2011) Truth and Bias model was applied. To examine the consequences of emotional congruence, polynomial regression, and response surface analyses were conducted (Edwards & Parry, 1993). Clients and therapists were temporally similar in both PE and NE. Therapists experienced less intense PE on average, but did not experience more or less intense NE than their clients. Those therapists who experienced more intense NE than their clients were more temporally similar in their emotions to their clients. Therapist/client incongruence in both PE and NE predicted poorer next-session symptomatology; incongruence in PE was also associated with lower client next-session functioning. Session-level symptoms were better when therapists experienced more intense emotions (both PE and NE) than their clients. The findings highlight the importance of recognizing the dynamic nature of emotions in client-therapist interactions and the contribution of session-by-session emotional dynamics to outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Becoming the Next Charlie Parker: Rewriting the Role of Passions in Bureaucracies with Whiplash

Despite previous work developing an understanding of organizational violence through grounded theoretical frameworks (Clegg, 2006; Hearn, 1994), we still do not understand the extent to which the conscious practice of violence in bureaucracies can influence subsequent individual performance. Part of the problem is that the ‘talk about’ violence at work is so heavily fraught with negative connotations that theoretical and empirical efforts about its potential utility (see also Lindebaum, 2017), such as driving excellent performance at work, are oftentimes suppressed. In consequence, accounts on the potential utility of violence at work remain essentially under-explored within management and organization studies. However, the fact that we do not talk much about violence in management and organization studies cannot be taken as in indicator that it is not present, as classical management accounts have shown (Terkel, 1974). The lack of engagement with violence as a construct of theoretical and practical relevance poses significant challenges for management and organization studies. As Albrow (1992) reminds us, bureaucratic organizations revolve around emotional politics; their central purpose is to remove and suppress any unpredictable behavior that is an outcome of passionate drivers, so as to build a safe and rational world devoid of anger, violence and love. However, studies of bureaucracies show that it is an endless and hopeless quest for purity and neutrality (Gouldner, 1954). Bureaucracy ends up shaping the parameters of human existence in ways far more closely than anything Weber might have imagined. What is puzzling, though, is that organizational scholarship often discounts the significance of the passionate side of bureaucracies by systematically insisting upon its dispassionate and rule-driven side. As Graeber (2012) puts it, “it’s almost as if the more we allow aspects of our everyday existence to fall under the purview of bureaucratic regulations, the more everyone concerned colludes to downplay the fact (perfectly obvious to those actually running the system) that all of it ultimately depends on the threat of physical force” (p. 112). Thus, we see passions not as abstract and free-floating entities, but as concrete interactional processes in which physical violence, and the threat of violence, can play a constitutive role (Confortini, 2006). In that respect, despite prior influential work on the informal sides of bureaucracies (Gouldner, 1954), it remains obscure how bureaucracies can be something other than impersonal mazes alienating and destroying human capacities. In other words, how can bureaucracies be approached as places where individuals can achieve great things and cultivate a passion for their work, even if it involves violence? In this essay, we aim to analyze the role of passions when they are inscribed in practices of violence, as drivers for exceptional performance, such as becoming the next prodigy musician (or researcher, employee or soldier). While we elaborate further upon this later, we note here that this focus is relevant to management and organization studies for one specific reason: it enables a better understanding of the dynamics around the conscious practice of violence – and its passionate manifestations – in bureaucracies that can drive subsequent individual and organizational performance. As we argue later, the conscious practice of violence does not imply here that it is inflicted upon the victim against his/her will, but is rather consciously accepted by the victim as a necessary experience toward excellence. Our argument stands at an angle with the literature on work passion and bureaucracies. For one thing, it contrasts with the view that work passion represents “a psychological state characterized by the experience of intense positive emotions, an internal drive to do the work, and a sense of meaningful connection toward one’s work” (Perttula & Cardon, 2011:193, italics added). For another, it stands in direct contrast to the lingering domination within organizational scholarship of a Weberian image of the passionless bureaucracy. To this end, we derive inspiration from the award-winning movie Whiplash. We do so because the movie offers rich and fresh insights into how violence and passion can help explain – under certain circumstances – the everyday quest for excellent performance within bureaucratic organizations.

The regulation of achievements emotions: Implications for research and practice.

In educational contexts, students experience a range of emotions, which can occur in response to a variety of stimuli, such as achievement (Pekrun & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2014). These emotions are referred to as achievement emotions because are tied to achievement activities or achievement outcomes (Pekrun, 2006, p. 317). Achievement emotions are important because they mediate effective learning by influencing the correlates of achievement, including cognitive, motivational, and behavioral factors (Pekrun, 2006; Pekrun & Perry, 2014). For example, positive activating emotions, such as enjoyment, preserve cognitive resources, direct attention toward the achievement task, and promote motivation and deep learning (e.g., Meinhardt & Pekrun, 2003; Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002). As such, these emotions relate positively to learning and achievement (e.g., Ahmed, van der Werf, Kuyper, & Minnaert, 2013; Buric & Soric, 2012; Villavicencio & Bernardo, 2013). On the other hand, negative activating emotions, such as anxiety, are expected to reduce cognitive resources, direct attention away from the task, reduce motivation, and lead to more surface learning (e.g., Pekrun et al., 2002; Turner & Schallert, 2001). As a consequence, negative activating emotions are related negatively to learning and achievement (e.g., Buric & Soric, 2012; Dettmers et al., 2011; Hembree, 1998; Zeidner, 1998). This growing body of work has highlighted the need for fostering adaptive achievement emotions to promote learning and achievement. However, how adaptive achievement emotions can be supported remains an underexplored area of research (Pekrun & Perry, 2014). Emotion regulation is one possible mechanism to support adaptive achievement emotions.Control over one's emotions was initially examined in the form of coping with stressful events and focused on the control of negative affect (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). More recently, research has examined emotion regulation, which is the ability to modify the occurrence, intensity, and duration of positive and negative emotion (Gross, 1998). In clinical, personality, and developmental psychology, emotion regulation has witnessed an increase in empirical research, which has linked emotion regulation to various outcomes, including psychological and emotional adjustment (e.g., Berking, Orth, Wupperman, Meier, & Caspar, 2008; Silk, Steinberg, & Morris, 2003), mental health (e.g., Berking & Wupperman, 2012; Gross & Munoz, 1995), and well-being (e.g., Gross & John, 2003). More recent investigations, however, have revealed that the causes and consequences of emotion regulation are more nuanced than earlier research suggested. For example, the implementation of specific emotion regulation strategies has shown various patterns of adaptiveness and effectiveness (for reviews, see Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Scheiwzer, 2010; Webb, Miles, & Sheeran, 2012). In addition, it now appears that context is of particular importance for emotion regulation decisions and consequences (e.g., Aldao, 2013; Gross, 2015; Troy, Schallcross, & Mauss, 2013). Accordingly, findings from the broader psychological literature might not necessarily generalize to educational settings or specific contexts within these settings. This raises many foundational questions for research and practice in education, including the following: (a) Which emotions should be regulated? (b) When should emotions be regulated? (c) How should emotions be regulated? and (d) What are the consequences of emotion regulation? Addressing these questions is critical because student emotions are not only central to learning and achievement but also for student well-being and retention (Pekrun & Perry, 2014).In this article, we review the conceptualization, process, and consequences of regulating achievement emotions. In the next section, we review theories of emotion and models of emotion regulation by drawing on related fields of psychology, as well as educational psychology. …

“I like the sound of that!” Wine descriptions influence consumers' expectations, liking, emotions and willingness to pay for Australian white wines

This study investigated how information, typically presented on wine back-labels or wine company websites, influences consumers' expected liking, informed liking, wine-evoked emotions and willingness to pay for Australian white wines. Regular white wine consumers (n=126) evaluated the same set of three commercially available white wines (mono-varietal Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc) under three information levels. Session 1, blind tasting (no information provided) and Session 2, informed tasting (held at least 1week later) with both basic (sensory description of the wines) and elaborate (sensory plus high wine quality and favourable winery information) descriptions followed by liking, wine-evoked emotions (measured with the Australian Wine Evoked Emotions Lexicon (AWEEL)) and willingness to pay evaluations. Before tasting the wine in session 2, consumers also rated expected liking.Results showed that information level had a significant effect on all investigated variables. The elaborate information level evoked higher expectations before tasting the wines, plus resulted in higher liking ratings, elicitation of more intense positive (e.g. contented, happy and warm-hearted) and less intense negative emotions (e.g. embarrassed and unfulfilled), and a substantial increase in willingness to pay after tasting the wines compared to the blind condition, with the basic condition ranging in-between. These results were consistent across the three wine samples.Furthermore, if the liking rating after tasting the wines matched the expected liking or exceeded the expectations by 1 point on a 9-point hedonic scale, participants felt the most intense positive emotions and the least intense negative emotions. Whereas, if the expectations were not met or the actual liking exceeded the expectations by >2 points, participants felt less intense positive and more intense negative emotions. This highlights not only the importance of well written and accurate wine descriptions, but also that information can influence consumers' wine drinking experience and behaviour.

Managing Contextual Complexity in an Experiential Learning Course: A Dynamic Systems Approach through the Identification of Turning Points in Students' Emotional Trajectories

This study adopts a dynamic systems approach to investigate how individuals successfully manage contextual complexity. To that end, we tracked individuals' emotional trajectories during a challenging training course, seeking qualitative changes–turning points—and we tested their relationship with the perceived complexity of the training. The research context was a 5-day higher education course based on process-oriented experiential learning, and the sample consisted of 17 students. The students used a five-point Likert scale to rate the intensity of 16 emotions and the complexity of the training on 8 measurement points. Monte Carlo permutation tests enabled to identify 30 turning points in the 272 emotional trajectories analyzed (17 students * 16 emotions each). 83% of the turning points indicated a change of pattern in the emotional trajectories that consisted of: (a) increasingly intense positive emotions or (b) decreasingly intense negative emotions. These turning points also coincided with particularly complex periods in the training as perceived by the participants (p = 0.003, and p = 0.001 respectively). The relationship between positively-trended turning points in the students' emotional trajectories and the complexity of the training may be interpreted as evidence of a successful management of the cognitive conflict arising from the clash between the students' prior ways of meaning-making and the challenging demands of the training. One of the strengths of this study is that it provides a relatively simple procedure for identifying turning points in developmental trajectories, which can be applied to various longitudinal experiences that are very common in educational and developmental contexts. Additionally, the findings contribute to sustaining that the assumption that complex contextual demands lead unfailingly to individuals' learning is incomplete. Instead, it is how individuals manage complexity which may or may not lead to learning. Finally, this study can also be considered a first step in research on the developmental potential of process-oriented experiential learning training.

A Study of the Triggers of Conflict and Emotional Reactions

We study three triggers of conflict and explore their resultant emotional reactions in a laboratory experiment. Economists suggest that the primary trigger of conflict is monetary incentives. Social psychologists suggest that conflicts are often triggered by fear. Finally, evolutionary biologists suggest that a third trigger is uncertainty about an opponent’s desire to cause harm. Consistent with the predictions from economics, social psychology, and evolutionary biology, we find that conflict originates from all three triggers. The three triggers differently impact the frequency of conflict, but not the intensity. Also, we find that the frequency and intensity of conflict decrease positive emotions and increase negative emotions and that conflict impacts negative emotions more than positive emotions.

A Study of the Triggers of Conflict and Emotional Reactions

We study three triggers of conflict and explore their resultant emotional reactions in a laboratory experiment. Economists suggest that the primary trigger of conflict is monetary incentives. Social psychologists suggest that conflicts are often triggered by fear. Finally, evolutionary biologists suggest that a third trigger is uncertainty about opponent’s desire to cause harm. Consistent with the predictions from economics, social psychology, and evolutionary biology, we find that conflict originates from all three triggers. The three triggers differently impact the frequency of conflict, but not the intensity. Also, we find that the frequency and intensity of conflict decrease positive emotions and increase negative emotions, and that conflict impacts negative emotions more than positive emotions.

How Attachments to the Nation Shape Beliefs About the World: A Theory of Motivated Reasoning

AbstractIf competing beliefs about political events in the world stem largely from information asymmetries, then more information and knowledge should reduce the gap in competing perceptions. Empirical studies of decision making, however, often find just the reverse: as knowledge and the stakes in play go up, the beliefs about what is happening polarize rather than converge. The theory proposed here attributes this to motivated reasoning. Emotions inside the observer shape beliefs along with information coming from the outside world. A series of experiments embedded in a national survey of Americans finds that a primary driver of the beliefs someone forms about globalization, other countries, and the politics in the Middle East is how strongly they attach their social identity to the United States. Attachment produces more intense positive and negative emotions that in turn shape the interpretation of unfolding events and lead norms to be applied in an inconsistent fashion. People, in effect, rewrite reality around their favored course of action, marrying the logic of appropriateness to their own preferences. Beliefs, consequently, are not independent of preferences but related to them. Motivated reasoning, while not consistent with rational models, is predictable and can lead to expensive mistakes and double standards that undermine liberal internationalism.

187. Modeling Anhedonia in Schizophrenia: A Stochastic Dynamical Systems Approach

Background: Anhedonia, traditionally defined as a diminished capacity to experience pleasure, has long been considered a core feature of schizophrenia. However, modern evidence indicates that anhedonia is better considered a reduction in the frequency of approach behavior than diminished intensity of pleasure when engaged in activities. The current study used Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to examine whether schizophrenia patients display abnormalities in the temporal dynamics of emotion that prevent fully intense in-the-moment positive emotions from translating into approach behavior. Methods: Participants included 28 outpatients with schizophrenia and 28 healthy controls who completed prospective, retrospective, and in-the moment EMA reports of emotional experience at multiple time points in the day, over the course of 6 days. Mathematical models, including network analysis and Markov chain analysis, were applied to the EMA data to evaluate stochastic dynamic changes in emotional states to determine mechanisms underlying failures to sustain positive emotion across time. Results: Results indicated no group differences for intensity of in-the-moment, retrospective, or prospective reports of positive emotion. However, mathematical models indicated that SZ had deficits in the ability to sustain positive emotion over time, which resulted from failures in augmentation (i.e., the ability to maintain or increase the intensity of positive emotion from time t to t+1) and blunting (i.e., when emotions at time t+1 are opposite in valence from emotions at time t, resulting in a decrease in the intensity of positive emotion over time) that predicted reductions in approach behavior. Conclusion: Findings suggest that abnormalities in the temporal dynamics of emotion are central features of schizophrenia that predict reduced approach behavior, providing a novel mechanistic account of anhedonia as it occurs in the real world.

Short Tips Delivered “in the Moment” Can Boost Positive Emotion

Background: Positive psychology interventions have been shown to increase happiness and well-being, and researchers are beginning to speculate on the mechanisms through which these interventions may be effective, such as positive emotion, behavior and thought. Short interventions matched to an individual’s current context may be a route to boosting positive emotion in everyday life contexts where people have limited time.Methods: In the first study 250 UK participants completed a control task or three short tips selected from a list of 10. Positive emotion was monitored before and 15 minutes after the task via PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) and additional items in a new Positive Emotional Intensity Scale (PEIS). Study 2 was a series of user centered design sessions with 18 UK participants to identify the key design principles for a Smartphone App intervention to boost positive emotion in an everyday life context. Study 3 involved 280 UK participants who either used the Smartphone App for two days or were in a control group. PANAS and PEIS were monitored during the intervention period and two days before. Personality, Adult Playfulness and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were deployed as potential moderators. The fourth study followed a similar design to study 1 but with 406 Chinese participants completing the short tips translated into Chinese, with PANAS, PEIS and Flourishing monitored before and after.Results and Discussion: In Study 1, we found three short tips increased positive emotion, relative to the control, as monitored by PEIS (but not PANAS). Study 2 identified twelve design principles that were used to develop the Smartphone App, which delivers short tips tailored to an individual’s context. Study 3 found that the Smartphone App boosted positive emotion (PEIS) and reduced PANAS Negative Affect relative to a control. In study 4 the same tips used in study 1 also increased positive emotion for Chinese participants when monitored via PANAS (but not PEIS).Conclusions: Varied short tips to boost positive emotion, behaviors and thoughts, which are matched to an individual’s context, may be an effective approach to enhancing happiness and well-being.