Mood Induction Research Articles

Negative Emotion (dys)regulation Predicts Distorted Time Perception: Preliminary Experimental Evidence and Implications for Psychopathology.

Accurate time perception is crucial to daily life but vulnerable to interference, particularly through negative affect, which dilates individuals' sense of time passing. Regulation strategies like rumination, and disorders like borderline personality disorder (BPD), are linked to time distortion, yet their interrelationships remain untested. We investigated whether rumination and BPD symptoms increase time dilation in negative affective states to understand the clinical implications of time distortion. In an online pilot study, we tested whether negative affect (NA) predicts subjective time perception and explored how rumination, BPD symptoms, and their interaction predicted time perception using a between-subjects online experimental mood induction. Adult participants (Ncombined = 760) were recruited from Prolific Academic and a large, Midwestern U.S. university. State NA and increased BPD features predicted increased time dilation. The role of trait-level rumination was nuanced, with individuals low in BPD symptoms and elevated trait rumination exhibiting reduced time dilation in response to NA. Conversely, those with elevated rumination and BPD symptoms reported increased time dilation in the neutral condition. Findings offer foundational evidence of NA and rumination's roles in time dilation for individuals across levels of BPD symptom endorsement. Subsequent replication and extension could flesh out these relationships and inform psychotherapeutic treatment targets.

The role of mood in shaping reactions to smoking cessation messages among adults who smoke: a multimodal investigation

IntroductionMood-tailored communications may help increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation messaging interventions. We used both self-report and psychophysiological measures to test the impact of mood on responses to cessation messages in adults who smoke.MethodsIn a two-part (crowdsourcing and psychophysiological studies) study, the impact of 30 smoking cessation messages comprised of five themes (i.e., financial, health, quality-of-life, challenges in quitting, motivation to quit) were tested. In a crowdsourcing study, participants (N = 600) were randomly placed into one of three mood induction tasks (i.e., positive, negative, neutral), and then viewed the smoking cessation messages. After each message, they were asked to self-report their motivation to quit, message receptivity, and the perceived relevance of the messages. In an in-lab, psychophysiological study, participants (N = 42) completed the same tasks as the crowdsourcing participants but were monitored for heart rate, skin conductance, and eye-tracking while viewing the cessation messages. Using a multi-attribute decision-making model (MADM) using outcomes from both studies, messages were ranked for each mood state.ResultsThe top messages for participants in the positive mood condition included the challenges in quitting, financial costs/rewards, and motivations to quit themes. The top messages for participants assigned to the negative mood condition included the challenges in quitting, quality-of-life, and financial costs/rewards themes. For participants in the neutral mood condition, messages in the challenges in quitting and quality of life themes performed best.ConclusionsVariations in the preferences of messages and themes by mood condition suggest that mood-tailored communication may increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation messages.

Functional connectivity subtypes during a positive mood induction: Predicting clinical response in a randomized controlled trial of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression.

Functional connectivity subtypes during a positive mood induction: Predicting clinical response in a randomized controlled trial of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression.

Disinhibition, rather than moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury, moderates the impact of anger provocation on subjective emotional experience

Objective Altered reactivity to emotional stimuli is common after traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is suggested to reflect difficulties with emotion regulation. While disinhibition is common after moderate-to-severe TBI, limited research has investigated the link between disinhibition and emotional reactivity in this clinical group. The aim of this research, therefore, was to investigate the relationship between disinhibition and TBI to anger provocation. Method Thirty-five individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI and thirty-one controls completed an anger induction task. Participants rated their experience of emotions and subjective arousal before and after the induction. Heart rate, respiration and skin conductance were also measured. Disinhibition was measured using the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale. Results In the full sample, the mood induction led to increased skin conductance, respiration, and self-reported anger, tension, arousal and negative mood. There were no differences between those with TBI and controls. Disinhibition interacted with the impact of anger provocation on subjective, but not objective, outcomes such that those elevated in disinhibition reported increased feelings of anger and tension in response to the mood induction. Disinhibition did not interact with TBI across any subjective and objective emotional measures examined in response to mood induction. Conclusions While anger causes emotional changes for all individuals, these changes are particularly pronounced among those who are disinhibited, irrespective of whether an individual has sustained a TBI. This is an important consideration when examining emotional regulation post-TBI as the degree of disinhibition appears to alter subjective interpretations of emotional events, which could lead to emotion dysregulation.

Supplemental Material for Functional Connectivity Subtypes During a Positive Mood Induction: Predicting Clinical Response in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Supplemental Material for Functional Connectivity Subtypes During a Positive Mood Induction: Predicting Clinical Response in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression

Effects of personality traits and mood induction on metamemory judgments and metacognitive beliefs

Although the effects of mood and personality traits on memory performance have previously been studied, their relationship to the metamemory and metacognitive processes is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of mood induction (positive and negative) and personality traits (extroverted and neurotics) on metacognitive beliefs, memory confidence, the judgment of learning (JOL) and feeling of knowing (FOK) judgments during face-name recognition tasks. One hundred twenty-seven participants who met the criteria based on their extraverted and neurotic personality scores on the Big Five Personality Inventory were randomly assigned to positive and negative mood induction conditions. We found that neurotics showed lower JOL judgments and accuracy than extroverts. The interaction effect between mood and personality significantly affected JOL and FOK accuracy, indicating that while extraverts were more accurate during positive induction, neurotics were more accurate during negative induction. In addition, neurotics were underconfident in their memory and reported more negative metacognitive beliefs than extroverts. We concluded that memory and metamemory processes are distinguishable in their relationships with mood states and personality traits. Our data also showed that JOL and FOK are distinct processes that support domain-specific metacognitive judgments.

Empathy strengthens the effect of emotion on beauty.

Past research shows that emotion affects beauty judgments of images and music. Because it is widely supposed that our faculty of empathy facilitates aesthetic experience, we wondered whether individual levels of empathy modulate the effect of emotion on beauty. 164 participants rated the perceived beauty, happiness, and sadness of 12 art images, 12 nature photographs, and 24 songs. The stimuli were presented in two blocks, and participants took the PANAS mood questionnaire before and after each block. Between blocks, they viewed one of three mood induction videos, intended to increase their happiness, increase their sadness, or leave their mood unchanged. We also measured (trait) empathy with the Questionnaire for Cognitive and Affective Empathy. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the effect of empathy on emotion, beauty, and the relationship between them. We assessed four emotion variables: participants' felt happiness and sadness (mood questionnaire ratings) and perceived happiness and sadness (stimulus ratings). We find that higher empathy is associated with stronger positive relationships between beauty and both felt and perceived emotions, for both images and music (β ~ 0.06 per empathy point on a 10-pt. scale, p < 0.001). We also find that perceived happiness and sadness boost beauty directly for both images and music. However, sadness affects music more than images (β = 0.51 vs. 0.12, all p < 0.001), and empathy amplifies this relationship for music but not images. Thus, felt and perceived emotions produce more beauty, more so in more empathic people, and more so with music than images.

The relationship between anger and creative performance: a three-level meta-analysis

ABSTRACT A substantial body of empirical research has focused on the interaction between creativity and mood, yet the results regarding the impact of anger on creative performance are notably varied. To clarify the overall relationship between the two, a three-level meta-analysis employing a random effects model was conducted. This analysis reviewed 115 effect sizes from 2,413 participants, revealing that anger is significantly positively correlated with creative performance (r = 0.184, 95% CI [0.111, 0.254]). The strength of this correlation was found to be moderated by the general and malevolent facets of creativity, as well as the procedures used for mood induction. Specifically, anger appears to enhance creative performance, particularly when it is elicited through imaginative processes and directed towards malevolent facet of creativity. However, the link between anger and creative performance was not influenced by the type of creative task used, the reported creative outcome, or the time limitation of the task. These findings contribute to refining the theoretical frameworks of mood and creativity and highlight the practical implications of utilising anger to moderate creative performance.

Vicarious heterosexism-based stress induces alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis craving and negative affect among sexual minority young adults: An experimental study

PurposeSexual minority young adults are at increased risk for hazardous drinking and alcohol use disorder compared to heterosexual adults. Heterosexism-based stressors contribute and often explain inequities in alcohol outcomes. However, the extant research primarily relies on correlational designs, and often neglects the importance of alcohol craving, despite its foundational role in addiction. Leveraging a novel experimental mood induction paradigm, this study examined the effects of exposure to vicarious heterosexism-based stress on alcohol craving and negative affect among sexual minority young adults who drink heavily. We also examined its effects on cannabis and nicotine craving among participants who used cannabis and nicotine, respectively. Lastly, we examined moderating factors that could influence the impact of exposure to heterosexism-based stress on alcohol craving. MethodsParticipants were 101 heavy drinking sexual minority young adults, ages 20–35 (M = 26.46 years old; SD = 3.49), recruited from the community (51.5% female sex assigned at birth; 76.3% cisgender; 51.5% plurisexual; and 42.6% racial and ethnic minorities). They completed three mood induction trials counterbalanced over three visits on different days: heterosexism stress, general stress, and neutral. Structured interviews assessed criteria for DSM-5 alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use, and self-report measures assessed lifetime traumatic stressors. ResultsMost participants met criteria for past-year AUD (74.7%). Exposure to heterosexism stress produced more negative affect and substance craving than the neutral mood induction, even while controlling for demographic variables and lifetime exposure to traumatic and heterosexism stressors. Exposure to heterosexism-based stress had large effects on alcohol craving among participants who had greater drinking to cope motives and heterosexism-specific rejection sensitivity, whereas the effects were small for those who had lower drinking to cope motives and heterosexism-specific rejection sensitivity. Demographic, lifetime stress, prior alcohol use, and AUD symptom severity variables were not significant moderators. Greater substance craving induced by heterosexism-based stress in the laboratory was associated with greater recent and current substance use. ConclusionsThis study findings show that vicarious exposure to heterosexism elicits negative mood and alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine craving among sexual minority young adults who engaged in heavy drinking. The effects for alcohol craving were largest among those who endorse high levels of drinking to cope motives and heterosexism-based rejection sensitivity. These findings have implications for oppression-based stress and motivational models of addiction.

Assessing Children's Autonomic Nervous System Activity During Structured Tasks: A Feasibility and Reliability Study in Ghana.

The significance of physiological regulation in relation to behavioral and emotional regulation is well documented, but primarily in economically advantaged contexts. Few studies have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries. We investigated the feasibility and reliability of measuring autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and behavior during challenge tasks in 30 children aged 8-10 years in Ghana during two visits, 1 week apart. Completeness of ANS data ranged from 80% to 100% across all tasks. There was low-to-moderate test-retest reliability of video mood induction (VMI) emotion ratings and balloon analog risk task (BART) pumps (r=0.34-0.52). VMI elicited higher targeted emotion ratings in Visit 2 than Visit 1. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was higher, and pre-ejection period (PEP) was longer at Visit 2 than Visit 1 for baseline and both tasks. RSA was higher at baseline than during the VMI anger scene at Visit 1, whereas PEP was shorter at baseline than during all VMI emotion scenes at Visit 2. RSA was higher at baseline than during BART at both visits. In conclusion, ANS data collection within evocative and arousing challenge tasks was feasible in Ghana, and the tasks were generally reliable and effective in eliciting target emotions and risk-taking behavior in this sample.

Is self-disgust an implicit or explicit emotional schema?

Self-disgust, a negative self-conscious emotional schema that is associated with mental health difficulties in both clinical and non-clinical populations, is typically assessed with self-reported measures that target physical and behavioural aspects of the self. The aim of the present research was to develop and validate a novel implicit self-disgust measure (ISDM) using an Implicit Association Task (IAT) paradigm, across three studies. Study 1 developed a list of disgust-related and positive words that were rated for emotional valence and arousal and informed the content of the ISDM. Study 2 developed and examined the ISDM using the single-target IAT in a non-clinical population and showed that scores in the ISDM were significantly associated with self-reported self-disgust. Study 3 partly replicated the findings of Study 2 among participants with trauma-related experiences and following a mood induction paradigm, showing a significant association between the ISDM and the physical aspect of self-reported self-disgust. These findings are significant because they have implications about the automaticity of self-disgust in people with traumatic experiences which can further inform clinical practice and interventions targeting self-disgust.

How to study psychological mechanisms of mania? Asystematic review on the methodology of experimental studies on manic mood dysregulation of leading theories on bipolar disorder.

Although there are several psychological theories on bipolar disorders (BD), the empirical evidence on these theories through experimental studies is still limited. The current study systematically reviews experimental methods used in studies on the main theories of BD: Reward Hypersensitivity Theory (RST) or Behavioral Activation System (BAS), Integrative Cognitive Model (ICM), Positive Emotion Persistence (PEP), Manic Defense theory (MD), and Mental Imagery (MI). The primary aim is to provide an overview of the used methods and to identify limitations and suggest areas of improvement. A systematic search of six databases until October 2023 was conducted. Study selection involved two independent reviewers extracting data on experimental study design and methodology. A total of 84 experimental studies were reviewed. BAS and RST were the most frequently studied theories. The majority of these experimental studies focus on mechanisms of reward sensitivity. Other important elements of the reviewed theories, such as goal setting and-attainment, situation selection (avoidance or approach), activation, affective/emotional reactivity, and regulatory strategies, are understudied. Self-report and neuropsychological tasks are most often used, while mood induction and physiological measures are rarely used. There is a need for more consensus on the operationalization of psychological theories of mania. Standardization of test batteries could improve comparability among studies and foster a more systematic approach to experimental research. Research on affective (activated) states is still underrepresented in comparison with studies on trait vulnerabilities.

Men's Coercive Condom Use Resistance: The Roles of Alcohol and Emotional Factors.

Men's coercive condom use resistance (CUR) with female partners is common and is associated with greater alcohol consumption than men's noncoercive CUR engagement. Prior research indicates that emotion-related factors are relevant to alcohol-involved coercive CUR. Thus, in this alcohol administration study, we examined emotional factors as distal and proximal predictors of alcohol-involved coercive CUR among young men who have sex with women. Non-problem drinking young adult men who have sex with women (N = 282) were recruited from the local community, and as part of a larger study, completed a background survey and an in-lab alcohol administration session that included a mood induction and sexual scenario task using a 2 (sober vs. intoxicated) x 2 (positive mood vs. negative mood) experimental design. Path analysis testing a moderated mediation model revealed that for participants in the sober, positive mood, and intoxicated, negative mood conditions, there was a positive association between distal ER difficulties and motives to have sex to cope with negative emotions. Additionally, distal ER difficulties were positively associated with proximal difficulties modulating one's emotions among intoxicated participants. Among those with greater proximal difficulties modulating their emotions, state anger was positively associated with coercive CUR intentions. Results demonstrate the importance of alcohol intoxication, emotions and emotion regulation, and sexual coping motives in men's coercive CUR likelihood, demonstrating potential malleable targets for prevention efforts.

Musical mood induction: The relative influences of music type and the importance of music preference

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of music type on mood and the influence of music preference for predicting mood induction. Ninety undergraduate participants ( Mage = 22.19 years, SD = 6) completed a music preference inventory prior to listening to heavy metal and classical music stimuli, presented in counterbalanced order. Participants completed the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale inventory to measure baseline mood and then re-completed the inventory after each music stimulus presentation. Multivariate analysis of variance on repeated measures evaluated the effects of music type on mood, whereas multiple regression analysis tested the influence of preference on mood following music exposure. Heavy metal music induced a state of high arousal/negative mood via increases in hostility, whereas classical music induced a state of low arousal/positive mood via increases in serenity. Preferences for heavy metal music predicted significant reductions in negative affect and hostility following heavy metal music, coupled with increases in serenity, joviality, and positive affect. Likewise, classical music preference predicted significant increases in joviality and PA following classical music listening. The results of the current study demonstrate how differential music exposures influence mood and reveal the importance of listener preferences for predicting mood change.

An experimental investigation into the effect of negative affect on the behavioral economic demand for alcohol.

It is hypothesized that alcohol use is reinforcing when used as a strategy to cope with negative affect. Although the evidence for this hypothesis in observational data is weak, some experimental evidence suggests that the behavioral economic demand for alcohol increases immediately following a negative emotional event. We hypothesized that people show a higher demand for alcohol following negative (vs. neutral) mood inductions and that this effect is stronger in people who report heavier drinking compared to people who report lighter drinking as well as stronger on days characterized by higher coping motives and negative urgency. 309 college students who reported recent alcohol consumption (MAUDIT = 6.86) completed the alcohol purchase task after being subjected to 12 mood inductions (six negative, six neutral, order randomized) on 12 separate days. In our preregistered analyses, we found no evidence that the behavioral economic demand for alcohol was elevated following negative mood inductions. The mood inductions in our study were not as strong as has been reported in previous research, weakening the preregistered inferences. In exploratory analyses performed on a subset of the data in which the mood inductions worked as intended, demand was higher following negative mood inductions. The results of this study are not conclusive. In light of previous research, we consider these data to slightly increase our confidence that demand for alcohol is increased immediately following a negative emotional event. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive Vulnerability to Mood Deterioration in an Exercise Cessation Paradigm.

Mood deterioration in response to exercise cessation is well-documented, but moderators of this effect remain unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that physically active individuals with higher levels of cognitive vulnerability (i.e., tendencies towards negative thought content and processes in response to stress or negative mood states) are at greater risk for increased anxiety and depressive symptoms when undergoing exercise cessation. Community adults meeting recommended physical activity guidelines (N=36) participated in a 4-week prospective, longitudinal study with 2 weeks each of maintained exercise and exercise cessation. Cognitive vulnerability measures included dysfunctional attitudes, brooding rumination, and cognitive reactivity (i.e., change in dysfunctional attitudes over a dysphoric mood induction). Anxiety and depression symptoms increased during exercise cessation. Brooding emerged as a risk factor for increases in Tension scores on the Profile of Mood States-Brief during exercise cessation. Future studies should explore brooding as a mediator (i.e., potential mechanism) of exercise-induced mood deterioration.

Emotion-Induced Frontal Alpha Asymmetry as a Candidate Predictor of Relapse After Discontinuation of Antidepressant Medication

BackgroundOne in 3 patients relapse after antidepressant discontinuation. Thus, the prevention of relapse after achieving remission is an important component in the long-term management of major depressive disorder. However, no clinical or other predictors are established. Frontal reactivity to sad mood as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging has been reported to relate to relapse independently of antidepressant discontinuation and is an interesting candidate predictor. MethodsPatients (n = 56) who had remitted from a depressive episode while taking antidepressants underwent electroencephalography (EEG) recording during a sad mood induction procedure prior to gradually discontinuing their medication. Relapse was assessed over a 6-month follow-up period. Thirty five healthy control participants were also tested. Current source density of the EEG power in the alpha band (8–13 Hz) was extracted and alpha asymmetry was computed by comparing the power across 2 hemispheres at frontal electrodes (F5 and F6). ResultsSad mood induction was robust across all groups. Reactivity of alpha asymmetry to sad mood did not distinguish healthy control participants from patients with remitted major depressive disorder on medication. However, the 14 (25%) patients who relapsed during the follow-up period after discontinuing medication showed significantly reduced reactivity in alpha asymmetry compared with patients who remained well. This EEG signal provided predictive power (69% out-of-sample balanced accuracy and a positive predictive value of 0.75). ConclusionsA simple EEG-based measure of emotional reactivity may have potential to contribute to clinical prediction models of antidepressant discontinuation. Given the very small sample size, this finding must be interpreted with caution and requires replication in a larger study.

Randomized Controlled Trial on Imaginal Retraining for Problematic Alcohol Use: A Dismantling Study.

Imaginal retraining (IR) is an approach-avoidance procedure that has shown promising results in previous studies. The aim of the present study was to dismantle the efficacy of IR's components in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). We conducted a RCT with nine conditions comprising eight intervention groups and a waitlist control group (WLC). Alcohol craving (primary outcome), consumption, depressive symptoms, quality of life, subjective appraisal, and side effects were assessed online at baseline, post intervention (6 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks). The sample consisted of 426 participants (age: M = 47.22, SD = 11.82, women: 50.5%). The intervention groups received instructions for four different components of IR (mood induction, mental avoidance of unhealthy stimuli, motor avoidance of unhealthy stimuli, approach to healthy stimuli) that were each conveyed with or without prior psychoeducation (PE). The intervention was delivered online. At total of 163 individuals (42.9%) used the intervention at least once. No group differences were found for any primary or secondary outcome after Šidák correction. Uncorrected statistics showed effects of significantly decreased alcohol consumption for the approach + PE group in the intention-to-treat and the merged motor avoidance group in the per-protocol analyses at post assessment compared with the WLC. Exploratory moderation analyses revealed that individuals with high visualization skills benefited most. The authors conclude that visualization training and motivational components may increase the efficacy and adherence of IR.

Unlocking the past: efficacy of guided self-compassion and benefit-focused online interventions for managing negative personal memories

ABSTRACT Positive reappraisal strategies have been found to reduce negative affect following the recall of negative personal events. This study examined the restorative effect of two mood-repair instructions (self-compassion vs benefit-focused reappraisal) and a control condition with no instructions following a negative Mood Induction Procedure by using the guided recall of a negative autobiographical event. A total of 112 university students participated in the online study (81% women, Mage: 21.0 years). Immediately following the negative memory recall, participants were randomised to each condition [(self-compassion: n = 36, benefit-focused: n = 39) or a control condition (n = 37)]. Repeated measures ANOVAs 3 (Repair condition) × 3 (Time of mood assessment: pre-recall, post-recall, post-regulation) showed that, as expected, negative mood (sadness, shame, and guilt) worsened significantly after the guided recall in all groups (p < .001). After the mood-repair intervention, participants in the self-compassion and benefit-focused conditions showed a significant reduction in negative mood (p < .019), while such improvement was not observed in the control group. Self-compassion and benefit-focused reappraisal functioned similarly as mood repair strategies after experiencing negative affect induced by the recall of negative personal memories. Implications in the context of autobiographical memory biases are discussed.

Dietary supplement for mood symptoms in early postpartum: a double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial

Postpartum blues (PPB) is a frequent syndrome of sad mood, crying spells, anxiety, restlessness, reduced appetite, and irritability, typically peaking day 5 postpartum. When severe, it greatly increases risk for later postpartum depression. This trial compared a dietary supplement to placebo on PPB severity. The supplement was designed to counter downstream effects of elevated monoamine oxidase A level, implicated in causing PPB. Participants recruited by advertisement from the Toronto region completed procedures at CAMH, Canada and/or participants' homes. Oral supplement or identical appearing relatively inert placebo were administered in randomised, double-blind fashion. Supplement was blueberry juice and extract given four times between nighttime day 3 and morning day 5 postpartum; tryptophan 2g nighttime day 4 postpartum, and tyrosine 10g morning day 5 postpartum. On day 5, depressed mood induction procedure (MIP) and postpartum blues were assessed. All data is presented (NCT03296956 closed, clinicaltrials.gov). Between January 2019 and December 2022, participants took supplement (n=51) or placebo (n=52). There was no significant effect on primary outcome MIP on visual analogue scale for depressed mood (mean difference=-0.39mm, 95% CI:-6.42 to 5.65mm). Stein Maternity Blues scores, exploratory PPB measure, was lower in the active group (effect size 0.62; median, interquartile range (IQR): active 2.00 (IQR 1, 4); placebo 4.00 (IQR 1.5, 6); regression with general linear model, supplement effect, β coefficient=-1.50 (95%: CI-2.60,-0.40), p=0.008; effect of CES-D crying category before supplement, p=0.03-0.00000023). Twenty-six and 40 different adverse events occurred within 25% and 42% of supplement and placebo cases respectively (Chi-Square, p=0.06). The primary outcome was negative for effect on depressed mood induction, however the supplement moderately reduced PPB. CAMH/Exeltis.