Neutral Affect Research Articles

Emotions and policy information predicting water-quality policy support

The public acknowledges the importance of water quality, and threats to water quality can provoke strong emotional responses. Despite this, the public often resists policies protecting water quality. Research with 349 US residents demonstrated that (1) emotions about specific water policies were more predictive of policy support than emotions about water quality and (2) hope about water policies was a particularly strong predictor of water policy support. In both between-person and within-person analyses, water-policy hope was a stronger predictor of water-policy support than water-policy anxiety, anger, and neutral affect–although these other emotions were related to water-policy support. These findings among water-policy emotions replicated results from a Pilot study with 148 US undergraduate students. The main study also demonstrated that water-policy support increased when policy descriptions explained how policies would improve water quality via hydro systems, and it did so by increasing feelings of water-policy hope. This research suggests that a full range of affective reactions to water policy and water quality should be considered when motivating support for policies protecting water quality.

Behaviourally assessed negative urgency is uniquely associated with binge-eating frequency.

Binge eating appears to be associated with impulsivity, especially in response to negative affect (i.e., negative urgency). However, negative urgency is typically assessed via self-report, which captures only some aspects of urgency and may be subject to bias. Few studies have examined impulsivity following experimental manipulations of affect in binge-eating samples. In the present study, individuals who engage in regular binge eating completed a behavioural impulsivity (go/no-go) task with high- and low-calorie food stimuli, once following negative affect induction and once following neutral affect induction. Greater behavioural impulsivity to high-calorie food cues while in a negative (and not a neutral) affective state was associated with more frequent binge-eating behaviour. Further, this behavioural measure of negative urgency uniquely accounted for variance in binge-eating frequency when controlling for self-reported negative urgency, suggesting that behavioural measures may be a useful complement to self-report measures. These findings provide novel and compelling evidence for the relationship between negative urgency and binge eating, highlighting negative urgency as a potentially important target for intervention.

Age-related changes in the effects of induced positive affect on executive control in younger and older adults—evidence from a task-switching paradigm

ABSTRACT Positive affect has been shown to promote task-switching performance in healthy young adults. Given the well-documented age-related decline in executive functioning, we asked whether induced positive affect also helps to improve task-switching performance in older adults. Sixty-eight younger and older adults performed a switching task before and after they had watched cartoon clips (positive affect group) or documentaries (neutral affect group). Positive affect was associated with reduced error rates across all trial types in both age groups. In older adults, the increase in accuracy came at the expense of slower response times for task-switch trials, resulting in greater switch costs. This pattern of findings is inconsistent with the popular notion that positive affect supports greater cognitive flexibility. Instead, positive affect may trigger adjustments in response control settings – such as a shift in the speed-accuracy trade-off toward more cautious responding – depending on the experienced level of task difficulty.

Toddlers' prior social experience with speakers influences their word learning.

Toddlers prefer to learn from familiar adults, particularly their caregivers, and perform better on word learning tasks when taught by caregivers than by strangers. However, it remains unclear why toddlers learn better from caregivers than from strangers. One possibility is that toddlers are more receptive to learning from individuals whom they have found to be engaging in previous interactions. The current study tested whether toddlers learn more from an unfamiliar adult who was previously engaging than from an unfamiliar adult who was previously unengaging. Toddlers (27-29months, N=40) were taught labels for novel objects by two different experimenters. Prior to word learning, toddlers watched pre-recorded videos of one experimenter utilizing engaging behaviors (i.e., using infant-directed speech, gestures, eye contact, and positive affect) and one experimenter utilizing unengaging behaviors (i.e., using adult-directed speech, no gestures, no eye contact, and neutral affect). Both experimenters were equally engaging during labeling. Word learning was then tested using a looking-while-listening paradigm. The results of linear mixed-effects model, cluster-based permutation, and growth curve analyses suggest heightened performance for words that were taught by the experimenter who was previously engaging. These results begin to reveal the kinds of social experiences that promote success in early word learning.

ENJEUX ENVIRONNEMENTAUX ET INNOVATION LEXICALE. LE DOMAINE DE LA MOBILITÉ (ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND LEXICAL INNOVATION. THE MOBILITY FIELD)

One of the major issues of today is the climate emergency. The European Union’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and become climate neutral affect most areas of the economy, especially transport, where critical transformations are needed to meet current demands. Vehicle manufacturing has always been a dynamic sector that has constantly seen significant developments and innovations. In the desire to find and use new sources of energy, in recent years, vehicle manufacturers have proposed hybrid and electric models. Nevertheless, during the years of the Covid 19 pandemic, they recorded massive losses, people’s transport habits undergoing very large changes. The transition to an electric fleet, the use of bicycles and electric scooters, as well as changes in everyday life have caused the entry into the common language of some technical terms and the creation of new lexical units. In this paper we aim to identify the neologisms that appeared in the field of sustainable mobility, based on the consultation of a corpus of written press, websites of automobile manufacturers and blogs. We will analyze the presence of official neologisms in journalistic texts, the procedures by which they are formed, the weight of terms with denotative value and those with connotative value, direct borrowings and loan translations, multiple translations of some neologisms from other languages.

Face-to-face live eye-tracking in toddlers with autism: Feasibility and impact of familiarity and face covering.

Studies utilizing eye-tracking methods have potential to promptly capture real-world dynamics of one of the core areas of vulnerability in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), selective social attention. So far, no studies have successfully reported utilizing the method to examine social attention in toddlers with neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities in real world and challenging settings such as an interactive face-to-face. This study examined the feasibility and validity of live eye-tracking method in response to live interaction occurring in several contexts in toddlers with and without ASD. Forty-seven toddlers with ASD, with atypical development (ATYP), or typically developing (TD), underwent a 30-s live eye-tracking procedure during a face-to-face interaction with a masked stranger using child-directed-speech (16 ASD, 14 ATYP, 17 TD; Mage = 23.44 months, SD = 6.02). Out of this group of toddlers, 29 (10 ASD, 8 ATYP, 11 TD, Mage = 21.97 months, SD = 5.76) underwent the same procedure with one of their maskless parent. Task completion rate, calibration accuracy, and affective response (feasibility measures) as well as attention to the task and the social partner (validity measures) were examined. Task completion rate and calibration accuracy were excellent. Despite the challenging context of face-to-face interaction, the toddlers exhibited a neutral affect, and high attention to the task and the speaker. As anticipated, toddlers with ASD looked less at the social partner compared with control groups. However, attention was comparable between the Stranger and Parent conditions, indicating that the effect was consistent regardless of presence of face covering or the familiarity of the interactive partner. The study demonstrates the high feasibility and validity of a live eye-tracking task involving face-to-face interaction in neurodiverse toddlers with social vulnerabilities. The effect of diminished attention to social partners in toddlers with autism is robust and present when interacting with an unfamiliar person and parent. The results suggest that a brief live eye-tracking method constitutes a promising ecologically valid candidate biomarker and potential intervention outcome in autism.

A Case for Neutrality: Why Neutral Affect is Critical for Advancing Affective Science.

For affective science to advance, researchers will need to develop a better understanding of neutral affect. At first glance, neutral affect may seem uninteresting to some affective scientists because the goal is to investigate hedonic experiences, not the presumed absence of them. This failure to fully consider and examine neutral affect, however, limits the field's potential for new discoveries. In this paper, I discuss how a greater understanding of neutral affect can inform researchers' views of valence, subjective well-being, and behavior. I define neutral affect and discuss evidence indicating that neutral affect is a commonly felt state that occurs independently of positive and negative affect. These data suggest that to understand the entirety of the affective landscape, researchers should move beyond traditional measures of valence and consider how positive, negative, and neutral affective states might inform their phenomenon of interest. I then illustrate how neutral affect might be a key, albeit complex, influence on subjective well-being. I also discuss how neutrality might be a fundamental and unique predictor of inaction. If affective scientists want to fully understand how feelings operate and function, it is essential that they explore the possibility that neutral affect might hold some of the essential clues needed to solve their affective puzzle.

Brain mediators of negative affect-induced physical symptom reporting in patients with functional somatic syndromes

Functional somatic syndromes (FSS) include fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and others. In FSS patients, merely viewing negative affective pictures can elicit increased physical symptoms. Our aim was to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying such negative affect-induced physical symptoms in FSS patients. Thirty patients with fibromyalgia and/or IBS and 30 healthy controls (all women) watched neutral, positive and negative affective picture blocks during functional MRI scanning and rated negative affect and physical symptoms after every block. We compared brain-wide activation during negative versus neutral picture viewing in FSS patients versus controls using robust general linear model analysis. Further, we compared neurologic pain signature (NPS), stimulus intensity-independent pain signature (SIIPS) and picture-induced negative emotion signature (PINES) responses to the negative versus neutral affect contrast and investigated whether they mediated between-group differences in affective picture-induced physical symptom reporting. More physical symptoms were reported after viewing negative compared to neutral pictures, and this effect was larger in patients than controls (p = 0.025). Accordingly, patients showed stronger activation in somatosensory regions during negative versus neutral picture viewing. NPS, but not SIIPS nor PINES, responses were higher in patients than controls during negative versus neutral pictures (p = 0.026). These differential NPS responses partially mediated between-group differences in physical symptoms. In conclusion, picture-induced negative affect elicits physical symptoms in FSS patients as a result of activation of somatosensory and nociceptive brain patterns, supporting the idea that affect-driven alterations in processing of somatic signals is a critical mechanism underlying FSS.

Brief mindful yoga intervention fails to prevent depression-related outcomes after a dysphoric affect induction

Objectives This study was designed to test whether a brief mindful yoga intervention can prevent depression-related responses to dysphoric events. Methods One-hundred-75 undergraduate participants were assigned to one of four conditions in a single-session study. Three conditions received a dysphoric affect induction. Before the induction, participants completed a 20-minute intervention consisting of (a) mindful yoga, (b) stretching, or (c) relaxation control. The fourth condition consisted of a neutral affect induction to examine the validity of the dysphoric affect induction. We hypothesized that compared to relaxation control and stretching, mindful yoga participants would show less: (H1) state depressed affect; (H2) rumination; and (H3) attentional bias toward depression-related words. Results Validity checks indicated that the dysphoric affect induction led to greater state depressed affect and rumination, but not attentional bias. Compared to relaxation control, mindful yoga did not show less state depression, rumination, or attentional bias. The stretching group showed less depression and rumination. Conclusions The results do not provide support for mindful yoga in preventing depression-related reactivity. It may be that when given in a brief, one-time dose, stretching is the better choice for preventing negative outcomes from a subsequent dysphoric experience.

Emotion dynamics among preadolescents getting to know each other: Dyadic associations with shyness.

The way children express and respond to emotions when they first meet is crucial to friendship initiation. But for highly shy children, these exchanges are particularly challenging. Existing research is based on individual and total frequency measures of emotion that do not reflect the transactional and dynamic nature of emotions in real-life peer interactions. We examined how shyness and dyadic similarity in shyness influence children's moment-to-moment dyadic emotion sequences with a new peer. Thirty age- and gender-matched dyads (Mage = 10.13 years, 75.8% White) were observed during an unstructured "getting to know you" task. Children's shyness was assessed through parent- and child-report. Using grid-sequence analysis (Brinberg et al., 2017) we identified three dyadic emotion clusters: Flexible and Shared Positive Affect (60%), Flexible and Shared Neutral Affect (35%), and Stable and Shared Negative Affect (17%). Children in the Stable and Shared Negative Affect cluster were rated higher in shyness relative to children in the Flexible and Shared Positive Affect cluster. Further, children more similar in shyness to their dyadic partner displayed more stable negative and neutral affect expressions than children who differed in shyness from their partner. Together, these findings suggest that shyness is related to less positive and less flexible emotion expressions when meeting a new peer, holding critical implications for friendship initiation among children varying in shyness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Coding infant engagement in the Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm using deep neural networks

BackgroundThe Face-to-Face Still-Face (FFSF) task is a validated and commonly used observational measure of mother-infant socio-emotional interactions. With the ascendence of deep learning-based facial emotion recognition, it is possible that common complex tasks, such as the coding of FFSF videos, could be coded with a high degree of accuracy by deep neural networks (DNNs). The primary objective of this study was to test the accuracy of four DNN image classification models against the coding of infant engagement conducted by two trained independent manual raters. Methods68 mother-infant dyads completed the FFSF task at three timepoints. Two trained independent raters undertook second-by-second manual coding of infant engagement into one of four classes: 1) positive affect, 2) neutral affect, 3) object/environment engagement, and 4) negative affect. ResultsTraining four different DNN models on 40,000 images, we achieved a maximum accuracy of 99.5% on image classification of infant frames taken from recordings of the FFSF task with a maximum inter-rater reliability (Cohen's κ-value) of 0.993. LimitationsThis study inherits all sampling and experimental limitations of the original study from which the data was taken, namely a relatively small and primarily White sample. ConclusionsBased on the extremely high classification accuracy, these findings suggest that DNNs could be used to code infant engagement in FFSF recordings. DNN image classification models may also have the potential to improve the efficiency of coding all observational tasks with applications across multiple fields of human behavior research.

Effects of positive affect and humor on divergent thinking

We replicated prior findings that a positive affect induction can improve creative performance (Baas et al., 2008) relative to a neutral control condition. We also tested whether humor improved creativity relative to both positive and neutral affect conditions. Participants were randomly assigned to either a positive, humor, or neutral affect induction condition with sets of ten memes as the mood induction stimuli. They were subsequently asked to complete two randomized divergent thinking creativity tasks. Compared to participants in the neutral condition, those in the positive affect condition generated significantly more creative ideas. The number of ideas generated by those in the humor condition did not differ from the number ideas in the positive affect condition. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Mother-Child Interaction of Boys With ADHD: A Behavioral Observation Study

Purpose: Investigate the quality of mothers’ interactions with children with ADHD and a marginal disturbance in socioemotional competence (MDSC). Research Methods: A total of 49 mother-boy dyads were included, and we observed their communication on neutral and conflict topics for children with ADHD and MDSC, children with ADHD alone, and children with typical development (TD). The Chinese version of the Specific Affect Coding System 20-code was used to examine the affective presentation in communication. Results: Mothers of children with ADHD and MDSC had less negative disengagement affect compared with those of children with ADHD alone. Boys with ADHD and MDSC and boys with TD had constant positive engagement between neutral and conflict conditions in parent-child interaction. Boys with ADHD and MDSC had significantly less positive affect and more neutral affect than children with ADHD only. Conclusions and Implications: Boys with ADHD and MDSC and their mothers had worse quality of observed mother-child communication than children with ADHD only and their mothers.

Because you had a bad day: the role of negative affect and justification in self-control failure

ABSTRACT Justification thinking (using excuses to “allow” giving into temptation) has been identified as a potential link between negative affect and self-control failure. We hypothesised that negative affect would prompt greater justification thinking, specifically deservingness thinking (i.e. “I deserve a treat”), and tested this for both inhibitory (temptation is to approach reward; self-control is to inhibit) and initiatory (temptation is to refrain from action, self-control is to initiate action) hypothetical self-control dilemmas. We found that only for inhibitory self-control (Study 1; N = 105) but not initiatory (Study 2; N = 116), negative affect resulted in greater deservingness thinking compared to neutral affect. We also hypothesised that negative mood coupled with justification would prompt greater likelihood of imagined self-control failure. We found that for inhibitory self-control (Study 3; N = 569), participants in negative affect (vs. neutral) and justification (vs. no justification) conditions were independently more likely to report they would fail at self-control. For initiatory self-control (Study 4; N = 321), we found an effect of negative affect on hypothetical self-control failure but no effect of justification. Overall, these studies confirm the role of negative affect in self-control processes and highlight differences between inhibitory and initiatory self-control situations.

EMOTIONAL CONTEXT OF THE ACCURATE AND INACCURATE METACOGNITIVE MONITORING LEVELS

Purpose. The aim of the paper is to identify what emotions arise after obtaining information about the correct or incorrect estimations of the performance in a short knowledge test. To do this a short pilot experimental research was conducted outlining some peculiarities of the accurate and inaccurate metacognitive monitoring levels in university students’ learning activity. Methods and procedure. The theoretical and comparative practical methods of studying the accurate and inaccurate metacognitive monitoring levels of university students have been used in the study. The participants (n = 77, Mage = 17.62) answered knowledge information questions of three types (multiple-choice, open-answer, and ‘Yes’/‘No’) set up both in Ukrainian and in English and performed prospective and retrospective metacognitive judgements of learning. Calibration procedure helped to define average indicators of both the illusion of knowing and the illusion of not knowing, as well as adequate levels of metacognitive monitoring. After the announcement of the correct answers the participants noted their emotions that arose when the answer were correct / incorrect. Results. The results showed the occurrence of emotions with positive and negative affect both in the accurate (the adequate level) and inaccurate metacognitive monitoring levels (the illusions of knowing and not knowing). According to the data, in total, the examples of the emotional status of the highest frequency were mainly with the positive affect. The illusion of not knowing was expressed by 5 main samples of emotional status of negative affect (‘disappointed’, ‘surprised’, ‘offended’, ‘inattentive’, and ‘sad’), 8 samples of emotions of positive affect, though the value of them was not very high in almost all the cases (‘normal’, ‘good’, ‘glad’, ‘calm’, ‘nice’, ‘proud’, ‘satisfied’, and ‘unsurprised’), and 2 of neutral affect as well. Students with the adequate level of their RCJs showed only positive and neutral emotions of different value. Conclusions. The current results continue to expand an investigation of metacognitive monitoring reliability factors. Still the presented ideas serve more as a framework for future study and their pure implications still need thorough further researches.

The still-face paradigm in Latin American mother–child dyads at 2 and 3 years: Effects of socioeconomic status and temperament

The still-face paradigm (SFP) is a common method in infancy used to assess emotion regulation and interactions when an adult (typically the caregiver) abruptly stops a positive interaction with a child and switches to a more neutral affect. The effect of this paradigm has been studied in different countries and age ranges, but research in Latin America and with toddlers (e.g., 2–3 years old) of different socioeconomic backgrounds is scarce. The current study analyzed caregiver–child interactions in this novel sample, to analyze the possibility of generalization of the typical response of this paradigm (i.e., less positive affect, reduced gaze, and more negative affect in children when parent affect changes). The sample consisted of 114 caregiver–child dyads from low to middle socioeconomic status (SES) (children’s Mage = 26.61 months, SD = 6.73, range = 18–36; 61 girls). The SFP modified version (i.e., on the floor and with a series of standardized toys), the temperament Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire adapted for Argentina, and an SES scale were used. The typical SFP response was observed in Latin American children. In addition, older children and children with higher SES exhibited better general regulation, and there were weak associations with temperament. For gender differences, boys demonstrated more aggressive behaviors at Phase II. Results from this study suggest that children’s response to this paradigm is an unconditional response to the lack of social reinforcers and is only partially associated with social and individual variables.

The impact of depression on mothers' neural processing of their adolescents' affective behavior.

Depression affects neural processing of emotional stimuli and could, therefore, impact parent–child interactions. However, the neural processes with which mothers with depression process their adolescents’ affective interpersonal signals and how this relates to mothers’ parenting behavior are poorly understood. Mothers with and without depression (N = 64 and N = 51, respectively; Mage = 40 years) from low-income families completed an interaction task with their adolescents (Mage = 12.8 years), which was coded for both individuals’ aggressive, dysphoric, positive and neutral affective behavior. While undergoing fMRI, mothers viewed video clips from this task of affective behavior from their own and an unfamiliar adolescent. Relative to non-depressed mothers, those with depression showed more aggressive and less positive affective behavior during the interaction task and more activation in the bilateral insula, superior temporal gyrus and striatum but less in the lateral prefrontal cortex while viewing aggressive and neutral affect. Findings were comparable for own and unfamiliar adolescents’ affect. Heightened limbic, striatal and sensory responses were associated with more aggressive and dysphoric parenting behavior during the interactions, while reduced lateral prefrontal activation was associated with less positive parenting behavior. These results highlight the importance of depressed mothers’ affective information processing for understanding mothers’ behavior during interactions with their adolescents.

Activity, Participation, and Goal Awareness After Acquired Brain Injury: A Prospective Observational Study of Inpatient Rehabilitation.

ObjectiveTo examine the frequency and timing of inpatient engagement in meaningful activities within rehabilitation (within and outside of structured therapy times) and determine the associations between activity type, goal awareness, and patient affect.MethodsThis prospective observational study performed behavioral mapping in a 42-bed inpatient brain injury rehabilitation unit by recording patient activity every 15 minutes (total 42 hours). The participants were randomly selected rehabilitation inpatients with acquired brain injury; all completed the study. The main outcome measures included patient demographics, observation of activity, participation, goal awareness, and affect.ResultsThe inpatients spent 61% of the therapeutic day (8:30 to 16:30) in their single room and were alone 49% of the time. They were physically socially inactive for 76% and 74% of their awake time, respectively, with neutral affect observed for about half of this time. Goal-related activities were recorded for only 25% of the inpatients’ awake time. The odds of physical activity were 10.3-fold higher among in patients receiving support to address their goals within their rehabilitation program (odds ratio=10.3; 95% confidence interval, 5.02–21.16).ConclusionInpatients in a mixed brain injury rehabilitation unit spent a large amount of their awake hours inactive and only participated in goal-related activities for a quarter of their awake time. Rehabilitation models that increase opportunities for physical, cognitive, and social activities outside of allied health sessions are recommended to increase overall activity levels during inpatient rehabilitation.

When a lack of passion intertwines with thought and action: Neutral feelings about COVID-19 are associated with U.S. presidential candidate attitudes and voting behavior.

Researchers might assume that neutrality does not shape thought and action because it signals that nothing in the environment needs attention, hence a person has little need to alter their behavior. However, feeling neutral about an issue might be consequential. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major issue during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. We examined whether feeling neutral about COVID-19 was associated with attitudes about the top 2 presidential candidates (Trump vs. Biden) and behavior (i.e., whether a person voted and who they voted for). Data were collected at 2 critical time points: Study 1 was conducted immediately after the U.S. presidential election and Study 2 was conducted prior to the second Senate impeachment trial of Trump. Because feeling neutral about COVID-19 might indicate that a person views the issue as unworthy of attention, a perspective more aligned with Trump's approach, we hypothesized that feeling neutral about COVID-19 would be associated with more pro-Trump attitudes and behaviors. Even after accounting for other affects about COVID-19, in both studies, neutrality was associated with more favorable attitudes toward Trump, less favorable attitudes toward Biden, being less likely to vote, and if a person did vote, being more likely to vote for Trump. In Sudy 2, neutrality was associated with less support for impeaching Trump. Overall, in contrast to the view that neutral affect exerts little influence, neutrality can be critically intertwined with thought and action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Dynamic emotional messages differentially affect 6-month-old infants’ attention to eyes and gaze cues

Infants often experience interactions in which caregivers use dynamic messages to convey their affective and communicative intent. These dynamic emotional messages may shape the development of emotion discrimination skills and shared attention by influencing infants’ attention to internal facial features and their responses to eye gaze cues. However, past research examining infants’ responses to emotional faces has predominantly focused on classic, stereotyped expressions (e.g., happy, sad, angry) that may not reflect the variability that infants experience in their daily interactions. The present study therefore examined forty-two 6-month-old infants’ attention to eyes vs. mouth and gaze cueing responses across multiple dynamic emotional messages that are common to infant-directed interactions. Overall, infants looked more to the eyes during messages with negative affect, but this increased attention to the eyes during these message conditions did not directly facilitate gaze cueing. Infants instead showed reliable gaze cueing only after messages with positive and neutral affect. We additionally observed gender differences in infants’ attention to internal face features and subsequent gaze cueing responses. Female infants spent more time looking at the eyes during the dynamic emotional messages and showed increased initial orienting and longer looking to gaze-cued objects following positive messages, whereas male infants showed these gaze cueing effects following neutral messages. These results suggest that variability in caregivers' communication can shape infants’ attention to and processing of emotion and gaze information.