Self-reported Positive Affect Research Articles

Conditioning cortisol in healthy young women – A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundLearned placebo effects induced by pharmacological conditioning affect immune and endocrine outcomes and may offer new possibilities for clinical applications. Whether or not cortisol is subject to this type of associative learning processes, and whether conditioning may affect responses to stress, is currently unclear. MethodA randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 48 healthy young women. During acquisition, participants received a pill containing either 100 mg hydrocortisone (unconditioned stimulus) or placebo, paired with a gustatory conditioned stimulus on three consecutive days. During evocation, all participants received placebo paired with the conditioned stimulus, again on three consecutive days. During the third evocation trial, participants underwent a psychosocial stress task. The main outcome parameter salivary cortisol and secondary outcome parameters salivary alpha-amylase, self-reported positive affect and tension, heart rate, and skin conductance level were measured at several time points. ResultsSignificant baseline group differences on cortisol were found at several time points, which complicate the interpretation of group differences. During the first evocation session, the conditioned group showed a moderately smaller cumulative decrease in salivary cortisol from baseline than the placebo control group. No significant differences were found between the groups on cortisol during the second and third evocation or in response to stress, nor on other outcome measures. ConclusionAlthough the results provide potential further indications for effects of conditioning on cortisol, baseline differences make it impossible to draw clear conclusions. No indications for possible effects of conditioning on the cortisol stress response or autonomous or affective responses to stress were found.

Studying the precuneus reveals structure-function-affect correlation in long-term meditators.

Abstract Understanding the relationship between brain structure, function and self-reports has hardly been addressed until now in meditation research. Here we demonstrate such relationship, using Mindfulness meditation (MM). MM aims to reduce thought-related processes and enhance bodily awareness, thereby reducing identification with thought content and deconstructing maladaptive self-schema. We thus hypothesized that structure of the default mode network (DMN) regions, associated with spontaneous thoughts and self-representation, would negatively correlate with MM experience and self-reported positive affect, while positively correlating with DMN resting-state function. Cross-sectionally comparing a unique group of adept MM practitioners and meditation-naive matched controls using voxel based morphometry revealed that gray matter (GM) density of the left precuneus (L-Prc) was negatively correlated with MM expertise. Furthermore, GM density of the L-Prc was positively correlated with resting state and task related functional (fMRI) measures within the L-Prc in the MM practitioners, but not in the controls. Finally, the L-Prc’s GM density negatively correlated with positive affect across all participants. Our findings may shed light on understanding structure-function-self reports relationship. While our approach enables studying suggestive correlations in expert MM practitioners, longitudinal studies are required for direct insights concerning the question of causality. Significance statement Understanding the relationship between brain structure and function, individual differences and self-reports, is an important goal of neuroscience. Yet, these factors were hardly investigated together in meditation research. The precuneus is part of the default mode network (DMN) involved in thought related processes. Mindfulness meditation (MM) is a mental practice aiming to reduce thought related processes. Here, by cross-sectionally comparing adept meditators and controls, we found that in the precuneus of MM practitioners, structure associated with function. Overall, structure negatively correlated with practice length, as well as with positive affect scores. The structure-function correlation was only significant in the meditators group, possibly implying that prolonged meditation improved structure and function attunement in the DMN. More generally, this study demonstrates that mental practice can be related to conjoint structural and functional effects, as well as to affective self-reports.

Feeling good and bad about nothing at all: Evidence that the status quo can elicit mixed feelings.

Sometimes we come out ahead and sometimes we fall behind. Sometimes the status quo is maintained and we end up where we began. The status quo can be disappointing when things might have gone better and relieving when they might have gone worse, but it is not clear how the status quo will feel when things might have gone better or worse. Hume (1739/2000) and Bain (1859) would contend that feelings of disappointment and relief will neutralize one another. The evaluative space model (Cacioppo & Berntson, 1994), which conceptualizes the positive and negative substrates of the affect system as separable, raises the possibility that the status quo will elicit mixed feelings in such circumstances. To test this possibility, we had participants play games that offered a 40% chance to win, a 40% chance to lose, and a 20% chance of getting nothing. Participants' self-reported positive and negative affect indicate that the status quo elicited (a) less positive affect than wins and more positive affect than losses, and (b) less negative affect than losses and more negative affect than wins. More interestingly, the status quo elicited more mixed feelings than both wins and losses. Thus, when things might have turned out either better or worse, the status quo may best be conceived of as a bittersweet nothing. More generally, results indicate that a complete understanding of how counterfactual comparisons influence emotions requires conceptualizing positivity and negative as separable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The emotion regulatory function of online social networking: Preliminary experimental evidence

Correlational research suggests that emotion regulation deficits, which are known risk factors for substance addictions, may also play a role in the development of problem behaviors such as excessive or maladaptive use of social networking sites (SNS). This study sought to experimentally assess the hypothesized emotion regulatory function of SNS use. 139 undergraduates (53.2% female) were randomized to view brief movie clips known to reliably induce positive (37.4%), negative (29.5%), or neutral mood (33.1%) and then to browse a SNS (46.8%) or control website (53.2%). Mood and subjective urge to access SNS and the Internet were assessed before and after viewing the movie clips and browsing the websites. Participants meeting criteria for “moderate” levels of disordered SNS use self-reported significantly greater deficits in emotion regulation (p = .02, ηp2 = 0.14). Increases in positive and negative affect following the mood induction were associated with a decrease in subjective urge to access SNS (r = −0.22, p = .02, r = −0.28, p = .002, respectively). Time spent browsing SNS resulted in significantly greater increases in self-reported positive affect, compared to the control website (p = .001, ηp2 = 0.09). We replicate previous findings of greater emotion regulation deficits in individuals endorsing problematic SNS use. Increased positive and negative affect resulted in decreased urge to access SNS, suggesting that social networking may primarily serve to counter low-arousal emotions like boredom. Data provide initial experimental evidence to support the hypothesized emotion regulatory function of SNS, with SNS exposure resulting in increased positive affect. Findings suggest that interventions targeting problematic SNS use should incorporate strategies for improved emotion regulation.

Comparing Mindfulness and Positivity Trainings in High-Demand Cohorts

Attention and working memory are at risk of degradation over intensive intervals in groups engaged in highly demanding jobs. Accordingly, there is great interest in identifying training regimes to promote cognitive resilience in such populations. Herein, US Army Soldiers were assigned to either an 8-week, 16-h mindfulness training (MT) program (n = 40) or to a well-matched active comparison program involving positivity training (PT, n = 40), during an intensive interval of predeployment training. Working memory (WM) and sustained attention task performance, as well as self-reported positive and negative trait affect, were assessed at study onset (T1) and at the end of the MT/PT program interval (T2). Positive and negative trait affect did not change over time or differ across training groups. Yet, overall decline in cognitive task performance was observed from T1 to T2. Importantly, the MT group demonstrated significantly less decline in cognitive task performance relative to the PT group, suggesting better protection from cognitive degradation over time. Based on these results, we argue that MT should be further explored as a cognitive resilience-building tool in high-demand cohorts.

When smiles (and frowns) speak words: Does power impact the correspondence between self‐reported affect and facial expressions?

Self-reported experiences are often poor indicators of outward expressions. Here we examine social power as a variable that may impact the relationship between self-reported affect and facial expressions. Earlier studies addressing this issue were limited by focusing on a single facial expression (smiling) and by using different, less sensitive methods that yielded mostly null results. Sampling, for the first time, self-reported affect repeatedly in response to different negative, neutral and positive stimuli, and measuring concurrent facial muscle activation via electromyography, we found that high power (vs. baseline) increased the correspondence between self-reported positive affect and smiling. There was also an indication that high power (vs. baseline) bolstered the association between self-reported negative affect and frowning but the effect did not pass more stringent criteria for significance (p≤.005) and was therefore deemed inconclusive. The prediction that low power (vs. baseline) decreases the correspondence between self-reported affect and smiling and frowning facial expressions was not supported. Taken together, it would appear that (high) power can impact the relationship between self-reported affect and facial expressions, but it remains to be seen whether this effect extends beyond smiling facial expressions.

Sustainable Well-Being Challenge: A Student-Centered Pedagogical Tool Linking Human Well-Being to Ecological Flourishing

Human behavioral change is necessary if we wish to evolve into a more sustainable human society, but change is hard, especially given that many people equate environmentalism with personal sacrifice. This paper highlights a semester-long assignment in which undergraduate students examined five behaviors that claim to increase happiness with minimal ecological footprints. We used mixed methods to analyze students’ self-reported positive and negative affect scores before and after completing each of the five activities, along with descriptions of the carbon footprint of each activity and student self-reflections on whether each challenge promoted “sustainability”. Results indicated that students’ positive affect increased with each activity, while negative affect decreased. Student reflections indicated that engagement with systems thinking can be used to examine the relationship between their own well-being and the ecological outcomes of each of their chosen activities, as well as alternatives that would decrease their footprint. In final reflections, 85% of students stated that they would promote these five behaviors among the general public to enhance sustainability efforts. We discuss using the Sustainable Well-being Challenge as a tool to promote behaviors that support both human and ecological well-being.

Exploring the Associations Between Patient Affect, Self-Care Actions, and Emergency Department Use for Community-Dwelling Adults.

Nurses and other health care providers need to ensure that patients receive care that addresses their specific needs and wants. This exploratory study examined the associations between patients' self-reported positive and negative affect, the perceived importance of 57 self-care actions, the desire and ability to perform them, and emergency department use in the past 3 months. A secondary analysis from a cross-sectional survey project that surveyed 250 community-dwelling adults living in the southern United States, 2015-2016. Independent t tests and the χ test were used. Positive affect was associated with positive perceptions of self-care actions and having no emergency department visit. Patients with a more negative affect perceived finding and using services that support their health behaviors as being important and expressed a desire to participate in local health screening or wellness events. Patients' perceptions of their self-care actions could lead to better outcomes.

Interactive Plants: Multisensory Visual-Tactile Interaction Enhances Emotional Experience

Using a multisensory interface system, we examined how people’s emotional experiences change as their tactile sense (touching a plant) was augmented with visual sense (“seeing” their touch). Our system (the Interactive Plant system) senses the electrical capacitance of the human body and visualizes users’ tactile information on a flat screen (when the touch is gentle, the program draws small and thin roots around the pot; when the touch is more harsh or abrupt, big and thick roots are displayed). We contrasted this multimodal combination (touch + vision) with a unimodal interface (touch only or watch only) and measured the impact of the multimodal interaction on participants’ emotion. We found significant emotional gains in the multimodal interaction. Participants’ self-reported positive affect, joviality, attentiveness and self-assurance increased dramatically in multimodal interaction relative to unimodal interaction; participants’ electrodermal activity (EDA) increased in the multimodal condition, suggesting that our plant-based multisensory visual-tactile interaction raised arousal. We suggest that plant-based tactile interfaces are advantageous for emotion generation because haptic perception is by nature embodied and emotional.

Relationships among affective states, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in children: Moderation by perceived stress.

We examined the acute bidirectional relationships between affective states and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) or sedentary behavior (SB) in children, and whether perceived stress moderates these associations. A total of 180 children (mean age = 9.6 years, 51.7% female, 53.9% Hispanic) completed a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, where they received 3-7 random prompts per day asking about their current affective states. MVPA and SB during this period were measured by waist-worn accelerometers. Children's and mothers' perceived stress were measured by paper questionnaires. Multilevel models tested the within-person (WP) and between-person (BP) associations of (a) MVPA and SB 30 and 60 min before an EMA prompt with subsequent affective states at the prompt, and (b) affective states at the prompt with MVPA and SB in the subsequent 30 and 60 min after the prompt. Interaction terms were used to assess whether children's and mothers' perceived stress moderated these associations. Children reported a higher positive affect after engaging in more MVPA than usual (WP; β = 0.04, SE = 0.02, p < .05) and a lower positive affect after spending more SB than usual (WP; β = -0.02, SE = 0.01, p < .05) in the previous 30 min. Children's affective states were unrelated to time in MVPA and SB within the subsequent 30 min. Parent's perceived stress level attenuated the relationship between children's time spent in MVPA 60 min before a prompt and self-reported positive affect at that prompt (β = -0.01, SE = 0.01, p < .05). MVPA and SB acutely impacted children's psychological well-being, with the benefits of MVPA on positive affect across longer intervals attenuated among children whose mothers had higher perceived stress. (PsycINFO Database Record

Mindful breath awareness meditation facilitates efficiency gains in brain networks: A steady-state visually evoked potentials study

The beneficial effects of mindfulness-based therapeutic interventions have stimulated a rapidly growing body of scientific research into underlying psychological processes. Resulting evidence indicates that engaging with mindfulness meditation is associated with increased performance on a range of cognitive tasks. However, the mechanisms promoting these improvements require further investigation. We studied changes in behavioural performance of 34 participants during a multiple object tracking (MOT) task that taps core cognitive processes, namely sustained selective visual attention and spatial working memory. Concurrently, we recorded the steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP), an EEG signal elicited by the continuously flickering moving objects, and indicator of attentional engagement. Participants were tested before and after practicing eight weeks of mindful breath awareness meditation or progressive muscle relaxation as active control condition. The meditation group improved their MOT-performance and exhibited a reduction of SSVEP amplitudes, whereas no such changes were observed in the relaxation group. Neither group changed in self-reported positive affect and mindfulness, while a marginal increase in negative affect was observed in the mindfulness group. This novel way of combining MOT and SSVEP provides the important insight that mindful breath awareness meditation may lead to refinements of attention networks, enabling more efficient use of attentional resources.

Adolescents’ multiple versus single primary attachment figures, reorganization of attachment hierarchy, and adjustments: the important people interview approach

ABSTRACTUsing 212 adolescents from a central-European country (mean age = 14.02, SD = 2.05, ranged from 11 to 18 years; females = 54%) and a multi-informant method to measure adolescents’ behavioral and emotional adjustments, the present study explored three aspects regarding the attachment hierarchy. (1) The three types of behavioral systems of Rosenthal and Kobak’s important people interview (IPI) were initially validated using an exploratory factor analysis with a US sample. Using a confirmatory factor analysis with a Czech sample, we replicated these three behavioral systems: attachment bond, support seeking, and affiliation. (2) We found that adolescents who developed attachment bond to multiple primary attachment figures were likely to score lower on both teacher-rated and parent-rated internalizing problems compared to those who had a single primary attachment figure. These multiple primary attachment figures tended to be family members (not peers). (3) Early adolescents who placed parents low in their attachment hierarchy scored higher on self-reported negative affect and lower on self-reported positive affect compared to early adolescents who placed parents high. The present study highlights multiple (vs. single) primary attachment figures as a protective factor and the premature reorganization of attachment hierarchy as a risk factor for adolescents’ emotional and affective adjustments.

Positive and Negative Affect and Adolescent Adjustment: Moderation Effects of Prefrontal Functioning.

We examined whether cognitive control moderates the effects of emotion on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology in a longitudinal study of 138 adolescents. Self-reported positive affect (PA) and negative affect and behavioral and neural indicators of cognitive control, indexed by performance and prefrontal hemodynamic response during a cognitive interference task, were collected at Time 1. Self-reported internalizing and externalizing symptomatology were collected at Time 1 and Time 2 (1year later). Results indicated that higher PA predicted decreases in externalizing symptomatology, but only for adolescents with poor neural cognitive control. No moderation effects were found for behavioral cognitive control. Findings imply the beneficial effects of PA on the development of externalizing problems among adolescents with poor prefrontal functioning.

Time of Day Differences in Neural Reward Functioning in Healthy Young Men.

Reward function appears to be modulated by the circadian system, but little is known about the neural basis of this interaction. Previous research suggests that the neural reward response may be different in the afternoon; however, the direction of this effect is contentious. Reward response may follow the diurnal rhythm in self-reported positive affect, peaking in the early afternoon. An alternative is that daily reward response represents a type of prediction error, with neural reward activation relatively high at times of day when rewards are unexpected (i.e., early and late in the day). The present study measured neural reward activation in the context of a validated reward task at 10.00 h, 14.00 h, and 19.00 h in healthy human males. A region of interest BOLD fMRI protocol was used to investigate the diurnal waveform of activation in reward-related brain regions. Multilevel modeling found, as expected, a highly significant quadratic time-of-day effect focusing on the left putamen (p < 0.001). Consistent with the "prediction error" hypothesis, activation was significantly higher at 10.00 h and 19.00 h compared with 14.00 h. It is provisionally concluded that the putamen may be particularly important in endogenous priming of reward motivation at different times of day, with the pattern of activation consistent with circadian-modulated reward expectancies in neural pathways (i.e., greater activation to reward stimuli at unexpected times of day). This study encourages further research into circadian modulation of reward and underscores the methodological importance of accounting for time of day in fMRI protocols.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This is one of the first studies to use a repeated-measures imaging procedure to explore the diurnal rhythm of reward activation. Although self-reported reward (most often operationalized as positive affect) peaks in the afternoon, the present findings indicate that neural activation is lowest at this time. We conclude that the diurnal neural activation pattern may reflect a prediction error of the brain, where rewards at unexpected times (10.00 h and 19.00 h) elicit higher activation in reward brain regions than at expected (14.00 h) times. These data also have methodological significance, suggesting that there may be a time of day influence, which should be accounted for in neural reward studies.

Affective Changes During Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-As Measured by PANAS.

Background:Previous researches have indicated that self-reported positive affect and negative affect is changing in a healthy direction during Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).Objective:The aim of the present study was to examine how affective personality is related to psychopathology before and after CBT.Method:A group of clients (n = 73) was measured before and after CBT, differentiated by their problem areas at pre-therapy (i.e., depressive, anxious and mixed).Results:After therapy, clients experienced higher positive affect (p < .02, d=0.66), lower negative affect (p < .001, d=0.98) and there was a significant change in the distribution of affective personality regardless of problem area, χ2 = 8.41, df = 3, two-tailed p = .04, 99% CI [0.03, 0.04]. The change in the distribution was largest for the two most relevant personality types, self-actualization and self-destructive affective personality.Conclusion:Results indicate that CBT can achieve changes in affect and affective personality.

Positive and Negative Affect as Links Between Social Anxiety and Depression: Predicting Concurrent and Prospective Mood Symptoms in Unipolar and Bipolar Mood Disorders

The co-occurrence of social anxiety and depression is associated with increased functional impairment and a more severe course of illness. Social anxiety disorder is unique among the anxiety disorders in sharing an affective profile with depression, characterized by low levels of positive affect (PA) and high levels of negative affect (NA). Yet it remains unclear how this shared affective profile contributes to the covariation of social anxiety and depressive symptoms. We examined whether self-reported PA and NA accounted for unique variance in the association between social anxiety and depressive symptoms across three groups (individuals with remitted bipolar disorder, type I [BD; n = 32], individuals with remitted major depressive disorder [MDD; n = 31], and nonpsychiatric controls [n = 30]) at baseline and follow-ups of 6 and 12 months. Low levels of PA, but not NA, accounted for unique variance in both concurrent and prospective associations between social anxiety and depression in the BD group; in contrast, high levels of NA, but not PA, accounted for unique variance in concurrent and prospective associations between social anxiety and depression in the MDD group. Limitations include that social anxiety and PA/NA were assessed concurrently and all measurement was self-report. Few individuals with MDD/BD met current diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder. There was some attrition at follow-up assessments. Results suggest that affective mechanisms may contribute to the high rates of co-occurrence of social anxiety and depression in both MDD and BD. Implications of the differential role of PA and NA in the relationship between social anxiety and depression in MDD and BD and considerations for treatment are discussed.

Intergenerational Programs May Be Especially Engaging for Aged Care Residents With Cognitive Impairment: Findings From the Avondale Intergenerational Design Challenge.

Intergenerational programs are an authentic way to engage elders in meaningful activity and report benefits to both elders and youth. The Avondale Intergenerational Design Challenge (AVID) randomly assigned small teams of technology students aged 13 to 15 years (total N = 59) to 1 of 24 aged care residents with a range of cognitive impairment. Students met with the resident 4 times over 15 weeks and ultimately crafted a personalized item for them. Students showed no change in self-reported attitudes to elders, empathy, or self-esteem post-AVID or at 3-month follow-up, compared to a 3-month within-subject control period pre-AVID. Compared to usual lifestyle activities, residents showed significant improvements in self-reported positive affect and negative affect after student visits and were observed to be significantly more engaged during visits, especially residents with greater cognitive impairment. The personal and guided nature of intergenerational programs may be especially effective in engaging elders with cognitive impairment in meaningful activity.

Affect and Sexual Responsivity in Men With and Without a History of Sexual Aggression

Despite increased attention to understanding risk factors for sexual aggression, knowledge regarding the emotional and sexual arousal patterns of sexually aggressive men remains limited. The current study examined whether sexually aggressive men exhibit unique profiles of affective responsivity, in particular to negatively valenced stimuli, as well as sexual arousal patterns that differentiate them from nonaggressive men. We presented 78 young men (38 sexually aggressive; 40 nonaggressive) with a series of videos designed to induce positive, sad, or anxious affect. Affect and subjective sexual arousal were assessed following each film and erectile responses were measured continuously. Sexually aggressive men reported significantly higher levels of sexual arousal following both the positive and negative conditions as compared to nonaggressive men. Erectile responses of sexually aggressive men were significantly greater than nonaggressive men’s following the positive affect induction. Self-reported positive affect, but not negative affect, was a significant predictor of subjective sexual arousal for both groups of men. Compared to nonaggressive men, sexually aggressive men showed significantly weaker correlations between subjective and physiological sexual arousal. Findings suggest that generalized heightened propensity for sexual arousal may be a risk factor for sexually aggressive behavior.

Positive affect and its association with viral control among women with HIV infection.

We assessed the relationship between positive affect and viral suppression among women with HIV infection. Three waves of 6-month data were analyzed from 995 women on HIV antiretroviral therapy participating in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (10/11-3/13). The predictor variable was self-reported positive affect over 2 waves of data collection, and the outcome was suppressed viral load, defined as plasma HIV-1 RNA <200 copies/mL, measured at a third wave. Women with higher positive affect (36%) were more likely to have viral suppression at a subsequent wave (OR 1.92, 95% CI [1.34, 2.74]). Adjusting for covariates and their interactions, including negative affect, Wave 1 viral suppression, adherence, study site, recruitment cohort, substance use, heavy drinking, relationship status, interpersonal difficulties, and demographics, a statistically significant interaction was detected between negative affect, positive affect and viral suppression, t(965) = -2.7, p = .008. The association of positive affect and viral suppression differed at negative affect quartile values. For those reporting no negative affect, the AOR for positive affect and viral suppression was 2.41 (95% CI [1.35, 4.31]); at a negative affect score of 2, the AOR was 1.44 (95% CI [0.87, 2.36]); and at a score of 5.5, the AOR was 0.58 (95% CI [0.24, 1.42]). Our central finding related to the interaction effect, that positive affect is associated with viral control under conditions of lower negative affect, is consistent with previous theory and research with other health outcomes, and can help guide efforts to further delineate mechanisms linking affect and health. (PsycINFO Database Record

Free art-making in an art therapy open studio: changes in affect and self-efficacy

Background: This study investigated the impact of visual art-making on self-reported positive and negative affect and perceived self-efficacy. Study participants included 39 healthy adults aged 18 to 59 years, including 33 women and 6 men.Methods: The study used a mixed methods quasi-experimental (pre–post measurements, no control group) design. The study involved 45 minutes of individual art-making in an open studio format facilitated by an art therapist. Participants completed questionnaires including the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and General Self-Efficacy Scale, before and after the art-making session. At the end of the session, participants provided brief comments about their art-making experience and a narrative summary of their artwork.Results: Results indicate that free art-making in this context significantly lowered negative affect and improved positive affect and self-efficacy. Improved affect was also moderately correlated with improved self-efficacy. There was no difference between groups based on prior experience with art-making, gender, age, or race/ethnicity. Content themes from the participants’ artwork were very diverse including references to nature, people, activities, memories, and abstract explorations of colors and shapes.Discussion/Implications: These preliminary findings indicate the benefits of a brief studio-based art therapy free art-making session on the psychological states of affect and self-efficacy for health adults.