Effects Of Valence Research Articles

The within-person bidirectional association between physical activity and loneliness in the daily lives of adolescents and young adults

Adolescents and young adults are at high risk for experiencing loneliness, a well-established risk factor for mental health symptoms. Being physically active is known to reduce feelings of loneliness. We explored the association between physical activity and loneliness using the experience sampling method, allowing us to investigate moment-to-moment variations on the within-person level. The sample consisted of 784 participants (58.0% females), aged 15–25 years (mean 16.9 years). They responded to a questionnaire ten times a day for six days. We hypothesized an inverse bidirectional relationship between within-person physical activity and within-person loneliness. Additionally, we hypothesized an interaction effect of the within-person affective valence and of depression and anxiety symptoms. Univariate multilevel models were used. Results did not show a significant association between physical activity and loneliness on the within-person level, but there was a significant interaction effect where physical activity was associated with less subsequent loneliness at moments with high affective valence. These findings indicate that only when physical activity is experienced as something young people enjoy doing, feel competent about and when it does not require too much effort, it decreases feelings of loneliness the subsequent moment. There was no significant interaction effect with depression and anxiety symptoms. In conclusion, the results of this study give us a better understanding of the association between physical activity and loneliness in young people. This study highlights the importance of contextual factors when investigating psychosocial outcomes of physical activity.

Consumer reviews and product life cycle: On the temporal dynamics of electronic word of mouth on movie box office

Research on customer reviews has flourished in the last two decades, accelerating the study of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). However, we know little about how the effects of eWOM change over a product’s life cycle. In this article, we investigate the temporal dynamics between eWOM and box office sales over the life cycle of movies. We build a simultaneous equations model to study these temporal dynamics and find that (i) the positive effects of cumulative eWOM volume and valence on box office sales decline fast over a movie’s life cycle; (ii) to accurately estimate their effects it is necessary to account for their interaction over time, and (iii) the effect of cumulative eWOM valence on current eWOM valence stays positive over the life cycle while the positive effect of cumulative eWOM volume on current eWOM volume decays fast. These results offer actionable insights to practitioners seeking to leverage eWOM effects.

Anticipatory Stress Increases Deontological Inclinations: The Mediating Role of Emotional Valence.

Previous studies have explored the differences in moral judgments under normal situations and acute stress using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The present study examined whether anticipatory stress (i.e., induced by an anticipated speech) could elicit similar effects and further explored the mediation of emotional responses between acute stress and moral judgments with a process-dissociation approach. Fifty-three undergraduate students (20 males and 33 females) were randomly assigned to the stress and control groups. In the first stage, they were instructed to prepare a public speech (the stress group) or just recall events during the previous vacation (the control group). In the second stage, they reported emotional valence and arousal for each moral dilemma in a set of 12 moral dilemmas, followed by judgments on moral acceptability of the agent's action. The manipulation check confirmed that anticipatory stress was reliably induced, as indicated in both self-reported and physiological data. The traditional dilemma analysis revealed that participants in the stress group would make fewer utilitarian judgments than those in the control group. The process dissociation (PD) analyses further revealed that the stress group exhibited higher deontological inclinations than the control group, but no significant differences in utilitarian inclinations. Emotional valence played a mediating role in the association between stress and deontological inclinations. To sum up, our study extended the investigation of the relationship between acute stress and moral judgment to anticipatory stress, clarified its distinct impact on deontological and utilitarian inclinations, and revealed the mediating effect of emotional valence.

Effects of Ion Valency on Polyelectrolyte Brushes: A Unified Theory

Effects of Ion Valency on Polyelectrolyte Brushes: A Unified Theory

Emotions and virality: Social transmission of political messages on Twitter.

Drawing on previous literature that valence and arousal constitute the fundamental properties of emotions and that emotional content is a determinant of social transmission, this study examines the role of valence and arousal in the social transmission of politicians' messages on Twitter. For over 3,000 tweets from five Austrian party leaders, the discrete emotion that the message intended to elicit in its recipients was captured by human coders and then classified on its valence (positive or negative) and arousal (low or high). We examined the effects of valence and arousal on the retweet probability of messages. Results indicate that tweets eliciting a negative (vs. positive) valence decreased retweet probability, whereas tweets eliciting a high (vs. low) arousal increased retweet probability. The present research replicates previous findings that arousal constitutes a determinant of social transmission but extends this mechanism to the realm of political communication on Twitter. Moreover, in contrast to the frequently mentioned negativity bias, positive emotions increased the likelihood of a message being shared in this study.

Aging and distractor resistance in working memory: Does emotional valence matter?

BackgroundEmotional stimuli used as targets of working memory (WM) tasks can moderate age-related differences in WM performance, showing that aging is associated with reductions in negativity bias. This phenomenon is referred to as the positivity effect. However, there is little research on whether emotional distractors have a similar moderating effect. Moreover, the underlying neural mechanism of this effect has not been studied. In this study, we examined the behavioral and neurophysiological basis for age differences in resistance to emotional distractors within WM.MethodsOlder adults (n = 30, ages 60–74) and young adults (n = 35, ages 19–26) performed a 2-back task in which a digit was superimposed on a face with a happy, angry, or neutral expression as a distractor. Event-related potential (ERP) was simultaneously recorded to assess P2, N2, and later positive potential (LPP) amplitudes.ResultsOlder adults were less accurate and slower than young adults on the WM task. Moreover, the results demonstrated a significant interaction between age and emotional valence on response accuracy, young adults' performance was worse when the distractor was neutral or positive than when it was negative, but there was no effect of the emotional valence of distractors on older adults’ WM performance. ERP analyses revealed greater P2 amplitude in older adults than young adults, regardless of the emotional valence of distractors. However, older adults and young adults did not differ on N2 or LPP amplitude, and negative distractors elicited greater N2 than positive distractors in both age groups.ConclusionsThe behavioral findings provided evidence of age-related reductions in negativity bias. Thus, the behavioral measures indicated a positivity effect in WM. However, the ERP results did not show this same interaction. These discrepant results raise questions about whether and to what extent older and young adults differ in controlling the effect of emotional distractors in WM.

Working through negativity: The influence of affective states on effort-based decision-making

Affective states can influence a range of cognitive outcomes, such as decision-making. However, the effect of valence and arousal state inductions on effort-based decision-making is unclear. This study employed a mixed design in which all participants viewed low and high-arousal images, and participants were randomized to either a neutral, positive, or negative valence image manipulation. Participants repeatedly viewed a valenced-image and then completed a trial of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EFfRT). Results of Experiment 1 (N = 197) demonstrated that a valence induction manipulation influenced effort-based decision-making. Individuals in the negative valence condition chose fewer high-effort, difficult options than those in the neutral and positive valence conditions. Experiment 2 (N = 226) sought to explore the interplay between affective states and motivation on effort-based decision-making. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the finding that negative affective states impair willingness to engage in effortful tasks and showed that negative affect moderated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and willingness to exert effort. Self-reported arousal ratings, but not valence ratings, were also predictive of effort-based decisions. This work demonstrates that affective states may alter the cost of effort expenditure for potential rewards. Negative valence weakens one's volition to exert physical effort to obtain a monetary reward.

Phase Behavior of Ion-Containing Polymers in Polar Solvents: Predictions from a Liquid-State Theory with Local Short-Range Interactions

The thermodynamic phase behavior of charged polymers is a crucial property underlying their role in biology and various industrial applications. A complete understanding of the phase behaviors of such polymer solutions remains challenging due to the multi-component nature of the system and the delicate interplay among various factors, including the translational entropy of each component, excluded volume interactions, chain connectivity, electrostatic interactions, and other specific interactions. In this work, the phase behavior of partially charged ion-containing polymers in polar solvents is studied by further developing a liquid-state (LS) theory with local shortrange interactions. This work is based on the LS theory developed for fully-charged polyelectrolyte solutions. Specific interactions between charged groups of the polymer and counterions, between neutral segments of the polymer, and between charged segments of the polymer are incorporated into the LS theory by an extra Helmholtz free energy from the perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT). The influence of the sequence structure of the partially charged polymer is modeled by the number of connections between bonded segments. The effects of chain length, charge fraction, counterion valency, and specific short-range interactions are explored. A computational App for salt-free polymer solutions is developed and presented, which allows easy computation of the binodal curve and critical point by specifying values for the relevant model parameters.

The paradox of technology: Negativity bias in consumer adoption of innovative technologies

AbstractInnovative technologies often feature inherently conflicting properties. This poses a challenge for marketers because negative properties not only weigh heavily on consumers' technology adoption decisions but potentially do more so than positive ones. To shed light on the paradox of technology and its underlying processes, the present research develops a conceptual model drawing on technology adoption and valence perception theories about the prevalence of negativity bias in consumers' technology adoption decisions with its unique effect through the serial chain of consumers' perceptions of risk and trust regarding the technology. Results of three studies (N = 1309) demonstrate that the effect of negative valence consistently outperforms that of positive valence in consumers' technology adoption intentions (Studies 1–2) and decisions (Study 3). Furthermore, results show that the disproportionate effect of negative (vs. positive) valence can be explained by the proposed serial causal chain through consumers' perception of risk of the technology and trust in the technology (Studies 2–3) while ruling out company trust and consumer knowledge as alternative drivers of the effects (Study 3). These findings contribute to the pertinent literature on consumer psychology in decisions to adopt novel technologies in that they quantify and explain the potential outcome stemming from the ambiguous properties of novel technology. Moreover, this study finds negativity bias to be an often overlooked consumer bias with implications for marketing practice and useful for understanding and lowering resistance towards artificial intelligence technology.

Multivalent Benzamidine Molecules for Plasmin Inhibition: Effect of Valency and Linker Length.

There is an emerging interest in utilizing synthetic multivalent inhibitors that comprise of multiple inhibitor moieties linked on a common scaffold to achieve strong and selective enzyme inhibition. As multivalent inhibition is impacted by valency and linker length, in this study, we explore the effect of multivalent benzamidine inhibitors of varying valency and linker length on plasmin inhibition. Plasmin is an endogenous enzyme responsible for digesting fibrin present in blood clots. Monovalent plasmin(ogen) inhibitors are utilized clinically to treat hyperfibrinolysis-associated bleeding events. Benzamidine is a reversible inhibitor that binds to plasmin's active site. Herein, multivalent benzamidine inhibitors of varying valencies (mono-, bi- and tri-valent) and linker lengths (∼1-12 nm) were synthesized to systematically study their effect on plasmin inhibition. Inhibition assays were performed using a plasmin substrate (S-2251) to determine inhibition constants (Ki). Pentamidine (shortest bivalent) and Tri-AMB (shortest trivalent) were the strongest inhibitors with Ki values of 2.1±0.8 and 3.9±1.7 μM, respectively. Overall, increasing valency and decreasing linker length, increases effective local concentration of the inhibitor and therefore, resulted in stronger inhibition of plasmin via statistical rebinding. This study aids in the design of multivalent inhibitors that can achieve desired enzyme inhibition by means of modulating valency and linker length.

Method Effects Associated to Item Valence: Evidence From the 10-Item Big-Five Inventory in Older Adults.

The objective of this study is to analyze the factor structure of the BFI-10 considering item valence effects when applied to measure older adults. Likewise, this study aims to estimate the factorial structure, internal consistency of the scale, to assess the nomological validity, and the association of the Big Five traits with age. 75,078 participants with mean age of 68.27 from the 7th Wave of the SHARE study were included. Confirmatory Factor Analyses, omega coefficients and Pearson correlations were estimated. The best-fit model identified a five-factor structure with two valence effects, internal consistency ranged from .26 to .64, the nomological network showed that loneliness is negatively associated to neuroticism and positively with the other four traits, and the opposite direction in the associations with the five traits and satisfaction and quality of life. Consciousness, Extraversion and Openness have been found as dimensions that tend to decrease with age.

Qualitative and quantitative determination of critical coagulation concentration for pristine graphene oxide in various ionic compounds

Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles have been widely used in wastewater treatment applications. However, most studies have conducted treatment experiments using synthetic wastewater that does not contain ionic compounds. The presence of ionic compounds could suppress the electrical double layer of the GO nanoparticles and thus, promote particle agglomeration. This study aims to evaluate the effect of ion valency (Na+, Ca2+, Al3+, Cl−, and SO42−) and concentration (1 mM up to 200 mM) on the colloidal stability of a pristine GO. The sedimentation profile of GO in those ionic solutions was captured through a novel qualitative photoimaging method coupled with ImageJ analysis. Results showed that a GO with O/C ratio of 0.69 experiences sedimentation even when dispersed in pure distilled water. In line with the classical Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, the extent of sedimentation increases with the increasing ion concentration in the medium. In terms of cationic valences, trivalent cation (Al3+) was more effective than divalent (Ca2+) and monovalent (Na+) cations in destabilizing GO; here, the corresponding critical coagulation concentration (CCC) was found to be ∼1 mM, ∼1.5 mM, and ∼150 mM, respectively. It was found that NaCl exhibited a higher destabilization effect as compared to Na2SO4 despite the latter is having a higher ionic strength. Besides the expected electrical double layer screening effect, density of the ionic solution also showed substantial effects on the GO's sedimentation profile. The obtained results align with other reported works, thus, confirming the feasibility of the novel photoimaging coupled with ImageJ processing method in assessing colloidal stability of nanoparticles.

Effects of negative emotional valence on readers’ text processing and memory for text: an eye-tracking study

AbstractComprehension of stories requires readers to take the perspective of the story characters and imagine or feel their cognitive and affective states. The study investigated how variations in emotional valence within a literary text affected readers’ global text processing, as reflected in their eye movements during the first and second-pass reading, and their memory for text. Processes of reading were also examined in relation to readers’ dispositional empathy. Undergraduate students (N = 42) were assigned to an emotionally negative or neutral reading condition. They read a natural text passage from a suspense story while their ocular behavior was registered. After reading, they responded to multiple-choice questions assessing their memory of the text. Results revealed longer first-pass fixation times for content evoking negative emotions than for neutral content, which could be suggestive of a more analytical processing of the former. These effects were however local and did not impact the processing of the text at global level. Memory for the emotionally negative content was more accurate than memory for the neutral content. Dispositional empathy did not contribute to reading processes and outcome. Findings are discussed against the mixed results in the current literature and practical implications are also outlined.

Fear of negative evaluation modulates the processing of social evaluative feedback with different valence and contexts.

Fear of negative evaluation (FNE) is a susceptible and maintaining factor of social anxiety disorders. However, the question, how people process negative evaluation is influenced by individual differences in FNE, is poorly understood. To clarify the habitual processing characteristics of individuals with different levels of FNE, electroencephalography was recorded when two groups of participants with high FNE (hFNE) and low FNE (lFNE) performed a social evaluation perception task in which the feedback context/source (human vs. a computer) and valence (thumb-up/like vs. thumb-down/dislike) were manipulated. We found effects of feedback source and valence on N1, P2, and P3, which reflect early attention, integrated perception, and elaborative processing, respectively, as well as general reward effects on reward positivity (RewP) across contexts. Importantly, compared to the lFNE group, the hFNE group showed larger midfrontal N1 and theta oscillation in response to negative feedback indicating dislike (vs. like), and also showed larger P3. These findings suggest that individuals with hFNE are more attentional vigilance to negative (vs. positive) social feedback, implying that individuals with different levels of FNE assign different implicit threat values to social-evaluation threat stimuli.

The effect of edge valency on the load resistance of single-layer reticulated cylindrical shells

The arrangement of members plays a crucial role in determining the resistance of reticulated cylindrical shells, in addition to rise-to-span ratio, cross-section of the members, rigidity of the joints, and support conditions. Although studies on the comparison of shell structures with different configurations were available, the effect of the member arrangement on the performance of reticulated shell structures based on valency of elements was never investigated before. This paper investigates the effect of edge valency on the load resistance of shell structures by studying the behaviour of four cylindrical shell configurations with different edge valencies of vertices and faces. The limit load of the shell structures—with different span-to-rise ratios, length-to-span ratios, support conditions, load patterns, and different magnitudes of initial geometric imperfection—was calculated based on geometrical and material non-linear analyses. The results show that the increase in the edge valency of the vertices increases the overall resistance of single-layer reticulated cylindrical shells with all edges supported. In addition to edge valency, member orientation plays a prominent role in determining the overall resistance of single-layer reticulated shell structures with longitudinal edges supported. The findings on edge valency will help the designer to rearrange the members within a structure without compromising the overall resistance, resulting in an economical design.

Positive and spontaneous facial expressions convey kindness and competence personality traits: Visual reasoning in personality attribution to faces

People often make personality attribution from facial emotional cues. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of the valence of facial expressions on personality attribution. However, authenticity is an essential dimension of facial expressions, and it is more important to know how does facial authenticity affect personality attribution. This study combined the personality judgments task and eye-tracking methods to explore the effect of valence and authenticity of expressions on personality attribution and the visual reasoning modes in different expressions. Results showed that expressions with more spontaneous and positive were more likely to be considered kind and competent. Facial expressions affected the extent to which gaze was directed toward the eyebrows for kindness and the mouth for competence. These results suggest that personality attribution is influenced by facial emotional cues, such as valence and authenticity, and this effect is mapped onto specific face regions related to the personality.

Effects of emotional valence and intensity on cognitive and affective empathy after insula lesions.

The insula plays a central role in empathy. However, the complex structure of cognitive (CE) and affective empathy (AE) deficits following insular damage is not fully understood. In the present study, patients with insular lesions (n = 20) and demographically matched healthy controls (n = 24) viewed ecologically valid videos that varied in terms of valence and emotional intensity. The videos showed a person (target) narrating a personal life event. In CE conditions, subjects continuously rated the affective state of the target, while in AE conditions, they continuously rated their own affect. Mean squared error (MSE) assessed deviations between subject and target ratings. Patients differed from controls only in negative, low-intensity AE, rating their own affective state less negative than the target. This deficit was not related to trait empathy, neuropsychological or clinical parameters, or laterality of lesion. Empathic functions may be widely spared after insular damage in a naturalistic, dynamic setting, potentially due to the intact interpretation of social context by residual networks outside the lesion. The particular role of the insula in AE for negative states may evolve specifically in situations that bear higher uncertainty pointing to a threshold role of the insula in online ratings of AE.

The valence state of iron-based nanomaterials determines the ferroptosis potential in a zebrafish model

Many nanomaterials containing different valences of iron have been designed for applications in biomedicine, energy, catalyzers, nanoenzymes, and so on. However, the toxic effects of the valence state of iron in iron-based nanomaterials are still unclear. Here, three different-valence iron-based nanomaterials (nFe@Fe3O4, nFe3O4 and nFe2O3) were synthesized and exposed to zebrafish embryos and mammalian cardiomyocytes. All of them induced ferroptosis along with an increase in valence through iron overload and the Fenton reaction. Specifically, we exposed Tg (cmlc2:EGFP) zebrafish to the three iron-based nanomaterials and found that nFe@Fe3O4 treatments led to enlarged ventricles, while nFe3O4 and nFe2O3 increased atrial size, which was consistent with the results from hematoxylin-eosin staining and in situ hybridization. Moreover, we used ferroptosis inhibitors (ferrostatin-1 or deferoxamine) to treat zebrafish along with nanoparticles exposure and found that the cardiac developmental defects caused by nFe3O4 and nFe2O3, but not nFe@Fe3O4, could be completely rescued by ferroptosis inhibitors. We further found that nFe@Fe3O4, rather than nFe3O4 and nFe2O3, reduced the dissolved oxygen in the medium, which resulted in hypoxia and acceleration of heart tube formation and ventricular enlargement, and both were fully rescued by oxygen donors combined with ferroptosis inhibitors. Consistently, these findings were also observed in mammalian cardiomyocytes. In summary, our study demonstrates that the valence state of iron-based nanomaterials determines the ferroptosis potential. Our study also clarifies that high-valence iron-based nanomaterials induce an enlarged atrium via ferroptosis, while low-valence ones increase the ventricular size through both hypoxia and ferroptosis, which is helpful to understand the potential adverse effects of different valences of iron-based nanomaterials on environmental health and assure the responsible and sustainable development of nanotechnology.

Gradient doping simulation of perovskite solar cells with CH3NH3Sn1−xPbxI3 as the absorber layer

In this study, we built a perovskite solar cells(PSCs) model with a Au/CuSCN/CH3NH3Sn1−xPbxI3/TiO2/FTO glass structure using the SCAPS program and use polynomial fitting to obtain the relationship between the conduction/valence bands of CH3NH3Sn1−xPbxI3 and the x value, which is more complex and accurate than that in any previous research. The influences of thickness, electron and hole mobilities, relative permittivity, effective conduction band density, effective valence band density, and the value of x on the solar cell performance are analyzed. Furthermore, we simulate the situation where the doping concentration changes with the absorption layer depth of the device and a special bandgap is formed. The power conversion efficiency of the device improves from 19.96% to 20.52%, with an open-circuit voltage of 0.776 V, a short-circuit current of 33.79 mA/cm2, and a filling factor of 77.39% when double gradient doping is performed. The application value of gradient doping in the device absorption layer is obtained.

How Reading Information on SNSs Influences Interpersonal and Personal Certainties about a Target: The Effects of Information Valence, Information Source, and Positivism Bias

ABSTRACT Although social network sites (SNSs) carry a wide range of information about a person, previous research discovered they did not reduce uncertainties about the person as well as direct interactions with the person. This paradox prompted a conceptual distinction between interpersonal and personal uncertainties. With a web-based experiment (N = 216), the study tested how one may gain personal and interpersonal certainties about a target person from reading different types of information on social media, focusing on the effects of information valence, information source, and an information seeker’s positivism bias. Results revealed reading SNS information about a person increased personal certainty more than interpersonal certainty. Negative information increased interpersonal certainty more than positive information but not for those with a higher positivism bias. The results provide initial empirical evidence for the distinction between personal and interpersonal certainties and how different types of information on SNSs influence them.