Affective Variables Research Articles

The role of anticipated affect in the context of physical activity: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Individuals often anticipate how they will feel during a potential future behaviour. Assuming that this anticipation may influence actual behaviour, the aim of this scoping review was to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on the role of anticipated affect in the context of physical activity. Thus, relationships between anticipated affect and (1) other psychological variables related to physical activity or (2) physical activity behaviour were analysed. Five data bases were searched for studies involving anticipated affect of physical activity, resulting in 33 relevant studies. The results were clustered into five categories. (1a) Anticipated affect was related to intention and (1b) to affective experiences. However, a forecasting error appeared in several studies showing that participants underestimated how positive their emotions during or after physical activity actually were. (2a) Due to a low number of studies, it remains unclear whether anticipated affect can predict future physical activity behaviour directly. (2b) Intervention studies with physical activity as the dependent variable and (2c) as the independent variable revealed promising approaches to facilitate positive anticipated affect regarding future physical activity. Future research should consider cognitive biases in affective forecasting studies and develop validated questionnaires for studying anticipated affect of physical activity.

Teaching for statistical and data literacy in K-12 STEM education: a systematic review on teacher variables, teacher education, and impacts on classroom practice

Statistical and data literacy have emerged as key competencies in the 21st-century. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula have been adapted in various countries to place increased emphasis on proficient data use and statistical comprehension. Consequently, there is a need for an adequate education and professional training of STEM teachers. This systematic review analyzes and synthesizes research on teachers’ statistical and data literacy in K-12 STEM education. A total of 42 articles were analyzed, with a specific focus on teacher variables, teacher education, and their impact on classroom practice. The findings emphasize the recent emergence of research in this domain, particularly focusing on statistical literacy, with mathematics being the dominant STEM domain explored. Most studies examined cognitive variables of both pre-service and in-service teachers, revealing relevant gaps in knowledge and skills related to statistical and data literacy. Limited attention was given to teachers’ affective variables. Research on the complex relationships between teacher variables, their teaching practices, and their students’ learning is scarce, necessitating further investigation. Several pedagogical approaches to prepare STEM teachers for promoting statistical and data literacy in their classrooms were identified. Positive impacts on teachers’ cognitive and affective variables were observed, but longitudinal effects and transfer to classroom practice require further inquiry. As curricula worldwide increasingly emphasize statistical and data literacy, this review underscores the necessity of enhancing teachers' competencies, advocates for tailored pedagogical approaches, and emphasizes the need for further research to shape effective instruction in K-12 STEM education.

A network study to differentiate suicide attempt risk profiles in male and female patients with major depressive disorder.

Suicide attempts are a possible consequence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), although their prevalence varies across different epidemiological studies. Suicide attempt is a significant predictor of death by suicide, highlighting its importance in understanding and preventing tragic outcomes. Researchers are increasingly recognizing the need to study the differences between males and females, as several distinctions emerge in terms of the characteristics, types and motivations of suicide attempts. These differences emphasize the importance of considering gender-specific factors in the study of suicide attempts and developing tailored prevention strategies. We conducted a network analysis to represent and investigate which among multiple neurocognitive, psychosocial, demographic and affective variables may prove to be a reliable predictor for identifying the 'suicide attempt risk' (SAR) in a sample of 81 adults who met DSM-5 criteria for MDD. Network analysis resulted in differences between males and females regarding the variables that were going to interact and predict the SAR; in particular, for males, there is a stronger link toward psychosocial aspects, while for females, the neurocognitive domain is more relevant in its mnestic subcomponents. Network analysis allowed us to describe otherwise less obvious differences in the risk profiles of males and females that attempted to take their own lives. Different neurocognitive and psychosocial variables and different interactions between them predict the probability of suicide attempt unique to male and female patients.

23 Subjective Cognition in African American and White Older Adults: Interactions with Psychosocial Factors

Objective:Given that African American older adults are disproportionately at risk for the development of dementia, identifications of sensitive risk and protective factors are of high importance. Subjective decline in cognition is a potentially easy to assess clinical marker, as it has been previously associated with increased risk of converting to MCI and/or dementia. Subjective decline in cognition is complex though, in that it has also been associated with psychosocial factors. Given this, and the fact that the bulk of research on subjective decline in cognition has been conducted in older white adults, research in diverse samples is needed. The present study sought to address these gaps by examining interactions between race and psychosocial risk (dysphoria) and protective (social activity) factors in the prediction of subjective cognition.Participants and Methods:Older white (n = 350) and African American (n = 478) participants completed questionnaires via Qualtrics Panels (m age = 65.9). Subjective decline in cognition was assessed via the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ). Dysphoria was assessed via the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II Dysphoria subscale (IDAS). Frequency of late life social activity was assessed via a validated series of questions used by the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. Race, dysphoria, late life social activity, and interactions between race and dysphoria and race and social activity were analyzed as predictors of subjective decline in cognition via linear regression.Results:The overall model accounted for a significant portion of the variance in subjective decline in cognition, F(6, 713) = 38.38, p < .01, with an R2 of .24. The interaction between race and dysphoria was significant, such that the relationship between dysphoria and subjective decline in cognition was stronger for older adults who are African American. Race, dysphoria, social activity, and the interaction between race and social activity were not significant predictors.Conclusions:While dysphoria and related negative affect variables have been previously associated with subjective cognition, interactions with race are rarely analyzed. Our results show that the relationship between dysphoria and subjective decline in cognition were stronger for African American older adults. This result is of clinical importance, as dysphoria is central to many internalizing disorders, which have been associated with subjective cognition and the development of MCI and dementia. Future research should seek to analyze drivers for this associations and if interventions for dysphoria may reduce subjective decline in cognition for African American older adults.

A Literature Review on Anxiety of the Athletes' Performance

In this era of modernization, performance is one of the stress factors that often trigger affective reactions of anxiety, as well as psychophysiological changes in the human autonomic nervous system. In the context of sports performance assessment, athletes experience high levels of anxiety which often have a negative influence on their performance as anxiety tend to be a typical phenomenon experienced by athletes across various sports disciplines. Anxiety can be understood as a negative affective variable associated with a low level of performance (Gómez‐Íñiguez, Rodríguez, & Cantero, 2021). Present study applied narrative review on the previous studies as the research method to examine the factors and effects of the anxiety on the athletes’ performance. By synthesizing the findings from multiple previous studies, this study also aims to provide a deeper understanding of anxiety in athletes' performance and offer insights for future researchers and all other parties who involved in sports. Present study concluded that internal factors are the crucial elements that contribute to the anxiety on the athletes’ performance, and anxiety level tend to be able to increase or decrease the athletes’ performance. In order to ensure the positive effects of anxiety, athletes have to aware and stay in their optimal intensity zone for them to maximize their performance. More research, interventions and application of technology in anxiety awareness and management are recommended for the future researchers.

Causal evidence of the effect of a course specific mathematical learning and support center on economics students’ performance and affective variables

ABSTRACT The positive impact of Math Learning Support Centers (MLSCs) on student performance is well-documented in existing literature. However, we argue in this study that many of these evaluations could be improved methodologically. Using a more rigorous approach, we investigated the effect of an MLSC on students’ performance and affective variables in an economic study program. Our data, collected over six years, was analyzed using Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Differences methods, to control for observable and time-invariant unobservable characteristics. Contrary to a majority of the existing literature, we found no direct impact of students’ participation in the MLSC on students’ math performance. However, we identified positive effects on students’ test anxiety and other affective variables. Moreover, we found that students’ engagement in the learning process during the semester (e.g. by attending classes and solving exercise sheets) was a key driver of skill growth. These findings underscore the importance of more rigorous methodological approaches in future evaluations of MLSCs and other similar support systems.

Investigating the day-level associations between affective variability and physical activity using ecological momentary assessment

BackgroundUnderstanding affect as a determinant of physical activity has gained increased attention in health behavior research. Fluctuations in affect intensity from moment-to-moment (i.e., affective variability) may interfere with cognitive and regulatory processes, making it difficult to engage in goal-directed behaviors such as physical activity. Preliminary evidence indicates that those with greater trait-level affective variability engage in lower levels of habitual physical activity. However, the extent to which daily fluctuations in affect variability are associated with same-day physical activity levels is unknown. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate day-level associations between affective variability (i.e., within-subject variance) and physical activity. MethodsYoung adults (N = 231, M = 23.58 ± 3.02 years) provided three months of smartphone-based EMA and smartwatch-based activity data. Every two weeks, participants completed a 4-day EMA measurement burst (M = 5.17 ± 1.28 bursts per participant). Bursts consisted of hourly randomly-prompted EMA surveys assessing momentary positive-activated (happy, energetic), positive-deactivated (relaxed), negative-activated (tense, stressed), and negative-deactivated (sad, fatigued) affect. Participants continuously wore a smartwatch to measure physical activity across the three months. Mixed-effects location scale modeling examined the day-level associations of affective variability (i.e., positive-activated, positive-deactivated, negative-activated, and negative-deactivated) and physical activity, controlling for covariates such as mean levels of affect, between-subject effects of physical activity, time of day, day of week, day in study, and smartwatch wear time. ResultsThere were 41,546 completed EMA surveys (M = 182.22 ± 69.82 per participant) included in the analyses. Above and beyond mean levels of affect, greater day-level variability in positive-activated affect was associated with greater physical activity on that same day compared to other days (τ = 0.01, p < .001), whereas greater day-level variability in negative-deactivated affect was associated with less physical activity on that same day compared to other days (τ = −0.01, p < .001). Day-level variability in positive-deactivated affect or negative-activated affect were not associated with day-level physical activity (ps > .05) ConclusionsIndividuals were less active on days with greater variability in feeling sad and fatigued but more active on days with greater variability in feeling happy and energetic. Understanding the dynamic relationships of affective variability with day-level physical activity can strengthen physical activity interventions by considering how these processes differ within individuals and unfold within the context of daily life. Future research should examine causal pathways between affective variability and physical activity across the day.

Do emotion intensity, variability, differentiation, co-occurrence, and positive-negative ratios make unique contributions to predicting longitudinal change in psychological distress and well-being?

A burgeoning array of affective indices are proposed to capture features of affect that contribute to mental health and well-being. However, because indices are often investigated separately, it is unclear what-if any-unique role they have. The present study addresses this question in a high-stress naturalistic context by prospectively testing the relative contributions of eight affective indices to psychological outcomes during the first acute lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Across six fortnightly waves of data collection, participants (N = 613, aged 19 to 87 years) reported how much they experienced five positive and five negative emotions in response to images showing the health and social impacts of the pandemic. We used these ratings to calculate participant-level indices of intensity, variability, and differentiation for positive and negative emotions separately, and positive-negative co-occurrence and ratios. Psychosocial outcome measures were general psychological distress, loneliness, work, and social impairment specifically due to the pandemic, well-being, and coping. On average, psychosocial functioning improved across the lockdown period, and, for most affective indices, bivariate relationships with psychosocial functioning supported existing theory and empirical work. However, multiple regression analyses suggested that the contributions of the individual indices were rarely unique, with most of the change in psychosocial functioning over time being explained by affect intensity and variability. These findings highlight that affective indices should be studied in concert to build a comprehensive and integrated understanding of their role in mental health and well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Flipped Classroom: An Effective Model of Active Learning

A a result of the development of humanistic psychology in the 1960s, there has been a growing recognition that affective factors can significantly impact the outcomes of education (Lu, 2001). Affective factors in language learning, particularly in second language acquisition, have been reckoned as non-cognitive factors and along with cognitive factors, have sparked substantial attention among academics. Affective variables that may influence foreign language acquisition include a variety of emotions and feelings arising in foreign language classroom such as anxiety, fear, embarrassment, or sense of inferiority. Among them, second language anxiety has long been a popular topic in foreign language instruction research.

The Roles of Depression, Life Control and Affective Distress on Treatment Attendance and Perceived Disability in Chronic Back Pain Sufferers throughout the Duration of the Condition.

The aims of this study were to examine psychological factors that predict treatment seeking and disability over the total duration of experiencing back pain. A sample of 201 adults experiencing chronic back pain was recruited through health professionals and completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), the Oswestry Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ), the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the life control and affective distress variables of the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMP), and participants disclosed the number of treatment sessions attended over the course of the illness. Depression, life control and affective distress were tested as indirect predictors of disability severity that were mediated by treatment attendance. Each unit increase in life control predicted attending nearly 30 more treatment sessions, each unit increase in affective distress predicted attending 16 fewer treatments and each unit increase in depression predicted 4 fewer treatments, together explaining 44% of variance in treatment seeking. The effects of life control and affective distress on disability were explained by treatment attendance, whereas depression retained a direct effect on disability. Treatment attendance had an effect on disability. The findings show that participants with lower life control and higher affective distress and depression had higher levels of pain and disability, in part due to due to their treatment-seeking behaviour.

Motivational Profiles of High Achievers in Mathematics: Relations with Metacognitive Processes and Achievement Emotions

The current study aimed to explore alternative motivational profiles of high achievers in Mathematics, within the framework of the Situated Expectancy-Value Theory. Furthermore, it aimed to examine the profiles’ potential differences in relation to self-reported metacognitive processes, such as metacognitive awareness and experiences, and achievement emotions related to Mathematics. A comprehensive evaluation in Mathematics was conducted on a total of 492 ninth-graders, including students from regular junior high schools, experimental junior high schools, and an academically advanced summer program. The assessment involved a battery of school-type mathematical tasks, resulting in the identification of 141 high achievers. Cluster analysis, based on students’ expectancies for success, subjective value, and perceived cost in relation to Mathematics, revealed five motivational profiles labeled as follows: Cluster 1. Higher Motivation, Cluster 2: Higher Expectancies, Value, and Cost, Cluster 3: Lower Expectancies, Cluster 4: Lower Value, and Cluster 5: Lower Motivation. Differences were found among the five profiles in terms of students’ reported metacognitive awareness and their emotions of enjoyment, pride, anxiety, shame, and boredom toward Mathematics. Students with the Higher Motivation profile appeared to be the most adaptive across all of the examined variables, while students with the Lower Motivation profile reported less favorable levels of motivational and affective variables than most others. However, high achievers did not differ significantly regarding their metacognitive accuracy. Examination of the gender distribution within the clusters did not reveal any differences in gender representation.

Daily aggression domains differentially relate to daily affect and self-esteem.

How do daily fluctuations in aggression relate to daily variability in affect and self-esteem? Although research has examined how trait aggression relates to affect and self-esteem, state aggression has received little attention. To this end, we had 120 US undergraduates participate in a 14-day daily diary study where they responded to state-level measures of aggression, affect, and self-esteem. Crucially, we used multifaceted state measures of both aggression (anger, hostility, verbal aggression, physical aggression) and affect (positive vs. negative, activated vs. deactivated). Multilevel models revealed that daily anger and hostility related positively to daily negative affect and negatively to daily positive affect. Similarly, daily anger and hostility related negatively to daily self-esteem. In contrast, daily verbal and physical aggression were largely unrelated to daily affect and self-esteem; however, unexpectedly, daily physical aggression related positively to daily positive activated affect, but only when controlling for the other daily aggression domains. Overall, daily attitudinal aggression measures-anger and hostility-related to daily affect and self-esteem in theoretically consistent ways, whereas daily behavioral aggression measures-verbal and physical aggression-did not. Our findings support expanding the General Aggression Model to incorporate state-level processes.

Efforts to Build Employee Work Attachment Through Affective Commitment and Work Discipline

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of mediation of affective commitment, and work discipline on the effect of job stress on employee work attachment. This research was conducted at the Sugar Factory X in East Java, involving 158 employees. Data were collected using a questionnaire and the results were analyzed using PLS software. The results of this study indicate that job stress does not have a significant effect on work attachment, but affective commitment and work discipline as full mediation on the effect of job stress on work attachment. In testing direct effects on other variables show that, job stress directly influences work discipline and affective commitment, while work discipline and affective commitment directly affect work attachment. This study places affective commitment, and work discipline as a variable for the pillar on the effect of job stress on employee work attachment. The important findings of this study are affective commitment and work discipline act as full mediation variables. That job stress is unable to play a role in efforts to improve employee work attachment unless there is a role in mediation from affective commitment variables and work discipline. The results strengthen the social exchange theory.

The Cognitive-affective Distinction in Achievement Goal: The Development and Validation of the Achievement Questionnaire for Biology Learning

K-8 science teacher candidates often struggle with the difficult learning tasks in multiple science courses in their teacher-training program. One of the major parts of these science courses is biology. Student learning in biology depends on their motivational and affective variables as much as their cognitive abilities. As one of the theories of motivation, the achievement goal theory seeks how individuals pursue academic study by focusing on mastery or performance goals. In addition to goal settings, achievement emotions also influence learners’ academic performance. The authors suggested a theoretical model integrating achievement emotions into the construct of achievement goal theory. The present study has potential provide more insight into individual differences in goal preferences. This model was examined with K-8 science teacher candidates (n = 581). To test the theoretical model, the “Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Biology Learning” (AGQ-BL) was devised. According to the theoretical model, the AGQ-BL consisted of six subscales which are Mastery Goals-(affective-cognitive), Performance Goals-Approach (Affective-Cognitive), and Performance Goals Avoidance-(affective-cognitive). The explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were utilized to verify the construct validity of the AGQ-BL. The results of EFA showed and CFA confirmed that the AGQ-BL was composed of six factors, as proposed by the theoretical framework. Internal consistency of the subscales of the AGQ-BL computed by Cronbach’s alpha revealed high reliability for each. This study empirically demonstrated the integration of cognitive and emotional goals in achievement settings regarding biology learning. Thus, it can be asserted achievement goals’ structure could have more predictive potential on affective and cognitive variables in biology education.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Assistive Technology-Based Analysis of Students' Foreign Language Anxiety Using Distributed Machine Learning and Intelligent Affective Computing.

Language learning anxiety is one of the most important affective variables affecting the effect of language learning. Sensor technologies involve devices that generate a digital output based on the detection of some physical phenomenon in terms of events or changes in a relevant environment. In this work, we propose an effective computing model. Through the research on the classification of emotions and dimensional space theory, combined with the actual learning emotions of learners in the flipped classroom teaching mode, it proposes the avoidance degree based on face detection and the concentration degree based on eyelid detection. Experiments show that our multi-task affective computing method can effectively characterize students' anxiety, and can even be extended to more emotions, outperforming single-task baseline models.

Hubungan Kebersyukuran dengan Perilaku Prososial pada Anggota IPNU-IPPNU

This study was motivated by the phenomenon of social behavior problems among IPNU-IPPNU members in the village of Candipari. It can be seen from the interview results that the problems faced by the members show a lack of pro-social behavior. This can be seen from the lack of cooperation among members, honesty and mutual help as aspects of social behavior. This study aims to understand the relationship between gratitude and pro-social behavior between IPNU and IPPNU members in Candipari village. The students in this study are members of IPNU and IPPNU in the village of Candipari. The sampling method in this study is used for saturation sampling. The research method used is quantitative research using an interactive approach. The data collection method used psychological scales, namely affective behavior scale and gratitude scale. The construction of the psychological scale in this study uses the Likert scale model (response scale). The data analysis method used in this study is the Pearson correlation method (Product Moment) using the software SPSS 20 for windows. Based on the analysis results, the data analysis test results obtained a correlation coefficient of 0.640 with a significance level of 0.000 &lt; 0.05. This means that there is a strong relationship between gratitude and pro-social behaviour. Based on the experimental results, the coefficient of determination for the result is 0.395 (R Square), which means that in this study the gratitude variable contributes 39.5% to the affective behavioral variable. Based on the experimental results, the proposed hypothesis is acceptable, that is, there is a positive relationship between Gratitude and social behavior of IPNU-IPPNU members in Candipari village.

Unique Associations Between Affect Dynamics and Internalizing and Externalizing Subfactors: Disentangling Affective Home Base and Variability

Unique Associations Between Affect Dynamics and Internalizing and Externalizing Subfactors: Disentangling Affective Home Base and Variability

A Comparison of Affective-Cognitive States in Daily Life Between Emerging Adults With and Without Past-Year Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

Although the literature suggests trait-like differences in affective and cognitive vulnerabilities between individuals with and without a history of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about how these dispositional differences are experienced in the natural environment. The present study compares the intensity, inertia, interaction, and variability of affective (negative and positive affect) and cognitive states (rumination, self-criticism) in the everyday lives of individuals who do and do not engage in NSSI. Using experience sampling methodology (ESM), 60 emerging adults (ages = 18–22 years) with and without past-year NSSI (equally distributed) completed eight questionnaires per day for 12 days (in total, 96 questionnaires per participant), resulting in 4,587 assessments (median compliance = 83.3%; IQR = 71.9–91.7). In a dynamic structural equation modeling framework, dynamic parameters (i.e., mean intensity, carryover effects, spillover effects, and within-person variability) were evaluated using multilevel vector autoregressive models. Emerging adults who engage in NSSI experience higher intensity and greater variability of negative affect, rumination, and self-criticism, whereas those who do not engage in NSSI experience higher intensity and lower variability of positive affect. In addition, past-year NSSI predicted stronger affective-cognitive interactions over time, with stronger spillover effects of negative and positive affect on subsequent rumination and self-criticism in individuals who engage in NSSI. Depressive symptoms and trait levels of emotion dysregulation and self-criticism partially negated these differences. Our findings provide evidence that emerging adults who self-injure experience more negative affective-cognitive states in daily life and point to the potential relevance of boosting positive emotions to buffer negative cognitions.

Vignette methodology in applied linguistics

Vignette methodology offers promising opportunities for the investigation of situation-specific dynamic (affective) variables, such as emotions and cognitions, in language learning, teaching, and use. Despite their frequent application in adjacent fields like education, sociology, and psychology, the use of vignettes and vignette methodology in applied linguistics is still scarce. Using emotion research as an example, this tutorial introduces applied linguists to vignette methodology, outlines a vignette design framework, illustrates administration strategies, and highlights its ability to bolster methodological consistency and research-practitioner collaborations across various research paradigms. The tutorial aims to advance the use of vignette methodology in applied linguistics by illustrating its potential to strengthen the validity of research findings, as well as its benefits regarding the efficiency of data collection, participant recruitment, and research costs.

What Causes Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety?

As a result of the development of humanistic psychology in the 1960s, there has been a growing recognition that affective factors can significantly impact the outcomes of education (Lu, 2001). Affective factors in language learning, particularly in second language acquisition, have been reckoned as non-cognitive factors and along with cognitive factors, have sparked substantial attention among academics. Affective variables that may influence foreign language acquisition include a variety of emotions and feelings arising in foreign language classroom such as anxiety, fear, embarrassment, or sense of inferiority. Among them, second language anxiety has long been a popular topic in foreign language instruction research.