Multidimensional arousal states,diurnal rhythms,cognitive and social processes,and extraversion

Based on Thayer's two-dimensional arousal model, several questions were investigated, including the relationship between endogenous diurnal rhythms of energetic arousal and various psychological functions. Also investigated were theoretical issues relating to Eysenck's arousal theory of extraversion and neuroticism, and associations involving the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Self-reported arousal measurements were taken from 18 participants every hour of the waking day for 6 separate days. Substantial relationships were observed between obtained diurnal cycles of energetic arousal and previous interview estimates by the same individuals of best and worst times for social, mood, and intellectual functions. Eysenck's Neuroticism scores were found to predict overall tension ratings, and tense arousal showed an interaction between Extraversion and time of day similar to Blake's body temperature findings. Moderate support was also found for the validity of the MEQ. Discussed were various possible modifications of Eysenck's arousal theory based on Thayer's two-dimensional model.     

Acute exercise suppresses judgments of facial emotion intensity

The ability to recognize others’ facial expressions is critical to the social communication of affective states. The present work examined how transient states of high physiological arousal during aerobic exercise influence recognizing and rating morphed facial expressions. Participants exercised at either a low or high work rate. While exercising and then during cool-down and rest periods, participants performed a version of the morphed faces task that involved animated faces changing into or away from five target affective states (happy, surprise, sadness, anger, and disgust); they were asked to stop the animation when the face first corresponded to a target state, and rate its emotional intensity. Results demonstrated no differences in animation stop data, but overall lower ratings of perceived emotion intensity during high versus low work rate exercise; these effects dissipated through cool-down and rest periods. Results highlight important interactions between physiological states and processing emotional information.     

THE PAST,PRESENT, AND FUTURE ALL MATTER: HOW TIME PERSPECTIVE IS ASSOCIATED WITH OPTIMISM AND SENSATION SEEKING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

We used a multidimensional model of time perspective to examine how feelings and thoughts about the past, present, and future were related to optimism and sensation seeking among young adults. The dimensions of time perspective assessed were time feelings, the positive and negative emotions one has about the past, present, and future; time frequency, the amount of thinking about each time period; and time orientation, the relative emphases toward the time periods. Optimism and sensation seeking were self-reported and participants included 463 young adults. Variable-based analyses indicated that reporting more positive and less negative feelings about the time periods or emphasizing the present and future simultaneously were associated with greater optimism. For sensation seeking, boredom susceptibility was especially associated with the time perspective dimensions. Person-centered analyses based on time feelings and time frequency yielded four profiles (i.e., Mindful, Discontent, Bleak, and Indifferent) that were associated with both optimism and sensation seeking.     

Color preference,arousal, and the theory of psychological reversals

The theory of psychological reversals asserts that there are two levels of preferred felt arousal, one high and one low. Only one of them is preferred at a given time, although discrete switches (reversals) occur from time to time, so that each level is preferred at different times. In order to document such changes in preferred levels of arousal, 75 subjects were asked to make color preference choices at regular intervals during their working day, some for as many as 8 days. The assumption was that different colors are arousing or relaxing, and that color choice indicates arousal preference. The typical patterns of color choices that occurred clearly displayed the expected reversal effect over time and were considerably more consistent with reversal theory than with optimal arousal theory. In a second study, 41 new subjects were asked to respond to a simple mood adjective checklist each time they made their color preference choices. The results strongly supported the association between arousal preference and color preference and also supported the reversal theory thesis that low arousal preference is associated with seriousness and planning orientation (all these characterizing the telic state), and that high arousal preference is associated with playfulness and spontaneity (all these characterizing the paratelic state). Finally, both studies showed that there is a systematic tendency for long-wavelength colors to induce feelings of high arousal and for short-wavelength colors to induce feelings of low arousal.     

More than a feeling: Emotional cues impact the access and experience of autobiographical memories

Remembering is impacted by several factors of retrieval, including the emotional content of a memory cue. Here we tested how musical retrieval cues that differed on two dimensions of emotion—valence (positive and negative) and arousal (high and low)—impacted the following aspects of autobiographical memory recall: the response time to access a past personal event, the experience of remembering (ratings of memory vividness), the emotional content of a cued memory (ratings of event arousal and valence), and the type of event recalled (ratings of event energy, socialness, and uniqueness). We further explored how cue presentation affected autobiographical memory retrieval by administering cues of similar arousal and valence levels in a blocked fashion to one half of the tested participants, and randomly to the other half. We report three main findings. First, memories were accessed most quickly in response to musical cues that were highly arousing and positive in emotion. Second, we observed a relation between a cue and the elicited memory’s emotional valence but not arousal; however, both the cue valence and arousal related to the nature of the recalled event. Specifically, high cue arousal led to lower memory vividness and uniqueness ratings, but cues with both high arousal and positive valence were associated with memories rated as more social and energetic. Finally, cue presentation impacted both how quickly and specifically memories were accessed and how cue valence affected the memory vividness ratings. The implications of these findings for views of how emotion directs the access to memories and the experience of remembering are discussed.     

The Effects of Leader and Subordinate Characteristics in the Development of Leader–Member Exchange Quality1

This study investigated the contribution of both subordinate and leader characteristics in the development of leader-member exchange (LMX) quality. Data from 56 subordinate-superior dyads working at a large West-coast media company revealed that subordinates high in work self-efficacy were liked more by their supervisors, perceived to be more similar to their supervisors, experienced more positive LMX quality, and were rated as better performers than subordinates low in self-efficacy. Previous job experience, was related only to one outcome; supervisor's liking of the subordinate. Subordinates initially low in self-efficacy benefited from high LMX, as evidenced by increased end-of-program self-efficacy. Perceptions of similarity between supervisor and subordinate were found to be more important to LMX quality than actual demographic similarity. Leader self-efficacy and optimism predicted subordinates' ratings of LMX quality only for female supervisors. Unexpectedly, leader self-efficacy and optimism were related to the leaders' own ratings of LMX and subordinate performance.     

Induced mood and preschoolers' behavior: isolating the effects of hedonic tone and degree of arousal

A circumplex model of emotion was used to examine the role of hedonic tone and degree of arousal in the effects of induced mood on children's persistence behavior. A total of 45 preschool children were asked to describe and think about either exciting, calm, or sad experiences and then perform a persistence task. Heart rate was continuously recorded throughout the session. Observers' ratings of facial expressions and parents' ratings of the experiences provided convergent validation of the induction procedure. Children in the excited induction were rated as displaying facial expressions and generating situations that were high on both pleasure and arousal. The facial expressions and situations of those in the calm induction were also rated as positive, but less arousing, whereas those in the sad induction were rated as low on both. Concurrent heart rate recordings showed differential effects of the mood condition on autonomic arousal during the period when the children were generating the affect-inducing situations. These effects dissipated shortly after the beginning of the concentration phase of the induction procedure. Subsequent performance on a persistence task indicated that higher levels of arousal increased the amount of work completed, whereas higher levels of pleasure did not. Differential levels of autonomic arousal were displayed during the persistence task. These findings validate two important elements of the experimental design: excited versus calm states induce similar levels of pleasure but different levels of arousal, and calm versus sad states induce similar levels of arousal but different levels of pleasure. In previous research, hedonic tone and degree of arousal have often been confounded.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A controlled study of sensation awareness and verbal disclosure for regulation of arousal and anxiety.

Interactions of attention and verbalization were investigated for effects of self-reported arousal and state-anxiety. Levels of verbalization from silence through talking-without-a-listener to disclosure were compared while self-directed attention was manipulated for sensation versus general thoughts and feelings. Following a stimulus, disclosure of sensations was expected to reduce state anxiety and increase energetic arousal significantly more than disclosure of thoughts. Based on a randomly assigned sample of 120 men, a 3 x 2 x 2 multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant interaction in the predicted directions. A significant interaction was also found for the 3 x 2 interaction for energetic arousal. For state anxiety means were in the predicted direction. Results indicate that verbalization of sensations is more energizing and calming than silence, while for general thought, silence is more energizing and calming than verbalization. The results suggest efficacy in reframing self-talk to quiet awareness and in communicating sensed distinctions as they emerge.     

Optimism, pessimism, and change of psychological well-being in cancer patients

Whereas most previous studies have assessed optimism/pessimism as a unidimensional construct, there is increasing awareness that optimism and pessimism may represent two partially independent dimensions. In this study, the role of optimism and pessimism for the maintenance of psychological well-being was assessed in 161 newly diagnosed cancer patients. Before the start of chemotherapy, more positive affect balance was associated with higher optimism and lower pessimism. Over the course of 9 months following diagnosis, pessimism predicted negative change in affect balance, whereas no effect of optimism appeared. Higher levels of perceived side-effects of chemotherapy were associated with negative change in affect balance. However, an interaction effect of perceived side-effects with pessimism indicated that this was only the case in patients with above-median levels of pessimism. The conclusion is drawn that it may be more important to be less pessimistic than to be optimistic when diagnosed with cancer.     

Relationships Among Paternal Involvement and Young Children's Perceived Self-Competence and Behavioral Problems

We examined the relationships of father involvement to young children's perceived self-competence and fathers' and mothers' perceptions of their children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. The results indicated that mothers in families in which father involvement is high may have a more positive outlook regarding their child's behavior than do mothers in families in which father involvement is low. Fathers who were highly involved indicated their children have more behavior problems than fathers who were not highly involved. High father involvement was associated with increased children's feelings of paternal acceptance, a factor that plays a role in the development of self-concept and esteem.     

Caffeine effects on mood and memory.

The purpose of the present research was to assess whether a psychoactive dose of caffeine would have differential affects on the mood dimensions of arousal versus feelings of pleasantness and whether these mood alterations would influence memory either by (1) the experience of arousal at learning and/or (2) altered and congruent mood states at learning and recall. To address these questions, the administration of 5 mg/kg caffeine or placebo at learning and retrieval sessions was manipulated and subjects' mood was evaluated by several different self-report measures. Sixteen words were incidentally studied during the learning session and memory was evaluated by the number of words correctly recalled at the retrieval session two days later. Results revealed that caffeine reliably increased arousal, but did not affect any emotion dimensions related to feelings of pleasure. Subjects who received caffeine at learning and retrieval were also in equivalent mood states at both sessions. Moreover, caffeine did not produce any effects on memory; thus, neither hypothesis concerning the influence of arousal on memory was supported. These data show that caffeine is a useful method for manipulating arousal in the laboratory without influencing feelings of pleasantness or learning and memory performance.     

Physiological correlates of conduct problems and anxiety in hyperactive and learning-disabled children

Thirtysix learning disabled children (21 of whom were also classified as hyperactive) were subgrouped according to teacher ratings of tension-anxiety and conduct problems and then compared on measures of tonic and phasic autonomic arousal. The results indicated that children rated high on the conduct problem dimension evidenced smaller amplitude specific skin conductance responses, and that anxiety appeared to exert a moderating effect on physiological responses. When the hyperactive sample was considered separately, lower skin conductance levels were observed in children rated high on conduct problems than in hyperactive children rated low in conduct problems. These findings support the notion that hyperactive and learning-disabled children are heterogeneous at a physiological level and suggest that physiological differences previously attributed to hyperactivity may actually be correlates of the conduct problem dimension.     

Swiss Adolescent Drug Users' and Nonusers' Optimism About Their Future1

Swiss adolescents, aged 16 to 17 years, were asked about their past drug use, their intended drug use, their optimism about their future health, their negative emotions, and their well-being. On the basis of their self-reports, they were divided into 3 types of drug users: nonusers, experimenters, and frequent users. Compared with nonusers, experimenters and frequent users reported low optimism and more negative feelings. Females reported more negative feelings and less psychological well-being than did males, but the genders did not differ regarding optimism. Logistic regression demonstrated that optimism about future health was a protective factor for the intention to use drugs. Students who perceived themselves as less vulnerable to harm had in the past not used drugs and intended not to accept drugs when given the occasion. The implications of the findings for prevention of drug use are discussed.     

被动性社交网站使用与错失焦虑症：压力知觉的中介与乐观的调节

本研究为考察被动性社交网站使用对移动社交媒体环境下大学生错失焦虑症的预测,以及压力知觉的中介作用、乐观的调节作用与性别差异,选取443名大学生进行问卷调查。结果表明：（1）被动性社交网站使用通过直接预测与压力知觉的中介作效应两种方式作用于错失焦虑症;（2）乐观调节中介模型的直接路径,在低乐观水平下,被动性社交网站使用对错失焦虑症的预测作用显著;在高乐观水平下,该预测作用不显著;（3）中介效应与调节效应存在性别差异：在女生群体中,压力知觉的中介效应大于男生群体;而乐观的调节效应仅存在于男生群体中。     

Diurnal variation,morningness-eveningness,and momentary affect

The research questions of this study are the following: To what degree can results such as those of Thayer and colleagues (1978a, 1985, 1986, 1988) concerning diurnal variation and differences between diurnal types, obtained for energetic and tense arousal, be (1) replicated, (2) extended to elation and pleasantness, and (3) generalized to positive and negative affect? With regard to energetic arousal, all results were in line with those of Thayer and colleagues. However, regarding tense arousal, there was an unexpected main effect for time of day. For energetic arousal, elation, pleasantness, positive affect, and negative affect, there was (a) a significant main eflect for time of day, (b) a quadratic trend for diurnal variation, and (c) a significant Diurnal Type × Time of Day interaction, There were no significant sex differences in diurnal variation. Two final hypothetical statements are made about the diurnal variation and differences between diurnal types with regard to state scales: (a) the diurnal variation of a state scale cannot be described with a quadratic function if that scale is completely unrelated to energetic arousal; and (b) the characteristic differences between morning types and evening types, especially when measured in the morning and in the evening, will not manifest themselves on a state scale if that scale is entirely unrelated to energetic arousal. Finally, the possible usefulness of the results of this study for practical applications and the development of theories are discussed.     

Hedonic Tone,Perceived Arousal,and Item Desirability: Three Components of Self-reported Mood

Self-reports of mood are the most frequently used measure of subjective emotional experience in studies of human emotion. The present study evaluated the degree to which self-reports of mood reflect the social desirability of an affective state, rather than the hedonic tone and the level of arousal associated with such states. The study produced three main findings. First, the desirability of a mood and the hedonic quality of a mood are related, but not identical entities. Secondly, the desirability of a mood is also related to the level of arousal the mood denotes. Thirdly, desirability components are related to the self-report ratings of mood, but the ratings also reflect the hedonic tone and level of arousal describing the internal state of the respondents. Social desirability does affect the self-report ratings that are often used in emotion research, but such ratings also reflect something about the internal state of the respondents.     

The role of spatial frequency in emotional face classification

Previous studies with emotional face stimuli have revealed that our ability to identify different emotional states is dependent on the faces’ spatial frequency content. However, these studies typically only tested a limited number of emotional states. In the present study, we measured the consistency with which 24 different emotional states are classified when the faces are unfiltered, high-, or low-pass filtered, using a novel rating method that simultaneously measures perceived arousal (high to low) and valence (pleasant to unpleasant). The data reveal that consistent ratings are made for every emotional state independent of spatial frequency content. We conclude that emotional faces possess both high- and low-frequency information that can be relied on to facilitate classification.     

The role of autonomic arousal in feelings of familiarity

Subjective feelings of familiarity associated with a stimulus tend to be strongest when specific information about the previous encounter with the stimulus is difficult to retrieve (e.g., the butcher-on-the-bus phenomenon; [Mandler, G. (1980). Recognizing: The judgment of previous occurrence. Psychological Review, 87, 252-271.]). When a stimulus has been encountered previously and the circumstances of the encounter cannot be recollected, additional cognitive resources may be directed toward recollection processes; this resource allocation is accompanied by autonomic arousal [Dawson, M. E., Filion, D. L., & Schell, A. M. (1989). Is elicitation of the autonomic orienting response associated with allocation of processing resources?. Psychophysiology, 26, 560-572]. One easily measurable index of autonomic arousal is the skin conductance response (SCR). In the present study, participants studied lists of words and then gave recognition ratings to briefly displayed and masked studied and nonstudied test words while their SCRs were monitored. Results revealed a relationship between recognition ratings and the temporal characteristics of the SCR, supporting the idea that feelings of familiarity are indeed "feelings" in that they stem from autonomic arousal associated with cognitive resource allocation.     

The effect of mood on confidence in false memories

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of mood on suggestibility in the misinformation paradigm. To investigate the relative effects of valence and arousal, as well as affect-specific influences, six mood conditions were included: positive mood with low/high arousal (serene/happy), negative mood with low/high arousal (sad/angry), neutral mood, and a control condition. Participants watched a movie and were exposed to misleading information by means of a narrative. Memory was tested in a surprise forced-choice recognition task, with confidence judgements. The mood induction procedure was shown to be effective. A significant misinformation effect confirmed that participants were misled by the false information provided. Mood did not affect susceptibility to the misinformation effect, but did significantly influence participants’ belief in their false memories. Feeling sad induced the highest confidence ratings. Results are discussed in terms of different problem-solving strategies associated with discrete affective states, and have implications for both legal and clinical settings.     

Individual differences in the relationship between pleasure and arousal

The two fundamental dimensions assumed to underlie emotional experience—pleasure and arousal—are considered to be independent across individuals. We present evidence from an experience sampling study demonstrating that this independence does not necessarily hold when considering the affective experiences of a single individual. Participants (N = 80) reported how they were feeling in terms of pleasure and arousal nine times a day for seven days. The data showed that, although on average pleasure and arousal were independent, within-person pleasure–arousal associations substantially varied and ranged from strongly positive to strongly negative. This finding demonstrates that pleasant/unpleasant feelings usually co-occur with high arousal for some (reflecting joy/stress), but with low arousal for others (reflecting relaxation/sadness) and that persons differ in whether arousal is usually pleasant or unpleasant. These differences were found to be related to dispositional reward responsiveness, with high reward responsive individuals being characterized by a positive relation between pleasure and arousal and vice versa.