The Affective Temperaments and Well-Being: Swedish and Iranian Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being

The aim was to investigate the role of the affective temperament model (AFTs) in distinguishing variations in well-being among adolescents from Sweden (n = 222) and Iran (n = 120). Participants self-reported positive (PA) and negative affect (NA), life satisfaction (LS) and psychological well-being (PWB). The model categorizes participants in four different temperaments using the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): self-actualizing (high PA and low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). Across cultures, self-actualizing adolescents reported higher LS and PWB. The PWB sub-scale of self-acceptance was positively related to LS regardless of temperament profile or cultural background. Nevertheless, Iranian adolescents with self-destructive profiles reported higher LS than high affective Iranians. The AFTs model is suggested to offer something unique by taking into account the interaction of PA and NA.     

When Good Feelings Turn Mixed: Affective Dynamics and Big Five Trait Predictors of Mixed Emotions in Daily Life

In this study, we examine how daily life fluctuations in positive affect (PA) and negative afect (NA) relate to mixed emotions—that is, simultaneous positive and negative feelings. We utilised three experience sampling studies (total N = 275), in which participants reported their affect 10 times each day for up to 14 days. Because people generally experience fairly stable moderate levels of PA in daily life, we proposed that mixed emotions would typically occur when NA increases and overlaps with, but does not entirely eliminate, PA. Accordingly, within individuals, we found that mixed emotions in daily life were more strongly predicted by changes in NA and the occurrence of negative events than by changes in PA and positive events. At the between-person level, individuals with more variable NA, more stable PA, and higher trait Neuroticism scores experienced higher average levels of mixed emotions. Further, we found evidence that the average magnitude of NA increases may partially mediate the association between Neuroticism and mixed emotions. We also found that positive predictors of mixed emotions are negative predictors of individuals' within-person PA/NA correlations—that is, affective synchrony. Our findings elucidate trait predictors and affective dynamics of daily life mixed emotions, which appear closely intertwined with NA variability. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Acute stress responses after indirect exposure to the MH17 airplane crash

People can experience disasters vicariously (indirectly) via conversation, social media, radio, and television, even when not directly involved in a disaster. This study examined whether vicarious exposure to the MH17‐airplane crash in Ukraine, with 196 Dutch victims, elicited affective and somatic responses in Dutch adults about 2,600 km away, who happened to participate in an ongoing diary study. Participants (n = 141) filled out a diary three times a day for 30 days on their smartphones. Within‐person changes in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) and somatic symptoms after the crash were studied. Additionally, we tested whether between‐person differences in response could be explained by age, baseline personality (NEO‐FFI‐3), and media exposure. The MH17 crash elicited a small within‐person decrease in PA and an increase in NA and somatic symptoms. This response waned after 3 days and returned to baseline at day four. The decrease in PA was larger in more extraverted participants but smaller in those higher on neuroticism or conscientiousness. The NA response was smaller in elderly. Personality did not seem to moderate the NA and somatic response, and neither did media exposure. Dutch participants showed small acute somatic and affective responses up till 3 days to a disaster that they had not directly witnessed. Vicariously experienced disasters can thus elicit affective‐visceral responses indicative of acute stress reactions. Personality and age explained some of the individual differences in this reaction.     

Behavioral activation and inhibition in everyday life

Joint effects of daily events and dispositional sensitivities to cues of reward and punishment on daily positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) were examined in 3 diary studies. Study 1 showed that positive events were strongly related to PA but not NA, whereas negative events were strongly related to NA but not PA. Studies 2 and 3 examined how the dispositional sensitivities of independent appetitive and aversive motivational systems, the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), moderated these relationships. Participants in Study 2 with higher BAS sensitivity reported more PA on average; those with more sensitive BIS reported more NA. Also, BIS moderated reactions to negative events, such that higher BIS sensitivity magnified reactions to negative events. Study 3 replicated these findings and showed that BAS predisposed people to experience more positive events. Results demonstrate the value of distinguishing within-person and between-person effects to clarify the functionally independent processes by which dispositional sensitivities influence affect.     

Social anxiety and the accuracy of predicted affect

Social anxiety is theorised to arise from sustained over-activation of a mammalian evolved system for detecting and responding to social threat with corresponding diminished opportunities for attaining the pleasure of safe attachments. Emotional forecasting data from two holidays were used to test the hypothesis that greater social anxiety would be associated with decreased expectations of positive affect (PA) and greater anticipated negative affect (NA) on a holiday marked by group celebration (St. Patrick's Day) while being associated with greater predicted PA for daters on a romantic holiday (Valentine's Day). Participants completed symptom reports, made affective forecasts and provided multiple affect reports throughout each holiday. Higher levels of social anxiety were associated with greater anticipated PA for Valentine's Day daters, but lower experienced PA on the holiday; this was not found for trait anxiety and depression. Alternatively, trait anxiety, depression and social anxiety were associated with less predicted PA for St. Patrick's Day, greater anticipated NA and diminished experienced PA/greater NA during the holiday. Results are discussed in light of perceived hope for rewarding safe emotional contact for those daters in contrast to the greater possibility for social threat associated with group celebration typical of St. Patrick's Day.     

Situational meaninglessness and state boredom: Cross-sectional and experience-sampling findings

Theories of boredom assert that boredom is a product of situational meaninglessness. We conducted two studies to test if the perceived meaningfulness of a situation is associated with state boredom, above and beyond sadness, personality traits, and boredom proneness. In Study 1, 105 participants (72.4% female: mean age?=?33.9 years, SD?=?17.5) described situations in which they experienced boredom, no boredom, engagement, or sadness. They then rated the level of state boredom, sadness, and meaninglessness that they experienced in that situation. As hypothesized, state boredom was associated with situational meaninglessness, before and after controlling for sadness. In Study 2, 148 participants (73.0% female; mean age?=?19.2 years, SD?=?1.8) first provided baseline data on personality traits and boredom proneness. Through a smartphone app-based experience-sampling method, they then responded to a brief questionnaire multiple times a day, across 7 days. The questionnaire asked about the nature of their current activity, whether the activity was done alone or with other people, and their affective state. Results from multilevel modelling of 3022 entries suggest that perceived meaningfulness of the activity was negatively associated with state boredom, above and beyond sadness, personality, and boredom proneness. We also found that being with others during the activity acted as a moderator; activities lower in perceived meaningfulness were associated with higher ratings of state boredom when done with others than when done alone. These results demonstrate that perceptions of meaninglessness characterize state boredom.     

Physical activity,screen time and subjective well-being among children

Background/ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to explore the differences between physical activity and/or screen time levels on cognitive (Life satisfaction LS) and affective (Positive affect, PA and Negative affect NA) components of subjective well-being (SWB) in children.MethodThis cross-sectional study enrolled 1,540 children (1,040 boys, 8–12 years old). LS, PA, NA, physical activity and screen time were assessed with validated questionnaires.ResultsChildren who reported 3 days per week of physical activity or less had lower LS and PA than counterparts with ≥6 days of physical activity per week (p < .05). Participants who reported 2 hours per day or less of screen time had lower NA than counterparts with 4 hours per day or more of screen time (p < .05). Also, children who meet physical activity guidelines have higher LS and PA compared to inactive peers, even with high screen time. In contrast, excessive screen time was also related with NA independent of the level of physical activity.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that physical activity is related with positive feelings and LS, but does not eliminate the effect of screen time on negative feelings among Chilean children.     

Individual differences in hedonic capacity,depressed mood,and affective states predict emotional reactivity

Identifying factors that contribute to inter-individual differences in emotional reactivity is central to understanding the basic mechanisms that give rise to adaptive emotion reactivity and to disruptions that may occur in psychopathology. The current study related emotional reactivity in an unselected young adult sample (N?=?101) to individual difference factors relevant to emotional functioning and mood pathology, specifically anhedonia, depressed mood, and current affective state. To assess emotional reactivity, participants rated their emotional responses to 100 pictures from the International Affective Picture System. Increased self-reported anhedonia (i.e. reduced hedonic capacity) predicted blunted emotional reactivity to both positive and negative images, relative to neutral images, while elevated depressed mood predicted potentiated emotional reactivity to negative vs. neutral images. Anhedonia also accounted for far greater variance in emotional reactivity than depressed mood. Further, more positive affective state predicted potentiated reactivity to positive versus neutral images while more negative affective state predicted potentiated reactivity to negative versus neutral images beyond effects of anhedonia and depressed mood. The current study identified separable effects of anhedonia, depressed mood, and current affect on emotional reactivity.     

Vanishing time in the pursuit of happiness

Happiness can be conceptualized as a positive affective state or as a goal whose pursuit ironically pulls the pursuer away from achieving it (Mauss, Tamir, Anderson, & Savino in Emotion, 11(4), 807–815, 2011). But how do people think about time during this latter, never-ending pursuit of happiness? The present investigation asks how seeking happiness influences perceptions of time availability. Four studies demonstrated that trait-level happiness seeking (Study 1) as well as direct manipulation of happiness seeking (Studies 2, 3, and 4) consistently reveal the same pattern: reduced feelings of time availability while pursuing happiness. This negative effect on time availability is mitigated when happiness seems like it has been achieved (Study 2) or seems quick to achieve (Study 3). In addition, pursuing happiness can ultimately decrease happiness, in part, by reducing perceptions of time availability (Study 4), extending theories on happiness, goal pursuit, and perceptions of time.     

Walk on the bright side: physical activity and affect in major depressive disorder

Although prescribed exercise has been found to improve affect and reduce levels of depression, we do not know how self-initiated everyday physical activity influences levels of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in depressed persons. Fifty-three individuals diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and 53 never-depressed controls participated in a seven-day experience sampling study. Participants were prompted randomly eight times per day and answered questions about their physical activity and affective state. Over the week, the two groups of participants did not differ in average level of physical activity. As expected, participants with MDD reported lower average PA and higher average NA than did never-depressed controls. Both participants with MDD and controls reported higher levels of PA at prompts after physical activity than at prompts after inactive periods; moreover, for both groups of participants, PA increased from a prompt after an inactive period to a subsequent prompt at which activity was reported. Depressed participants in particular showed a dose-response effect of physical activity on affect: longer duration and/or higher intensity of physical activity increased their PA significantly more than did short duration and/or lower intensity physical activity. Physical activity did not influence NA in either group. In contrast to previous treatment studies that examined the effects of prescribed structured exercise, this investigation showed that self-initiated physical activity influences PA. These findings also underscore the importance of distinguishing between PA and NA to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of physical activity on affect in MDD.     

The Affective Temperaments: Differences between Adolescents in the Big Five Model and Cloninger’s Psychobiological Model of Personality

Positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) are indicators or markers of well-being that also reflect stable emotional- temperamental dispositions. In three different studies, self-reported affect was measured by the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The PANAS measures affect as two separate dimensions and was therefore used to generate four affective temperaments (AFTs): self-actualizing (high PA and Low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). The present set of studies investigated differences in personality between AFTs in an adolescent sample (N?=?398). Personality was measured by two different models: The Big Five and Cloninger’s psychobiological model. The interaction of PA and NA was expected to reveal differences and similarities in intrapersonal behavior measured by both models of personality. The results show that low NA adolescents reported lower levels of neurotic behavior than high NA adolescents. Nevertheless, despite the experience of high NA respectively, low PA, high and low affective reported higher Self-Directedness than self-destructive adolescents. Implications of the AFTs framework are discussed.     

The effects of the concreteness of differently valenced words on affective priming

This study aimed to determine whether affective priming is influenced by the concreteness of emotional words. To address this question, we conducted three experiments using lexical decision-priming task. In Experiment 1, positive-abstract (PA) and positive-concrete (PC) words were used as primes to examine the effect of the concreteness of positive words on affective priming, and in Experiment 2, negative-abstract (NA) and negative-concrete (NC) words were used as primes to examine the effect of the concreteness of negative words on affective priming. Results showed that participants responded faster to affectively congruent-abstract trails than incongruent-abstract trails in PA prime conditions, but for PC or negative word (NC and NA) prime conditions, there were no differences between the response times of congruent trails and incongruent trails. To examine the reliability of the priming effects observed in Experiments 1 and 2, we set up a neutral condition as a baseline in Experiment 3, through which we confirmed the difference in the affective priming effect between positive and negative primes in a concrete–abstract dimension. PA words were found to have the tendency to possess more emotional load and facilitate affective association between the prime and the target. The study finding suggests that aside from arousal and valence, the concreteness of positive words also has an impact on affective priming effect.     

What makes experiences satisfying? The interaction of approach-avoidance motivations and emotions in well-being

Two studies examined how dispositional approach-related and avoidance-related motivations moderate the degree to which people base satisfaction judgments on past experiences of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Using both laboratory-based (Study 1) and experience sampling (Study 2) methodologies, the authors found that high approach participants, as compared with low approach participants, made satisfaction ratings that were more strongly tied to PA. In contrast, avoidance-related motivations did not moderate the degree to which satisfaction ratings were based on either PA or NA. Results indicate that approach motivations may influence well-being not only through emotion over time but also through the degree to which people weight particular emotional experiences in broader judgments of satisfaction.     

The Structure of Adolescent Affective Well-Being: The Case of the PANAS Among Serbian Adolescents

The structure of affective well-being and the relationship between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) have rarely been examined among adolescents. The aim of the present research was to investigate the question of bipolarity versus independence of PA and NA as measured by the PANAS across three studies in adolescent samples. The results of Study 1 (N = 1038) showed that a two-factor structure of the PANAS, with correlated PA and NA and allowed correlated errors between similarly worded items provided the best fit to data. Study 2 included three independent samples (total N = 1071), and showed that PA and NA differed in terms of their relationship to various well-being indicators. Study 3 (N = 482) tested the predictive validity of PA and NA in a 5 month follow-up design, and showed that both PA and NA had independent predictive benefits for depression, risky behaviors and life satisfaction, and that PA had no unique role in the prediction of stress and anxiety, while NA had no unique role in the prediction of academic achievement. The results of the present research provided strong support for the relative independence of PA and NA as measured by the PANAS among adolescents.     

Comparing static and dynamic measures of affect intensity and affective lability: do they measure the same thing?

This was the first study to our knowledge to examine whether dispositional scales of affect intensity and affective lability map on to corresponding momentary affective dynamics. Specifically, we assessed whether the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) and Affective Lability Scale (ALS) are differentially associated with mean, variability, and instability of negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Young adults (n?=?135) completed the AIM, ALS, and 7 days of experience sampling assessments. Higher scores on the AIM were associated with variability and instability of NA and PA whereas the ALS was associated with mean levels of NA and PA. Neither the AIM nor the ALS were associated with reactivity to stressful, negative, or positive experiences in the moment. The AIM and ALS accounted for little variance in momentary affective dynamics and effects were generally small. Findings highlighted that static measures of dynamic phenomena poorly map onto momentary measures of affect in daily life. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.

     

Evidence for mixed feelings of happiness and sadness from brief moments in time

Theorists disagree about whether valence is a basic building block of affective experience or whether the positive and negative substrates underlying valence are separable in experience. If positivity and negativity are separable in experience, people should be able to feel happy and sad at the same time. We addressed limitations of earlier evidence for mixed feelings by collecting moment-to-moment measures of happiness and sadness that required participants to monitor their feelings only occasionally. In Study 1, participants were occasionally cued to press one button if they felt happy and another if they felt sad. Participants spent more time reporting mixed feelings (i.e., simultaneously pressing both buttons) during bittersweet scenes than non-bittersweet scenes. In Study 2, participants reported their feelings only once. Participants spent more time reporting mixed feelings when cued during a bittersweet, as opposed to non-bittersweet, scene. These results extend earlier evidence that happiness and sadness can co-occur.     

Individual differences in emotion elicitation in university examinations: A quasi-experimental study

In a quasi-experimental study, we examined the role of individual differences in the elicitation of emotional states in university examinations. Specifically, we assessed emotional states (a) before the first examination (baseline), (b) after receiving positive or negative feedback, and (c) then, again, before a series of subsequent examinations. We also measured effort in examination preparation and interest for studying. Data were collected during a university course that consisted of seven examinations in one semester; and 94 female students completed the BIS/BAS scales and SPSRQ (to measure sensitivity to punishment, SP, and reward, SR). Results revealed that higher BAS, but not SR, individuals experienced higher positive affect (PA) following positive feedback and they also showed higher levels of interest in studying. More generally, higher BIS and SP individuals experienced higher level of negative affect (NA) and they invested more effort in examination preparation; and both higher levels of SP and SR correlated positively with NA after receiving negative feedback. In addition, following negative feedback, higher BAS individuals experienced lower levels of PA, and higher SR individuals invested less effort in examination preparation. Results are discussed in terms of the reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality and directions for future research.     

Emotional reactivity to daily events in youth with anxiety disorders

Background: Although research supports associations between anxiety and emotional reactivity in adults (Cisler, J. M., Olatunji, B. O., Feldner, M. T., &; Forsyth, J. P. (2010). Emotion regulation and the anxiety disorders: an integrative review. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(1), 68–82.), few studies have examined emotional reactivity in anxious youth (e.g., Carthy et al., 2010; Tan, P. Z., Forbes, E. E., Dahl, R. E., Ryan, N. D., Siegle, G. J., Ladouceur, C. D., &; Silk, J. S. (2012). Emotional reactivity and regulation in anxious and nonanxious youth: a cell-phone ecological momentary assessment study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(2), 197–206.). Methods: Using daily diary methodology, this study examined both negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) reactivity to daily events in youth diagnosed with anxiety (N?=?68; 60% female; 78% non-Hispanic White; M age?=?11.18 years, SD?=?3.17). We also examined whether parent-reported emotion regulation would predict emotional reactivity. Results: Participants reported more NA on days they experienced more negative parent and teacher events and less PA on days that they experienced more negative peer events. Additionally, better emotion regulation was associated with less NA reactivity to negative teacher events and to both negative and positive academic events. Conclusions: Interpersonal events have a salient effect on daily affect for anxious youth. Youth anxiety therapists should target emotion regulation associated with negative events involving adults and address barriers to developing and maintaining positive peer relationships.     

A Time-Series Diary Study of Mood and Social Interaction

Based on concomitant time-series analyses, the results of this study support distinct social interaction correlates for the mood dimensions of negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Participants (N = 25) completed structured diaries three times daily for 4 weeks assessing their PA, NA, and participation in five types of social interaction. A significant number of participants' data series evidenced significant positive correlations between PA and fun/active and necessary/informational types of social interaction, and between NA and arguing/confronting and receiving help/support, during synchronous diary periods. Providing help/support was not related to NA or PA. No hypothesized time-lagged relations between mood and social interaction variables were present suggesting that, if these associations exist, they may be at intervals shorter than the one third day recording frequency used in this study. Results are discussed in the context of research on mood, social interaction, and time-series analysis.     

Measuring Momentary Stress,Affect, and Cognition: Relationships with the Internalizing and Externalizing Spectra

The Internalizing (INT) and Externalizing (EXT) spectra are an emerging way to conceptualize the structure of psychopathology. Demonstrating relationships with emotional reactions to, and cognitive appraisals of, daily stressful events would be strong evidence of ecological validity. In the current study (N?=?78), the experience sampling method (ESM, a structured diary technique with Palm Pilots) was used to capture affect and cognition related to current stressor, five times per day, for 1 week. Multilevel random coefficient modeling was used to examine affective and cognitive reactivity to daily stressors as a function of baseline levels of INT and EXT. INT scores were related to higher levels of negative affect (NA), lower levels of positive affect (PA) and more negative cognitive appraisals of the stressful situation. Several cross-level interactions were found between psychopathology scores, cognitive appraisals, and affect. Participants higher in INT psychopathology showed less decrease in NA as level of control increased, compared to participants low in INT. EXT moderated the association between NA and distress, with higher levels of EXT resulting in a stronger association between distress and NA. INT and EXT also moderated the relationships between the cognitive variables (distress and control, coping and control). Findings support both the utility and validity of the INT and EXT dimensions in understanding different forms of stress-related impairment in emotion and cognition.