Social interactions,stressful events and negative affect at work: A micro-analytic approach

In the present study a daily event-recording method, the DIRO (Daily Interaction Record in Organizations), was employed for assessing social interactions, stressful events and negative affect at work. Forty-one secretaries filled out the records during the course of a week. This made it possible to consider both between-and within-subject effects of social interactions. The results showed that the social interactions of secretaries were characterized by three dimensions: intimate support, instrumental support and rewarding companionship. These three dimensions appeared to have different relationships with occupational stress. Instrumental support seemed to play the most important role in the work of secretaries, whereas rewarding companionship played no role at all in alleviating occupational stress. In the discussion some explanations are offered for this unexpected result.     

日常情绪的社会分享对情绪的影响

日常情绪的社会分享对情绪有怎样的影响,以往研究结论并不一致。本研究从社会分享的信息层面和感受层面以及当天情绪体验等方面收集了47名大学生和研究生被试7天共314份日志记录,使用多层线性模型进行分析,结果表明：（1）积极分享和消极分享都能显著正向预测当日的积极情绪,但是不能预测当日的消极情绪;（2）感受的分享（包括积极感受和消极感受）显著正向预测当日的积极情绪,信息的分享不能预测当日的积极情绪;（3）性别、抑郁水平和消极事件分享倾向会影响分享消极感受的水平对积极情绪的正向预测。结论：无论是积极感受分享还是消极感受分享都能提升积极情绪,但是不能改善负性情绪;消极感受分享对积极情绪的提升作用存在个体差异。     

Impact of daily mood, work hours, and iso-strain variables on self-reported health behaviors

Four hundred and twenty-two employees completed daily diaries measuring positive affect, negative affect, work hours, and health behaviors (snacking, smoking, exercise, alcohol, caffeine consumption) on work days over a 4-week period. In addition, measures of job demands, job control, and social support (iso-strain variables) were completed on 1 occasion. Multilevel random coefficient modeling was used to examine relationships between the job characteristics, daily work variables, and self-reported health behaviors. Results indicated a more important role for within-person daily fluctuations than for between-persons variations in predicting health behaviors. Whereas negative affect was negatively related to health behavior for both men and women, work hours had negative impacts for women only. Iso-strain variables showed few main effects and a modest number of interactions with daily variables (mainly for men). Findings point to the limited impact of stable features of work design compared to the effects of daily work stressors on health behaviors.     

Negative social interactions,distress, and depression among those caring for a seriously and persistently mentally III relative

Investigated both positive and negative social interactions and their effect on mental health for 106 individuals caring for a seriously mentally ill family member. Results from mixed-model (hierarchial and stepwise) multiple regression analyses in which caregiver age, socioeconomic status, caregiving demand, and severity of patient symptoms was controlled showed that negative social interaction accounted for a significant portion of variance in the caregivers' feelings of distress and depression. Moderated multiple regression analyses showed that under conditions of high negative interaction, the relationship between demand and distress was intensified. Implications of these findings for the conceptualization and measurement of negative social interaction as well as its clinical implications were discussed. The research for this paper was supported by funds from the Provost's office, University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work. The authors thank the Pennsylvania Alliance for the Mentally Ill for their support of, and participation in, the study.     

All's well that ends well? A test of the peak-end rule in couples’ conflict discussions

Despite its importance for well-being, surprisingly little is known about what determines how couples feel after a conflict. Using the peak-end rule, we examined whether partners’ post-conflict affect was mainly predicted by their most aversive or pleasant emotional experience (peaks) during the conflict, or by the emotional tone at the end of the interaction. One hundred and one couples engaged in a conflict interaction and afterwards evaluated their momentary affect during the interaction. Post-conflict affect (in terms of positive and negative feelings, and perceived partner responsiveness) was assessed immediately after the conflict, after a subsequent positive discussion, and upon returning to daily life (here, rumination about the relationship was assessed as well). Our results showed that the negative and positive peaks, but not the end emotion, predicted immediate and partly extended post-conflict affect in individuals. This finding has clinical implications for the mediation of couple conflict.     

I Did OK,but Did I Like It? Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Examine Perceptions of Social Interactions Associated With Severity of Social Anxiety and Depression

Socially anxious and depressed individuals tend to evaluate their social interactions negatively, but little is known about the specific real-time contributors to these negative perceptions. The current study examined how affect ratings during social interactions predict later perceptions of those interactions, and whether this differs by social anxiety and depression severity. Undergraduate participants (N = 60) responded to a smartphone application that prompted participants to answer short questions about their current affect and social context up to 6 times a day for 2 weeks. At the end of each day, participants answered questions about their perceptions of their social interactions from that day. Results indicated that the link between negative affective experiences reported during social interactions and the end-of-day report of enjoyment (but not effectiveness) of those experiences was more negative when social anxiety was more severe. The link between negative affective experiences rated during social interactions and the end-of-day report of effectiveness (but not enjoyment) during those social encounters was more negative when depression was more severe. These findings demonstrate the importance of examining self-perceptions of social interactions based both on the extent to which individuals think that they met the objective demands of an interaction (i.e., effectiveness, mastery) and the extent to which they liked or disliked that interaction (i.e., enjoyment, pleasure). These findings also highlight how real-time assessments of daily social interactions may reveal the key experiences that contribute to negative self-evaluations across disorders, potentially identifying critical targets for therapy.     

The good and bad of relationships: how social hindrance and social support affect relationship feelings in daily life

The authors examined the effects of social hindrance and support on negative and positive relationship-specific feelings in three daily diary studies. Study 1 showed that hindrance and support independently predicted positive relationship feelings, but only hindrance predicted negative feelings. Study 2 used new measures of hindrance and support and showed that hindrance and support independently predicted same-day relationship feelings but that the effects of hindrance were stronger in magnitude. Study 3 yielded similar findings using the new measures of hindrance and support and controlling for morning feeling. These asymmetrical crossover effects suggest that bad is only stronger than good when it comes to bad outcomes; they also support the distinction between aversive and appetitive relational processes.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging responses relate to differences in real-world social experience

Although neuroimaging techniques have proven powerful in assessing neural responses, little is known about whether scanner-based neural activity relates to real-world psychological experience. A joint functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)/experience-sampling study investigated whether individual differences in neurocognitive reactivity to scanner-based social rejection related to: (a) moment-to-moment feelings of social rejection during real-world social interactions ("momentary social distress") and (b) the extent to which these momentary feelings corresponded with end-of-day global assessments of social disconnection ("end-of-day social disconnection"). Individuals who showed greater activity in regions associated with affective and pain processing (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, periaqueductal gray) during scanner-based social rejection reported feeling greater momentary social distress during their daily social interactions. In contrast, individuals who showed greater activity in regions associated with memory and self-referential memory encoding (hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex) showed a stronger correspondence between momentary social distress and end-of-day social disconnection, such that greater momentary social distress was associated with greater end-of-day social disconnection. These findings complement previous work showing a dissociation between momentary and retrospective reports of affect and suggest that these processes rely on dissociable neural systems.     

Social exchanges and subjective well-being among older Chinese: does age make a difference?

The authors examined the effects of social support and negative interactions on life satisfaction and depressed affect among older Chinese, and age differences in these associations. The sample consisted of 2,943 Chinese elders who were 60-94 years of age. Structural equation modeling results suggest that both social support and negative interactions have significant contributions to life satisfaction and depressed affect. Social support has stronger effects than negative interactions on life satisfaction; their effects on depressed affect are comparable. Further, depressed affect of old-old (70+ years) Chinese reacts more strongly to both social support and negative interactions than the young-old (60-69 years).     

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.     

员工负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响

情绪劳动指的是员工在工作中按照组织的要求来调节自己的情绪感受和表达, 是服务行业普遍关注的问题。本研究基于自我调节理论(Self-Regulation Theory), 探讨了员工个体内负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响效应, 以及个体间水平上员工工作年限和情绪智力对该效应的跨层次调节作用。通过分析收集自210名呼叫中心员工14个工作日的追踪数据, 本研究发现员工每天的负性情绪显著抑制了深层动作; 工作年限和情绪智力显著调节了个体内负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响效应。数据分析结果支持了情绪劳动的研究中自我调节理论的作用, 本研究也据此讨论了理论意义和实践应用价值。     

右腹外侧前额叶对高抑郁水平成年人社会情绪调节的作用：一项tDCS研究

已有的经颅直流电刺激(transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS)研究证明, 右腹外侧前额叶(right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, RVLPFC)是社会情绪调节的重要脑区, 激活RVLPFC可显著降低人们对社会性负性情绪体验的强度。社会功能受损是抑郁症患者或抑郁倾向人群的重要特征之一。该群体对社会排斥的敏感性高, 且对负性社会情绪体验的情绪调节能力降低。在本研究中, 我们采用外显的情绪调节任务, 研究了高、低抑郁水平的两组成年人被试在RVLPFC接受阳性tDCS后其情绪调节能力的改变。结果表明, 虽然采用tDCS激活RVLPFC可帮助被试通过情绪调节(认知重评)减弱负性情绪体验, 但高抑郁水平被试的负性情绪强度下降程度明显小于低抑郁水平被试。另外本文还发现, 与源于个人的负性情绪相比, tDCS效应对源于社会的负性情绪(即社会排斥)更强。本研究是采用电或磁刺激提高抑郁人群社会情绪调节能力的首次尝试。实验结果表明, 高抑郁水平成年人的RVLPFC仅通过单次、短时间(34 min)的tDCS激活, 其情绪调节能力并未得到显著提升。这提示对抑郁倾向群体或抑郁症患者的干预或治疗需要多次施加tDCS。     

Receiving support as a mixed blessing: evidence for dual effects of support on psychological outcomes

Although social support is thought to boost feelings of closeness in dyadic relationships, recent findings have suggested that support receipt can increase distress in recipients. The authors investigated these apparently contrary findings in a large daily diary study of couples over 31 days leading up to a major stressor. Results confirm that daily support receipt was associated with greater feelings of closeness and greater negative mood. These average effects, however, masked substantial heterogeneity. In particular, those recipients showing greater benefits on closeness tended to show lesser cost on negative mood, and vice versa. Self-esteem was examined as a possible moderator of support effects, but its role was evident in only a subset of recipients. These results imply that models of dyadic support processes must accord a central role to between-individual heterogeneity.     

Receiving and giving support: Effects on relationships and well-being

Sixty-five subjects reported amount of social support given and received, and satisfaction with relationships where support exchanges took place. Negative affect from relationships, psychological symptoms, and happiness were also measured. Multiple regression analyses showed that receiving and giving support was related to some negative feelings toward the relationships concerned. Receiving support was also related to inflated anxiety symptoms. Effects of receiving support on guilt and dependent feelings were moderated by relationship satisfaction. Effects of giving support on anxiety were also moderated by relationship satisfaction. Extraversion and satisfaction with relationships predicted happiness. There were some individual differences in support exchanges. Extraverts gave more support. Women received more support whereas conscientious people received less.     

Understanding heterogeneity in borderline personality disorder: Differences in affective reactivity explained by the traits of dependency and self-criticism

This study examined whether the personality traits of self-criticism and dependency respectively moderated the effects of perceived inferiority and emotional insecurity on negative affect during interpersonal interactions in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A sample of 38 patients with BPD and matched community comparison participants completed event-contingent record forms after each significant interaction for a 20-day period. Multilevel models showed that, controlling for baseline levels of depressive symptoms and neuroticism, as well as lagged negative affect, event-level elevations in perceived inferiority and emotional insecurity were related to more negative affect in both groups. Event-level perceived inferiority was more strongly associated with negative affect in patients with BPD who reported higher levels of self-criticism, while event-level perceived emotional insecurity was more strongly associated with negative affect in patients with BPD who reported higher levels of dependency. No significant interactions emerged for the comparison group. These findings further our understanding of differences among patients with BPD and support the application of personality-vulnerability or diathesis-stress models in predicting negative affect in BPD. Results have implications for the design of therapies for patients with BPD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Patterns of affectivity in the transition to adolescence

The present paper reports the findings of a factor analytic investigation of adolescent affect in a cross-sectional sample of 483 male and female fifth through ninth graders. Following the ESM method, adolescents carried electronic pagers and self-report booklets for one week. Students were paged seven times daily and completed self-report forms after each signal describing their moods and feelings. Principal components analysis yielded two internally consistent factors which were virtually identical to the positive and negative affect dimensions described in the literature on adult emotion. Contrary to findings reported in the developmental literature, arousal did not emerge as a dimension of adolescent affect. Further, the bipolar structure obtained for the entire sample, positive and negative affect, consistently emerged in separate analyses of adolescent gender and school groups. MANOVA analysis of estimated positive and negative affect scores indicated that while the underlying dimensions of adolescent affect were comparable to those observed for adults, variation along those dimensions may have been related to the social transitions (e.g., schooling) which punctuate adolescence.     

Mood-related self-schemata and mood-congruity effects in autobiographical memory: A study of women with premenstrual syndrome

Everyday autobiographical memory and mood interactions were explored in a small clinical sample of women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and a matched control group. Subjects kept daily records of memorable events for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Two recognition memory tests were given after a one-cycle delay. Mood, or affect, was self-assessed retrospectively over a week, at the end of each day during data collection and at testing, and when events occurred. Women with PMS were more depressed and more negative (angry) than positive (experiencing bursts of energy) in their daily moods than controls. Memory accuracy was poorer overall for PMS than control subjects, although no direct effects of menstrual cycle phase on memory were found. Instead, mood affected memory indirectly through moodrelated self-schemata which subsequently mediated mood-congruity effects. Memory accuracy for events experienced in negative mood states and associated with negative affective reactions was higher for PMS subjects when tested in negative mood states than for controls. No group differences were found on events associated with positive affect or positive daily moods when mood state at the time of testing was also positive. Women with PMS processed information selectively from negative events and events experienced in negative moods compared to controls. Negative events and negative moods appeared to interfere with remembering for control subjects. Women in the control group appeared to be biased towards selectively remembering positive events and events experienced on days when their mood states were relatively positive.     

Culture and social support

Social support is one of the most effective means by which people can cope with stressful events. Yet little research has examined whether there are cultural differences in how people utilize their social support networks. A review of studies on culture and social support presents evidence that Asians and Asian Americans are more reluctant to explicitly ask for support from close others than are European Americans because they are more concerned about the potentially negative relational consequences of such behaviors. Asians and Asian Americans are more likely to use and benefit from forms of support that do not involve explicit disclosure of personal stressful events and feelings of distress. Discussion centers on the potential implications of these findings for intercultural interactions and for the use of mental health services by Asians and Asian Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).     

Stress,health, and reciprocity and sufficiency of social support: the case of university students in Japan

The authors examined the effects of reciprocity and sufficiency of social support on the mental and physical health of 488 Japanese university students with different levels of stressors. The questionnaire included items that measured support provided for, requested by, requested of, and received from others. It also addressed negative affect associated with support relationships, as well as the levels of stressors and mental and physical health. The participants' support relationships with others were fairly reciprocal. Although being overbenefited (i.e., receiving more support than one provides) was related to stronger feelings of indebtedness, being underbenefited (i.e., providing more support than one receives) was related to stronger feelings of burden. In sum, when the participants received less support than they requested and when they provided less support than others requested, they tended to become less mentally and physically healthy. Reciprocity of support appeared to have both direct and buffering effects; however, the effects of sufficient support on health did not vary with levels of stressors.     

Ordinary Social Interaction and the Main Effect Between Perceived Support and Affect

Relational regulation theory hypothesizes that (a) the main effect between perceived support and mental health primarily reflects ordinary social interaction rather than conversations about stress and how to cope with it, and (b) the extent to which a provider regulates a recipient's mental health primarily reflects the recipient's personal taste (i.e., is relational), rather than the provider's objective supportiveness. In three round‐robin studies, participants rated each other on supportiveness and the quality of ordinary social interaction, as well as their own affect when interacting with each other. Samples included marines about to deploy to Afghanistan (N = 100; 150 dyads), students sharing apartments (N = 64; 96 dyads), and strangers (N = 48; 72 dyads). Perceived support and ordinary social interaction were primarily relational, and most of perceived support's main effect on positive affect was redundant with ordinary social interaction. The main effect between perceived support and affect emerged among strangers after brief text conversations, and these links were partially verified by independent observers. Findings for negative affect were less consistent with theory. Ordinary social interaction appears to be able to explain much of the main effect between perceived support and positive affect.