The Interface Between Core Affects and the Challenge–Skill Relationship

Different models have been developed to describe human experiences. One of these models is the core affect model, which states that the core of emotional experience is a simple state of feeling good or bad, energized or drowsy. Another model is the experience fluctuation model (EFM), which has been developed to map how emotions and other experiences fluctuate along with the relationship between challenges and skills. In this study, we first mathematically refined the EFM. Second, we tested if fluctuations in core affect could be modeled with a continuous wave-like sine function (Study 1). Third, we applied the sine function to our own experience-sampling data, which we collected via mobile phones from 55 university students, and located each challenge–skill relationship in a two-dimensional core affect space (Study 2). The results were consistent in both studies and showed that fluctuations in core affect dimensions, measured as a function of the relationship between challenges and skills, can be modeled with the sine function. The results also indicated that there is a systematic link between challenge–skill relationships and core affect: High challenge–high skill situations were connected to a very active and pleasant core affect, whereas high challenge–low skill situations were connected to a quite active but unpleasant core affect, low challenge–low skill situations to a very passive and unpleasant core affect, and low challenge–high skill situations to a quite passive and pleasant core affect. Compared to previous studies, this study presents a more fine-grained and comprehensive level of information on the relationship between core affect and challenges and skills.     

A hierarchical latent stochastic differential equation model for affective dynamics

In this article a continuous-time stochastic model (the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process) is presented to model the perpetually altering states of the core affect, which is a 2-dimensional concept underlying all our affective experiences. The process model that we propose can account for the temporal changes in core affect on the latent level. The key parameters of the model are the average position (also called home base), the variances and covariances of the process, and the regulatory mechanisms that keep the process in the vicinity of the average position. To account for individual differences, the model is extended hierarchically. A particularly novel contribution is that in principle all parameters of the stochastic process (not only the mean but also its variance and the regulatory parameters) are allowed to differ between individuals. In this way, the aim is to understand the affective dynamics of single individuals and at the same time investigate how these individuals differ from one another. The final model is a continuous-time state-space model for repeated measurement data taken at possibly irregular time points. Both time-invariant and time-varying covariates can be included to investigate sources of individual differences. As an illustration, the model is applied to a diary study measuring core affect repeatedly for several individuals (thereby generating intensive longitudinal data).     

Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion

At the heart of emotion, mood, and any other emotionally charged event are states experienced as simply feeling good or bad, energized or enervated. These states--called core affect--influence reflexes, perception, cognition, and behavior and are influenced by many causes internal and external, but people have no direct access to these causal connections. Core affect can therefore be experienced as free-floating (mood) or can be attributed to some cause (and thereby begin an emotional episode). These basic processes spawn a broad framework that includes perception of the core-affect-altering properties of stimuli, motives, empathy, emotional meta-experience, and affect versus emotion regulation; it accounts for prototypical emotional episodes, such as fear and anger, as core affect attributed to something plus various nonemotional processes.     

A Hierarchical Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Model for Continuous Repeated Measurement Data

In this paper, we present a diffusion model for the analysis of continuous-time change in multivariate longitudinal data. The central idea is to model the data from a single person with an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck diffusion process. We extend it hierarchically by allowing the parameters of the diffusion process to vary randomly over different persons. With this approach, both intra and interindividual differences are analyzed simultaneously. Furthermore, the individual difference parameters can be regressed on covariates, thereby providing an explanation of between-person differences. Unstructured and unbalanced data pose no problem for the model to be applied. We demonstrate the method on data from an experience sampling study to investigate changes in the core affect. It can be concluded that different factors from the five factor model of personality are related to features of the trajectories in the core affect space, such as the cross-correlation and variability of the changes.     

青少年核心信念挑战对创伤后成长的影响：反刍与社会支持的作用

采用核心信念问卷、反刍问卷、社会支持问卷和创伤后成长问卷, 以汶川地震4年半后的354名中学生为被试, 考察其核心信念挑战、侵入性反刍、主动反刍、社会支持与创伤后成长之间的关系。结果发现, 地震4年半后青少年创伤后成长的整体水平较高, 其中女生高于男生, 初二学生相对低于高年级学生。结构方程模型的结果显示, 侵入性反刍和主动反刍在核心信念挑战与创伤后成长之间起部分中介作用, 核心信念挑战可以直接正向预测创伤后成长, 也可以通过侵入性反刍对创伤后成长起负向预测作用、通过主动反刍对创伤后成长起正向预测作用、通过侵入性反刍经主动反刍正向预测创伤后成长; 社会支持在侵入性反刍影响创伤后成长的直接路径上不起调节作用, 但在侵入性反刍经主动反刍对创伤后成长的间接路径上起调节作用, 具体表现为侵入性反刍对主动反刍的正向预测作用随着社会支持的增加而降低。     

员工的核心自我评价与多维生活满意度的关系：感知社会支持的中介作用

本研究以245名企业员工为被试,从感知到的不同来源社会支持的角度探索了核心自我评价对员工生活满意度不同领域的作用机制。结果表明：（1）核心自我评价对家庭、朋友、工作和自我满意度均有显著的正向预测作用。（2）家庭支持在核心自我评价与家庭满意度之间起完全中介作用,在核心自我评价与自我满意度之间起部分中介作用;朋友支持在核心自我评价与朋友满意度之间起完全中介作用。研究表明,核心自我评价能直接预测生活满意度中的非关系型领域,能通过各类社会支持分别间接预测生活满意度中的各类关系型满意度。     

The Underlying Role of Negative Affect in the Association between PTSD,Major Depressive Disorder,and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Clinicians and researchers have found differential diagnosis to be difficult, particularly for conceptually similar disorders. One category of particular interest has been distress or internalizing disorders, theorized to be related via an underlying construct of generalized distress or negative affect. The present study attempted to address the comorbidity of three distress disorders - posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) - using latent analyses by controlling for the variance attributable to negative affect. The sample consisted of 265 trauma-exposed individuals who completed self-report measures of PTSD, MDD, GAD, and negative affect. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test initial model fit. Next, the model was re-computed, controlling for negative affect by regressing negative affectivity at the item-level. Results indicated that a significant amount of variance within and between these diagnostic categories is attributable to negative affect at both the item- and factor-level. The hypothesis that MDD’s non-somatic/affective factor and the GAD factor would have the highest attenuations in factor loadings after controlling for negative affect was supported. Therefore, negative affect significantly influences the co-occurrence of PTSD, MDD, and GAD clinically, emphasizing the need for transdiagnostic interventions for trauma victims.     

Towards explaining the “how” of positive orientation: The beliefs‐affect‐engagement model

As a higher order latent construct, positive orientation captures the common core of an individual's beliefs concerning oneself, life, and the future. This article aims at explaining how positive orientation may relate to activity engagement and stimulate persistence in action. It presents the beliefs‐affect‐engagement model, postulating that positive orientation stimulates positive affect, which in turn fosters activity engagement. A distinction between the trait and state components of positive orientation also is made, and specific mechanisms explaining engagement and persistence concerning the trait and two state components of each construct (relatively stable and temporal‐specific aspects of a state) are discussed. The proposed model may contribute to further development of the positive orientation theory.     

Aging and symptoms of anxiety and depression: structural invariance of the tripartite model

Negative affect measures were evaluated in a cross-sectional community sample of adults aged 18-93 (N = 335) to examine the structure of neuroticism, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in young, middle, and older adult cohorts. Structural equation modeling was used to contrast 3 nested models: a 1-factor general distress model; a 2-factor high negative-low positive affect model; and a 3-factor "tripartite model" reflecting a higher order Negative Affect factor that is common to depression and anxiety problems and 2 lower order factors, Low Positive Affect (mostly specific to depression) and Arousal (specific to anxiety/panic). As expected, the tripartite model fit best for all age groups. Further, multigroup analyses indicated age invariance for the tripartite model, suggesting the model can be effectively applied with older populations.     

Searching for the sequential line-up advantage: A distinctiveness explanation

Signal Detection models as well as the Two-High-Threshold model (2HTM) have been used successfully as measurement models in recognition tasks to disentangle memory performance and response biases. A popular method in recognition memory is to elicit confidence judgements about the presumed old/new status of an item, allowing for the easy construction of ROCs. Since the 2HTM assumes fewer latent memory states than response options are available in confidence ratings, the 2HTM has to be extended by a mapping function which models individual rating scale usage. Unpublished data from 2 experiments in Bröder and Schütz (2009) validate the core memory parameters of the model, and 3 new experiments show that the response mapping parameters are selectively affected by manipulations intended to affect rating scale use, and this is independent of overall old/new bias. Comparisons with SDT show that both models behave similarly, a case that highlights the notion that both modelling approaches can be valuable (and complementary) elements in a researcher's toolbox.     

Individual differences in core affect variability and their relationship to personality and psychological adjustment

How people's feelings change across time can be represented as trajectories in a core affect space defined by the dimensions of valence and activation. In this article, the authors analyzed individual differences in within-person affective variability defined as characteristics of core affect trajectories, introducing new ways to conceptualize affective variability. In 2 studies, participants provided multiple reports across time describing how they were feeling in terms of core affect. From these data, characteristics of participants' core affect trajectories were derived. Across both studies, core affect variability was negatively related to average valence, self-esteem, and agreeableness, and it was positively related to neuroticism and depression. Moreover, spin, a measure of how much people experienced qualitatively different feelings within the core affect space, was related more consistently to trait measures of adjustment and personality than other measures of within-person variability, including widely used measures of within-person single-dimension standard deviations.     

Frustration-aggression hypothesis: examination and reformulation

Examines the Dollard et al. (1939) frustration-aggression hypothesis. The original formulation's main proposition is limited to interference with an expected attainment of a desired goal on hostile (emotional) aggression. Although some studies have yielded negative results, others support the core proposition. Frustrations can create aggressive inclinations even when they are not arbitrary or aimed at the subject personally. Interpretations and attributions can be understood partly in terms of the original analysis but they can also influence the unpleasantness of the thwarting. A proposed revision of the 1939 model holds that frustrations generate aggressive inclinations to the degree that they arouse negative affect. Evidence regarding the aggressive consequences of aversive events is reviewed, and Berkowitz's cognitive-neoassociationistic model is summarized.     

An episodic process model of affective influences on performance

In this article, the authors present a model linking immediate affective experiences to within-person performance. First, the authors define a time structure for performance (the performance episode) that is commensurate with the dynamic nature of affect. Next, the authors examine the core cognitive and regulatory processes that determine performance for 1 person during any particular episode. Third, the authors describe how various emotions and moods influence the intermediary performance processes, thereby affecting performance. In the final section of the article, the authors discuss limitations, future research directions, and practical implications for their episodic process model of affect and performance.     

情绪自旋及其心理健康功能

情绪自旋是度量核心情绪个体内可变性的一种非认知性的人格特质。其通常采用经验取样法或日间重构法来对个体核心情绪状态进行每日动态跟踪, 并根据测评周期内的核心情绪空间位置的矢量角度的跨时间标准差来反映个体核心情绪状态的时间波动特性。基于情绪事件理论, 日常负性事件经历及其评估导致了个体情绪自旋的产生, 而动态情绪模型进一步解释了情绪自旋对心理健康功能的阻碍作用。未来应在情绪自旋的心理健康作用机制方面进行深入研究。     

“Running on fumes”: emotional exhaustion and burnout of teachers following a natural disaster

This study reports on the emotional exhaustion and burnout of five teachers who acted as first responders when a large earthquake struck their city during school hours. Eighteen months after the earthquake, these teachers recounted, then discussed their earthquake experiences. Teachers used a mood meter (Brackett and Kremenitzer, Creating emotionally literate classrooms: an introduction to the RULER approach to social and emotional learning, Dude Publishing, New York, 2011) to indicate their core affect for three situations; in the early aftermath of the earthquake (recollected); at the time of the interview, and in their present teaching. They also completed a series of questionnaires, including the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Watson et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 54(6):1063–1070, 1988), and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Adapted for Teachers (Milfont et al. in Soc Indic Res 89(1):169–177, 2008.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-007-9229-9). The mood meter was a valuable tool for tracking the core affect of a group of teachers as a whole, over time and in different contexts. Generally, teachers showed improved core affect over time. However, the mood meter also revealed individual variations and differences in core affect over time and in different contexts. The findings revealed the individual nature of teachers’ current emotional exhaustion and burnout in response to the unique antecedents that each teacher experienced during this period. With a new and innovative use of the mood meter as part of the interview process, it has revealed insightful qualitative data for understanding and making sense of the teachers’ emotional responses and ways to interpret these. Overall, this study confirms the importance and value of within-teacher experiential research examining the experiences, emotional exhaustion and burnout of individual teachers.     

The PANAS structure revisited: on the validity of a bifactor model in community and forensic samples

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a widely used inventory for the assessment of affect in psychology and other applied sciences. Despite its popularity, the structure of the PANAS is still under debate. On the one hand, there is evidence of the traditional 2-factor model with Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) as uncorrelated factors. On the other hand, a more complex structure of the PANAS has been discussed. To shed further light on the core dimensions of the PANAS, 2 studies investigated the structure of the PANAS in 2 German samples (N = 354 and N = 364, respectively) by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The factor analysis results of Study 1 for a traitlike time frame instruction suggested a suboptimal model fit for the uncorrelated 2-factor model and the 3-factor model with PA, Afraid, and Upset as factors, whereas a superior model fit occurred for a bifactor model with traitlike PA, NA, and a general 3rd factor named Affective Polarity. In Study 2, the bifactor model was replicated for a statelike PANAS time frame instruction and evidence of criterion validity was provided for PA, NA, and Affective Polarity factors in 2 sex offender subgroups and in a community sample. With Affective Polarity, we introduce an affect dimension that captures additional variance beyond PA and NA. Because of the adjectives with relevant loadings on Affective Polarity, this general factor represents an individual's orientation toward approach and withdrawal, respectively.     

Genetic and environmental influences on positive and negative affect: support for a two-factor theory.

Genetic and environmental etiologies of positive and negative affect, as measured by the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale, were studied to gain understanding of a two-factor theory of well-being. It was hypothesized that negative affect would demonstrate significant genetic and environmental variance and positive affect would be explained primarily by environmental influences. Data were combined from 105 pairs of twins (ages 18-72) and 220 multigenerational families (ages 16-98). Simultaneous model fitting indicated significant heritable effects for negative affect and a significant effect of common environment for twins. Significant effects for positive affect included common environment (for parents and offspring and for twin pairs) and assortative mating. These results, documenting differential genetic and environmental influences on positive and negative affect, provide further support for their being separate components of well-being.     

Cognitive-Emotional Interactions in the Brain

Abstract

Emotion and cognition are mediated by separate but interacting systems of the brain. The core of the emotional system is a network that evaluates (computes) the biological significance of stimuli, including stimuli from the external or internal environment or from within the brain (thoughts, images, memories). The computation of stimulus significance takes place prior to and independent of conscious awareness, with only the computational products reaching awareness, and only in some instances. The amygdala may be a focal structure in the affective network. By way of neural interactions between the amygdala and brain areas involved in cognition (particularly the neocortex and hippocampus), affect can influence cognition and cognition can influence affect. Emotional experiences, it is proposed, result when stimulus representations, affect representations, and self representations coincide in working memory.     

P-technique factor analyses of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL)

The Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) has been found to have five first-order factors representing Anxiety, Depression, Hostility, Positive Affect, and Sensation Seeking and two second-order factors representing Positive Affect and Sensation Seeking (PASS) and Dysphoria. The present study examines whether these first- and second-order conceptions of affect (based on R-technique factor analysis) can also account for patterns of intraindividual variability in affect (based on P-technique factor analysis) in eight elderly women. Although the hypothesized five-factor model of affect was not testable in all of the present P-technique datasets, the results were consistent with this interindividual model of affect. Moreover, evidence of second-order (PASS and Dysphoria) and third-order (generalized distress) factors was found in one data set. Sufficient convergence in findings between the present P-technique research and prior R-technique research suggests that the MAACL is robust in describing both inter- and intraindividual components of affect in elderly women.This paper is based on the doctoral research of the first author and was partially supported by the National Institute of Aging Grant T32 AC 00048-12 to The Pennsylvania State University and a Grant-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. The authors wish to thank John R. Nesselroade for his helpful comments on an early draft of this paper.