Positive and negative affect produce opposing task-irrelevant stimulus preexposure effects

In three experiments, groups were exposed to either positive or negative affect video clips, after which they were presented with a series of task-irrelevant stimuli. In the subsequent test task, subjects were required to learn an association between the previously irrelevant stimulus and a consequence, and between a new stimulus and a consequence. Induced positive affect produced a latent inhibition effect (poorer evidence of learning with the previously irrelevant stimulus than with the novel stimulus). In opposition to this, induced negative affect resulted in better evidence of learning with a previously irrelevant stimulus than with a novel stimulus. In general, the opposing effects also were present in participants scoring high on self-report questionnaires of depression (Experiments 2 and 3). These unique findings were predicted and accounted for on the basis of two principles: (a) positive affect broadens the attentional field and negative affect contracts it; and (b) task-irrelevant stimuli are processed in two successive stages, the first encodes stimulus properties, and the second encodes stimulus relationships. The opposing influences of negative and positive mood on the processing of irrelevant stimuli have implications for the role of emotion in general theories of cognition, and possibly for resolving some of the inconsistent findings in research with schizophrenia patients.     

The relationship between positive and negative affect in the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) is one of the most widely used affect scales. Nevertheless, the relation between its two scales, positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), is still controversial. Previous results that suggest independence between NA and PA were limited to manifest variables. In this study, the relation between PA and NA for both state and trait instructions was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. Two hundred ninety-two participants responded to the PANAS at three occasions of measurement. No association was found between trait PA and NA, but significant negative correlations between state PA and NA emerged. In the second step, the observed variance of state PA and NA was decomposed into a dispositional component, an occasion-specific component, a method-specific component, and a component due to measurement error by employing a multi-construct latent state–trait model. This analysis confirmed and extended the results of our first analysis: the dispositional components of state PA and NA were unrelated. In contrast, the situation-specific components were negatively associated. Thus, the negative correlation between state PA and NA could be traced back to situation-specific effects.     

Positive affect, negative affect, stress, and social support as mediators of the forgiveness-health relationship

Structural equation modeling was used to test a model in which positive affect, negative affect, perceived stress, and social support were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between forgiveness and mental and physical health. Six hundred and twenty-three undergraduates completed a battery of self-report measures. Results of the analyses indicated that the forgiveness-health relation was mediated by positive affect, negative affect, stress, and the interrelationship between negative affect and stress. There was limited support for social support and the interrelationship between positive affect and social support as mediators. The results suggested that the relationship between forgiveness and health is mediated rather than direct. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

The broaden and build process: Positive affect,ratio of positive to negative affect and general self-efficacy

Previous research indicates that increases in positive affect enhance personal resources and bring about improvements in various realms of life. The present study examined the role of general self-efficacy as a mediator between increases in positive affect and change in work and relationship satisfaction and mental health. Participants randomly assigned to a three-week intervention intended to increase positive affect showed significantly greater change in positive affect, ratio of positive to negative affect, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and mental health than participants in a control condition. Changes in affect were associated with changes in self-efficacy, work satisfaction, relationship satisfaction and mental health. Changes in self-efficacy were associated with increases in work satisfaction and mental health. The findings incorporate the concept of general self-efficacy into the broaden and build model and provide information regarding the utility of ratio of positive to negative affect indices.     

Emotional lability, negative affect and emotional regulation in children of anxious mothers

This study examined the role of emotional lability and negative affect and emotional regulation in the relation between maternal trait anxiety and attentional and social problems, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms of 275 six- to eleven-year-old children. The results indicated a direct moderating effect of emotional regulation in the relation between maternal anxiety and externalizing behaviour and that lability and negative affect moderated the relation between maternal anxiety and attention and social problems and somatic complaints. The links between maternal anxiety and withdrawal and anxiety/depression symptoms were also mediated by lability and negative affect. This mediation was independent of emotional regulation in the first case, and it depended on emotional regulation with regard to anxiety/depression symptoms.     

Self-ratings of positive and negative affect and retrieval of positive and negative affect memories

Abstract

Based on analysis of self-ratings of mood, positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) have been proposed as basic, orthogonal mood dimensions (Watson & Tellegen, 1985). The present study asked subjects (N = 61) to not only provide self-ratings of PA and NA terms but also to retrieve personal memories associated with those terms. Self-rated PA was associated with latency to retrieve PA- but not NA-related memories; self-rated NA was associated with latency to retrieve NA- but not PA-related memories. Self-ratings of PA and NA were not significantly correlated, nor were retrieval latencies for PA and NA memories. Individual item correlations also revealed a strong direct relationship between self-ratings and retrieval latency. The dissociations involving a non-self report measure strengthen the distinction between PA and NA, and the individual item correlations are interpreted as showing that self-ratings of affect are based upon the ease of retrieval of personal memories.     

Error-related psychophysiology and negative affect

The error-related negativity (ERN/Ne) and error positivity (Pe) have been associated with error detection and response monitoring. More recently, heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) have also been shown to be sensitive to the internal detection of errors. An enhanced ERN has consistently been observed in anxious subjects and there is some suggestion that the ERN is related to general negative affective experience (NA). The ERN has been source localized to the anterior cingulate cortex-a structure implicated in the regulation of affective, response selection, and autonomic resources. Thus, the findings that autonomic measures and affective distress are related to response monitoring are consistent with anterior cingulate cortex function. In the present experiment, we sought to evaluate more comprehensively the relationship between self-reported negative affect and error-related physiology in a between-groups design. Results indicate that high NA was associated with significantly greater ERN and error-related SCR, and smaller Pe. These results are discussed in terms of anterior cingulate cortex function, psychopathology, and response monitoring.     

Positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and coping with stress by attachment styles in Turkish students

The purpose was to investigate positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and coping with stress in relation to attachment styles. Undergraduate students (N=421) completed the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Coping with Stress Scale. Results indicated that secure attachment style was the unique predictor of positive affect while fearful and preoccupied attachment styles significantly predicted negative affect. Regarding life satisfaction, a positive correlation with secure attachment style and a negative correlation with fearful and preoccupied styles were seen. However, the unique predictor of life satisfaction was preoccupied attachment style. In terms of coping with stress, there was no significant association between attachment variables and avoidance coping style, but significant links were observed between problem-focused coping and dismissing, and fearful and preoccupied attachment styles.     

Positive affect and distressed affect over the day in older people

The purpose of this study was to assess patterns of affect over the day in a representative sample of older people, with particular emphasis on the impact of loneliness and depression. Momentary assessments of positive and distressed affect were obtained four times over a single day from 4,258 men and women aged 52-79 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Positive and distressed affect were only modestly correlated (r = -0.23). Positive affect was low on waking and peaked in the early evening, while distressed affect decreased progressively over the day. The diurnal variation in positive affect was greater in participants <65 years compared with older individuals. Positive affect was greater in men, married participants and in healthy individuals, while distressed affect was higher among women, unmarried and lower socioeconomic status respondents, and in those with limiting longstanding illnesses. Depressed individuals experienced lower positive affect throughout the day, while differences in distressed affect were more pronounced in the morning. Loneliness was associated with lower positive affect and greater distressed affect independently of age, sex, marital status, paid employment, socioeconomic status, health, and depression. This study demonstrates that ecological momentary assessment of affect is feasible on a large scale in older individuals, and generates information about positive affect and distress that is complementary to standard questionnaire measures. The associations with loneliness highlight the everyday distress and reduced happiness and excitement experienced by lonely older men and women, and these may contribute to enhanced risks to physical and mental health.     

Positive and negative compatibility effects

This paper reports a series of four experiments that established a negative compatibility effect (NCE) by which compatible distractors led to slower and less accurate target performance than did incompatible ones (Experiment 1). This effect is interpreted as an early perceptual effect that delays the attribution of visual attention over the target location in the compatible condition. This view predicted that the NCE should be observed only when attention has to be selectively attributed to the target location. In Experiments 2 and 3, this prediction was tested by manipulating the perceptual load in the display. High perceptual load displays are known to require selective attention (Lavie, 1995). Accordingly, reliable NCEs were observed when high-load displays were used. In contrast, reduced NCEs were found in displays that did not require selective attention. Experiment 4 established that the manifestation of the NCE was influenced by low-level visual cues, such as brightness and contrast. Overall, these experiments indicated that the NCE can be understood as an early perceptual effect, which arises from a conflict between the cues that guide the distribution of attention when the task requires selective attention.     

Positive and negative affect and well-being in cardiac patients and their spouses: the mediating role of illness representations

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether illness representations of control and consequences mediate the relation of cardiac patients’ affect to well-being. A further aim was to examine this indirect relationship at a dyadic level (i.e. patient and spouse). Design and main outcome measures: One hundred and four patients with a cardiovascular disease and their spouses participated in the study. Positive and negative affect was assessed at baseline; illness representations were assessed 2 months later, and physical and psychological well-being 4 months later. Results: Illness representations generally mediated the impact of patients’ and spouses’ affect on well-being, while several actor and partner effects were found. However, it was only positive affect that was indirectly related to well-being, while the representations of personal and treatment control chiefly acted as mediators. The effects were stronger for patients than spouses, as well as for physical well-being. Conclusion: The results underline the strong connection between illness-related self-regulation and the overall person/environment interaction as depicted by affect. They also indicate the need to integrate theories on adaptation to illness, with models describing adaptation of couples to stressful conditions, and specific theories about the role of emotion in adaptation to illness.     

Affect sensitivity and affect regulation in dealing with positive and negative affect

Interactions between two types of affect sensitivity and two types of affect regulation were tested: low sensitivity to positive affect and high sensitivity to negative affect were expected to become maladaptive when self-motivation and self-relaxation are low, respectively. Consistent with expectations, specific Sensitivity × Regulation interactions emerged: low sensitivity to positive affect (i.e., independent, schizoid-like personality) was only associated with reduced emotional well-being when self-motivation was low. High sensitivity to negative affect (i.e., self-critical, avoidant-like personality) was only associated with psychosomatic symptoms when self-relaxation was low. In a subsample, the same results were obtained longitudinally. Findings support the distinction between affect sensitivity and affect regulation. Furthermore, affect regulation can be differentiated into self-motivation and self-relaxation.     

Individual differences in negative affect repair

The extant literature implicates affect repair ability as one source of individual differences in negative affect. Emerging from this literature are three regulatory traits that should predict repair ability (negative mood regulation expectancies, monitoring, labeling), yet no experimental examination of this possibility exists. Two studies explored this issue. Participants (Ns=305, 146) watched negative affect-inducing videos and completed a repair or control writing task, before and after which they reported their affect. Results revealed wide individual differences in repair ability. Specifically, participants with high expectancies of repair success and those who attend to and understand their affect experienced the largest decreases in negative affect and largest increases in positive affect following the repair tasks. These findings advance understanding of individual differences in affect regulation and have implications for future research.     

Ruminative self-focus, negative life events, and negative affect

Ruminative thinking is believed to exacerbate the psychological distress that follows stressful life events. An experience-sampling study was conducted in which participants recorded negative life events, ruminative self-focus, and negative affect eight times daily over one week. Occasions when participants reported a negative event were marked by higher levels of negative affect. Additionally, negative events were prospectively associated with higher levels of negative affect at the next sampling occasion, and this relationship was partially mediated by momentary ruminative self-focus. Depressive symptoms were associated with more frequent negative events, but not with increased reactivity to negative events. Trait rumination was associated with reports of more severe negative events and increased reactivity to negative events. These results suggest that the extent to which a person engages in ruminative self-focus after everyday stressors is an important determinant of the degree of distress experienced after such events. Further, dispositional measures of rumination predict mood reactivity to everyday stressors in a non-clinical sample.     

The relationship between negative parenting and child and maternal temperament

The purpose of the present study was to examine how negative parenting, namely coercive and abusive parenting, relates to maternal and child temperamental characteristics, based on Belsky’s model of parenting. In addition to the unique effects of child temperamental characteristics (approach, perceptual sensitivity, soothability, persistence, and reactivity), we investigated how child temperamental characteristics play a moderating role between maternal temperamental characteristics (negative affect, effortful control, extraversion and orienting sensitivity) and negative parenting. Participants were 209 mothers of preschool children (M_age = 50.01 months, SD = 5.75) from 48 child care centers across the capital city of Turkey. Two sets of hierarchical regression analyses showed that coercive parenting was predicted by child reactivity, perceptual sensitivity, maternal negative affect, and effortful control. In addition, maternal SES and negative affect were related to abusive parenting. Furthermore, interaction between maternal extraversion and child’s persistence predicted coercive parenting. For children with high levels of persistence, maternal extraversion levels did not make any difference in the level of abusive parenting. However, for children with low levels of persistence, mothers who had high levels of extraversion were more likely to display coercive parenting. Consistent with Belsky’s model, both child and maternal characteristics were related to parenting. While both maternal and child characteristics were associated with coercive parenting, only maternal negative effect was associated with abusive parenting.

     

Positive facial affect looks healthy

A healthy appearance is linked to important behavioural outcomes. Here we investigated whether positive facial affect is a cue for perceived health. In study one, two groups of participants rated the perceived health or perceived happiness of a large set of faces with neutral expressions. Perceived happiness predicted perceived health, as did anthropometric measures of expression. In a second experimental study, we collected ratings of perceived health for a wide age range of target faces with either neutral or smiling expressions. Smiling faces were rated as being much healthier looking than neutral faces, confirming that facial expression plays a role in the perception of health. A third study investigating attractiveness as a possible mediator found that expression still had a significant direct effect on perceived health, after accounting for attractiveness. Together, these studies systematically show that facial affect plays a critical role in shaping our perceptions of health in others.     

Subtyping children and adolescents with loss of control eating by negative affect and dietary restraint

OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that subtyping adults with binge eating disorders by dietary restraint and negative affect predicts comorbid psychopathology, binge eating severity, and treatment outcome. Little research has explored the validity and clinical utility of subtyping youth along these dimensions. METHOD: Children (aged 8-18 years) reporting loss of control eating (n=159) were characterized based upon measures of dietary restraint and negative affect using cluster analysis, and then compared regarding disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, and parent-reported behavior problems. RESULTS: Robust subtypes characterized by dietary restraint (n=114; 71.7%) and dietary restraint/high negative affect (n=45; 28.3%) emerged. Compared to the former group, the dietary restraint/high negative affect subtype evidenced increased shape and weight concerns, more frequent binge eating episodes, and higher rates of parent-reported problems (all ps<0.05). CONCLUSION: Similar to findings from the adult literature, the presence of negative affect may mark a more severe variant of loss of control eating in youth. Future research should explore the impact of dietary restraint/negative affect subtypes on psychiatric functioning, body weight, and treatment outcome.