The assessment of emotional clarity via response times to emotion items: shedding light on the response process and its relation to emotion regulation strategies

Researchers have begun to use response times (RTs) to emotion items as an indirect measure of emotional clarity. Our first aim was to scrutinise the properties of this RT measure in more detail than previously. To be able to provide recommendations as to whether (and how) emotional intensity – as a possible confound – should be controlled for, we investigated the specific form of the relation between emotional intensity and RTs to emotion items. In particular, we assumed an inverted U-shaped relation at the item level. Moreover, we analysed the RT measure’s convergent validity with respect to individuals’ confidence in their emotion ratings. As a second aim, we compared the predictive validity of emotional clarity measures (RT measure, self-report) with respect to daily emotion regulation. The results of three experience sampling studies showed that the association between emotional intensity and RT followed an inverted U shape. RT was in part related to confidence. Emotional clarity measures were unrelated to reappraisal. There was some evidence that lower emotional clarity was related to a greater use of suppression. The findings highlight that emotional intensity and squared emotional intensity should be controlled for when using the RT measure of emotional clarity in future research.     

Toward a cumulative science of emotion: a functional-cognitive framework for emotion research

ABSTRACT

Definitions of emotion and emotional phenomena are often infused with intuitions and theoretical ideas about what is “truly” emotional. Although these intuitions and ideas motivate people to study emotion, their prominence at the conceptual level can hamper progress in emotion research. In this paper, we argue that there is merit in defining emotional phenomena as much as possible in terms of behavioural principles that have been developed outside of emotion research. We clarify that such a functional approach is compatible with, and can even strengthen, cognitive approaches to emotion research. This functional-cognitive perspective reveals ways to increase the cumulative nature of emotion research and to surpass initial intuitions and theoretical ideas.     

Task framing reduces emotion decoding negativity biases in social anxiety

Social anxiety is associated with difficulty in decoding emotional expressions. In this work, we present two experiments demonstrating that manipulating the apparent social relevance of an emotion‐identification task can reduce these difficulties. In Experiment 1, we find that social anxiety predicts an oversensitivity to anger expressions when participants are told they are completing a task that measures social skills. However, when the same task is framed as a measure of intellectual skills, this oversensitivity to anger is eliminated. Experiment 2 finds that social anxiety interferes with participants' ability to discriminate real from fake smiles when participants are told they are completing a test of social skills, but not when they are completing an ostensible measure of intellectual skills.     

Boo! The consciousness problem in emotion

ABSTRACT

This paper will examine the conscious aspects of emotion (i.e. emotional experience), arguably the defining features of emotion. I will argue that emotion IS emotional experience and, consequently, that emotion researchers rarely study emotion itself. I will suggest a research agenda for examining the conscious aspects of emotion and end with a consideration of appraisal theory and how it can be made more relevant to the study of emotion by treating appraisals as components of a pre-reflective perceptual process rather than as causal antecedents of a cognitive process that can be self-reported on.     

Psychophysiological responses to sport-specific affective pictures: A study of morality and emotion in athletes

ObjectivesThe link between morality and emotion has received little attention in the sport context. To address this issue, we examined whether moral disengagement, empathy, antisocial behaviour and psychopathy were associated with emotional reactions to unpleasant pictures depicting players being hurt or deliberately fouled in a sport context.DesignA cross-sectional design was employed.MethodTeam sport athletes (N = 66) completed measures of moral disengagement, empathy, antisocial behaviour and psychopathy and then viewed unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant sport pictures while emotional reactions to the pictures were assessed using valence and arousal ratings of the pictures as well as electrocutaneous startle blink, heart rate, skin conductance, and evoked potentials.ResultsMoral disengagement, empathy and psychopathy, but not antisocial behaviour, were associated with emotional reactions to the unpleasant pictures. Specifically, moral disengagement was related to attenuated startle blink responses and higher valence (less unpleasant) ratings, whereas empathy was associated with lower valence (more unpleasant) ratings. Psychopathy was associated with smaller startle blink responses and less heart rate deceleration.ConclusionOur findings provide support for the link between morality and emotion in athletes. Moral variables may be more closely linked with specific measures of emotion, highlighting the utility of taking a multi-measure approach in the assessment of emotion.     

A lag between understanding false belief and emotion attribution in young children: Relationships with linguistic ability and mothers' mental‐state language

This study examines the contribution of children's linguistic ability and mothers' use of mental‐state language to young children's understanding of false belief and their subsequent ability to make belief‐based emotion attributions. In Experiment 1, children (N = 51) were given three belief‐based emotion‐attribution tasks. A standard task in which the protagonist was a story character and the emotional outcomes were imagined, and two videos in which the story protagonist was a real infant and the emotional outcomes were observable (high and low expressed emotion conditions). Children's verbal ability (semantic competence) was also measured. In Experiment 2, children (N = 75) were given two belief‐based emotion tasks: the standard story task and the high expressed emotion video. In addition, children's verbal ability (syntactic competence) and mothers' use of mental‐state attributes when describing their children were also measured. The results showed that: (1) the lag between understanding false belief and emotion attribution was a stable feature of children's reasoning across the three tests; and (2) children who were more linguistically advanced and whose mothers' described them in more mentalistic terms were more likely to understand the association between false belief and emotion. The findings underline the continuing importance of verbal ability and linguistic input for children's developing theory‐of‐mind understanding, even after they display an understanding of false belief.     

Differences between multimedia and text-based assessments of emotion management: An exploration with the multimedia emotion management assessment (MEMA)

People process emotional information using visual, vocal, and verbal cues. However, emotion management is typically assessed with text based rather than multimedia stimuli. This study (N?=?427) presents the new multimedia emotion management assessment (MEMA) and compares it to the text-based assessment of emotion management used in the MSCEIT. The text-based and multimedia assessment showed similar levels of cognitive saturation and similar prediction of relevant criteria. Results demonstrate that the MEMA scores have equivalent evidence of validity to the text-based MSCEIT test scores, demonstrating that multimedia assessment of emotion management is viable. Furthermore, our results inform the debate as to whether cognitive saturation in emotional intelligence (EI) measures represents “noise” or “substance”. We find that cognitive ability associations with EI represent substantive variance rather than construct-irrelevant shared variance due to reading comprehension ability required for text-based items.     

More than talk: Relations between emotion understanding and positive behaviour in toddlers

Background. Associations between positive behaviour, emotion understanding and verbal ability have been reported in studies of preschoolers ( Cassidy, Werner, Rourke, Zubernis, & Balaraman, 2003 ), but have yet to be investigated in younger children. Methods. In this study the performance of 36 toddlers (17 boys and 19 girls; mean age = 29 months, SD = 3.9 months) on standardized verbal ability assessments and four simple tests of emotion understanding was examined in relation to three measures of positive behaviour: maternal ratings of prosocial behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, 1997 ), and video‐based coding of the toddlers in 20‐minutes dyadic play with (i) mothers and (ii) familiar peers. Results. Relations between the three measures of positive behaviour were rather modest, and only significant for the association between maternal ratings and observed positive behaviours with peers. Maternal ratings of prosocial behaviour were significantly correlated with performance on the emotion‐understanding tasks, even when age effects were controlled. Together, emotion understanding and verbal ability explained over half the variance in maternal ratings of prosocial behaviour; unique predictive effects were significant for emotion understanding but not verbal ability. Further, emotion understanding mediated the relationship between verbal ability and mothers' ratings of prosocial behaviour. Conclusions. These findings highlight the importance of emotion understanding as a proximal influence on very early prosocial behaviour.     

Distinct emotional abilities converge: Evidence from emotional understanding and emotion recognition through the voice

One key criterion for whether Emotional Intelligence (EI) truly fits the definition of “intelligence” is that individual branches of EI should converge. However, for performance tests that measure actual ability, such convergence has been elusive. Consistent with theoretical perspectives for intelligence, we approach this question using EI measures that have objective standards for right answers. Examining emotion recognition through the voice—that is, the ability to judge an actor’s intended portrayal—and emotional understanding—that is, the ability to understand relationships and transitions among emotions—we find substantial convergence, r = .53. Results provide new data to inform the often heated debate about the validity of EI, and further the basis of optimism that EI may truly be considered intelligence.     

Ability EI as an intelligence? Associations of the MSCEIT with performance on emotion processing and social tasks and with cognitive ability

Associations among the MSCEIT, a broad-bandwidth measure of ability emotional intelligence (EI), self-report EI, social perception ability, psychometric intelligence and performance on inspection time (IT) tasks, which assessed the speed of processing of emotional and non-emotional information were investigated in two student samples (N=99, 199). The main findings were that MSCEIT scores were unrelated to fluid ability or speed of non-emotional information processing as assessed by IT, but evidence for associations of MSCEIT scores with crystallised ability was found. Positive associations were found between MSCEIT scores, self-report EI and some emotion/social task scores. The results suggest that EI as assessed by the MSCEIT has some properties of an intelligence and is more closely related to crystallised than to fluid ability. The relatively small MSCEIT/g _c correlations suggest that the MSCEIT is not a pure ability measure, although restriction of range in the samples used may also be relevant. More work, and the development of new measures, is required to determine whether performance EI has a fluid component.     

Effects of verbal ability and fluid intelligence on children's emotion understanding

This study investigated the role of verbal ability and fluid intelligence on children's emotion understanding, testing the hypothesis that fluid intelligence predicts the development of emotion comprehension over and above age and verbal ability. One hundred and two children (48 girls) aged 3.6–6 years completed the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) that comprised external and mental components, the Coloured Progressive Matrices and the Test for Reception of Grammar. Regression analysis showed that fluid intelligence was not equally related to the external and mental components of the TEC (Pons & Harris, 2000). Specifically, the results indicated that the external component was related to age and verbal ability only, whereas recognition of mental emotional patterns required abstract reasoning skills more than age and verbal ability. It is concluded that the development of fluid intelligence has a significant role in the development of mental component of emotion comprehension.     

A descriptive study of emotion concepts using dimensional models of core affect / Un estudio descriptivo de los conceptos emocionales desde los modelos dimensionales de los estados afectivos

Abstract

The study of emotions from a dimensional perspective has allowed for important steps towards the understanding of human emotional experiences. However, there are still many questions to be addressed. One, of special relevance, refers to which emotion concepts we use to refer to different emotional experiences. Thus, the primary purpose of this research was to identify which emotion concepts we use in our daily life to refer to eight specific core affects identified by the combination of valance (positive and negative), arousal (activated and deactivated) and time perspective (anticipatory and retrospective). Further, we focused on the degree of specificity of those emotion concepts and whether the levels of specificity vary among different core affects. Our results evidenced that the specificity and breadth of our emotional vocabulary varies between different core affects.     

Diminished emotion recognition with reduced face gaze in complex situation in individuals with broad autism phenotype

Background/objectiveIndividuals with broad autism phenotype (BAP) showed a diminished ability to recognize emotion. This study aims to examine whether their decline in emotion recognition ability could be more clearly identified as task complexity increased and whether their decline could be influenced by their eye-gaze patterns.Method41 individuals with BAP and 40 healthy controls performed two types of emotion recognition tasks. After confirming conditions wherein the BAP group did not perform well compared to the control group, we compared gaze proportion on faces and context between groups when performing the conditions.ResultsThe more difficult the task, the clearer the significant relationships between the level of autistic traits and emotion recognition ability. The BAP group showed lower accuracy compared to the control group when a face with mild emotional intensity was presented with context. In terms of gaze proportion, the BAP group looked less at faces when recognizing emotions compared to the control group.ConclusionThese findings indicate that diminished emotion recognition ability in individuals with BAP may be influenced by face gaze.     

Contradictions of emotion in schizophrenia

This paper considers contradictory features of emotional or affective experience and expression in schizophrenia in light of the “Kretschmerian paradox”—the fact that schizophrenia-spectrum patients can simultaneously experience both exaggerated and diminished levels of affective response. An attempt is made to explain the paradox and explore its implications. Recent research on emotion in schizophrenia is reviewed, including subjective reports, psychophysiological measures of arousal or activation, and behavioural measures, focusing on flat-affect and negative-symptom patients. After discussing relevant concepts and vocabulary of emotion (“affect”, “emotion”, “mood”, “feelings”, the “passions”), the need for a phenomenological approach focusing on subjective experience is proposed. Four modes of nonparanoid experience in schizophrenia are discussed: Bodily Alienation, Disengagement, Unworlding, and Subjectivisation. Each mode involves withdrawal from functional contexts—temporal, practical, and interpersonal—normally associated with emotional reactivity and expression; each may be accompanied by forms of non-emotional affectivity no less intense than the emotions they replace. Possible relationships between psychophysiological measures, expressive behaviour, and subjective emotional or affective response are considered.     

Impulsivity and emotion dysregulation in Borderline Personality Disorder

This study examined the association of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and negative emotional states with impulsivity in the laboratory. Undergraduate participants who were high in BPD features (high-BPD; n = 39) and controls who were low in BPD features (low-BPD; n = 56) completed measures of negative emotional state before a laboratory measure of impulsivity--a passive avoidance learning task. Controlling for psychopathology, high-BPD participants committed a greater number of impulsive responses than did low-BPD participants. Negative emotional state moderated the effect of BPD on impulsive responses. High-BPD participants who were in a negative emotional state committed fewer impulsive responses than high-BPD participants who were low in negative emotional state. Fear, nervousness, and shame negatively correlated with impulsivity among high-BPD participants but not among low-BPD participants. In addition, high-BPD participants reported greater emotion dysregulation in a variety of domains, compared with low-BPD participants.     

共情与中国民族音乐情绪识别的关系：来自ERP的证据

音乐情绪识别能力是利用音乐开展情绪调节的基本条件。传统的以五声音阶为基础的具有独特韵味的中国民族音乐反映了中国人独有的情感和价值观念, 在情绪调节和音乐治疗方面具有积极的作用, 是研究音乐情绪识别的有效音乐刺激。本研究采用跨通道情绪启动范式, 通过人际反应指针问卷筛选出高、低共情组被试各36人参加脑电实验, 考察共情能力对中国民族音乐情绪识别的影响。脑电数据显示, 在进行中国民族音乐情绪内隐识别时, 将宫调和羽调音乐作为启动刺激, 诱发了中期的P2、N400以及晚期正成分LPC (Late Positive Component)。低共情组P2和N400成分的波幅大于高共情组, 高共情组LPC成分的波幅大于低共情组。本研究第一次从电生理层面考察了不同共情能力的个体在进行中国民族音乐情绪识别时的神经反应差异。高低共情组在中国民族音乐情绪识别不同阶段的注意投入可能影响了其对音乐刺激的感受, 进而影响音乐情绪识别。     

Spatial location and emotion modulate voice perception

ABSTRACT

How do we perceive voices coming from different spatial locations, and how is this affected by emotion? The current study probed the interplay between space and emotion during voice perception. Thirty participants listened to nonverbal vocalizations coming from different locations around the head (left vs. right; front vs. back), and differing in valence (neutral, positive [amusement] or negative [anger]). They were instructed to identify the location of the vocalizations (Experiment 1) and to evaluate their emotional qualities (Experiment 2). Emotion-space interactions were observed, but only in Experiment 1: emotional vocalizations were better localised than neutral ones when they were presented from the back and the right side. In Experiment 2, emotion recognition accuracy was increased for positive vs. negative and neutral vocalizations, and perceived arousal was increased for emotional vs. neutral vocalizations, but this was independent of spatial location. These findings indicate that emotional salience affects how we perceive the spatial location of voices. They additionally suggest that the interaction between spatial (“where”) and emotional (“what”) properties of the voice differs as a function of task.     

The relation between rumination and temporal features of emotion intensity

Intensity profiles of emotional experience over time have been found to differ primarily in explosiveness (i.e. whether the profile has a steep vs. a gentle start) and accumulation (i.e. whether intensity increases over time vs. goes back to baseline). However, the determinants of these temporal features remain poorly understood. In two studies, we examined whether emotion regulation strategies are predictive of the degree of explosiveness and accumulation of negative emotional episodes. Participants were asked to draw profiles reflecting changes in the intensity of emotions elicited either by negative social feedback in the lab (Study 1) or by negative events in daily life (Study 2). In addition, trait (Study 1 & 2), and state (Study 2) usage of a set of emotion regulation strategies was assessed. Multilevel analyses revealed that trait rumination (especially the brooding component) was positively associated with emotion accumulation (Study 1 & 2). State rumination was also positively associated with emotion accumulation and, to a lesser extent, with emotion explosiveness (Study 2). These results provide support for emotion regulation theories, which hypothesise that rumination is a central mechanism underlying the maintenance of negative emotions.     

Studying appraisal-driven emotion processes: taking stock and moving to the future

ABSTRACT

Appraisal theories of emotion, and particularly the Component Process Model, have claimed over the past three decades that the different components of the emotion process (action tendencies, physiological reactions, expressions, and feeling experiences) are essentially driven by the results of multi-level cognitive appraisals and that the feeling component constitutes a central integration and representation of these processes. Given the complexity of the proposed architecture of emotion generation, comprehensive experimental tests of these predictions are difficult to perform and thus evidence has been slow to appear. Complementing earlier work on self-reported appraisal, a massive amount of empirical results from studies with experimental designs based on appraisal manipulation, using electroencephalographic and electromyographic measures, now confirms many of the theoretical predictions with respect to the effect of different appraisal checks, their interactions, and their exact timing. A major issue for future research is the nature of the coherence or synchronisation of the appraisal-driven components in the unfolding emotion process. It is suggested that interdisciplinary multi-team research will be needed to face the theoretical and methodological challenges of experimentally investigating the dynamics of the emotion process.     

Primary caregiver emotional expressiveness relates to toddler emotion understanding

The present study examined the impact of emotional expressiveness in toddlers’ environments on their emotion understanding. Primary caregivers of 35 toddlers completed two surveys regarding the family’s emotional expressiveness and the primary caregiver’s expressivity. Toddlers participated in the Affective Knowledge Test to measure emotion understanding. Toddler emotion understanding related to primary caregiver expressivity, but not family expressiveness. Further, toddler emotion understanding related to primary caregiver Impulse Strength, but not Negative or Positive Emotionality. This suggests that primary caregivers with more impulsive emotional response tendencies may help their children to identify associations between emotional events and reactions.