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Harp NR, Gross JJ, Uusberg A, Neta M. The role of trait reappraisal in response to emotional ambiguity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Emotion 2024; 24:935-946. [PMID: 37971850 PMCID: PMC11096266 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Individuals exhibit a systematic valence bias-a specific form of interpretation bias-in response to emotional ambiguity. Accumulating evidence suggests most people initially respond to emotional ambiguity negatively and differ only in subsequent responses. We hypothesized that trait-level cognitive reappraisal-an emotion regulation strategy involving the reinterpretation of affective meaning of stimuli-might explain individual differences in valence bias. To answer this question, we conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of 14 effect sizes from 13 prior studies (n = 2,086), identified via Google Scholar searches. We excluded studies (a) in languages other than English, (b) from non-peer-reviewed sources, or (c) nonempirical sources. We included studies with (a) the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, (b) a putative measure of valence bias prior to any study-specific manipulations, and (c) adult human participants (i.e., 17+). Supporting our prediction, we found individuals with higher trait reappraisal exhibited a less negative bias (r = -.18, z = -4.04, p < .001), whereas there was a smaller, opposite effect for trait expressive suppression (r = .10, z = 2.14, p = .03). The effects did, however, vary across tasks with stronger effects observed among studies using the scrambled sentences task compared to the valence bias task. Although trait reappraisal accounted for only a small amount of variance, reappraisal may be one mechanism contributing to variability in response to ambiguity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James J. Gross
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford,
CA, USA
| | - Andero Uusberg
- Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu,
Estonia
| | - Maital Neta
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Lincoln, NE, USA
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Harp NR, Nielsen AN, Schultz DH, Neta M. In the face of ambiguity: intrinsic brain organization in development predicts one's bias toward positivity or negativity. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae102. [PMID: 38494885 PMCID: PMC10945044 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Exacerbated negativity bias, including in responses to ambiguity, represents a common phenotype of internalizing disorders. Individuals differ in their propensity toward positive or negative appraisals of ambiguity. This variability constitutes one's valence bias, a stable construct linked to mental health. Evidence suggests an initial negativity in response to ambiguity that updates via regulatory processes to support a more positive bias. Previous work implicates the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, and regions of the cingulo-opercular system, in this regulatory process. Nonetheless, the neurodevelopmental origins of valence bias remain unclear. The current study tests whether intrinsic brain organization predicts valence bias among 119 children and adolescents (6 to 17 years). Using whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity, a machine-learning model predicted valence bias (r = 0.20, P = 0.03), as did a model restricted to amygdala and cingulo-opercular system features (r = 0.19, P = 0.04). Disrupting connectivity revealed additional intra-system (e.g. fronto-parietal) and inter-system (e.g. amygdala to cingulo-opercular) connectivity important for prediction. The results highlight top-down control systems and bottom-up perceptual processes that influence valence bias in development. Thus, intrinsic brain organization informs the neurodevelopmental origins of valence bias, and directs future work aimed at explicating related internalizing symptomology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas R Harp
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
| | - Ashley N Nielsen
- Department of Neurology, Washington University, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Douglas H Schultz
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, United States
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, C89 East Stadium, Lincoln, NE 68588, United States
| | - Maital Neta
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 238 Burnett Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, United States
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, C89 East Stadium, Lincoln, NE 68588, United States
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Berry BA, Meyer GJ, O'Gorman ET, Roy M, Sholander LE, Mihura JL. Simulating Local Biases in Visual Attention in Neurocognitive Performance. Percept Mot Skills 2024; 131:135-160. [PMID: 38253419 DOI: 10.1177/00315125241228128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Typical visual perception includes an attention bias toward right hemisphere mediated global, holistic cortical processing. An atypically local, detail-oriented focus of attention is characteristic of left hemisphere processing and is often observed in patients whose field of attention is restricted by certain types of neurocognitive impairment. We designed the present pair of studies to induce a local attentional focus to observe its consequences on neurocognitive measures of visuospatial processing. In Experiment I, participants wore glasses mimicking simultanagnosia, a disorder of visual attention, to induce a narrowed, atypical attentional style while they completed visual neuropsychological tasks. This simulation impaired participants' capacities to visually synthesize and efficiently reproduce Complex Figure stimuli as measured with the Boston Qualitative Scoring System (BQSS), and it induced an atypical attentional style on Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) responses. In Experiment II, participants wore glasses designed to provoke differential hemispheric activation, also hypothesized to influence style of visual attention; but this manipulation did not influence neurocognitive task performance. We discuss implications for the interpretation of BQSS and R-PAS scores and offer directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gregory J Meyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA
| | | | - Manali Roy
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA
| | | | - Joni L Mihura
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA
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Harp NR, Langbehn AT, Larsen JT, Niedenthal PM, Neta M. Face coverings differentially alter valence judgments of emotional expressions. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 45:91-106. [PMID: 37469671 PMCID: PMC10353716 DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2023.2221360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Face masks that prevent disease transmission obscure facial expressions, impairing nonverbal communication. We assessed the impact of lower (masks) and upper (sunglasses) face coverings on emotional valence judgments of clearly valenced (fearful, happy) and ambiguously valenced (surprised) expressions, the latter of which have both positive and negative meaning. Masks, but not sunglasses, impaired judgments of clearly valenced expressions compared to faces without coverings. Drift diffusion models revealed that lower, but not upper, face coverings slowed evidence accumulation and affected differences in non-judgment processes (i.e., stimulus encoding, response execution time) for all expressions. Our results confirm mask-interference effects in nonverbal communication. The findings have implications for nonverbal and intergroup communication, and we propose guidance for implementing strategies to overcome mask-related interference.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew T. Langbehn
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Jeff T. Larsen
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | | | - Maital Neta
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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Kim M, Cho Y, Kim SY. Effects of diagnostic regions on facial emotion recognition: The moving window technique. Front Psychol 2022; 13:966623. [PMID: 36186300 PMCID: PMC9518794 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.966623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With regard to facial emotion recognition, previous studies found that specific facial regions were attended more in order to identify certain emotions. We investigated whether a preferential search for emotion-specific diagnostic regions could contribute toward the accurate recognition of facial emotions. Twenty-three neurotypical adults performed an emotion recognition task using six basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. The participants’ exploration patterns for the faces were measured using the Moving Window Technique (MWT). This technique presented a small window on a blurred face, and the participants explored the face stimuli through a mouse-controlled window in order to recognize the emotions on the face. Our results revealed that when the participants explored the diagnostic regions for each emotion more frequently, the correct recognition of the emotions occurred at a faster rate. To the best of our knowledge, this current study is the first to present evidence that an exploration of emotion-specific diagnostic regions can predict the reaction time of accurate emotion recognition among neurotypical adults. Such findings can be further applied in the evaluation and/or training (regarding emotion recognition functions) of both typically and atypically developing children with emotion recognition difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minhee Kim
- Department of Psychology, Duksung Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Youngwug Cho
- Department of Computer Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - So-Yeon Kim
- Department of Psychology, Duksung Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea
- *Correspondence: So-Yeon Kim,
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Petro NM, Tong TT, Henley DJ, Neta M. Individual differences in valence bias: fMRI evidence of the initial negativity hypothesis. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:687-698. [PMID: 29931375 PMCID: PMC6121148 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial expressions offer an ecologically valid model for examining individual differences in affective decision-making. They convey an emotional signal from a social agent and provide important predictive information about one's environment (presence of potential rewards or threats). Although some expressions provide clear predictive information (angry, happy), others (surprised) are ambiguous in that they predict both positive and negative outcomes. Thus, surprised faces can delineate an individual's valence bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguity as positive or negative. Our initial negativity hypothesis suggests that the initial response to ambiguity is negative, and that positivity relies on emotion regulation. We tested this hypothesis by comparing brain activity during explicit emotion regulation (reappraisal) and while freely viewing facial expressions, and measuring the relationship between brain activity and valence bias. Brain regions recruited during reappraisal showed greater activity for surprise in individuals with an increasingly positive valence bias. Additionally, we linked amygdala activity with an initial negativity, revealing a pattern similarity in individuals with negative bias between viewing surprised faces and maintaining negativity. Finally, these individuals failed to show normal habituation to clear negativity. These results support the initial negativity hypothesis, and are consistent with emotion research in both children and adult populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Petro
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Tien T Tong
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Daniel J Henley
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Maital Neta
- Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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