1
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Matt LM, Seah THS, Coifman KG. Effects of a brief online emotion word learning task on negative emotion differentiation, emotional self-efficacy, and prospective distress: Preliminary findings. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299540. [PMID: 38416746 PMCID: PMC10901351 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Disruptions in emotion processing are common across psychological disorders. Research suggests that emotion differentiation (ED; specificity in language used to characterize one's emotional experience) and emotional self-efficacy (ESE; perceived ability to understand and manage one's emotions) are important transdiagnostic factors associated with various psychological benefits. Whether ED and ESE can be improved in adults remains largely unclear. METHODS Using a longitudinal prospective design, we tested a brief online training targeting emotion word knowledge (vs. a control condition) to see if it improved negative ED (NED) and ESE in a college sample. Moreover, we tested if changes in NED or ESE mediated the effects of the training on levels of psychological distress one week and two-months post-intervention. RESULTS Findings provided partial support for our hypotheses. Individuals whose ESE increased post-intervention reported lower levels of distress two months later. Moreover, exploratory analyses revealed those who demonstrated greater training engagement experienced increases in NED that in turn predicted lower distress one-week post-intervention. However, there were no direct effects of intervention group on NED or ESE and distress. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the potential of a remotely-administered emotion-language intervention to influence key dimensions of emotion processing and suggest avenues for further refinement. Both NED and ESE may be malleable for some, and that enhancements in ESE may produce long-term psychological benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey M. Matt
- Lyra Health, Burlingame, California, United States of America
| | - T. H. Stanley Seah
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Karin G. Coifman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, United States of America
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2
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Hoemann K. Beyond Linguistic Relativity, Emotion Concepts Illustrate How Meaning is Contextually and Individually Variable. Top Cogn Sci 2023; 15:668-675. [PMID: 37145872 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12659] [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] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Kemmerer describes grounded accounts of cognition and, using crosslinguistic diversity across conceptual domains, argues that these accounts entail linguistic relativity. In this comment, I extend Kemmerer's position to the domain of emotion. Emotion concepts exemplify characteristics highlighted by grounded accounts of cognition and differ by culture and language. Recent research further demonstrates considerable situation- and person-specific differences. Based on this evidence, I argue that emotion concepts carry unique implications for variation in meaning and experience, entailing a relativity that is contextual and individual in addition to linguistic. I conclude by considering what such pervasive relativity means for interpersonal understanding.
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3
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Wainio-Theberge S, Armony JL. Antisocial and impulsive personality traits are linked to individual differences in somatosensory maps of emotion. Sci Rep 2023; 13:675. [PMID: 36635384 PMCID: PMC9837047 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27880-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Somatosensory experience is an important component of emotion, playing a prominent role in many traditional emotion theories. Nonetheless, and despite the extensive literature on the influence of individual differences in emotional processing, the relation between personality traits and emotion-related somatosensation has received little attention. Here, we addressed this question in a large sample of healthy individuals through the "bodily maps of emotion" behavioural paradigm, in which participants indicated the location and extent of their body sensations for the 6 basic and 4 additional social emotions (contempt, envy, pride, shame). We found that emotional somatosensation in specific body areas, including the heart, the stomach, and the head, was related to specific personality factors, particularly antisocial attitudes and impulsivity. Moreover, the similarity of individual participants' maps to the group-average was likewise negatively correlated with antisocial tendencies. Overall, our results suggest that differences in individuals' sensitivity to somatosensation from different body areas, as well as the typicality of their topographical patterns, may partly underlie variation in higher-order social and affective traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soren Wainio-Theberge
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 LaSalle boulevard, Verdun, QC H4H 1R3, Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
| | - Jorge L. Armony
- grid.412078.80000 0001 2353 5268Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 LaSalle boulevard, Verdun, QC H4H 1R3, Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada ,grid.14709.3b0000 0004 1936 8649Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada
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4
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Vaccaro AG, Heydari P, Christov-Moore L, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Perspective-taking is associated with increased discriminability of affective states in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:1082-1090. [PMID: 35579186 PMCID: PMC9714424 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work using multivariate-pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has found that distinct affective states produce correspondingly distinct patterns of neural activity in the cerebral cortex. However, it is unclear whether individual differences in the distinctiveness of neural patterns evoked by affective stimuli underlie empathic abilities such as perspective-taking (PT). Accordingly, we examined whether we could predict PT tendency from the classification of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI activation patterns while participants (n = 57) imagined themselves in affectively charged scenarios. We used an MVPA searchlight analysis to map where in the brain activity patterns permitted the classification of four affective states: happiness, sadness, fear and disgust. Classification accuracy was significantly above chance levels in most of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior medial cortices. Furthermore, participants' self-reported PT was positively associated with classification accuracy in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and insula. This finding has implications for understanding affective processing in the prefrontal cortex and for interpreting the cognitive significance of classifiable affective brain states. Our multivariate approach suggests that PT ability may rely on the grain of internally simulated affective representations rather than simply the global strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Panthea Heydari
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Correspondence should be addressed to Jonas T. Kaplan, Brain and Creativity Institute, 3620A McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. E-mail:
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5
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Jeong SS, Gong Y, Henderson A. Sympathy or distress? The moderating role of negative emotion differentiation in helping behavior. ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10490-022-09819-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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6
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Tan TY, Wachsmuth L, Tugade MM. Emotional Nuance: Examining Positive Emotional Granularity and Well-Being. Front Psychol 2022; 13:715966. [PMID: 35273535 PMCID: PMC8901891 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.715966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The focus of this review is on positive emotional granularity. Emotional granularity is the level of specificity that characterizes verbal representations of an affective experience. Although there has been research on negative emotional granularity, relatively less attention has been given to the study of positive emotional granularity. Positive emotions are theorized to motivate an individual to “broaden and build” one’s scope of cognition, attention, and behavior. Distinct positive emotion concepts may provide individuals with more informational value than that provided by global mood. Indeed, individuals who are higher in positive emotional granularity report being better at coping with stressful experiences. In this review, we discuss growing research on positive emotional granularity and well-being. Issues of measurement, interventions, and considerations for future lines of research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tse Yen Tan
- Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, United States
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7
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Vedernikova E, Kuppens P, Erbas Y. From Knowledge to Differentiation: Increasing Emotion Knowledge Through an Intervention Increases Negative Emotion Differentiation. Front Psychol 2021; 12:703757. [PMID: 34899459 PMCID: PMC8662934 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.703757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Labeling emotions with a high degree of granularity appears to be beneficial for well-being. However, there are individual differences in the level of emotion differentiation, and some individuals do not appear to differentiate much between different emotions. Low differentiation is associated with maladaptive outcomes, therefore such individuals might benefit from interventions that can increase their level of emotion differentiation. To this end, we tested the effects of an emotion knowledge intervention on the level of emotion differentiation. One hundred and twenty participants were assigned to either an experimental or a control condition. Emotion differentiation was assessed with a Scenario Rating Task before and after the intervention, and at follow-up. As predicted, negative emotion differentiation increased significantly after the emotion knowledge intervention, and this increase was not observed in the control group. Positive emotion differentiation also increased slightly; however, it did not reach significance level. This finding suggests that an emotion knowledge intervention might be beneficial for increasing negative emotion differentiation and may have implications for the clinical context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Kuppens
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Yasemin Erbas
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
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8
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How induced self-focus versus other-focus affect emotional recognition and verbalization. JOURNAL OF CULTURAL COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s41809-021-00091-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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9
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Ventura-Bort C, Wendt J, Weymar M. The Role of Interoceptive Sensibility and Emotional Conceptualization for the Experience of Emotions. Front Psychol 2021; 12:712418. [PMID: 34867591 PMCID: PMC8636600 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The theory of constructed emotions suggests that different psychological components, including core affect (mental and neural representations of bodily changes), and conceptualization (meaning-making based on prior experiences and semantic knowledge), are involved in the formation of emotions. However, little is known about their role in experiencing emotions. In the current study, we investigated how individual differences in interoceptive sensibility and emotional conceptualization (as potential correlates of these components) interact to moderate three important aspects of emotional experiences: emotional intensity (strength of emotion felt), arousal (degree of activation), and granularity (ability to differentiate emotions with precision). To this end, participants completed a series of questionnaires assessing interoceptive sensibility and emotional conceptualization and underwent two emotion experience tasks, which included standardized material (emotion differentiation task; ED task) and self-experienced episodes (day reconstruction method; DRM). Correlational analysis showed that individual differences in interoceptive sensibility and emotional conceptualization were related to each other. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed two independent factors that were referred to as sensibility and monitoring. The Sensibility factor, interpreted as beliefs about the accuracy of an individual in detecting internal physiological and emotional states, predicted higher granularity for negative words. The Monitoring factor, interpreted as the tendency to focus on the internal states of an individual, was negatively related to emotional granularity and intensity. Additionally, Sensibility scores were more strongly associated with greater well-being and adaptability measures than Monitoring scores. Our results indicate that independent processes underlying individual differences in interoceptive sensibility and emotional conceptualization contribute to emotion experiencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Ventura-Bort
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Julia Wendt
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Brandenburg Medical School, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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10
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Neumann R, Völker J, Hajba Z, Seiler S. Lesions and reduced working memory impair emotion recognition in self and others. Cogn Emot 2021; 35:1527-1542. [PMID: 34623214 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.1983521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACTEmotion recognition (ER) can be conceived of as an integration of affective cues in working memory. We examined whether reduced working memory capacity and brain lesions in neural networks involved in emotion processing interactively impair ER of both one's own and another person's emotions. To assess the recognition of one's own and other's emotions, pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and facial expressions from the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF) database representing fear, anger, disgust, and sadness were presented to 40 lesioned patients and 40 healthy students. To manipulate working memory, a math task was imposed between exposure to the stimuli and collection of responses. Participants indicated the intensity of each of the four emotions for each picture. ER was computed as the difference between trials where the elicited emotion matched the requested emotion and trials where the elicited and requested emotions did not match. Whereas lesions impaired ER in both self and others, working memory load exclusively decreased recognition of other persons' emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland Neumann
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Juliane Völker
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Zsuzsanna Hajba
- Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
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11
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Nook EC. Emotion Differentiation and Youth Mental Health: Current Understanding and Open Questions. Front Psychol 2021; 12:700298. [PMID: 34421752 PMCID: PMC8377228 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing body of research identifies emotion differentiation-the ability to specifically identify one's emotions-as a key skill for well-being. High emotion differentiation is associated with healthier and more effective regulation of one's emotions, and low emotion differentiation has been documented in several forms of psychopathology. However, the lion's share of this research has focused on adult samples, even though approximately 50% of mental disorders onset before age 18. This review curates what we know about the development of emotion differentiation and its implications for youth mental health. I first review published studies investigating how emotion differentiation develops across childhood and adolescence, as well as studies testing relations between emotion differentiation and mental health in youth samples. Emerging evidence suggests that emotion differentiation actually falls across childhood and adolescence, a counterintuitive pattern that merits further investigation. Additionally, several studies find relations between emotion differentiation and youth mental health, but some instability in results emerged. I then identify open questions that limit our current understanding of emotion differentiation, including (i) lack of clarity as to the valid measurement of emotion differentiation, (ii) potential third variables that could explain relations between emotion differentiation and mental-health (e.g., mean negative affect, IQ, personality, and circularity with outcomes), and (iii) lack of clear mechanistic models regarding the development of emotion differentiation and how it facilitates well-being. I conclude with a discussion of future directions that can address open questions and work toward interventions that treat (or even prevent) psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik C. Nook
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
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12
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O'Toole MS, Elkjær E, Mikkelsen MB. Is Negative Emotion Differentiation Associated With Emotion Regulation Choice? Investigations at the Person and Day Level. Front Psychol 2021; 12:684377. [PMID: 34305737 PMCID: PMC8298904 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.684377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative emotion differentiation (ED) has been suggested to be important for adaptive emotion regulation (ER). However, knowledge concerning how ED may impact specific ER strategy choice remains surprisingly sparse. We therefore investigated (1) if person-level negative ED was associated with habitual use of individual ER strategies, (2) how person-level negative ED was associated with daily use of individual ER strategies, and finally (3) how within-person daily fluctuations in negative ED were associated with daily use of individual ER strategies. During a 10-day experience sampling study, 90 healthy participants rated their momentary emotions and their ER efforts in response to those emotions. ER strategies included four putatively adaptive strategies (reflection, distancing, non-reactivity, reappraisal) and four putatively maladaptive strategies (rumination, experiential avoidance, expressive suppression, worry). Results revealed that negative ED at the person level was neither associated with habitual nor daily ER strategy endorsement when controlling for negative emotions. Likewise, associations between within-individual daily variation in negative ED and daily ER did not remain statistically significant after controlling for negative emotions. The results thus point to no or weak associations between negative ED and ER choice above and beyond negative emotions. Future experimental studies addressing ED at the momentary level and teasing out the ED-ER causal timeline are needed to further evaluate ED-ER associations. Findings from such research may represent an important step toward refining psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at improving emotional problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia S. O'Toole
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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13
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Mikkelsen MB, Elkjær E, Mennin DS, Fresco DM, Zachariae R, Applebaum A, O’Toole MS. The impact of emotion regulation therapy on emotion differentiation in psychologically distressed caregivers of cancer patients. ANXIETY, STRESS, AND COPING 2021; 34:479-485. [PMID: 34047220 PMCID: PMC8364870 DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2021.1929934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Emotion differentiation is considered adaptive because differentiated emotional experiences are believed to promote access to the information that emotions carry, enabling context-appropriate emotion regulation. In the present study, secondary analyses from a recent randomized controlled trial (O'Toole et al., 2019) were conducted to investigate whether emotion differentiation can improve as a result of psychotherapy and whether improvements in emotion differentiation are associated with reduced distress. DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 81 distressed caregivers of cancer patients were randomized to Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT), an intervention aimed at improving emotion differentiation and facilitating healthy emotion regulation, or a waitlist condition. Emotion differentiation scores could be calculated for 54 caregivers. RESULTS Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that ERT led to significant improvements in negative (η2 = 0.21, p = .012), but not positive emotion differentiation (η2 = <0.01, p = .973). Correlation analyses showed that improvements in negative emotion differentiation were not associated with changes in distress. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that negative emotion differentiation can improve as a result of psychotherapy. Further research is needed to clarify how improvements in emotion differentiation following therapeutic interventions relate to treatment outcomes such as distress.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02322905.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mai B. Mikkelsen
- Dept. of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Emma Elkjær
- Dept. of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Douglas S. Mennin
- Dept. of Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - David M. Fresco
- Department of Psychiatry & Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Robert Zachariae
- Dept. of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark,Dept. of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Allison Applebaum
- Dept. of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mia S. O’Toole
- Dept. of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
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14
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Thompson RJ, Springstein T, Boden M. Gaining clarity about emotion differentiation. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Renee J. Thompson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - Tabea Springstein
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - Matt Boden
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences VA Palo Alto Health Care System Palo Alto California USA
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15
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Erbas Y, Kalokerinos EK, Kuppens P, van Halem S, Ceulemans E. Momentary Emotion Differentiation: The Derivation and Validation of an index to Study Within-Person Fluctuations in Emotion Differentiation. Assessment 2021; 29:700-716. [PMID: 33522259 DOI: 10.1177/1073191121990089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Emotion differentiation refers to the tendency to label emotions in a granular way. While differentiation is an important individual difference in the context of psychological well-being, it is unknown how it fluctuates within individuals. Such a within-person measure is important, since it would allow the study of how changes in differentiation predict subsequent levels of other variables of interest. Here, we present a framework to study emotion differentiation at the within-person level by introducing a momentary emotion differentiation index. This index is directly derived from the classical emotion differentiation index, the intraclass correlation. We first give a theoretical derivation of this index. Next, using data from two experience sampling studies, we show how this new momentary index is related to other momentary indicators of well-being, and take the first steps in building its nomological network. A better understanding of within-person fluctuations in emotion differentiation will allow us to identify the causes and consequences of these fluctuations, and search for ways to teach individuals to increase their level of emotion differentiation.
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16
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Identificação de emoções e sentimentos: estudo exploratório com alunos do ensino básico. ACTA PAUL ENFERM 2020. [DOI: 10.37689/acta-ape/2020ao0057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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17
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Israelashvili J, Sauter DA, Fischer AH. Different faces of empathy: Feelings of similarity disrupt recognition of negative emotions. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 87:103912. [PMID: 32127724 PMCID: PMC7001982 DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathizing with others is widely presumed to increase our understanding of their emotions. Little is known, however, about which empathic process actually help people recognize others' feelings more accurately. Here, we probed the relationship between emotion recognition and two empathic processes: spontaneously felt similarity (having had a similar experience) and deliberate perspective taking (focus on the other vs. oneself). We report four studies in which participants (total N = 803) watched videos of targets sharing genuine negative emotional experiences. Participants' multi-scalar ratings of the targets' emotions were compared with the targets' own emotion ratings. In Study 1 we found that having had a similar experience to what the target was sharing was associated with lower recognition of the target's emotions. Study 2 replicated the same pattern and in addition showed that making participants' own imagined reaction to the described event salient resulted in further reduced accuracy. Studies 3 and 4 were preregistered replications and extensions of Studies 1 and 2, in which we observed the same outcome using a different stimulus set, indicating the robustness of the finding. Moreover, Study 4 directly investigated the underlying mechanism of the observed effect. Findings showed that perceivers who have had a negative life experience similar to the emotional event described in the video felt greater personal distress after watching the video, which in part explained their reduced accuracy. These results provide the first demonstration that spontaneous empathy, evoked by similarity in negative experiences, may inhibit rather than increase our understanding of others' emotions.
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18
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O’Toole MS, Renna ME, Elkjær E, Mikkelsen MB, Mennin DS. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Complexity of Emotion Experience and Behavioral Adaptation. EMOTION REVIEW 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/1754073919876019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This article systematically reviews studies investigating the effect of three operationalizations of complexity in emotion experience (i.e., differentiation, covariation, and variability) on situational behavioral adaptation (i.e., physiological, cognitive, and overt action responses), and quantifies the results with meta-analyses. Twenty-seven studies of emotion complexity were identified and divided into four categories: (a) trait and (b) state studies within clinical samples, and (c) trait and (d) state studies within nonclinical samples. Most studies investigated trait emotion differentiation, revealing negligible to small effects ( r range: .06 to .15). Only 4 studies in total assessed indicators of state emotion complexity. The theoretical assumptions behind the indicators of emotion complexity as well as the conceptualization of behavioral adaptiveness are critically discussed, and a number of future avenues for this type of research are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia S. O’Toole
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | | | | | - Mai B. Mikkelsen
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
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19
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Galili-Weinstock L, Lazarus G, Atzil-Slonim D, Bar-Kalifa E, Rafaeli E, Peri T. Self-compassion among psychotherapy clients is in the details of negative, not positive, emotions. THE JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2019.1627396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Gal Lazarus
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | | | - Eran Bar-Kalifa
- Departement of Psychology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Eshkol Rafaeli
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Tuvia Peri
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Israelashvili J, Oosterwijk S, Sauter D, Fischer A. Knowing me, knowing you: emotion differentiation in oneself is associated with recognition of others’ emotions. Cogn Emot 2019; 33:1461-1471. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1577221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Israelashvili
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Suzanne Oosterwijk
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Disa Sauter
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Agneta Fischer
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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21
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Blanke ES, Riediger M. Reading thoughts and feelings in other people: Empathic accuracy across adulthood. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2019; 247:305-327. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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22
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Trait-level emotion regulation and emotional awareness predictors of empathic accuracy. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-018-9741-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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23
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Erbas Y, Ceulemans E, Blanke ES, Sels L, Fischer A, Kuppens P. Emotion differentiation dissected: between-category, within-category, and integral emotion differentiation, and their relation to well-being. Cogn Emot 2018; 33:258-271. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1465894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yasemin Erbas
- Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eva Ceulemans
- Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Laura Sels
- Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Agneta Fischer
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Kuppens
- Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Abstract
Psychological research on emotion perception anchors heavily on an object perception analogy. We present static “cues,” such as facial expressions, as objects for perceivers to categorize. Yet in the real world, emotions play out as dynamic multidimensional events. Current theoretical approaches and research methods are limited in their ability to capture this complexity. We draw on insights from a predictive coding account of neural activity and a grounded cognition account of concept representation to conceive of emotion perception as a stream of synchronized conceptualizations between two individuals, which is supported and shaped by language. We articulate how this framework can illuminate the fundamental need to study culture, as well as other sources of conceptual variation, in unpacking conceptual synchrony in emotion. We close by suggesting that the conceptual system provides the necessary flexibility to overcome gaps in emotional synchrony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Gendron
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, USA
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA
| | - Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA
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25
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Rooney B, Bálint KE. Watching More Closely: Shot Scale Affects Film Viewers' Theory of Mind Tendency But Not Ability. Front Psychol 2018; 8:2349. [PMID: 29387032 PMCID: PMC5776141 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research debates the effects of exposure to narrative fiction on recognition of mental states in others and self, referred to as Theory of Mind. The current study explores the mechanisms by which such effects could occur in fictional film. Using manipulated film scenes, we conducted a between subject experiment (N = 136) exploring how film shot-scale affects viewers' Theory of Mind. Specifically, in our methods we distinguish between the trait Theory of Mind abilities (ToM ability), and the state-like tendency to recognize mental states in others and self (ToM tendency). Results showed that close-up shots (compared to long shots) of a character was associated with higher levels of Theory of Mind tendency, when the facial expression was sad but not when it was neutral. And this effect did not transfer to other characters in the film. There was also no observable effect of character depiction on viewers' general Theory of Mind ability. Together the findings suggest that formal and content features of shot scale can elicit Theory of Mind responses by directing attention toward character mental states rather than improving viewers' general Theory of Mind ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan Rooney
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Katalin E Bálint
- Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands.,Institute for Media, Knowledge and Communication, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
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