Experimental Studies of Affective States in Children

Author(s):  
John C. Masters ◽  
Elyse Schwartz Felleman ◽  
R. Christopher Barden
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie H. Meeuwis ◽  
Henriët van Middendorp ◽  
Dieuwke S. Veldhuijzen ◽  
Andrea W. M. Evers

Introduction: Placebo and nocebo effects are positive and negative health outcomes that can be elicited by the psychosocial context. They can be mediated by expectations, and may emerge in somatic symptoms even when people are aware of these effects. Interindividual differences (e.g., in personality, affective states) could impact placebo and nocebo responding, but findings are inconsistent.Methods: The current work examined expectation as a mediator of the association between verbal placebo and nocebo suggestions (VSs) and histamine-induced itch across three experimental studies. Moreover, we examined whether interindividual differences (e.g., in optimism, neuroticism, behavioral activation system (BAS), body ignorance) modulated: (1) the direct association between VSs and itch (direct moderation), and (2) the indirect, expectation-mediated association between VSs and itch (moderated mediation). Positive VSs were compared to neutral instructions (Study 1; n = 92) or negative VSs (Studies 2+3; n = 203) in an open-label (i.e., explaining placebo and nocebo effects) or closed-label (concealed) context using PROCESS. First, mediation of VSs effects on itch by expectations was tested. Next, moderation by individual traits was explored using conditional process analyses.Results: The effects of VSs on itch were significantly mediated by expectation in Study 1 and in the open-label (but not closed-label) contexts of Studies 2 and 3. Ignorance of bodily signals marginally moderated the direct effects of VSs on itch when closed-label suggestions were given: at low levels of body ignorance, effects of positive and negative VSs were stronger. Moreover, moderated mediation was observed in the open-label groups of Studies 2 and 3: The expectation-mediated effects of VSs on itch were stronger when BAS drive was lower.Conclusion: Overall, the effects of VSs on itch were mediated by expectations in the open-label, but not the closed-label context. Moreover, the current work suggests that placebo and nocebo effects may be moderated by ignorance of bodily signals and the BAS. There was limited evidence that other interindividual differences modulated placebo and nocebo responding in itch.


Author(s):  
Kent McDonald ◽  
David Mastronarde ◽  
Rubai Ding ◽  
Eileen O'Toole ◽  
J. Richard McIntosh

Mammalian spindles are generally large and may contain over a thousand microtubules (MTs). For this reason they are difficult to reconstruct in three dimensions and many researchers have chosen to study the smaller and simpler spindles of lower eukaryotes. Nevertheless, the mammalian spindle is used for many experimental studies and it would be useful to know its detailed structure.We have been using serial cross sections and computer reconstruction methods to analyze MT distributions in mitotic spindles of PtK cells, a mammalian tissue culture line. Images from EM negatives are digtized on a light box by a Dage MTI video camera containing a black and white Saticon tube. The signal is digitized by a Parallax 1280 graphics device in a MicroVax III computer. Microtubules are digitized at a magnification such that each is 10-12 pixels in diameter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4335-4350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth E. Tichenor ◽  
J. Scott Yaruss

Purpose This study explored group experiences and individual differences in the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings perceived by adults who stutter. Respondents' goals when speaking and prior participation in self-help/support groups were used to predict individual differences in reported behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Method In this study, 502 adults who stutter completed a survey examining their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in and around moments of stuttering. Data were analyzed to determine distributions of group and individual experiences. Results Speakers reported experiencing a wide range of both overt behaviors (e.g., repetitions) and covert behaviors (e.g., remaining silent, choosing not to speak). Having the goal of not stuttering when speaking was significantly associated with more covert behaviors and more negative cognitive and affective states, whereas a history of self-help/support group participation was significantly associated with a decreased probability of these behaviors and states. Conclusion Data from this survey suggest that participating in self-help/support groups and having a goal of communicating freely (as opposed to trying not to stutter) are associated with less negative life outcomes due to stuttering. Results further indicate that the behaviors, thoughts, and experiences most commonly reported by speakers may not be those that are most readily observed by listeners.


Author(s):  
Ina Grau ◽  
Jörg Doll

Abstract. Employing one correlational and two experimental studies, this paper examines the influence of attachment styles (secure, anxious, avoidant) on a person’s experience of equity in intimate relationships. While one experimental study employed a priming technique to stimulate the different attachment styles, the other involved vignettes describing fictitious characters with typical attachment styles. As the specific hypotheses about the single equity components have been developed on the basis of the attachment theory, the equity ratio itself and the four equity components (own outcome, own input, partner’s outcome, partner’s input) are analyzed as dependent variables. While partners with a secure attachment style tend to describe their relationship as equitable (i.e., they give and take extensively), partners who feel anxious about their relationship generally see themselves as being in an inequitable, disadvantaged position (i.e., they receive little from their partner). The hypothesis that avoidant partners would feel advantaged as they were less committed was only supported by the correlational study. Against expectations, the results of both experiments indicate that avoidant partners generally see themselves (or see avoidant vignettes) as being treated equitably, but that there is less emotional exchange than is the case with secure partners. Avoidant partners give and take less than secure ones.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Riganello ◽  
Sergio Garbarino ◽  
Walter G. Sannita

Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) are major indices of the sympathovagal balance in cardiovascular research. These measures are thought to reflect complex patterns of brain activation as well and HRV is now emerging as a descriptor thought to provide information on the nervous system organization of homeostatic responses in accordance with the situational requirements. Current models of integration equate HRV to the affective states as parallel outputs of the central autonomic network, with HRV reflecting its organization of affective, physiological, “cognitive,” and behavioral elements into a homeostatic response. Clinical application is in the study of patients with psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injury, impaired emotion-specific processing, personality, and communication disorders. HRV responses to highly emotional sensory inputs have been identified in subjects in vegetative state and in healthy or brain injured subjects processing complex sensory stimuli. In this respect, HRV measurements can provide additional information on the brain functional setup in the severely brain damaged and would provide researchers with a suitable approach in the absence of conscious behavior or whenever complex experimental conditions and data collection are impracticable, as it is the case, for example, in intensive care units.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Quirin ◽  
Regina C. Bode

Self-report measures for the assessment of trait or state affect are typically biased by social desirability or self-delusion. The present work provides an overview of research using a recently developed measure of automatic activation of cognitive representation of affective experiences, the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT). In the IPANAT, participants judge the extent to which nonsense words from an alleged artificial language express a number of affective states or traits. The test demonstrates appropriate factorial validity and reliabilities. We review findings that support criterion validity and, additionally, present novel variants of this procedure for the assessment of the discrete emotions such as happiness, anger, sadness, and fear.


Author(s):  
Anne Andronikof

Based on an analysis of John Exner’s peer-reviewed published work from 1959 to 2007, plus a brief comment for an editorial in Rorschachiana, the author draws a comprehensive picture of the scientific work of this outstanding personality. The article is divided into three sections: (1) the experimental studies on the Rorschach, (2) the clinical studies using the Rorschach, and (3) Exner’s “testament,” which we draw from the last paper he saw published before his death (Exner, 2001/2002). The experimental studies were aimed at better understanding the nature of the test, in particular the respective roles of perception and projection in the response process. These fundamental studies led to a deeper understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in the Rorschach responses and introduced some hypotheses about the intentions of the author of the test. The latter were subsequently confirmed by the preparatory sketches and documents of Hermann Rorschach, which today can be seen at the H. Rorschach Archives and Museum in Bern (Switzerland). Exner’s research has evidenced the notion that the Rorschach is a perceptive-cognitive-projective test.


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