Positive Affect Predicts Improved Lip Movement in Facial Movement Disorder

2007 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Merkel ◽  
Karen L. Schmidt ◽  
Rachel M. Levenstein ◽  
Jessie M. VanSwearingen ◽  
Barbara C. Bentley

OBJECTIVES: Positive affect in individuals with a facial movement disorder may promote lip corner movement (zygomaticus major) during smiling. We investigated whether a positive affect marker (orbicularis oculi activity) observed in an initial clinic visit of individuals with facial movement disorder (N = 28) predicted increased lip corner movement at a subsequent visit. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: In this clinical outcomes study, lip corner movement was assessed with the use of automated facial analysis. Asymmetry of movement was compared in individuals who smiled with or without the positive affect marker at an initial clinic visit. RESULTS: The positive affect marker at the initial visit was associated with a reduction in the asymmetry of the lip corner movement at the second visit. CONCLUSION: Positive affect predicts improved facial movement outcomes in patients with facial movement disorders. SIGNIFICANCE: Positive emotion in facial movement patients may be an important factor in recovery of facial movement during therapy.

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
Margrete Lamond

Literary analysis tends to be conceptual and top-down driven. Data-driven analysis, although it belongs more to the domain of scientific method, can nevertheless sometimes reveal elements of narrative that conceptual readings may fall short of identifying. In critiques of Burnett's The Secret Garden, the children's return to health is generally understood to be the result of their interactions with nature. Some readings add the power of storytelling as a healing force in the novel. Burnett's concept of magic has tended to be treated with uneasy abstractions, and the influence of affect on health remains open for further investigation. This article bases its argument on data-driven analysis that charts how affective content in the novel occurs in conjunction with references to magic. It identifies the narrative significance of negative allusions to nature and how concepts of magic occur alongside representations of positive affect, and suggests that the magic of healing in The Secret Garden is not the transforming power of biological nature, nor the transforming power of storytelling, but the transforming power of surprise, wonder and happiness in conjunction with all these factors. Positive affect represents the essence of what Burnett means by magic.


Author(s):  
Ilana Seager ◽  
Douglas S. Mennin ◽  
Amelia Aldao

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a debilitating condition characterized by excessive, pervasive, uncontrollable, and paralyzing worries about a wide range of future situations. Individuals with this condition frequently find themselves stuck in worry and tension cycles in futile attempts at reducing uncertainty and increasing control. GAD has been associated with substantial impairments in functioning and reduced quality of life. GAD remains poorly understood, and the long-term efficacy and end-state functioning resulting from treatment are weaker compared to other anxiety disorders. Some treatments (e.g., emotion regulation therapy, acceptance-based behavioral therapy) have improved efficacy, partly by targeting emotional dysfunction. Basic psychopathology research has focused on identifying the role of negative affect in GAD, so little is known about how positive affect is experienced and regulated in this disorder. This is particularly important in light of the overlap of this condition with major depressive disorder, which is characterized by low or suppressed positive emotion. Developing such an understanding is essential to further improve the efficacy of emotion-based treatments. This chapter reviews current and future directions in the study of positive affect in GAD. The chapter reviews the nascent research on positive affect and GAD, then illustrates dimensions of future work.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 153-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Philipp Michelis ◽  
Julian Zimmermann ◽  
Janis Rebecca Bedarf ◽  
Ralph Bundschuh ◽  
Florian C. Gaertner ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Eren Gozke ◽  
Boran Can Saraçoglu ◽  
Mustafa Eser ◽  
Aylin Reyhani ◽  
Pelin Dogan Ak

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-212
Author(s):  
Vassia Karamanoli ◽  
Kyriaki Fousiani ◽  
Maria Sakalaki

The goal was to investigate the association of economic opportunism with self-efficacy, optimism, and positive emotion. It was hypothesized that economic opportunists should experience lower self-efficacy, less positive thinking, and less optimism. Study 1 ( N = 206) showed that economic opportunism was negatively correlated with self-efficacy, optimism, and positive affect, and positively correlated with negative affect. Study 2 ( N = 128) indicated that individuals reporting higher self-efficacy were less likely to defect on their counterparts in a game situation. These findings show the negative association of opportunistic propensity with self-efficacy and positive emotions. Implications for experimental research on economic opportunism and positive emotions are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 592-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin B. Thoman ◽  
Jessi L. Smith ◽  
Paul J. Silvia

Interest is a positive emotion associated with increased approach motivation, effort, attention, and persistence. Although experiencing interest promotes behaviors that demand cognitive resources, interest is as a coping resource in frustrating learning situations and is central to self-regulation and sustained motivation. Positive affect, in general, tends to replenish resources, but based on the functions of interest and what interest promotes we suggest that interest, in particular, promotes greater resource replenishment. Across three experiments, experiencing interest during activity engagement (Studies 1 and 2), even when interest is activated via priming (Study 3), caused greater effort and persistence in subsequent tasks than did positive affect. This effect occurred only when participants' psychological resources were previously depleted (Study 1). Paradoxically, engaging an interesting task replenished resources (vs. positive and neutral tasks) even though the interesting task was more complex and required more effort.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-63
Author(s):  
Jeff T. Larsen

Hernandez et al.’s (2018) review provides clear evidence that positive affect can contribute to well-being and fits nicely within the positive psychology framework. The emergence of positive psychology has been valuable for understanding well-being, but I suggest that a balanced psychology can prove even more valuable in the years to come. A balanced psychology requires giving as much attention to negative emotion as to positive emotion. It also requires considering whether there are circumstances in which positive emotions can be detrimental and negative emotions can be beneficial. Along those lines, evidence reviewed here indicates that healthy coping with severe stressors involves experiencing a combination of positive and negative emotions.


Author(s):  
Ali H. Rajput ◽  
Alex Rajput

AbstractWe review the Saskatchewan Movement Disorders Program, which started in 1968 and has had the dual goals of patient care and research. The clinics are structured to collect research-worthy data including videos, longitudinal follow-up, and autopsy studies of patients seen in the clinics. At every clinic visit, the patient is evaluated by one or both authors. A total of 25% to 30% of the deceased come to autopsy. Frozen half-brain and formalin-fixed remnants from autopsy are preserved in our laboratories. Patients not seen in our clinic are not included in research, which makes it different from brain banks. So far, 515 cases have come to autopsy. So far, there have been 17 collaborating scientific teams from Canada, the United States, Europe, and Japan. The collaborators are not charged for access to our resources. This program offers a unique opportunity to study multiple aspects of movement disorder patients seen in clinical practice.


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