Fading Affect Bias in Intergroup Relations

Abstract. Negative affect associated with autobiographical events fades faster over time than positive affect. This Fading Affect Bias (FAB) has been established in the individual and interpersonal domains. Two studies tested the FAB in intergroup relations with Muslims ( N= 76 White British non-Muslim) and opposite gender ( N = 242 women and men) as target outgroups. The results indicated that the FAB exists in an intergroup context, for both ingroup and outgroup memories. Mediation analyses showed that intergroup contact is related to a lower fading of positive affect associated with the outgroup memory, through greater memory strength and a more positive outgroup member evaluation. The findings are important for understanding affect associated with intergroup memories and the buffering effect of positive contact.

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Savouring as an Intervention to Decrease Negative Affect in Anxious Mothers of Children with Autism and Neurotypical Children

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11050652 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 652

Author(s):

Ariel Pereira ◽

Atiqah Azhari ◽

Chloe Hong ◽

Gerin Gaskin ◽

Jessica Borelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Well Being ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Positive Experience ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Mother Child Relationships ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

The Individual

Savouring is an emotion regulation strategy and intervention that focuses on the process of attending, intensifying and prolonging positive experiences and positive affect associated with these memories. Personal savouring involves a reflection on positive memories that are specific to the individual and do not involve others. In contrast, relational savouring entails reflecting on instances when people were responsive to the needs of their significant others. Such interventions hold potential benefits in enhancing positive affect (PA) and reducing negative affect (NA) for both parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and parents of neurotypical children. Adults with greater symptoms of generalised anxiety have been found to have less PA and more NA. However, no study has investigated the effects of a mother’s anxiety symptoms on the efficacy of savouring in enhancing PA and reducing NA. Thus, this paper combined personal and relational savouring to investigate whether savouring may enhance PA and reduce NA of a pooled sample of mothers of neurotypical children and mothers of children with ASD. 52 mothers of neurotypical children and 26 mothers of children with ASD aged 3–7 years old were given a series of questionnaires and randomly assigned to either relational savouring or personal savouring conditions. In relational savouring, mothers were asked to reflect upon a shared positive experience with their child while in the personal savouring condition, a personal positive experience was recalled. Across mothers of children with ASD and neurotypical children, findings suggest that savouring leads to a decrease in NA (p < 0.01) but not increases in PA. Similarly, mothers with higher levels of anxiety experience a greater decrease in NA (p < 0.001) compared to mothers with lower levels of anxiety post-savouring. This study proposes that a brief savouring intervention may be effective among mothers of preschoolers. As lower levels of negative affect is linked to healthier psychological well-being, mothers might be able to engage in more effective and warm parenting after savouring exercises, which would cultivate positive mother-child relationships that benefit their children in the long-term.

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Irrational happiness beliefs and subjective well-being of undergraduate students: A longitudinal study

Journal of Positive School Psychology ◽

10.47602/jpsp.v5i1.258 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 65-72

Author(s):

Murat Yıldırım

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Future Studies ◽

Affective Components ◽

The Impact ◽

First Time ◽

Over Time

Identifying factors that influence well-being are fruitful for improving the knowledge held about the correlates and predictors of well-being in both practice and theory. This research for the first time aimed to investigate whether irrational happiness beliefs, a newly presented construct, contribute to the affective components of subjective well-being over time. The sample included 103 undergraduate students (88 females and 15 males) whose ages varied from 18 to 29 years (M = 19.39 ±1.62). Participants completed measures of irrational happiness beliefs, positive affect, and negative affect both at Time 1 and Time 2 over three months apart. The findings showed that irrational happiness beliefs were significantly negatively related to positive affect only at Time 1. However, the research failed to provide evidence regarding the value of irrational happiness beliefs in predicting positive and negative affect over time. The results suggest that the impact of irrational happiness beliefs upon well-being may occur momentarily not over time. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed and directions for future studies are provided.

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A MICROLONGITUDINAL APPROACH TO STUDYING GRANDMOTHER-GRANDCHILD DAILY INTERACTIONS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.1041 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S281-S282

Author(s):

Shelbie Turner ◽

Shannon T Mejia ◽

Robert S Stawski ◽

Karen Hooker

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Social Experiences ◽

Intraindividual Variability ◽

Positive And Negative Affect ◽

Daily Interactions ◽

Multi Level ◽

Using Data ◽

Over Time

Abstract Research suggests that grandparent-grandchild dyads shift in degree of solidarity over extended periods of time (e.g. Moorman & Stokes, 2016), but no work has considered grandparent-grandchild interactions microlongitudinally. This study utilized microlongitudinal data with an emphasis on intraindividual variability to examine the daily processes associated with relational aspects of grandparenting. Using data from 24 grandmothers in the Personal Understandings of Life and Social Experiences (PULSE) project, we explored how grandmother-reported satisfaction with grandchild interactions impacted grandmothers’ same-day positive and negative affect over 100 days. We first justified the need for microlongitudinal analyses by assessing the degree to which there were within-person shifts in interaction satisfaction over time. Intra-class correlations indicated 86% of the variation in interaction satisfaction was within-persons, warranting an intraindividual variability approach. As such, we then employed multi-level models to examine the within-person and between-person effects of interaction satisfaction predicting same day positive and negative affect. At the within-person level, on days when grandmothers reported higher than their average interaction satisfaction, they reported more positive affect (Estimate = 0.09, SE = 0.03, p = 0.009) and lower negative affect overall that day (Estimate = -0.08, SE = 0.02, p = 0.005). At the between-person level, grandmothers who had, on average, higher interaction satisfaction had more positive affect (Estimate = 0.63, SE = 0.09, p<.0001) and lower negative affect on average (Estimate = -0.53, SE = 0.11, p<.0001).

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The dynamic relationship between valuing diversity and intergroup contact: is valuing diversity a precursor to contact and mediator of diverse contact effects?

10.31219/osf.io/tynju ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lukas Wallrich ◽

Keon West ◽

Adam Rutland

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Relations ◽

Behavioral Intentions ◽

Intergroup Contact ◽

Longitudinal Survey ◽

Policy Support ◽

Dynamic Relationship ◽

Longitudinal Survey Data ◽

Prejudice And Discrimination ◽

Over Time ◽

Valuing Diversity

Valuing diversity and intergroup contact predict less prejudice and discrimination, yet their relationship deserves closer attention. The evidence suggests that valuing diversity and (interest in) intergroup contact are associated, but the directionality is not clear, and it has not been tested whether the established effects of contact come about through changes in valuing diversity. We address this in three studies. In Study 1 (N = 211), using longitudinal survey data, both positive and negative contact affected the value placed on diversity over time, while valuing diversity did not significantly predict the frequency of future contact. Studies 2 (N = 224) and 3 (N = 2,618) consequently considered valuing diversity as a mediator and showed that it mediates the relationships of intergroup contact with prejudice, behavioral intentions, and policy support. Our results increase the understanding of pathways from intergroup contact to intergroup relations and offer a lever that contact interventions can target.

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Inspecting Gradual and Abrupt Changes in Emotion Dynamics With the Time-Varying Change Point Autoregressive Model

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000589 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 492-499

Author(s):

Casper J. Albers ◽

Laura F. Bringmann

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Change Point ◽

A Priori ◽

Ar Model ◽

Time Varying ◽

Abrupt Changes ◽

Emotion Dynamics ◽

Changes Over Time ◽

Over Time

Abstract. Recent studies have shown that emotion dynamics such as inertia (i.e., autocorrelation) can change over time. Importantly, current methods can only detect either gradual or abrupt changes in inertia. This means that researchers have to choose a priori whether they expect the change in inertia to be gradual or abrupt. This will leave researchers in the dark regarding when and how the change in inertia occurred. Therefore in this article, we use a new model: the time-varying change point autoregressive (TVCP-AR) model. The TVCP-AR model can detect both gradual and abrupt changes in emotion dynamics. More specifically, we show that the inertia of positive affect and negative affect measured in one individual differs qualitatively in how it changes over time. Whereas the inertia of positive affect increased only gradually over time, negative affect changed both in a gradual and abrupt fashion over time. This illustrates the necessity of being able to model both gradual and abrupt changes in order to detect meaningful quantitative and qualitative differences in temporal emotion dynamics.

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Relatively Happy: The Role of the Positive-to-Negative Affect Ratio in Japanese and Belgian Couples

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology ◽

10.1177/00220221211051016 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002202212110510

Author(s):

Alexander Kirchner-Häusler ◽

Michael Boiger ◽

Yukiko Uchida ◽

Yoko Higuchi ◽

Atsuhiko Uchida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Romantic Couples ◽

Cultural Contexts ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Culturally Different ◽

Positive Feelings ◽

Negative Feelings ◽

Couple Interactions

Satisfied couples in European-American cultural contexts experience higher ratios of positive to negative affect during interactions than their less satisfied counterparts. The current research tests the possibility that this finding is culture-bound. It compares proportions of positive to negative affect during couple interactions in two different cultural contexts: Belgium and Japan. Whereas Belgian relationship goals (e.g., mutual affirmation and self-esteem) call for the experience of positive affect, Japanese relationship goals (e.g., harmony and self-adjustment) call for the avoidance of negative affect. We propose that these differences result in different affect ratios in close relationships. To test this idea, we tracked positive and negative feelings during couple interactions. Fifty-eight Belgian and 80 Japanese romantic couples took part in a lab interaction study, in which they discussed a topic of disagreement. Using a video-mediated recall, participants rated their positive and negative feelings during the interaction; relationship satisfaction was assessed before the interaction. As expected, Belgian couples’ positive-to-negative affect ratios were more positive than those of Japanese couples. Furthermore, in both cultures relationship satisfaction was positively associated with more positive affect ratios, but this effect was significantly stronger for Belgian than Japanese couples. Finally, mediation analyses showed that higher affect ratios were achieved in culturally different and meaningful ways: satisfied Belgian couples showed higher ratios primarily through higher levels of positive feelings, whereas satisfied Japanese couples showed higher ratios primarily through lower levels of negative feelings.

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Linking Religious Identity, Participation, and Faith to Domains of Mental Health in Late Life

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.1097 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 284-284

Author(s):

Eva Kahana ◽

Poshan Dahal ◽

Tirth Bhatta ◽

Polina Ermoshkina

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Religious Coping ◽

Religious Identity ◽

Church Attendance ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Over Time

Abstract Religiosity in late life has been linked to psychological well-being outcomes. However, there has been insufficient attention to complex associations between different domains of religiosity and domains of psychological wellbeing. We explored associations between religious identity, religious participation, religious coping (trust in God), and mental health indicators of depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and positive/negative affect among 797 independent, retirement community-dwelling older adults. At baseline, religious identity (expressed as self- concept) and religious participation (church attendance) each were associated with fewer depressive symptoms (b=-0.47, p<0.05; b=-0.19, p<0.05). Religious identity, however, was significantly associated with both life satisfaction and positive affects but not with negative affect. Religious coping was associated with greater life satisfaction and positive affect. Our longitudinal analysis documented a statistically significant decline in depressive symptoms, and increase in life satisfaction and positive affect, with corresponding increase in religious identity over time. However, changes in religious identity did not lead to significant changes in negative affect over time. Religious coping and church attendance fully explained the influence of religious identity on changes in life satisfaction. Although the influence of religious identity on depressive symptoms and positive affect was weakened, its significant influence was maintained even after the consideration of religious coping and church attendance. Beyond religious identity, we also observed a significant increase in positive affect with a corresponding increase in religious coping. Overall, our findings support expectations that religious identification and practices are associated with greater psychological well-being among community dwelling old- old adults.

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AFFECT MODERATES THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND RETIREMENT SATISFACTION OVER TIME

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.477 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S131-S131

Author(s):

Kaleena Odd

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older Adults ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Social Resources ◽

Network Size ◽

Equation Model ◽

Future Research ◽

Over Time

Abstract Retirement is becoming more important for today’s older adults because they are living longer than before. Recently, research has started to explore how different individual resources (e.g., health or finances) and social resources (e.g., social support or social network size) influence retirement outcomes such as retirement satisfaction. Moreover, the current study sought to examine the influence of time, satisfaction with social support, and affect (i.e., positive or negative) as predictors of retirement satisfaction. Data was obtained from a longitudinal study that explored how older adults in Montreal, Canada adjusted to life in retirement over the course of three years. Hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model that investigated retirement satisfaction as predicted by time, satisfaction with social support, positive affect, and negative affect. Gender differences were also explored. Overall, there was no change over time among the variables. Satisfaction with social support, positive affect, and negative affect were all associated with retirement satisfaction in the expected directions. Positive affect moderated the association between satisfaction with social support and retirement satisfaction, such that the association was stronger for those low in positive affect. Also, negative affect moderated the association between satisfaction with social support and retirement satisfaction as a function of gender. This study extended the literature by exploring how multiple predictors interacted to influence retirement satisfaction over time. Future research should examine how individual and social resources can interact with each other to better understand retirement satisfaction.

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Cognitive Mechanisms Reciprocally Transmit Vulnerability between Depressive and Somatic Symptoms

Depression Research and Treatment ◽

10.1155/2015/250594 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kaitlin A. Harding ◽

Karly M. Murphy ◽

Amy Mezulis

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Somatic Symptoms ◽

Reciprocal Relationship ◽

Cognitive Responses ◽

Negative Events ◽

Cognitive Mechanisms ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Cognitive Predictors ◽

Positive Rumination

Despite high comorbidity between depressive and somatic symptoms, cognitive mechanisms that transmit vulnerability between symptom clusters are largely unknown. Dampening, positive rumination, and brooding are three cognitive predictors of depression, with rumination theoretically indicated as a transdiagnostic vulnerability through amplifying and diminishing affect in response to events. Specifically, the excess negative affect and lack of positive affect characteristic of depressive symptoms and underlying somatic symptoms may cause and be caused by cognitive responses to events. Therefore, the current study examined whether comorbidity between depressive and somatic symptoms may be explained by the cognitive mechanisms of dampening and positive rumination in response to positive events and brooding in response to negative events among adults (N=321) across eight weeks of assessment. We hypothesized that greater dampening and brooding would reciprocally predict greater depressive and somatic symptoms, while greater positive rumination would reciprocally predict fewer depressive and somatic symptoms. Mediation analyses in AMOS 22 indicated that dampening and brooding mediated reciprocal pathways between depressive and somatic symptoms, but positive rumination did not.Findings propose dampening and brooding as mechanisms of the reciprocal relationship between depressive and somatic symptoms through diminishing positive affect and amplifying negative affect in response to positive and negative events.

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Attachment and the Development of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: The Role of Regulating Positive and Negative Affect

Journal of Youth and Adolescence ◽

10.1007/s10964-021-01426-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Martine W. F. T. Verhees ◽

Chloë Finet ◽

Sien Vandesande ◽

Margot Bastin ◽

Patricia Bijttebier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Attachment Anxiety ◽

Insecure Attachment ◽

Multiple Mediation ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Longitudinal Support ◽

Regulation Strategies

AbstractAlthough widely accepted, attachment theory’s hypothesis that insecure attachment is associated with the development of depressive symptoms through emotion regulation strategies has never been longitudinally tested in adolescence. Additionally, previous research only focused on strategies for regulating negative affect, whereas strategies for regulating positive affect may also serve as a mechanism linking insecure attachment to depressive symptoms. This study aimed to fill these research gaps by testing whether the association between attachment and change in depressive symptoms over time is explained by strategies for regulating negative and positive affect in adolescence. Adolescents (N = 1706; 53% girls; Mage = 12.78 years, SDage = 1.54 at Time 1) were tested three times, with a 1-year interval between measurement times. They reported on their attachment anxiety and avoidance at Time 1, depressive symptoms at Times 1 and 3, and regulation of negative affect (brooding and dampening) and positive affect (focusing and reflection) at Time 2. The results from multiple mediation analyses showed that more anxiously attached adolescents developed more depressive symptoms via increased brooding and dampening. More avoidantly attached adolescents developed more depressive symptoms via decreased focusing. These findings provide longitudinal support for attachment theory’s emotion regulation hypothesis, and show that the regulation of both negative and positive affect is important.

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