scholarly journals The Role of Positive Affect in Aggression

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Chester
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Effective Interventions

Aggressive behavior hurts us all and is studied across psychology’s subdisciplines. Classical theories discuss the causes of aggression in the context of negative affect (e.g., frustration, pain). However, more recent research implicates positive affect as an important correlate and cause of aggression. Such aggressive pleasure likely evolved from ancient predatory tendencies that later yielded reproductive benefits, holds across reactive and proactive forms of aggression, and is used strategically as an item in many people’s emotion-regulation toolkit. Findings from psychological and neural sciences have converged to detail aggression’s hedonically pleasant qualities and the motivational and biological mechanisms through which they occur. This new approach generates novel hypotheses and might lead to effective interventions that mollify mankind’s aggressive tendencies.

scholarly journals The Role of Positive Affect in Aggression

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Skylan Chester
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Effective Interventions

Aggressive behavior hurts us all and is studied across psychology’s sub-disciplines. Classical theories discuss the causes of aggression in the context of negative affect (e.g., frustration, pain). However, more recent research implicates positive affect as an important correlate and cause of aggression. Such aggressive pleasure likely evolved from ancient predatory tendencies that later yielded reproductive benefits, holds across reactive and proactive forms of aggression, and is used strategically as an item in many people’s emotion-regulation toolkit. Findings from psychological and neural sciences have converged to detail aggression's hedonically pleasant qualities and the motivational and biological mechanisms through which they occur. This new approach generates novel hypotheses and might lead to effective interventions that mollify mankind’s aggressive tendencies.

Concurrent and Lagged Relations between Emotion Regulation and Affect in Adolescents’ Daily Life

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliana Silva ◽  
Teresa Freire ◽  
Susana Faria
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Trait Level

AbstractA better understanding of emotion regulation (ER) within daily life is a growing focus of research. This study evaluated the average use of two ER strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and concurrent and lagged relationships between these two ER strategies and affect (positive and negative affect) in the daily lives of adolescents. We also investigated the role of the same strategies at the trait level on these within-person relationships. Thirty-three adolescents provided 1,258 reports of their daily life by using the Experience Sampling Method for one week. Regarding the relative use of ER strategies, cognitive reappraisal (M = 2.87, SD = 1.58) was used more often than expressive suppression (M = 2.42, SD = 1.21). While the use of both strategies was positively correlated when evaluated in daily life (p = .01), the same did not occur at the trait level (p = .37). Multilevel analysis found that ER strategies were concurrently related to affect (p < .01), with the exception of cognitive reappraisal-positive affect relationship (p = .11). However, cognitive reappraisal predicted higher positive affect at the subsequent sampling moment ( β = 0.07, p = .03). The concurrent associations between cognitive reappraisal and negative affect vary as function of the use of this strategy at the trait level (β = 0.05, p = .02). Our findings highlighted the complex associations between daily ER strategies and affect of a normative sample of adolescents.

scholarly journals Sadism and Aggressive Behavior: Inflicting Pain to Feel Pleasure

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1252-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Chester ◽  
C. Nathan DeWall ◽  
Brian Enjaian
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Total N ◽  
Potent Predictor

Sadism is a “dark” trait that involves the experience of pleasure from others’ pain, yet much is unknown about its link to aggression. Across eight studies (total N = 2,255), sadism predicted greater aggression against both innocent targets and provocateurs. These associations occurred above-and-beyond general aggressiveness, impulsivity, and other “dark” traits. Sadism was associated with greater positive affect during aggression, which accounted for much of the variance in the sadism–aggression link. This aggressive pleasure was contingent on sadists’ perceptions that their target suffered due to their aggressive act. After aggression, sadism was associated with increases in negative affect. Sadism thus appears to be a potent predictor of aggression that is motivated by the pleasure of causing pain. Such sadistic aggression ultimately backfires, resulting in greater negative affect. More generally, our results support the crucial role of anticipated and positive forms of affect in motivating aggression.

scholarly journals Sadism and Aggressive Behavior: Inflicting Pain to Feel Pleasure

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Skylan Chester ◽  
C. Nathan DeWall ◽  
Brian Enjaiain
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Total N ◽  
Potent Predictor

Sadism is a ‘dark’ trait that involves the experience of pleasure from others’ pain, yet much is unknown about its link to aggression. Across eight studies (total N=2,255), sadism predicted greater aggression against both innocent targets and provocateurs. These associations occurred above-and-beyond general aggressiveness, impulsivity, and other ‘dark’ traits. Sadism was associated with greater positive affect during aggression, which accounted for much of the variance in the sadism-aggression link. This aggressive pleasure was contingent on sadists’ perceptions that their target suffered due to their aggressive act. After aggression, sadism was associated with increases in negative affect. Sadism thus appears to be a potent predictor of aggression that is motivated by the pleasure of causing pain. Such sadistic aggression ultimately backfires, resulting in greater negative affect. More generally, our results support the crucial role of anticipated and positive forms of affect in motivating aggression.

Judgments of truth are independently modulated by affect and repetition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Garrido-Vásquez ◽  
Tanja Rock
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Processing Fluency ◽  
Neutral Picture ◽  
Truth Effect ◽  
New Information ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Main Effect

People believe repeated statements more than new ones—the repetition-induced truth effect. It is prominently explained with processing fluency: The subjective ease of processing repeated versus new information. To date, the role of affective processes for the truth effect is rather unclear. From a theoretical perspective, people should rely more on fluency under positive than under negative affect. Here, we tested whether an affective picture presented before a statement influences the repetition-induced truth effect. Thirty-five participants took part in two sessions that were a week apart. In both sessions, they rated the truth status of statements. In session 2, repeated and new statements were intermixed, and each statement was preceded by a positive, negative, or neutral picture. We expected participants to rely more on fluency as a cue to truth in the positive than in the negative affective condition. However, although we replicated the repetition-induced truth effect, the interaction between affect and repetition was insignificant, but we observed a significant main effect of affect—statements were rated as truer after a positive rather than a negative or neutral picture. Our results suggest two independent mechanisms that enhance the subjective truth of statements: repetition and positive affect.

Psychological capital and career commitment: the mediating effect of subjective well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansika Singhal ◽  
Renu Rastogi
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Career Commitment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) as a predictor of subjective well-being (SWB) and career commitment (CC). Further, it aims to analyze the mediating role of SWB in the relationship between PsyCap and CC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey-based research design employing data from 300 employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India was used in the present research. Findings The results demonstrated that PsyCap acted as a predictor for SWB and CC. Additionally, SWB partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and CC. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the present research would have to do with the purposive sample set chosen during the data collection. The sample consisted of middle- and upper-middle-class Indian employees working in the NCR having knowledge of English language and computer skills. Perhaps, future research works should take into account a wider sample in terms of the regions across India and not only the NCR. Although the findings showed that SWB reduced the relationship between PsyCap and CC, still that relationship was significant statistically. Further research studies might also explore various moderators while simultaneously studying SWB. In the research, SWB acted as a significant mediator of the relation between PsyCap and CC, yet at the same time, it may be the scenario that employees who are committed toward their career would be more inclined to espouse a greater sense of SWB (i.e. mediator is caused by the outcome). Hence, the authors duly recognize the need to test this substitute model. Since, SWB places chief emphasis on respondent’s own experiences and perspectives; it does not denote a consummate understanding of their mental health as people may have psychological disorders even if they experience happiness. Hence, the use of other measures in addition to SWB in comprehending a person’s psychological health is desirable (Diener et al., 1997). Practical implications This study suggests that in order for organizations to have a workforce committed to their career and hence, their profession, the supervisors will need to train the employees having a higher incidence of PsyCap to increase their SWB. Consequently, the supervisors will, in turn, need to recruit employees already having the four dimensions of PsyCap, i.e. hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism at the workplace in order for them to have a higher life satisfaction, positive affect, reduced negative affect (three components of SWB) and increased CC. Social implications Employees who develop within themselves a state of being hopeful, efficacious, resilient and optimistic will also be strongly oriented toward having greater life satisfaction, positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. This, in part, would help them achieve the required commitment toward their career and hence, help them in sticking with their jobs. Originality/value The present study advances the existing work on positive organizational behavior by exhibiting the noteworthy role of PsyCap in predicting SWB and CC. Further, it helps in demonstrating the inevitable role of SWB in partially mediating the relationship between PsyCap and CC.

Integrating personality, daily life events and emotion: Role of anxiety and positive affect in emotion regulation dynamics

2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Congard ◽  
Bruno Dauvier ◽  
Pascal Antoine ◽  
Pierre-Yves Gilles
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Daily Life

Role of affect in marketplace rumor propagation

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 631-644
Author(s):  
Subin Sudhir ◽  
Anandakuttan B. Unnithan
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Cognitive Appraisal ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rumor Propagation ◽  
Sharing Behavior ◽  
Significant Factors

Purpose Rumors about products and brands are common occurrence in the marketplace. Often these rumors are shared among consumers using the word of mouth channel. The spread of these rumors is fast and can lead to significant consequences to products and brands. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of such rumor sharing behavior among consumers. Specifically, this paper investigates the role of positive affect and negative affect in rumor sharing behavior. Three key rumor characteristics (valence, involvement and credibility) are explored as antecedents to positive affect and negative affect. Design/methodology/approach The paper collects data from 236 respondents using Amazon MTurk, and conducts a PLS–SEM analysis to explore the role of positive affect and negative affect in rumor sharing contexts. Findings Both positive affect and negative affect were found to be significant factors leading to rumor sharing, furthermore positive affect was found to have a stronger influence on rumor sharing as compared to negative affect. The study also delineates the role of valence, involvement and credibility in rumor sharing scenarios, all of which have a strong role in shaping positive affect and negative affect. Originality/value The study is novel in using cognitive appraisal theory to illustrate the formation of positive affect and negative affect in rumor encounters. The study conclusively illustrates the role of cognitive appraisal and emotional experiences in the rumor propagation context, and advances the marketing scholarship’s understanding significantly.

Cognitive Therapy and the Facilitation of Affect: Two Case Illustrations

1991 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory F. Newman
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
First Case ◽  
Thinking Processes

Cognitive therapy, as conducted by Aaron T. Beck and his associates, is known for effectively teaching clients to modify the kinds of dysfunctional thinking processes that are associated with depression and a number of other disorders. On the other hand, cognitive therapy has developed a reputation for paying too little attention to emotionality and its expression thereof as part of treatment. In spite of this popular viewpoint, it is argued here that cognitive therapy is very much concerned with the appropriate experiencing of affect. Two brief case illustrations are presented that highlight the role of emotion enhancement as an important, congruent component of cognitive therapy. The first case demonstrates the facilitation of positive affect in therapy, while the second case example suggests that the augmentation of negative affect may also be appropriate during the course of cognitive therapy.

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