scholarly journals Filing for Moral Bankruptcy: An Examination of How Affect and Empathy Predict Moral Competence

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Nicholas Surdel ◽  
Marina A. Klimenko
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Moral Competence ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Mercy Killing ◽  
Negative Affective State

What does being moral mean? On one hand people may justify mercy killing as sparing omeone’s suffering, but on the other hand they are still, in-fact, taking another’s life. According to Lind’s theory of moral competence (2008), it is based on consistent utilization of moral principles. Although common sense tells us that people’s affective states and levels of empathy may explain the differences, there is little direct evidence. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by examining the relative contribution of empathy and affective state to moral competence. Results of the study revealed that although perspective taking and negative affective state were both significant predictors of moral competence, perspective taking was a stronger contributor. This suggests that the next time you deliberate over a moral dilemma (e.g., euthanasia), you should try understanding another person’s perspective rather than feeling empathy to make the best moral judgment.

scholarly journals Pair-bonding influences affective state in a monogamous fish species

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1904) ◽  
pp. 20190760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Laubu ◽  
Philippe Louâpre ◽  
François-Xavier Dechaume-Moncharmont
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Monogamous Species ◽  
Judgement Bias ◽  
Negative Affective State ◽  
Human Specific

In humans, affective states are a key component in pair-bonding, particularly in the early stage of a relationship. Pairing with a high-quality partner elicits positive affective states which, in turn, validate and reinforce the mate choice. Affective states thus strongly affect pair stability and future reproductive success. We propose generalizing the link between affective states and pair-bonding to encompass other monogamous species exhibiting biparental care, chiefly where the reproductive success of the pair critically depends on the coordination between partners. The convict cichlid Amatitlania siquia is a monogamous fish species that forms long-lasting pairs with strong cooperation between parents for parental care. In this species, we showed that females paired with their non-preferred male had lower reproductive success than those paired with their preferred male. We then transposed the judgement bias paradigm, previously used in other animal species, to assess objectively affective states in fishes. Females that were assigned their non-preferred partner exhibited pessimistic bias, which indicates a negative affective state. By contrast, females that were assigned their preferred partner did not exhibit changes in their affective state. Our results highlight that the influence of pair-bonding on affective states is not human-specific and can also be observed in non-human species.

scholarly journals A break from the pups: The effects of loft access on the welfare of lactating laboratory rats

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253020
Author(s):  
Anna S. Ratuski ◽  
Daniel M. Weary
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Laboratory Rats ◽  
Plus Maze ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Measured Time ◽  
Anticipatory Behavior ◽  
Time Away ◽  
Negative Affective State

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) bred for research are typically confined with their litters until weaning, but will spend time away from pups when given the opportunity. We aimed to assess how dam welfare is affected by the ability to escape from their pups. Rat dams (n = 16) were housed in cages either with or without an elevated loft. We measured time dams spent in lofts, time spent nursing, and affective states using elevated plus maze and anticipatory behavior testing. We predicted that 1) dams housed with lofts would use them increasingly as pups aged, 2) dams without a loft would spend more time passively nursing (i.e. initiated by pups rather than the dam) and more total time nursing as pups aged, and 3) dams housed with lofts would show evidence of a more positive affective state. Dams housed with lofts spent more time in the loft with increasing pup age; dams spent on average (mean ± SE) 27 ± 5% of their time in the loft when pups were 1 wk old, increasing to 52 ± 5% of their time at 3 wks. When pups were 3 wks old, dams with lofts spent less time passively nursing (10 ± 2% of total time, compared to 27 ± 4% for dams without a loft) and less time nursing overall (36 ± 4% of time versus 59 ± 2% for dams without a loft). Rats without loft access showed increased anticipatory behavior potentially indicative of negative affective state (24.5±1.8 behaviors per minute in wk 3 compared to 18.8±1.0 in wk 1). These findings indicate that rat dams in laboratories choose to spend time away from their pups when provided the opportunity, particularly later in lactation; an inability to do so is associated with increased passive nursing and negative affect.

scholarly journals Towards estimating affective states in Virtual Reality based on behavioral data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Holzwarth ◽  
Johannes Schneider ◽  
Joshua Handali ◽  
Joy Gisler ◽  
Christian Hirt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
User Study ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Physical Demand ◽  
Perceived Performance ◽  
Sequential Administration ◽  
Better Than

AbstractInferring users’ perceptions of Virtual Environments (VEs) is essential for Virtual Reality (VR) research. Traditionally, this is achieved through assessing users’ affective states before and after being exposed to a VE, based on standardized, self-assessment questionnaires. The main disadvantage of questionnaires is their sequential administration, i.e., a user’s affective state is measured asynchronously to its generation within the VE. A synchronous measurement of users’ affective states would be highly favorable, e.g., in the context of adaptive systems. Drawing from nonverbal behavior research, we argue that behavioral measures could be a powerful approach to assess users’ affective states in VR. In this paper, we contribute by providing methods and measures evaluated in a user study involving 42 participants to assess a users’ affective states by measuring head movements during VR exposure. We show that head yaw significantly correlates with presence, mental and physical demand, perceived performance, and system usability. We also exploit the identified relationships for two practical tasks that are based on head yaw: (1) predicting a user’s affective state, and (2) detecting manipulated questionnaire answers, i.e., answers that are possibly non-truthful. We found that affective states can be predicted significantly better than a naive estimate for mental demand, physical demand, perceived performance, and usability. Further, manipulated or non-truthful answers can also be estimated significantly better than by a naive approach. These findings mark an initial step in the development of novel methods to assess user perception of VEs.

scholarly journals The Interpretation of E-Motions in Faces and Bodies Derived from Static Artworks by Individuals with High Functioning Autistic Spectrum

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Maria Elisa Della-Torre ◽  
Daniele Zavagno ◽  
Rossana Actis-Grosso
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Dynamic Component ◽  
Specific Emotion ◽  
Similar Range

E-motions are defined as those affective states the expressions of which—conveyed either by static faces or body posture—embody a dynamic component and, consequently, convey a higher sense of dynamicity than other emotional expressions. An experiment is presented, aimed at testing whether e-motions are perceived as such also by individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which have been associated with impairments in emotion recognition and in motion perception. To this aim we replicate with ASD individuals a study, originally conducted with typically developed individuals (TDs), in which we showed to both ASD and TD participants 14 bodiless heads and 14 headless bodies taken from eleven static artworks and four drawings. The Experiment was divided into two sessions. In Session 1 participants were asked to freely associate each stimulus to an emotion or an affective state (Task 1, option A); if they were unable to find a specific emotion, the experimenter showed them a list of eight possible emotions (words) and asked them to choose one from such list, that best described the affective state portrayed in the image (Task 1, option B). After their choice, they were asked to rate the intensity of the perceived emotion on a seven point Likert scale (Task 2). In Session 2 participants were requested to evaluate the degree of dynamicity conveyed by each stimulus on a 7 point Likert scale. Results showed that ASDs and TDs shared a similar range of verbal expressions defining emotions; however, ASDs (i) showed an impairment in the ability to spontaneously assign an emotion to a headless body, and (ii) they more frequently used terms denoting negative emotions (for both faces and bodies) as compared to neutral emotions, which in turn were more frequently used by TDs. No difference emerged between the two groups for positive emotions, with happiness being the emotion better recognized in both faces and in bodies. Although overall there are no significant differences between the two groups with respect to the emotions assigned to the images and the degree of perceived dynamicity, the interaction Artwork x Group showed that for some images ASDs assigned a different value than TDs to perceived dynamicity. Moreover, two images were interpreted by ASDs as conveying completely different emotions than those perceived by TDs. Results are discussed in light of the ability of ASDs to resolve ambiguity, and of possible different cognitive styles characterizing the aesthetical/emotional experience.

scholarly journals Effects of Classroom Activities on Affective State—A Comparison of Third and Fifth Graders

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fartoukh ◽  
Lucile Chanquoy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Educational Psychology ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Fifth Graders ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
School Day

<p>We analysed the influence of classroom activities on children’s affective states. Children perform many different activities in the course of an ordinary school day, some of which may trigger changes in their affective state and thus in the availability of their cognitive resources and their degree of motivation. To observe the effects of two such activities (listening to a text and performing a dictation) on affective state, according to grade, we asked 39 third graders and 40 fifth graders to specify their affective state at several points in the day. Results showed that this state varied from one activity to another, and was also dependent on grade level. Third graders differed from fifth graders in the feelings elicited by the activities. The possible implications of these findings for the field of educational psychology and children’s academic performance are discussed.</p>

scholarly journals The Effect of Human–Horse Interactions on Equine Behaviour, Physiology, and Welfare: A Scoping Review

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2782
Author(s):  
Katherine Jennifer Kelly ◽  
Laurie Anne McDuffee ◽  
Kimberly Mears
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Positive Affective State ◽  
Permanent Effect ◽  
Equine Welfare ◽  
Equine Industry ◽  
Negative Affective State

Human–horse interactions (HHIs) are diverse and prominent in the equine industry. Stakeholders have an invested interest in making sure that HHIs are humane. Assessment of equine welfare goes beyond physical health and includes assessment of the emotional state of the animal. HHIs can have a permanent effect on human–horse relationships, thereby influencing welfare. Therefore, an understanding of the horse’s affective state during HHIs is necessary. A scoping review was conducted to: (1) map current practices related to the measurement of HHIs; (2) explore the known effects of HHIs on horse behaviour and physiology; and (3) clarify the connection between HHIs and equine welfare. A total of 45 articles were included in this review. Studies that used both physiological and behavioural measures of equine response to human interactions accounted for 42% of the included studies. A further 31% exclusively used physiological measures and 27% used behavioural observation. Current evidence of equine welfare during HHIs is minimal and largely based on the absence of a negative affective state during imposed interactions. Broadening the scope of methods to evaluate a positive affective state and standardization of methodology to assess these states would improve the overall understanding of the horse’s welfare during HHIs.

scholarly journals Intelligent Monitoring of Affective Factors Underlying Sport Performance by Means of Wearable and Mobile Technology

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (19) ◽  
pp. 1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Bailon ◽  
Miguel Damas ◽  
Hector Pomares ◽  
Daniel Sanabria ◽  
Pandelis Perakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Sport Performance ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Complete Evaluation ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The fluctuation of affective states is a contributing factor to sport performance variability. The context surrounding athletes during their daily life and the evolution of their physiological variables beyond sport events are relevant factors, as they modulate the affective state of the subject over time. However, traditional procedures to assess the affective state are limited to self-reported questionnaires within controlled settings, thus removing the impact of the context. This work proposes a multimodal, context-aware platform that combines the data acquired through smartphones and wearable sensors to assess the affective state of the athlete. The platform is aimed at ubiquitously monitoring the fluctuations of affective states during longitudinal studies within naturalistic environments, overcoming the limitations of previous studies and allowing for the complete evaluation of the factors that could modulate the affective state. This system will also facilitate and expedite the analysis of the relationship between affective states and sport performance.

scholarly journals Losing stinks! The effect of competition outcome on body odour quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1800) ◽  
pp. 20190267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitka Fialová ◽  
Vít Třebický ◽  
Radim Kuba ◽  
David Stella ◽  
Jakub Binter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Formal Level ◽  
Body Odour ◽  
Axillary Odour

Dominance hierarchy is often established via repeated agonistic encounters where consistent winners are considered dominant. Human body odour contains cues to psychological dominance and competition, but it is not known whether competition outcome (a marker of a change in dominance hierarchy) affects the hedonic quality of human axillary odour. Therefore, we investigated the effect of winning and losing on odour quality. We collected odour samples from Mixed Martial Arts fighters approximately 1 h before and immediately after a match. Raters then assessed samples for pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity and intensity. We also obtained data on donors' affective state and cortisol and testosterone levels, since these are known to be associated with competition and body odour quality. Perceived body odour pleasantness, attractiveness and intensity significantly decreased while masculinity increased after a match irrespective of the outcome. Nonetheless, losing a match affected the pleasantness of body odour more profoundly, though bordering formal level of significance. Moreover, a path analysis revealed that match loss led to a decrease in odour attractiveness, which was mediated by participants’ negative affective states. Our study suggests that physical competition and to some extent also its outcome affect the perceived quality of human body odour in specific real-life settings, thus providing cues to dominance-related characteristics. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Olfactory communication in humans’.

THE INTERACTION OF INTUITION AND RATIONALITY DURING ESCALATED NPD DECISIONS: AN INVESTIGATION OF DECISION-MAKERS’ AFFECTIVE STATES

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 2050033
Author(s):  
TOBIAS ROETH ◽  
PATRICK SPIETH ◽  
VERENA JOACHIM
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Escalating Commitment ◽  
Decision Making Styles ◽  
Intuitive Decision Making ◽  
Affect Infusion Model ◽  
Commitment Escalation

Decision-makers often struggle to terminate unsuccessful new product development (NPD) projects, so that escalating commitment occurs. Although research shows that rational and intuitive decision-making styles (DMS) as well as a decision-maker’s affective state determines the performance of NPD decisions, little is known about their influences on escalating commitment. By applying the affect infusion model in an experimental study, we investigate how a decision-maker’s affective state influence their escalating commitment by focusing on their use of a rational and an intuitive DMS. Our findings, based on 366 respondents, show that a rational DMS is unable to reduce commitment escalation. Surprisingly, an intuitive DMS is able to reduce a decision-maker’s commitment in the case of a positive affect, whereas a rational DMS increases their commitment in the case of a negative affect. Thus, our interdisciplinary research on affect and decision-making extends and contributes to research into decision-making during the NPD process as well as into escalating commitment.

scholarly journals Virtue ethics: an approach to moral dilemmas in nursing

Curationis ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Arries
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Moral Agent ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
The One

Nurses are increasingly confronted with situations of moral difficulty, such as not to feed terminally ill patients, whistle blowing, or participation in termination of pregnancy. Most of these moral dilemmas are often analyzed using the principle-based approach which applies the four moral principles of justice, autonomy, beneficence, and nonmalificence. In some instances, consequentialism is considered, but these frameworks have their limitations. Their limitations has to do with a consideration for the interpersonal nature of clinical nursing practice on the one hand, and is not always clear on how to judge which consequences are best on the other hand. When principles are in conflict it is not always easy to decide which principle should dominate. Furthermore, these frameworks do not take into account the importance of the interpersonal and emotional element of human experience. On the contrary, decision making about moral issues in healthcare demands that nurses exercise rational control over emotions. This clearly focuses the attention on the nurse as moral agent and in particular their character. In this article I argue that virtue ethics as an approach, which focus of the character of a person, might provide a more holistic analysis of moral dilemmas in nursing and might facilitate more flexible and creative solutions when combined with other theories of moral decision-making. Advancing this argument, firstly, I provide the central features of virtue ethics. Secondly I describe a story in which a moral dilemma is evident. Lastly I apply virtue ethics as an approach to this moral dilemma and in particular focusing on the virtues inherent in the nurse as moral agent in the story.

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