Impact of Online Emotions and Netiquette on Phubbing from a Gender Perspective: Educational Challenges

During adolescence, the Internet is mainly used for purposes of socialization. Non-verbal elements limit online communication, thus leading to widespread use of emotional resources. It would be preferable if virtual interaction did not reduce the quality of person-to-person contacts, particularly thanks to the adoption of netiquette (respectful treatment of others online). Phubbing, the tendency to check one’s mobile phone during a face-to-face conversation, has become a widespread practice that causes anxiety and can lead to social exclusion. Educating on this behavior could be related with emotional content and with netiquette. This study’s objectives are to analyze the extent to which the use of netiquette and online emotional content are associated with and can predict phubbing, taking gender differences into account. 935 adolescents (ages 12-17, 55,1% female) from 13 schools in the region of Aragon (Spain) responded to our questionnaire. Results are revealing: the level of online emotional content increases the level of phubbing; online emotional expression is the most influential risk factor in both genders; netiquette protects girls to a greater degree. We discuss the educational challenges posed by guaranteeing the responsible use of social networks.

Association of perceived stress and coping strategies with the renal function in middle-aged and older Japanese men and women

Elucidating the risk factors for chronic kidney disease is important for preventing end-stage renal disease and reducing mortality. However, little is known about the roles of psychosocial stress and stress coping behaviors in deterioration of the renal function, as measured by the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). This cross-sectional study of middle-aged and older Japanese men (n = 31,703) and women (n = 38,939) investigated whether perceived stress and coping strategies (emotional expression, emotional support seeking, positive reappraisal, problem solving, and disengagement) were related to the eGFR, with mutual interactions. In multiple linear regression analyses adjusted for age, area, lifestyle factors, and psychosocial variables, we found a significant inverse association between perceived stress and the eGFR in men (Ptrend = 0.02), but not women. This male-specific inverse association was slightly attenuated after adjustment for the history of hypertension and diabetes and was more evident in lower levels of emotional expression (Pinteraction = 0.003). Unexpectedly, problem solving in men (Ptrend < 0.001) and positive reappraisal in women (Ptrend = 0.002) also showed an inverse association with the eGFR. Perceived stress may affect the eGFR, partly through the development of hypertension and diabetes. The unexpected findings regarding coping strategies require the clarification of the underlying mechanisms, including the hormonal and immunological aspects.

How Being Observed Influences Preschoolers’ Emotions Following (Less) Deserving Help

Children sometimes show positive emotions in response to seeing others being helped, yet it remains poorly understood whether there is a strategic value to such emotional expressions. Here, we investigated the influence seeing a peer receive deserving help or not on children’s emotions, which were assessed while the peer was present or not. To measure children’s emotional expression, we used a motion depth sensor imaging camera, which recorded children’s body posture. Five-year-old children (N = 122) worked on a task which yielded greater rewards for them compared to their peer, rendering the peer to be in greater need of help. An adult––who was unaware of the different levels of neediness––then either helped the child who had a lesser need for help (less deserving outcome) or helped the needier peer (deserving outcome). Overall, both children showed a lowered body posture, a more negative emotional expression, after not being helped and an elevated body posture, a more positive emotional expression, after being helped. Seeing their peer (less deservedly) not receive help, and to a lesser extent being observed, blunted children’s otherwise positive emotions in response to receiving help. These results are discussed in the broader theoretical context of how children’s emotions sometimes reflect their commitment to cooperative relationships with peers.

Analysis of differences in variables related to health and safety according to the employment type of Korean workers

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to understand the differences in variables related to health and safety according to the employment type of Korean workers, specifically to identify the differences by employment type on in health status, the likelihood of wearing protective gear when working, access to manuals on emotional expression, and access to information on risk factors related to health and safety. Methods: The secondary data of four items on employment type, health type of workers and safety among the 5th Korean Working Condition Survey conducted in 2017 in Korea was used in this study. The data of workers were processed by using SPSS/WIN 23.0 Program and R 3.1.2, and demographic characteristics were quantified as frequency and percentage. Results: A total of 30,300 employed people were surveyed. The result shows that part-time workers have poorer health than full-time workers (c2 = 540.7155, p < 0.05), insufficiently wore protective gear (c2 = 24.8702, p < 0.05), had insufficient access to manuals on emotional expression (c2 = 27.7612, p < 0.05) and lacked information about risk factors (c2 = 185.0082, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Health and safety manager will need to have education and consultation, development of manual and perform an early intervention to improve safety environment as primary health care providers by understanding factors related to health and safety of part-time workers.

Uses of Facebook and grief: emotional expression and seeking support in social media

This article discusses the use of Facebook in relation to grief by women who have lost a loved one. Qualitative research was carried out using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method, in which 29 bereaved women were interviewed. The results indicate that Facebook is a platform for emotional expression and for seeking support. This research contributes to the understanding of communicative practices in digital media, which blur the boundaries between what is private and public during moments of crisis.

An Interactive Approach to Emotional Expression Through Musical Cues

Previous literature suggests that structural and expressive cues affect the emotion expressed in music. However, only a few systematic explorations of cues have been done, usually focussing on a few cues or a limited amount of predetermined arbitrary cue values. This paper presents three experiments investigating the effect of six cues and their combinations on the music's perceived emotional expression. Twenty-eight musical pieces were created with the aim of providing flexible, ecologically valid, unfamiliar, new stimuli. In Experiment 1, 96 participants assessed which emotions were expressed in the pieces using Likert scale ratings. In Experiment 2, a subset of the stimuli was modified by participants (N = 42) via six available cues (tempo, mode, articulation, pitch, dynamics, and brightness) to convey seven emotions (anger, sadness, fear, joy, surprise, calmness, and power), addressing the main aim of exploring the impact of cue levels to expressions. Experiment 3 investigated how well the variations of the original stimuli created by participants in Experiment 2 expressed their intended emotion. Participants (N = 91) rated them alongside the seven original pieces, allowing the exploration of similarities and differences between the two sets of related pieces. An overall pattern of cue combinations was identified for each emotion. Some findings corroborate previous studies: mode and tempo were the most impactful cues in shaping emotions, and sadness and joy were amongst the most accurately recognised emotions. Novel findings include soft dynamics being used to convey anger, and dynamics and brightness being the least informative cues. These findings provide further motivation to investigate the effect of cues on emotions in music as combinations of multiple cues rather than as individual cues, as one cue might not give enough information to portray a specific emotion. The new findings and discrepancies are discussed in relation to current theories of music and emotions.

Nonverbal Emotions While Disclosing Child Abuse: The Role of Interviewer Support

Statements by alleged victims are important when child abuse is prosecuted; triers-of-fact often attend to nonverbal emotional expressions when evaluating those statements. This study examined the associations among interviewer supportiveness, children’s nonverbal emotions, and informativeness during 100 forensic interviews with alleged victims of child abuse. Raters coded the silent videotapes for children’s nonverbal emotional expressions while other raters coded the transcripts for interviewer support, children’s verbal emotions, and informativeness. Results showed that children’s nonverbal signals were more common than and preceded the verbal signs. Interviewer support was associated with children’s expressivity. When children expressed more nonverbal emotions, they were more responsive during the pre-substantive phases and more informative about the abuse. Nonverbal emotions partially mediated the association between support and informativeness. The findings underline the value of nonverbal emotional expression during forensic interviews and demonstrate how the interviewers’ supportive demeanor can facilitate children’s emotional displays and increase informativeness.

Mental Health Perceptions from Artwork

The relationship between artwork and mental health has been the subject of various research endeavours. Whilst artwork has been long used as a means of emotional expression, it is also a method of raising mental health awareness. In this study, an art collection was presented to depict the challenges faced by many individuals living with a mental illness. Through a series of open-ended questions, twenty-nine participants were requested to give a title to each piece and to describe the perceived message and emotions related to each painting. The thematic analysis process of the participants’ descriptions led to the identification of three themes, namely those of Darkness, Solitude and Recovery. Whilst congruence was often observed between the participants themselves and between the viewers and the artist, discrepancies were also noted. Artwork can be an important medium in addressing stigma and in guiding reflections on mental health topics.