Despite the popularity of the 'pay it forward' (PIF) concept in textbooks and popular culture, to date, no study has tested the effectiveness of a brief, one-time PIF activity on the well-being of ...those who do good and those who receive good. To test this, 83 undergraduates ('givers') performed random kind acts for 1.5 h. PIF resulted in a wide range of well-being benefits for givers (e.g. greater positive and lower negative affect), with females showing greater positive affect benefits. Receivers of kindness (N = 1014) also benefited as evidenced by greater smiling behavior and more sincere smiles vs. controls (N = 251). Of the 48 receivers who completed a follow-up online questionnaire, the majority indicated that they would also PIF, with almost 40% indicating that they already had. Results indicate that a one-time brief PIF intervention can have broad benefits for those involved.
•Current affect predicted some symptoms of depression and anxiety 8–24 h later.•Affect-symptom associations were largely consistent with the tripartite model.•Retrospective assessment generally ...converged with experiences in daily life.
Affective models (e.g., tripartite model) delineate shared and unique components of depression and anxiety. Specifically, negative affect is broadly associated with these symptoms, whereas low positive affect is relatively specific to depression and social anxiety. However, it is unknown how affect relates to symptoms as they occur naturalistically in daily life or as a within-person dynamic process.
135 treatment-seeking adults completed a baseline assessment of trait affect and then rated current affect and symptoms (depression, social anxiety, panic, worry) three times per day for 10 days. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used, and prospective analyses held constant current symptoms.
Baseline trait negative affect and individual differences in momentary negative affect predicted all four symptoms in daily life, whereas low positive affect predicted greater depression only. Similar results were found for within-person concurrent analyses. Prospectively, momentary negative affect predicted increased depression up to 24 h later, and increased panic or worry up to 8–16 h later. Low momentary positive affect predicted greater depression only (8 h later).
All data were self-reported, and some relevant anxiety and mood symptoms were excluded. The timing of reports was random and may have missed notable symptoms. Given the novelty of the study, replication is important.
Affective models of depression and anxiety derived from retrospective assessments demonstrated strong ecological validity. With the exception of PA and social anxiety, associations found at the between-person level generally applied to within-person processes, which may be amenable to tracking and targeting in therapy.
Negative affect is an established predictor of binge eating, yet less is known about positive affect. Low positive affect has been theorized to increase binge eating, but a better understanding is ...needed on the relationship between positive affect and binge eating frequency and size. Participants were 182 treatment-seeking adults (76% self-identified as female; 45% self-identified their race as Black and 40% as White; and 25% self-identified their ethnicity as Hispanic/Latino) with self-reported recurrent binge eating (≥12 binge episodes in the past 3 months). Participants completed the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) survey and the eating disorder examination to assess frequency of objective binge episodes (OBEs) and subjective binge episodes (SBEs) over the past 3 months. OBEs and SBEs also were combined to yield total binge episodes over the past 3 months. Independent
-tests and linear regression analyses were used to test associations between positive affect scores and binge episode size and frequencies, and to compare low versus higher positive affect on binge frequency. Additional exploratory models were conducted controlling for negative affect, identity characteristics, and socio-demographic variables. Lower positive affect was significantly associated with more frequent total binge episodes, but not OBEs and SBEs when assessed independently. Findings remained consistent when controlling for covariates and when comparing individuals with the lowest versus higher positive affect levels. Overall, results lend support to the theory that low positive affect is associated with binge eating. Increasing positive affect may be an important treatment consideration for those with recurrent binge eating.
Existing structural analyses of emotion-regulation (ER) strategies have relied on retrospective, dispositional assessments, ignoring the within-person structure (i.e., intraindividual strategy ...groupings based on momentary covariances) and variability in strategy use across time and contexts. We conducted multilevel exploratory factor analyses on self-reported daily use of 11 strategies (i.e., acceptance, behavioral avoidance, distraction, experiential avoidance, expressive suppression, procrastination, reappraisal, reflection, rumination, savoring, social support) in clinical (N = 129) and student (N = 109) samples with intensive longitudinal designs. At the between-person level, two factors—Engagement and Avoidance—emerged in both samples. A different structure was found at the within-person level, with four factors in the student sample (i.e., Attentional Shift, Acceptance, Avoidance, Emotional Expression) and three in the clinical sample (i.e., Attentional Shift, Avoidance, Emotional Expression). The validity of these factors was examined via their associations with daily internalizing symptoms and affect. Implications for naturalistic ER strategy use and clinical assessment/intervention are discussed.
Two studies explored the similarities and differences between contentment and tranquility. In Study 1, in a sample of college students (N = 154), we examined the degree to which contentment and ...tranquility were associated with different types of pleasurable activities. Whereas contentment was positively associated with mastery activities, tranquility was negatively associated with mastery activities. Tranquility was strongly positively associated with spiritual activities. In Study 2, in a sample of college students (N = 176), using both trait and daily diary assessments, we examined the degree to which contentment and tranquility were associated with the degree to which participants focused on the process-versus the outcome-of activities, as well as their level of acceptance. Both contentment and tranquility were positively associated with acceptance. Tranquility was also positively associated with a focus on process. Based on the results of the present research, we update our theories about contentment and tranquility.
This study examined the growth trajectory of self-concept clarity (SCC) and explored the influence of this trajectory on the development of life satisfaction (LS) and positive affect (PA) among ...Chinese adolescents (N = 2001, 56.97% females). Results of latent growth models showed no significant mean-level change of SCC across three waves in a year. However, significant inter-individual variability was presented in the developmental patterns of SCC over time. Specifically, older adolescents showed higher initial levels of SCC; and males were related to increased SCC in development rates. Moreover, we found gender-specific nature of the relationship between SCC and well-being outcomes (e.g., LS and PA). Our results have significant practical implications for mental health programs in adolescence.
Research on how consumers react to Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) has expanded significantly over the last few years. Scholars have identified the emotions caused by CSI information as an ...important area of research, since emotions drive consumer behavior. This article proposes a research agenda comprising five topics for future research that promise to advance research in this domain. First, research should develop theoretical explanations that clarify the specific role played by individual discrete emotions. Second, while existing research focuses predominantly on negative emotions, future studies could consider how positive emotions that are independent of the crisis might influence reactions to CSI. Third, scholars could explore in more depth the role that emotions play in avoidance responses, since past research has tended to focus predominantly on consumer aggression and retaliation. Fourth, research would benefit from integrating the current cross-sectional approach with a study of emotional dynamics both at the intrapersonal and at the interpersonal level. Finally, research should integrate dominant psychological perspectives with sociocultural conceptualizations of emotions. The article reviews each topic and proposes specific research questions for each of the areas identified.
关于消费者对企业社会责任缺失 (CSI) 的反应的研究在过去几年里有了显著的扩展. 学者们已经将 CSI 信息所引起的情绪作为一个重要的研究领域, 因为情绪驱动着消费者的行为. 这篇文章提出了一个研究议程, 包括五个未来研究的主题, 承诺推进该领域的研究. 首先, 研究应该发展理论解释, 阐明个体离散情绪所起的具体作用. 其次, 虽然现有的研究主要集中在负面情绪上, 但未来的研究可以考虑独立于危机之外的积极情绪如何影响人们对 CSI 的反应. 第三, 学者们可以更深入地探讨情绪在回避反应中扮演的角色, 因为过去的研究往往主要关注消费者的攻击性和报复行为. 第四, 研究将受益于整合目前的横向研究方法与在个人内部和人际关系水平的情感动态的研究. 最后, 研究应将主流心理学观点与社会文化的情感概念化相结合. 这篇文章回顾了每个主题, 并为每个确定的领域提出了具体的研究问题.
Scholars have assumed that the presence of negative emotions during task conflict implies the absence of positive emotions. However, emotions researchers have shown that positive and negative ...emotions are not 2 ends of a bipolar continuum; rather, they represent 2 separate, orthogonal dimensions. Drawing on affective events theory, we develop and test hypotheses about the effects of task conflict on positive emotions and job satisfaction. To this end, we distinguish among the frequency, intensity, and information gained from task conflict. Using field data from 232 employees in a long-term health care organization, we find that more frequent mild task conflict expression engenders more information acquisition, but more frequent intense task conflict expression hinders it. Because of the information gains from mild task conflict expression, employees feel more active, energized, interested, and excited, and these positive active emotions increase job satisfaction. The information gained during task conflict, however, is not always energizing: It depends on the extent to which the behavioral context involves active learning and whether the conflict is cross-functional. We discuss theoretical implications for conflict, emotions, and job satisfaction in organizations.
Numerous major holidays celebrate socially gathering in person. However, in major holidays that happened during the pandemic, desires to nurture relationships and maintain holiday traditions often ...conflicted with physical distancing and other measures to protect against COVID-19. The current research sought to understand wellbeing during American Thanksgiving in 2020, which happened 8months into the COVID-19 pandemic, after months of physical distancing and stay-at-home orders. American Thanksgiving is a major holiday not limited to any religion. We asked 404 American adults how they spent Thanksgiving Day and to report on their experiences of that day. Predictors of wellbeing that we drew from self-determination theory were satisfaction of the fundamental needs for social connection (relatedness), for doing what one really wants (autonomy), and feeling effective (competence). The predictors of wellbeing that we drew from regulatory focus theory were a focus on growth (promotion), and a focus on security (prevention). We found that feeling socially connected and focusing on growth related most strongly to wellbeing. Additionally, participants who saw even one other person face-to-face reported significantly higher relatedness satisfaction, promotion focus, and wellbeing than those who did not. Our research could help construct persuasive messages that encourage nurturing close relationships at major holidays while remaining safe against the virus.
The assumption of positivity or experimental treatment assignment requires that observed treatment levels vary within confounder strata. This article discusses the positivity assumption in the ...context of assessing model and parameter-specific identifiability of causal effects. Positivity violations occur when certain subgroups in a sample rarely or never receive some treatments of interest. The resulting sparsity in the data may increase bias with or without an increase in variance and can threaten valid inference. The parametric bootstrap is presented as a tool to assess the severity of such threats and its utility as a diagnostic is explored using simulated and real data. Several approaches for improving the identifiability of parameters in the presence of positivity violations are reviewed. Potential responses to data sparsity include restriction of the covariate adjustment set, use of an alternative projection function to define the target parameter within a marginal structural working model, restriction of the sample, and modification of the target intervention. All of these approaches can be understood as trading off proximity to the initial target of inference for identifiability; we advocate approaching this tradeoff systematically.
PDF
