Positive Affect (positive + affect)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Psychology


Selected Abstracts


Affective Match in Leadership: Leader Emotional Displays, Follower Positive Affect, and Follower Performance,

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
Frederic Damen
Leader emotions may play an important role in leadership effectiveness. Extending earlier research on leader emotional displays and leadership effectiveness, we propose that the affective match between follower positive affect (PA) and leaders' emotional displays moderates the effectiveness of leader emotional displays. Leader display of emotions has more positive effects on follower behavior if the match between the valence of leader emotion and follower PA is strong rather than weak. Support for this hypothesis was found in 2 experiments. Congruency between leader emotional displays and follower PA determined follower task performance and extra-role compliance. Results from the second experiment indicated that this effect is a due to affective aspects of leader behavior and not to the valence of message content. [source]


Maternal Socialization of Positive Affect: The Impact of Invalidation on Adolescent Emotion Regulation and Depressive Symptomatology

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2008
Marie B. H. Yap
This study examined the relations among maternal socialization of positive affect (PA), adolescent emotion regulation (ER), and adolescent depressive symptoms. Two hundred early adolescents, 11,13 years old, provided self-reports of ER strategies and depressive symptomatology; their mothers provided self-reports of socialization responses to adolescent PA. One hundred and sixty-three mother,adolescent dyads participated in 2 interaction tasks. Adolescents whose mothers responded in an invalidating or "dampening" manner toward their PA displayed more emotionally dysregulated behaviors and reported using maladaptive ER strategies more frequently. Adolescents whose mothers dampened their PA more frequently during mother,adolescent interactions, and girls whose mothers reported invalidating their PA, reported more depressive symptoms. Adolescent use of maladaptive ER strategies mediated the association between maternal invalidation of PA and early adolescents' concurrent depressive symptoms. [source]


Hope as a psychological resilience factor in mothers and fathers of children with intellectual disabilities

JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 12 2009
T. J. Lloyd
Abstract Background Positive psychology is an area gaining credence within the field of intellectual disability (ID). Hope is one facet of positive psychology that is relatively unstudied in parents of children with ID. In the present study, we explore hope and its relationships with parental well-being in parents of school-aged children with ID. Method A total of 138 mothers and 58 fathers of children with ID took part in a questionnaire-based study. Parents reported on their feelings of hope and positive affect, other dimensions of psychological well-being (anxiety, depression and stress), and on their child's behaviour. For this study, hope was measured as a goal driven behaviour comprising two components: agency (the perception that one can reach his/her goals) and pathways (the perception that one can find alternative routes to reach these goals should the need arise). Results For mothers, regression analyses revealed that lower levels of hope (agency and pathways) and more child behaviour problems predicted maternal depression. Positive affect was predicted by less problematic child behaviour and by higher levels of hope agency. For fathers, anxiety and depression were predicted by low hope agency and positive affect was predicted by high hope agency. Hope pathways was not a significant predictor of paternal well-being. Hope agency and pathways interacted in the prediction of maternal depression such that mothers reporting high levels of both hope dimensions reported the lowest levels of depressive symptoms. Conclusions Hope is a construct that merits further investigation within families research, and is potentially a factor that could be utilised in intervention to help increase familial well-being. [source]


Neuroticism and Social Comparison Orientation as Moderators of Affective Responses to Social Comparison at Work

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2001
Bram P. Buunk
In a study among 72 nurses, the affective consequences of social comparison were examined and related to neuroticism (N) and to social comparison orientation (SCO). Participants were confronted with a bogus interview with an upward versus a downward comparison target. Positive affect and identification were higher, and negative affect was lower, in the upward than in the downward comparison condition. Independent of their SCO, the higher individuals were in N, the less they identified with the upward comparison target, the more they identified with the downward comparison target, and the less positive affect they showed following confrontation with the upward comparison target. In contrast, independent of their level of N, the higher individuals were in SCO, the more negative affect they showed following confrontation with the downward comparison target. The effects on negative affect stayed the same when controlling for positive affect, and the effects on positive affect stayed the same when controlling for negative affect. These effects were also obtained when perceived direction was used as a predictor instead of the experimentally manipulated direction. It is concluded that, although N and SCO are correlated, these variables seem to have independent and distinct effects upon the responses to social comparison information. [source]


Exploring the role of emotion in conflict transformation

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2009
Jessica Katz Jameson
This study examines the idea that attention to emotion in conflict management leads to conflict transformation. An experimental design compared mediated and negotiated conflict simulations in which participants were primed to discuss emotions as they moved toward agreement. Participants in the mediation group reported increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and improved perception of other following the simulation. The negotiation group reported decreased positive affect, increased negative affect, and no difference in perception of other, yet they reported increased satisfaction. Mediated agreements included reference to the ongoing relationship, whereas negotiated agreements included tit-for-tat arrangements. Implications for organizational conflict management are discussed. [source]


Psychometric evaluation of a measure of Beck's negative cognitive triad for youth: applications for African,American and Caucasian adolescents

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 4 2005
Leilani Greening
Abstract A measure of Beck's negative cognitive triad, the Cognitive Triad for Children (CTI-C), was evaluated for its psychometric properties and utility with a community sample of 880 African,American and Caucasian adolescents. High-school students ranging from 14 to 17 years of age completed the CTI-C, the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire-Revised (CASQ-R) on two occasions 4 months apart. The CTI-C was found to be internally consistent, Cronbach's ,=.90, to have acceptable test-retest reliability, r=.70, and concurrent validity as demonstrated by a significant correlation with the CASQ-R, r=.53. A principal factor analysis with promax rotation did not yield support for Beck's tripartite model of negative cognitions about the self, world, and future but rather yielded three factors with a combination of cognitions from all three domains. African American adolescents who reported more maladaptive cognitions on the CTI-C reported fewer depressive symptoms on the CDI 4 months later compared to their Caucasian counterparts, suggesting some limitation to using the CTI-C to predict depressive symptoms in African,American youth; however, Factor 1 derived from a factor analysis with the sample was more consistent in predicting future symptoms among both African,American and Caucasian adolescents. This factor consisted largely of positively worded items, offering some support for low positive affect as a predictor of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Depression and Anxiety 21:161,169, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The effects of selective breeding for differential rates of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations on emotional behavior in rats

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
Jeffrey Burgdorf
Abstract Fifty-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations have previously been shown to be positively correlated with reward and appetitive social behavior in rats, and to reflect a positive affective state. In this study, rats selectively bred for high and low rates of 50-kHz vocalizations as juveniles were tested as adults in a battery of behavioral tests for social/emotional behaviors. We found that animals selectively bred for high rates of 50-kHz vocalizations exhibited more crosses into the center area of the open field apparatus, were more likely to show a preference for a dilute sucrose solution (.8%) compared to tap water, and were less aggressive than randomly bred animals. Conversely, animals bred for low rates of 50-kHz calls produced more fecal boli during both open field testing and "tickling" stimulation, and made less contact with conspecifics in a social interaction test compared to randomly bred animals. We also observed that low line rats have elevated brain levels of cholecystokinin (CCK) in the cortex, which is consistent with literature showing that CCK content in the cortex is positively correlated with rates of aversive 22-kHz USVs. Conversely, high line animals had elevated levels of met-enkephalin in several brain regions, which is consistent with the role of endogenous-opioids in the generation 50-kHz USVs and positive affect. These results suggest that animals bred for high rates of 50-kHz may show a stress resilient phenotype, whereas low line rats may show a stress prone phenotype. As such these animals could provide novel insights into the neurobiology of emotion. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 51: 34,46, 2009 [source]


Subjective social status affects smoking abstinence during acute withdrawal through affective mediators

ADDICTION, Issue 5 2010
Lorraine R. Reitzel
ABSTRACT Objectives Direct and mediated associations between subjective social status (SSS), a subjective measure of socio-economic status, and smoking abstinence were examined during the period of acute withdrawal among a diverse sample of 421 smokers (33% Caucasian, 34% African American, 33% Latino) undergoing a quit attempt. Methods Logistic regressions examined relations between SSS and abstinence, controlling for socio-demographic variables. Depression, stress, positive affect and negative affect on the quit day were examined as potential affective mediators of the SSS-abstinence association, with and without adjusting for pre-quit mediator scores. Results SSS predicted abstinence to 2 weeks post-quit. Abstinence rates were 2.6 (postquit week 1) and 2.4 (postquit week 2) times higher in the highest versus the lowest SSS quartile. Depression and positive affect mediated the SSS,abstinence relationships, but only depression maintained significance when adjusting for the baseline mediator score. Conclusions Among a diverse sample of quitting smokers, low SSS predicted relapse during acute withdrawal after controlling for numerous covariates, an effect accounted for partially by quit day affective symptomatology. Smokers endorsing lower SSS face significant hurdles in achieving cessation, highlighting the need for targeted interventions encompassing attention to quit day mood reactivity. [source]


Modeling mood variation associated with smoking: an application of a heterogeneous mixed-effects model for analysis of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data

ADDICTION, Issue 2 2009
Donald Hedeker
ABSTRACT Aims Mixed models are used increasingly for analysis of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data. The variance parameters of the random effects, which indicate the degree of heterogeneity in the population of subjects, are considered usually to be homogeneous across subjects. Modeling these variances can shed light on interesting hypotheses in substance abuse research. Design We describe how these variances can be modeled in terms of covariates to examine the covariate effects on between-subjects variation, focusing on positive and negative mood and the degree to which these moods change as a function of smoking. Setting The data are drawn from an EMA study of adolescent smoking. Participants Participants were 234 adolescents, either in 9th or 10th grades, who provided EMA mood reports from both random prompts and following smoking events. Measurements We focused on two mood outcomes: measures of the subject's negative and positive affect and several covariates: gender, grade, negative mood regulation and smoking level. Findings and conclusions Following smoking, adolescents experienced higher positive affect and lower negative affect than they did at random, non-smoking times. Our analyses also indicated an increased consistency of subjective mood responses as smoking experience increased and a diminishing of mood change. [source]


Change processes in residential cognitive therapy for bulimia nervosa

EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 5 2010
Asle Hoffart
Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships of process variables derived from the cognitive model of bulimia nervosa (BN) and weekly outcome. The participants were 39 patients with BN or subthreshold bulimia consecutively admitted to an inpatient treatment program for bulimia. Theory-derived process and outcome variables were measured repeatedly during the course of therapy with a gap of a week between each measurement. The data were analysed with time series methods (ARIMA). Weekly variations in the process variables: self-efficacy about resisting binge eating, dysfunctional beliefs, negative affect and positive affect influenced variations in subsequent outcome, whereas weekly outcome did not influence subsequent process. These results are consistent with the cognitive model of BN and suggest that self-efficacy, dysfunctional beliefs, negative affect and positive affect are potential targets for treatment that need further investigation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source]


The effect of state extraversion on four types of affect

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 1 2010
J. Murray McNiel
Abstract The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of state extraversion on different types of affect. Ninety six participants were instructed to be extraverted or introverted in a 10-minute dyadic discussion. State extraversion had a strong effect on positive affect and smaller (but still strong) effects on pleasant and activated affect, with these latter two effects almost equal in magnitude. This pattern of findings appears to increase confidence that the effect of state extraversion is genuine rather than the result of construct overlap, in that extraversion's effect on positive affect is not dominated by its effect on activated affect. No support for reward sensitivity as a potential explanatory mechanism was found. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Constructive thinking as a mediator of the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism, and subjective well-being

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2005
Peter Rustin Harris
Mechanisms by which personality affects well-being are not well understood. Following recommendations to examine intermediate process variables that may help explain the personality,subjective well-being (SWB) relationship, the authors tested whether constructive thinking (CT) mediated the relationships between both neuroticism and extraversion and SWB components. Measures of each construct were administered to 147 undergraduate volunteers twice over four weeks. In analyses controlling for time 1 SWB and time 2 mood, time 2 CT fully mediated the relationship between time 1 neuroticism and time 2 negative affect and emerged as a strong predictor of negative affect (inversely), positive affect, and happiness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Discontented people: reactivity and locus of control as determinants of subjective well-being

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 1 2001
Tatiana Klonowicz
This study examines the effects of reactivity temperament and locus of control variables on subjective well-being (SWB). SWB is operationalized as positive affect, the absence of somatic concerns, and heightened life satisfaction. The study hypotheses were that (1) reactivity and locus of control influenced SWB and that (2) affect either mediated or moderated the influence of these traits on SWB. As expected, high reactivity and external locus of control were associated with lower SWB, whereas low reactivity and internal locus of control were associated with higher SWB. However, the data indicate that reactivity and locus of control influenced different components of SWB and that locus of control predicted SWB more consistently than reactivity. Somatic health is influenced by reactivity, locus of control and negative affect, but not positive affect. Current life satisfaction is influenced by locus of control,but not reactivity,and by both positive and negative affect. Hope is related to reactivity but not to either locus of control or affect. The data corroborate the expectation that affect serves as a mediator in the trait,SWB relations, whereas the view that affect moderates the effect of stable dispositions on SWB finds scant support. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The affective consequences of social comparison as related to professional burnout and social comparison orientation

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2001
Bram P. Buunk
In a study among sociotherapists, the affective consequences of social comparison were examined and related to professional burnout and to individual differences in social comparison orientation. Participants were confronted with a bogus interview with an upward versus a downward comparison target. Upward comparison generated more positive and less negative affect than did downward comparison. Increasing levels of burnout were accompanied by less positive affect in response to upward comparison. Moreover, the higher the level of burnout, the more negative affect a description of a downward comparison target evoked, but only among individuals high in social comparison orientation. Finally, the higher the level of burnout, the higher the identification with the downward target, and the lower the identification with the upward target. However, this last effect did occur only among those low in social comparison orientation. Those high in social comparison orientation kept identifying with the upward target, even when they were high in burnout. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Links between Community Violence and the Family System: Evidence from Children's Feelings of Relatedness and Perceptions of Parent Behavior,

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 3 2002
Michael Lynch Ph.D.
In this study, we examined some of the ways in which broader ecological systems may influence the organization of behavior within the family system. Specifically, links between exposure to community violence and children's relationships with maternal caregivers were investigated in a sample of 127 urban children between the ages of 7 and 13 years. Children were asked to indicate whether they had been exposed to a wide variety of violent events. In addition, their feelings of relatedness and separation anxiety, and their perceptions of maternal behavior were assessed. It was expected that exposure to community violence would be associated with feeling less secure with caregivers. Consistent with predictions from ecological-transactional theory, data supported this hypothesis. Children who reported that they had been exposed to high levels of community violence also indicated that they felt less positive affect when with their caregiver, were dissatisfied with how close they felt to her, felt more separation anxiety, and reported more negative maternal behavior than children exposed to less violence. Findings are discussed in terms of how violence may affect the family system and the protective function of human attachment. [source]


Family Caregivers' Patterns of Positive and Negative Affect,

FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 1 2007
Suzanne M. Robertson
Abstract: Stressful and positive family caregiving experiences were examined as predictors of caregivers' patterns of positive and negative affect in a sample of families providing care for a relative with dementia (N= 234). Four affect pattern groups were identified: (a) Well Adjusted (i.e., high positive affect, low negative affect); (b) Ambiguous (i.e., low on both positive and negative affect); (c) Intense (i.e., high on both positive and negative affect); and (d) Distressed (i.e., high negative affect, low positive affect). A multivariate model that included demographic characteristics and indicators of stressful and positive experiences of caregiving yielded 2 significant discriminant functions that served to classify caregivers correctly into their known affect groups. Implications for improving intervention efforts targeting family caregivers are discussed. [source]


Antecedents and outcomes of workplace incivility: Implications for human resource development research and practice

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2009
Thomas G. Reio Jr.
This cross-sectional, correlational study (N = 402) examined the relationships among select demographics, workplace adaptation, employee affect, and incivility and physical health and job satisfaction. The paper-and-pencil survey battery consisted of nine scales. The hypotheses were tested through correlational, factor analytic, and hierarchical regression analytic procedures. Younger males engaged more frequently in uncivil behavior. After statistically controlling for the demographic variables, high negative affect and low degree of establishing relationships with coworkers and supervisors (adaptation) predicted more incivility. For the physical health model, establishing relationships with coworkers and positive affect positively contributed to perceived physical health, while organizational incivility negatively contributed to the dependent variable. As for the job satisfaction model, establishing relationships with coworkers and supervisors and positive affect positively predicted satisfaction, whereas negative affect and incivility made negative contributions to the regression equation. In all cases, the magnitude of effect ranged from medium to large, supporting the theoretical, empirical, and practical relevance of understanding the detrimental effects of uncivil behaviors on organizational outcomes. HRD researchers and professionals are highlighted as possible means for reducing uncivil workplace behaviors and improving organizational performance. [source]


Infant Affect During Parent,Infant Interaction at 3 and 6 Months: Differences Between Mothers and Fathers and Influence of Parent History of Depression

INFANCY, Issue 1 2004
Erika E. Forbes
Fifty families participated in mother-infant and father-infant still-face interaction at infant ages 3 and 6 months as part of a study of affect in early parent-infant relationships. Infants' positive and negative affect and parents' positive affect and physical play were coded from videotapes. Consistent with previous research, during the normal condition, mothers displayed more positive affect than did fathers, and fathers were more likely than mothers to display physical play. Infants were more positive with mothers than with fathers. Parents' positive affect but not parent gender predicted infants' positive affect at 6 months. During the still-face condition, infants of parents with a lifetime history of depression were more likely to display negative affect and less likely to display positive affect than infants with no such parent history. Infants' affect was unrelated to parents' current level of depressive symptoms, which indicates the value of considering family history of psychopathology when examining individual differences in infants' affect. [source]


Infants' Behavioral Strategies for Emotion Regulation With Fathers and Mothers: Associations With Emotional Expressions and Attachment Quality

INFANCY, Issue 2 2002
Marissa L. Diener
This study examined 12- and 13-month-old infants' behavioral strategies for emotion regulation, emotional expressions, regulatory styles, and attachment quality with fathers and mothers. Eighty-five infants participated in the Strange Situation procedure to assess attachment quality with mothers and fathers. Infants' behavioral strategies for emotion regulation were examined with each parent during a competing demands task. Emotion regulation styles were meaningfully related to infant-father attachment quality. Although expressions of distress and positive affect were not consistent across mothers and fathers, there was consistency in infant strategy use, emotion regulation style, and attachment quality with mothers and fathers. Furthermore, infants who were securely attached to both parents showed greater consistency in parent-oriented strategies than infants who were insecurely attached to one or both parents. Limitations of this study include the constrained laboratory setting, potential carryover effects, and a homogeneous, middle-class sample. [source]


Parenting and child behaviour problems: a longitudinal analysis of non-shared environment

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2009
Paula Y. Mullineaux
Abstract This study examined potential non-shared environmental processes in middle childhood by estimating statistical associations between monozygotic (MZ) twin differences in externalizing and internalizing problems and positive social engagement, and differential maternal positivity and negativity, over 1 year. Seventy-seven pairs of identical twins participated (M=6.08-years old, 65% male) in two annual home visits. Observers' ratings and maternal reports were gathered. At both assessments, the twin who showed more conduct problems (maternal report and observers' ratings) and less positive social engagement (positive affect, responsiveness) received more maternal negativity and less maternal warmth (self-reports and observers' ratings), relative to his or her genetically identical co-twin. The same patterns held over time, for the associations between change in differential MZ twin conduct problems and social engagement and change in differential maternal behaviour. Effects for child internalizing problems were not consistent within or across raters. Overall, these results indicated that differential maternal warmth and negativity,self-perceived and observed by others,are important aspects of sibling differentiation for both problematic and adaptive behaviours during middle childhood. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The role of maternal responsiveness in predicting infant affect during the still face paradigm with infants born very low birth weight

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008
Sarah J. Erickson
There is limited empirical literature addressing infants' response to a standardized stressor with infants born very low birth weight (VLBW). The purpose of this study was to assess the relative strength of maternal responsiveness in predicting infant affect in response to the Still Face (SF) paradigm in a cross-sectional cohort of ethnically diverse infants born VLBW and their mothers (N = 50; infants 6,8 months old). Infant affect and maternal responsiveness were coded in 1-s intervals while dyads participated in the SF. In addition, perinatal medical status, developmental status, and infant temperament were assessed. Findings revealed that positive infant affect during and after the SF stressor were strongly associated with baseline infant positive affect and maternal responsiveness at the reunion episode, respectively. In contrast, when predicting negative infant affect during and after the SF stressor, prior infant negative affect was strongly and uniquely significant. Infant positive affect, negative affect, and maternal responsiveness were not significantly associated with gender, infant perinatal medical history, developmental status, or temperament. Future research is warranted to determine how these findings relate to infants' stress reactions in naturalistic settings and if relationship-focused interventions may reverse infant negative emotionality, enhance positive emotionality, and thereby improve self-regulation and longer term social and cognitive developmental outcomes in medically at-risk infants. [source]


Temporal changes in the affective experience of new fathers and their spouses

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 6 2004
Marsha Kaitz
Our aim was to study temporal changes in fathers' affective experience during the first year of parenthood. For comparison, data also were collected from their spouses. Fifty-five Israeli couples comprised the initial sample, and both partners were interviewed during the prepartum period and at 3, 6, and 12 months' postpartum. Measures of emotionality, positive affect, negative affect, and mood regarding self, infant, and spouse/marriage were derived by finely coding parents' answers to interview questions. Analyses show that, for fathers and mothers, time effects were most substantial between the prepartum period and 3 months postpartum, and most of the changes were in a positive direction. Fathers and mothers showed continuity in positive affect and in negative affect, respectively. Overall, the sample experienced heightened positive affect and more positive moods after the birth of their infant than prior to it. [source]


Affect modulates appetite-related brain activity to images of food

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 5 2006
William D.S. Killgore PhD
Abstract Objective: We examined whether affect ratings predicted regional cerebral responses to high and low-calorie foods. Method: Thirteen normal-weight adult women viewed photographs of high and low-calorie foods while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Regression analysis was used to predict regional activation from positive and negative affect scores. Results: Positive and negative affect had different effects on several important appetite-related regions depending on the calorie content of the food images. When viewing high-calorie foods, positive affect was associated with increased activity in satiety-related regions of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, but when viewing low-calorie foods, positive affect was associated with increased activity in hunger-related regions including the medial orbitofrontal and insular cortex. The opposite pattern of activity was observed for negative affect. Conclusion: These findings suggest a neurobiologic substrate that may be involved in the commonly reported increase in cravings for calorie-dense foods during heightened negative emotions. © 2006 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2006 [source]


Depressive symptoms among poststroke patients in Japan: frequency distribution and factor structure of the GDS

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 10 2001
Andrea S. Schreiner
Abstract Objective The present study examined the nature, prevalence, and covariates of depressive symptoms among home-dwelling poststroke patients in Japan using the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-1). Poststroke results were compared with those of elderly with affective disorders and with those of healthy nonstroke elderly. Methods Poststroke patients (n,=,101) who did not also have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia, were identified from patient records at seven randomly selected hospitals with outpatient rehabilitation clinics in a metropolitan area in western Japan and invited to participate in the study. All instruments were interview-administered. Results GDS scores did not correlate with age, sex, education, functional dependence, aphasia, paralysis or presence of other chronic illnesses. However, GDS scores did correlate significantly with self-rated general health and poststroke duration. Compared with the frequency distribution in a psychiatric sample, poststroke patients had higher positive affect and lower depressed mood but similar social withdrawal scores. The factor structure of the poststroke sample differed from that of nonstroke elderly in that depressed mood items loaded with items for energy loss and memory problems. Conclusion Despite the fact that 62% of subjects scored ,,6 on the GDS, none were currently receiving assessment and/or treatment for their depressive symptoms. The frequency distribution and factor structure suggest that poststroke GDS scores reflect endorsement of functional losses such as decreased energy and impaired memory and subsequent feelings of helplessness, boredom and social withdrawal rather than decreased positive affect. Treatment should focus on dealing with these issues. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Two Dimensions of Attachment to God and Their Relation to Affect, Religiosity, and Personality Constructs

JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 4 2002
Wade Rowatt
In this study we sought to address several limitations of previous research on attachment theory and religion by (1) developing a dimensional attachment to God scale, and (2) demonstrating that dimensions of attachment to God are predictive of measures of affect and personality after controlling for social desirability and other related dimensions of religiosity. Questionnaire measures of these constructs were completed by a sample of university students and community adults (total n= 374). Consistent with prior research on adult romantic attachment, two dimensions of attachment to God were identified: avoidance and anxiety. After statistically controlling for social desirability, intrinsic religiousness, doctrinal orthodoxy, and loving God image, anxious attachment to God remained a significant predictor of neuroticism, negative affect, and (inversely) positive affect; avoidant attachment to God remained a significant inverse predictor of religious symbolic immortality and agreeableness. These findings are evidence that correlations between attachment to God and measures of personality and affect are not merely byproducts of confounding effects of socially desirable responding or other dimensions of religiosity. [source]


The Impact of Affective Reactions on Risky Decision Making in Accounting Contexts

JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 5 2002
Kimberly Moreno
In this study we examine whether managers' affective reactions influence their risk,taking tendencies in capital budgeting decisions. Prior research on risky decision making indicates that decision makers are often risk averse when choosing among alternatives that yield potential gains, and risk taking when the alternatives yield losses. The results reported here indicate that negative or positive affective reactions can change this commonly found risky behavior. Managers were generally risk avoiding (taking) for gains (losses) in the absence of affective reactions, as predicted by prospect theory. However, when affect was present, they tended to reject investment alternatives that elicited negative affect and accept alternatives that elicited positive affect, resulting in risk taking (avoiding) in gain (loss) contexts. The results also indicate that affective reactions can influence managers to choose alternatives with lower economic value, suggesting that managers consider both financial data and affective reactions when evaluating the utility of a decision alternative. These findings point to the importance of considering affective reactions when attempting to understand and predict risky decision making in accounting contexts. [source]


Simvastatin Causes Changes in Affective Processes in Elderly Volunteers

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 1 2006
Knashawn Morales ScD
OBJECTIVES: To test for simvastatin-induced changes in affect and affective processes in elderly volunteers. DESIGN: Randomized, clinical trial. SETTING: The Geriatric Behavioral Psychopharmacology Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty older volunteers, average age 70, with high normal/mildly elevated serum cholesterol. INTERVENTION: Simvastatin up to 20 mg/d or placebo for 15 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Daily diary records of positive and negative affects and of events and biweekly measures of depressive symptoms. Affect ratings were obtained using the Lawton positive and negative affect scales; independent raters coded the valences of events. RESULTS: Thirty-one of 39 subjects assigned to placebo and 33 of 41 receiving simvastatin completed the study. During biweekly assessments, four subjects on simvastatin and one on placebo experienced depressive symptoms, as manifest by Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale scores greater than 16 (exact P=.36). Diary data demonstrated significant effects on affective processes. For positive affect, there was a significant medication-by-time interaction that reflected decreases in positive affect in subjects receiving simvastatin, greatest in those patients whose final total cholesterol levels were below 148 mg/dL. For negative affect, there were significant medication-by-event, and medication-by-event-by-time interactions, reflecting a time-limited increase in the apparent effect of negative events. CONCLUSION: Simvastatin has statistically significant effects on affect and affective processes in elderly volunteers. The decrease in positive affect may be significant clinically and relevant to the quality of life of many patients. [source]


The Comparison Between Active and Passive Types of Social Support: The Emotional Responses,

JOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009
Ai Ni Teoh
Social support was manipulated in previous experimental studies in different ways, including active support and passive support. The present study compared the effects among active support, passive support, and alone conditions on emotional changes by randomly assigning 61 participants to either one of the support conditions. Consistent with the hypothesis, passive support produced a lower level of positive affect and attentive than active support and alone, reduced level of active than alone, as well as a decrease in determined and pleasantness appraisal than active support after a stressful task. Implications of the findings were discussed in terms of the definition of social support and the manipulation of social support in laboratory settings. [source]


Affective Match in Leadership: Leader Emotional Displays, Follower Positive Affect, and Follower Performance,

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
Frederic Damen
Leader emotions may play an important role in leadership effectiveness. Extending earlier research on leader emotional displays and leadership effectiveness, we propose that the affective match between follower positive affect (PA) and leaders' emotional displays moderates the effectiveness of leader emotional displays. Leader display of emotions has more positive effects on follower behavior if the match between the valence of leader emotion and follower PA is strong rather than weak. Support for this hypothesis was found in 2 experiments. Congruency between leader emotional displays and follower PA determined follower task performance and extra-role compliance. Results from the second experiment indicated that this effect is a due to affective aspects of leader behavior and not to the valence of message content. [source]


Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Infertility and Childless Couples

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 11 2001
Beverly A. Kopper
This study of 456 female and 205 male college students investigated knowledge and attitudes toward infertility and reactions to couples with varied fertility status. The gender and career status of the target individual also were varied. The most negative affect and stories were indicated for those described as childless by choice. The male target character also was rated more negatively than the female target character. The greatest responsibility and control were assigned to childless-by-choice and childless-no-explanation groups. The most positive affect and stories were indicated for those described as childless with no explanation given. Infertile couples were attributed less control and responsibility and elicited some degree of anger and hostility from others. [source]