Motivational intensity and valence are married, but they are not the same person: Commentary on Campbell et al. (2021).

Comments on the article by Campbell et al. (see record 2021-21096-001). Campbell et al. (2021) claimed motivational intensity (approach-avoidance) is a redundant construct that is merely another label for valence (positive-negative). They based their conclusion on a high correlation between valence and motivational intensity when participants rated pictures. We present arguments that their conclusion was based on inadequate evidence. First, we explain how high correlation fails to identify meaningful and consistent affective states where motivational intensity is essential. As a counterargument, we present replicated and cumulative empirical evidence of differences between affective states with equal valence and arousal but different motivational intensities such as desire or enthusiasm versus amusement. Second, we emphasize that correlations do not account for relative differences between valence and motivational intensity levels (which we termed undermotivated and overmotivated affect). We illustrate this by presenting how valence and motivational intensity diverge during watching affective video clips. We conclude the opposite of Campbell's team, that is, motivational intensity is a viable concept deserving further attention. However, studying motivational intensity requires specific strategies to dissect what is possible within affect from the most frequent. We formulate several recommendations regarding the choice of stimuli (overrepresentation of specific categories) and measurement (e.g., measuring dimensions of affect along with a broad range of discrete emotions and motivational concepts). This might improve the study in affective science toward stronger differentiation within the core of human affect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Evil joy is hard to share: Negative affect attenuates interpersonal capitalizing on immoral deeds.

Capitalization is an interpersonal process in which individuals (capitalizers) communicate their accomplishments to others (responders). When these attempts to capitalize are met with enthusiastic responses, individuals reap greater personal and social benefits from the accomplishment. This research integrated the interpersonal model of capitalization with moral foundations theory to examine whether accomplishments achieved through immoral (vs. moral) means disrupt the interpersonal processes of capitalization. We hypothesized that an accomplishment achieved through immoral (vs. moral) means would suppress the positive affective response often reaped from capitalizing on good news. We conducted two, mixed-methods experiments in which individuals interacted with a stranger (Study 1) or with their romantic partner (Study 2). We found that responders exhibited greater self-reported negative emotions, avoidance motivation, and arousal when reacting to capitalizers' immoral (vs. moral) accomplishments. In turn, greater negative affect predicted less enthusiastic verbal responses to capitalization attempts. In Study 2 we found that immoral accomplishments increased avoidance motivation, which contrary to our expectations, increased expressions of happiness. These studies reveal that the moral means by which accomplishments are achieved can disrupt the interpersonal process of capitalization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Eye problems and musculoskeletal pain in Pokémon Go players.

Individuals benefit from Pokémon Go (PG) gaming because this mobile augmented reality geolocation video game provides an attractive opportunity to increase physical activity outdoors and socialize. However, based on gaming and electronic media studies, intense involvement with PG is likely related to adverse phenomena, such as arm pain or eye-related problems. We aimed to test how PG use (problematic vs. non-problematic gaming and gaming time) is related to physical symptoms (pain in three body regions and computer vision syndrome). To dissect game-specific effects, we controlled for general problematic smartphone use, phubbing, and electronic media usage. PG players (N = 455) completed an online survey. We found that PG players with problematic game use reported more pain and vision problems. Problematic PG use was a better predictor of physical symptoms than PG gaming time and variables related to electronic media use. Problematic PG use and problematic smartphone use were correlated but independent predictors of physical symptoms. We conclude that the type of participation rather than the time spent playing predicts poorer physical health among PG players.

Acting on Values: A Novel Intervention Enhancing Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being.

Individuals increase well-being by acting on their values rather than merely endorsing them. We developed a novel intervention ("Acting on Values," AoV), motivating individuals to initiate values-related behavior over four weeks. Building upon the theory of Basic Human Values, we expected that intervention recipients would increase their hedonic and eudaimonic well-being relative to a control group. We also expected the AoV interventions to cause similar effects as a mindfulness group. 783 volunteers (N = 268 completers) were assigned into three groups: AoV intervention, mindfulness, and a waiting list. Individuals who completed the AoV intervention achieved higher satisfaction with life, positive affect, and eudaimonic well-being, and lower negative affect than the control group. The well-being effects of the AoV intervention did not differ significantly from the mindfulness intervention effects. Our findings suggest that the AoV intervention is an efficacious method of increasing hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. It contributes to the diversity of well-being facilitation methods. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-022-00585-4.

Emognition dataset: emotion recognition with self-reports, facial expressions, and physiology using wearables.

The Emognition dataset is dedicated to testing methods for emotion recognition (ER) from physiological responses and facial expressions. We collected data from 43 participants who watched short film clips eliciting nine discrete emotions: amusement, awe, enthusiasm, liking, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness. Three wearables were used to record physiological data: EEG, BVP (2x), HR, EDA, SKT, ACC (3x), and GYRO (2x); in parallel with the upper-body videos. After each film clip, participants completed two types of self-reports: (1) related to nine discrete emotions and (2) three affective dimensions: valence, arousal, and motivation. The obtained data facilitates various ER approaches, e.g., multimodal ER, EEG- vs. cardiovascular-based ER, discrete to dimensional representation transitions. The technical validation indicated that watching film clips elicited the targeted emotions. It also supported signals' high quality.

Psychophysiology of positive and negative emotions, dataset of 1157 cases and 8 biosignals.

Subjective experience and physiological activity are fundamental components of emotion. There is an increasing interest in the link between experiential and physiological processes across different disciplines, e.g., psychology, economics, or computer science. However, the findings largely rely on sample sizes that have been modest at best (limiting the statistical power) and capture only some concurrent biosignals. We present a novel publicly available dataset of psychophysiological responses to positive and negative emotions that offers some improvement over other databases. This database involves recordings of 1157 cases from healthy individuals (895 individuals participated in a single session and 122 individuals in several sessions), collected across seven studies, a continuous record of self-reported affect along with several biosignals (electrocardiogram, impedance cardiogram, electrodermal activity, hemodynamic measures, e.g., blood pressure, respiration trace, and skin temperature). We experimentally elicited a wide range of positive and negative emotions, including amusement, anger, disgust, excitement, fear, gratitude, sadness, tenderness, and threat. Psychophysiology of positive and negative emotions (POPANE) database is a large and comprehensive psychophysiological dataset on elicited emotions.

The role of emotions in esports performance.

Emotions that differ on the approach-avoidance dimension are thought to have different functions. Based on the motivational dimensional model of affect, we expected high-approach tendency (and not valence) to facilitate sports performance in a gaming context. Moreover, we expected the influence of high-approach emotions on performance to be mediated by higher levels of cognitive and physiological challenge as an approach-related response. To test these hypotheses, 241 men completed 5 matches of a soccer video game FIFA 19. Before each match, approach tendencies and valence were experimentally manipulated by showing films that elicit amusement, enthusiasm, sadness, anger, and neutral states. Approach tendency, challenge/threat evaluations, cardiovascular responses, and game scores were recorded. After watching enthusiastic and amusing videos, gamers displayed stronger approach tendencies, and, in turn, improved performance, compared to negative emotions and neutral conditions. Moreover, enthusiasm produced a stronger approach tendency and promoted better performance than amusement. Elicitation of unpleasant emotions (anger and sadness) had no effect on approach tendencies or gaming-outcomes relative to the neutral conditions. Across all conditions, gamers with higher levels of cognitive and cardiovascular challenge achieved higher scores. These findings indicate that in a gaming context performance is enhanced by pleasant emotions with high-approach tendencies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Blunted cardiovascular reactivity may serve as an index of psychological task disengagement in the motivated performance situations.

Challenge and threat models predict that once individuals become engaged with performance, their evaluations and cardiovascular response determine further outcomes. Although the role of challenge and threat in predicting performance has been extensively tested, few studies have focused on task engagement. We aimed to investigate task engagement in performance at the psychological and physiological levels. We accounted for physiological task engagement by examining blunted cardiovascular reactivity, the third possible cardiovascular response to performance, in addition to the challenge/threat responses. We expected that low psychological task engagement would be related to blunted cardiovascular reactivity during the performance. Gamers (N = 241) completed five matches of the soccer video game FIFA 19. We recorded psychological task engagement, heart rate reactivity, and the difference between goals scored and conceded. Lower psychological task engagement was related to blunted heart rate reactivity during the performance. Furthermore, poorer performance in the previous game was related to increased task engagement in the subsequent match. The findings extend existing literature by providing initial evidence that blunted cardiovascular reactivity may serve as the index of low task engagement.

I am afraid, so I buy it! The effects of anxiety on consumer assimilation and differentiation needs amongst individuals primed with independent and interdependent self-construal.

Individuals tend to satisfy their assimilation needs by purchasing products that bear a specific group identity. Such products might be preferred when an individual is threatened because anxiety increases affiliative needs. In contrast, individuals might be more attracted to unique-design products when they feel less anxious. We examined the impact of anxiety on assimilation and differentiation needs amongst consumers primed with independent and interdependent self-construal. We expected that anxiety would produce stronger assimilation needs and show a weaker preference for unique products. In Study 1 (N = 110), we found that individuals in the anxiety-inducing condition decreased their evaluation of unique products and exhibited stronger assimilation needs. Independents who felt anxiety reacted with a reduced preference for group-linked products. Study 2 (N = 102) found that introducing an anxiety-decreasing agent (vanilla scent) after a social identity threat reduced differentiation needs and preference for unique products. Physiological data showed that the social identity threat increased sympathetic arousal, but the vanilla scent did not have a soothing effect on physiological reactivity. Overall, this work showed that both anxiety and vanilla scent reduced consumer need for differentiation. Furthermore, for independents, anxiety reduced assimilation needs. We found novel determinants of assimilation/differentiation needs with implications for advertising and retailing products with a unique design.

Changes in values and well-being amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.

COVID-19 caused a global change in the lifestyles of people around the world. It provided a unique opportunity to examine how external circumstances impact two crucial aspects of functioning relating to "who I am" (values) and "how I feel" (well-being). Participants (N = 215) reported their values and subjective and eudaimonic well-being, nine months before the first lockdown in Poland and two weeks and four weeks into the first lockdown. We observed increased valuing of self-direction, security, conformity, humility, caring, and universalism and a decrease in valuing hedonism. Individuals experienced decreased subjective and eudaimonic well-being, with women responding with stronger negative affect intensity relative to men. Finally, we identified that individuals who were more open to change before the COVID-19 pandemic responded with higher eudaimonic well-being two weeks into lockdown relative to their less open to change peers. This study is unique in that it shows that well-being and individually held values are flexible and adaptive systems that react to external circumstances such as global critical events.

How seasons, weather, and part of day influence baseline affective valence in laboratory research participants?

Many people believe that weather influences their emotional state. Along similar lines, some researchers in affective science are concerned whether testing individuals at a different time of year, a different part of the day, or in different weather conditions (e.g., in a cold and rainy morning vs. a hot evening) influences how research participants feel upon entering a study; thus inflating the measurement error. Few studies have investigated the link between baseline affective levels and the research context, such as seasonal and daily weather fluctuation in temperature, air pressure, and sunshine duration. We examined whether individuals felt more positive or negative upon entering a study by clustering data across seven laboratory experiments (total N = 1108), three seasons, and daily times ranging from 9 AM to 7 PM. We accounted for ambient temperature, air pressure, humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed, and sunshine duration. We found that only ambient temperature was a significant predictor of valence. Individuals felt more positive valence on days when it was cooler outside. However, the effect was psychologically negligible with differences between participants above c.a. 30 degrees Celsius in ambient temperature needed to generate a difference in affective valence surpassing one standard deviation. Our findings have methodological implications for studying emotions by suggesting that seasons and part of the day do not matter for baseline affective valence reported by participants, and the effects of ambient temperature are unlikely to influence most research.

Head movement differs for positive and negative emotions in video recordings of sitting individuals.

Individuals tend to approach positive stimuli and avoid negative stimuli. Furthermore, emotions influence whether individuals freeze or move more. These two kinds of motivated behavior refer to the approach/avoidance behavior and behavioral freezing/activation. Previous studies examined (e.g., using forced platforms) whether individuals' behavior depends on stimulus' valence; however, the results were mixed. Thus, we aimed to test whether emotions' effects on spontaneous whole-body behavior of standing individuals also occur in the seated position. We used a computer vision method to measure the head sway in video recordings that offers ease of use, replicability, and unobtrusiveness for the seated research participant. We analyzed behavior recorded in the laboratory during emotion manipulations across five studies totaling 932 participants. We observed that individuals leaned more forward and moved more when watching positive stimuli than when watching negative stimuli. However, individuals did not behave differently when watching positive or negative stimuli than in the neutral condition. Our results indicate that head movements extracted from seated individuals' video recordings can be useful in detecting robust differences in emotional behavior (positive vs. negative emotions).

Trait and state approach-motivated positive affects interactively influence stress cardiovascular recovery.

One of the potential mechanisms of positive affect (PA) in promoting physical health is by speeding up stress cardiovascular recovery. However, little is known whether high and low approach-motivated PA (AMPA) equally speed stress cardiovascular recovery and whether these effects are affected by personality traits that are associated with approach motivation. The present study investigated the impact of trait AMPA (assessed by sensation seeking) and state AMPA (elicited by positive stimuli) on stress cardiovascular recovery. After completion of Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V), 165 undergraduate students were subjected to a stress protocol, and then randomized to watch high AMPA, low AMPA and neutral pictures. Baseline, stress exposure, and post-stress cardiovascular data were collected. Results showed that compared to neutral and state low AMPA conditions, state high AMPA prolonged stress HR recovery. Moreover, individuals low in sensation seeking exhibited delayed SBP and DBP recovery under state high AMPA condition relative to state low AMPA and neutral conditions. Individuals high in sensation seeking exhibited comparable stress BP recovery across the three conditions. These findings suggest that the association between PA and stress cardiovascular recovery is contingent on approach motivational intensity, which might have health implications.

High-approach and low-approach positive affect influence physiological responses to threat and anger.

Positive affect has been related to faster cardiovascular recovery from stress. Although the family of positive affective states is diverse, no study examined whether high-approach positive affect (e.g., desire) has a different impact on peripheral physiological processes than more frequently studied low-approach positive affect (e.g., amusement). Building upon prior work on emotions and motivation, we expected that after controlling for arousal and valence, positive affect with higher motivational intensity would facilitate weaker recovery when compared to positive affect with lower motivational intensity. Across two experiments (N = 179 for Study 1, N = 220 for Study 2), we measured cardiovascular, respiratory, and electrodermal responses to positive stimuli that differed in approach intensity. We measured responses during recovery from stress and during reactivity to threat and anger. These studies partially replicated previous findings regarding the soothing function of positive affect (e.g., in respect to diastolic blood pressure recovery and reactivity). However, we found that high-approach and low-approach positive affect produced comparable effects. In summary, these findings suggest that positive valence rather than motivational intensity produces the main soothing effect on peripheral physiology.

Effects of emotions on heart rate asymmetry.

Heart rate asymmetry (HRA) is an index that accounts for an uneven contribution of decelerations and accelerations to the heart rate variability (HRV). Clinical studies indicated that HRA measures have additive clinical value over the more frequently used HRV indexes. Despite the abundance of studies on psychological influences on HRV, little is known whether psychological factors influence HRA. Based on previous research regarding HRA and stress, we expected that negative emotions compared to positive emotions would decrease the contribution of decelerations to HRV. Thirty female participants watched three clips that produced negative emotions, positive emotions, and neutral affect. Besides electrocardiogram, we measured several physiological and behavioral responses to ascertain the affective impact of the clips. Using the RR interval time series, we calculated HRV and HRA indexes. We found that HRA differentiated between positive emotions and negative emotions reactivity. Positive emotions produced a higher number of decelerations in short-term variability to the total short-term variability (C1d ) compared to negative emotions. Moreover, C1d correlated with subjective ratings of affect. In sum, the results of this study indicated that HRA is sensitive to psychological influences. HRA indexes are likely to contribute to a more nuanced physiological differentiation between emotions.

Successful performance and cardiovascular markers of challenge and threat: A meta-analysis.

Cardiovascular responses to challenge and threat have been used extensively in psychophysiological research. In this meta-analysis, we scrutinized the body of evidence for the role of challenge and threat hemodynamic responses in predicting positive behavioral outcomes, i.e., performance quality. We accounted for cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR), and Challenge-Threat Index (CTI). With 17 articles covering 19 studies (total N = 1045), we observed that the literature might have been biased towards positive results. After we excluded outlying studies and compensated for missing null-effect studies, we found that the mean standardized coefficient, corrected with the trim-and-fill method, was r = 0.14 for CO, r = -0.13 for TPR, and r = 0.10 for CTI. This indicated relatively small but stable effects of cardiovascular responses in the facilitation of successful performance. Moderator analyses indicated that TPR and CTI produced stronger effects in non-experimental studies. We also found that effects were not moderated by levels of engagement (indexed by heart rate and pre-ejection period), task domain (cognitive vs. behavioral) and measurement method. In summary, our results supported the general validity of the biopsychosocial model in the prediction of behavioral outcomes. However, they also indicated limitations of the empirical evidence and a significant bias in the literature.

Measuring hedonia and eudaimonia as motives for activities: cross-national investigation through traditional and Bayesian structural equation modeling.

Two major goals of this paper were, first to examine the cross-cultural consistency of the factor structure of the Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities (HEMA) scale, and second to illustrate the advantages of using Bayesian estimation for such an examination. Bayesian estimation allows for more flexibility in model specification by making it possible to replace exact zero constraints (e.g., no cross-loadings) with approximate zero constraints (e.g., small cross-loadings). The stability of the constructs measured by the HEMA scale was tested across two national samples (Polish and North American) using both traditional and Bayesian estimation. First, a three-factor model (with hedonic pleasure, hedonic comfort and eudaimonic factors) was confirmed in both samples. Second, a model representing the metric invariance was tested. A traditional approach with maximum likelihood estimation reported a misfit of the model, leading to the acceptance of only a partial metric invariance structure. Bayesian estimation-that allowed for small and sample specific cross-loadings-endorsed the metric invariance model. The scalar invariance was not supported, therefore the comparison between latent factor means was not possible. Both traditional and Bayesian procedures revealed a similar latent factor correlation pattern within each of the national groups. The results suggest that the connection between hedonic and eudaimonic motives depends on which of the two hedonic dimensions is considered. In both groups the association between the eudaimonic factor and the hedonic comfort factor was weaker than the correlation between the hedonic pleasure factor and the eudaimonic factor. In summary, this paper explained the cross-national stability of the three-factor structure of the HEMA scale. In addition, it showed that the Bayesian approach is more informative than the traditional one, because it allows for more flexibility in model specification.

MMORPG escapism predicts decreased well-being: examination of gaming time, game realism beliefs, and online social support for offline problems.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) escapists are individuals who indulge in the MMORPG environment to avoid real world problems. Though a relationship between escapism and deteriorated well-being has been established, little is known about particular pathways that mediate this relationship. In the current study, we examined this topic by testing an integrative model of MMORPG escapism, which includes game realism beliefs, gaming time, offline social support, and online social support for offline problems. MMORPG players (N=1,056) completed measures of escapist motivation, game realism beliefs, social support, well-being, and reported gaming time. The tested structural equation model had a good fit to the data. We found that individuals with escapist motivation endorsed stronger game realism beliefs and spent more time playing MMORPGs, which, in turn, increased online support but decreased offline social support. Well-being was favorably affected by both online and offline social support, although offline social support had a stronger effect. The higher availability of online social support for offline problems did not compensate for the lower availability of offline support among MMORPG escapists. Understanding the psychological factors related to depletion of social resources in MMORPG players can help optimize MMORPGs as leisure activities.

Mechanisms of psychological resiliency in women after mastectomy.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate into the mechanisms of resiliency in women after mastectomy. We hypothesized that the mechanism of resiliency in women with breast cancer would involve facilitation of adaptive coping strategies and inhibition of maladaptive strategies. We tested a mediational model in which resiliency was related to satisfaction with life through coping strategies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty women after mastectomy aged 28-69 years (M = 53.23, SD = 9.00) completed the Ego Resiliency Scale, Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. RESULTS: The bootstrapping technique revealed that there were significant indirect effects for positive reframing (95% CI: 0.01-0.36), hopelessness/helplessness (95% CI: 0.18-0.83) and anxious preoccupation (95% CI: 0.001-0.55) but not for fighting spirit. The models explained up to 33% of the variance in satisfaction with life. CONCLUSIONS: Coping strategies fully explain the effect of resiliency on satisfaction with life in women after mastectomy. This finding provides additional evidence of the fundamental role of coping strategies in the mechanisms of resiliency. We obtained similar results in patients with type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The lack of significant associations of fighting spirit with resiliency suggests that this coping strategy may be beneficial for somatic health but its contribution to the mechanisms of psychological resiliency is complex.