More than labels: Neural representations of emotion words are widely distributed across the brain.

Although emotion words such as "anger", "disgust", "happiness", or "pride" are often thought of as mere labels, increasing evidence points to language as being important for emotion perception and experience. Emotion words may be particularly important for facilitating access to the emotion concepts. Indeed, deficits in semantic processing or impaired access to emotion words interfere with emotion perception. Yet, it is unclear what these behavioral findings mean for affective neuroscience. Thus, we examined the brain areas that support processing of emotion words using representational similarity analysis of fMRI data (N = 25). In the task, participants saw 10 emotion words (e.g., "anger", "happiness") while in the scanner. Participants rated each word based on its valence on a continuous scale ranging from 0 (Pleasant/Good) to 1 (Unpleasant/Bad) scale to ensure they were processing the words. Our results revealed that a diverse range of brain areas including prefrontal, midline cortical, and sensorimotor regions contained information about emotion words. Notably, our results overlapped with many regions implicated in decoding emotion experience by prior studies. Our results raise questions about what processes are being supported by these regions during emotion experience.

Testing the automaticity features of the affect misattribution procedure: The roles of awareness and intentionality.

The affect misattribution procedure (AMP) is a measure of implicit evaluations, designed to index the automatic retrieval of evaluative knowledge. The AMP effect consists in participants evaluating neutral target stimuli positively when preceded by positive primes and negatively when preceded by negative primes. After multiple prior tests of intentionality, Hughes et al. (Behav Res Methods 55(4):1558-1586, 2023) examined the role of awareness in the AMP and found that AMP effects were larger when participants indicated that their response was influenced by the prime than when they did not. Here we report seven experiments (six preregistered; N = 2350) in which we vary the methodological features of the AMP to better understand this awareness effect. In Experiments 1-4, we establish variability in the magnitude of the awareness effect in response to variations in the AMP procedure. By introducing further modifications to the AMP procedure, Experiments 5-7 suggest an alternative explanation of the awareness effect, namely that awareness can be the outcome, rather than the cause, of evaluative congruency between primes and responses: Awareness effects emerged even when awareness could not have contributed to AMP effects, including when participants judged influence awareness for third parties or primes were presented post hoc. Finally, increasing the evaluative strength of the primes increased participants' tendency to misattribute AMP effects to the influence of target stimuli. Together, the present findings suggest that AMP effects can create awareness effects rather than vice versa and support the AMP's construct validity as a measure of unintentional evaluations of which participants are also potentially unaware.

Cortical and subcortical mapping of the allostatic-interoceptive system in the human brain: replication and extension with 7 Tesla fMRI.

The brain continuously anticipates the energetic needs of the body and prepares to meet those needs before they arise, a process called allostasis. In support of allostasis, the brain continually models the internal state of the body, a process called interoception. Using published tract-tracing studies in non-human animals as a guide, we previously identified a large-scale system supporting allostasis and interoception in the human brain with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3 Tesla. In the present study, we replicated and extended this system in humans using 7 Tesla fMRI (N = 91), improving the precision of subgenual and pregenual anterior cingulate topography as well as brainstem nuclei mapping. We verified over 90% of the anatomical connections in the hypothesized allostatic-interoceptive system observed in non-human animal research. We also identified functional connectivity hubs verified in tract-tracing studies but not previously detected using 3 Tesla fMRI. Finally, we demonstrated that individuals with stronger fMRI connectivity between system hubs self-reported greater interoceptive awareness, building on construct validity evidence from our earlier paper. Taken together, these results strengthen evidence for the existence of a whole-brain system supporting interoception in the service of allostasis and we consider the implications for mental and physical health.

Constructing Explicit Prejudice: Evidence From Large Sample Datasets.

How does implicit bias contribute to explicit prejudice? Prior experiments show that concept knowledge about fear versus sympathy determines whether negative affect (captured as implicit bias) predicts antisocial outcomes (Lee et al.). Concept knowledge (i.e., beliefs) about groups may similarly moderate the link between implicitly measured negative affect (implicit negative affect) and explicit prejudice. We tested this hypothesis using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) 2008 Time Series Study (Study 1) and Project Implicit (Study 2). In both studies, participants high in implicit negative affect reported more explicit prejudice if they possessed negative beliefs about Black Americans. Yet, participants high in implicit negative affect reported less explicit prejudice if they possessed fewer negative beliefs about Black Americans. The results are consistent with psychological constructionist and dynamic models of evaluation and offer a more ecologically valid extension of our past laboratory work.

Sinful pleasures and pious woes? Using fMRI to examine evaluative and hedonic emotion knowledge.

Traditionally, lust and pride have been considered pleasurable, yet sinful in the West. Conversely, guilt is often considered aversive, yet valuable. These emotions illustrate how evaluations about specific emotions and beliefs about their hedonic properties may often diverge. Evaluations about specific emotions may shape important aspects of emotional life (e.g. in emotion regulation, emotion experience and acquisition of emotion concepts). Yet these evaluations are often understudied in affective neuroscience. Prior work in emotion regulation, affective experience, evaluation/attitudes and decision-making point to anterior prefrontal areas as candidates for supporting evaluative emotion knowledge. Thus, we examined the brain areas associated with evaluative and hedonic emotion knowledge, with a focus on the anterior prefrontal cortex. Participants (N = 25) made evaluative and hedonic ratings about emotion knowledge during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that greater activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) and precuneus was associated with an evaluative (vs hedonic) focus on emotion knowledge. Our results suggest that the mPFC and vmPFC, in particular, may play a role in evaluating discrete emotions.

Predictive processing models and affective neuroscience.

The neural bases of affective experience remain elusive. Early neuroscience models of affect searched for specific brain regions that uniquely carried out the computations that underlie dimensions of valence and arousal. However, a growing body of work has failed to identify these circuits. Research turned to multivariate analyses, but these strategies, too, have made limited progress. Predictive processing models offer exciting new directions to address this problem. Here, we use predictive processing models as a lens to critique prevailing functional neuroimaging research practices in affective neuroscience. Our review highlights how much work relies on rigid assumptions that are inconsistent with a predictive processing approach. We outline the central aspects of a predictive processing model and draw out their implications for research in affective and cognitive neuroscience. Predictive models motivate a reformulation of "reverse inference" in cognitive neuroscience, and placing a greater emphasis on external validity in experimental design.

An indirect measure of discrete emotions.

Experiences of discrete emotion play important roles in a variety of psychological domains. Yet, current measures of discrete emotion face significant limitations. Biological and behavioral measures often do not capture subjective experiences related to discrete emotions, while self-reports are susceptible to reporting biases. An indirect measure of discrete emotions would help address the limitations of existing measures; however, few such measures exist. Across 4 studies, we offer an indirect measure of discrete emotion. Our results provide evidence that our measure can distinguish between participants' experiences of same-valenced emotions (Study 1), is relatively less susceptible to deliberate attempts to suppress emotional responses (Studies 2 and 3), and is also relatively less susceptible to the influence of social norms (i.e., gender stereotypes) in self-reported discrete emotions than an explicit measure (Study 4). Overall, these findings demonstrate that our measure of discrete emotions can capture discrete emotional responses above and beyond affective valence, is indirect, and measures affective processes contributing to discrete emotional responses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Constructing bias: Conceptualization breaks the link between implicit bias and fear of Black Americans.

Negative affect toward outgroup members has long been known to predict discriminatory behavior. However, psychological constructionist theories of emotion suggest that negative affect may not always reflect antipathy for outgroup members. Rather, the subjective experience depends on how negative affect is conceptualized as specific discrete emotions (e.g., fear vs. sympathy). Our current research integrates theories of implicit bias with psychological constructionist theories of emotion to understand the implications of negative affect toward outgroup members. Across 3 studies, we find evidence that conceptualization of negative affect toward Black Americans as sympathy, rather than fear, mitigates the relationship between negative affect and fear of Black Americans on self-report and perceptual measures, and reduces racial bias on a psychophysiological measure. These studies provide evidence that conceptualization of negative affect can shape reactions to outgroup members. We discuss the implications of these findings and ground them in theories of implicit bias, social cognition, and affective science. (PsycINFO Database Record

Implicit attitudes predict drinking onset in adolescents: Shaping by social norms.

OBJECTIVE: Implicit attitudes toward alcohol predict drinking among adults and adolescents. If implicit attitudes reflected associations learned through direct experience with drinking, then they would likely only predict drinking among individuals who have previously consumed alcohol. In contrast, if implicit attitudes reflected indirect experience through social messages, they might also then predict future drinking, even among individuals with no drinking experience. In this study, we tested whether implicit attitudes would predict initiation of drinking for the first time, and whether parents' and friends' norms toward alcohol would influence the development of implicit attitudes. METHOD: For this study, we followed 868 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 years for 3 years. Implicit attitudes were measured using the affect misattribution procedure (Payne, Cheng, Govorun, & Stewart, 2005; Payne, Govorun, & Arbuckle, 2008). Explicit intentions to drink and the frequency of drinking and binge drinking were measured at each of 3 annual waves. RESULTS: Implicit attitudes toward alcohol predicted future drinking behavior 1 year later, and effects were similar for adolescents who had previously tried alcohol and for those who had not. To understand what factors might shape implicit attitudes among participants without drinking experience, we examined the role of parental norms and friends' norms toward drinking. Parental approval of drinking predicted the development of more positive implicit attitudes, which in turn predicted later drinking. CONCLUSION: Implicit attitudes toward alcohol can develop in advance of direct experience drinking alcohol. Results have implications for the implicit processes underpinning adolescent drinking, and the processes by which implicit associations are learned. (PsycINFO Database Record

Implicit Racial/Ethnic Bias Among Health Care Professionals and Its Influence on Health Care Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, people of color face disparities in access to health care, the quality of care received, and health outcomes. The attitudes and behaviors of health care providers have been identified as one of many factors that contribute to health disparities. Implicit attitudes are thoughts and feelings that often exist outside of conscious awareness, and thus are difficult to consciously acknowledge and control. These attitudes are often automatically activated and can influence human behavior without conscious volition. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the extent to which implicit racial/ethnic bias exists among health care professionals and examined the relationships between health care professionals' implicit attitudes about racial/ethnic groups and health care outcomes. SEARCH METHODS: To identify relevant studies, we searched 10 computerized bibliographic databases and used a reference harvesting technique. SELECTION CRITERIA: We assessed eligibility using double independent screening based on a priori inclusion criteria. We included studies if they sampled existing health care providers or those in training to become health care providers, measured and reported results on implicit racial/ethnic bias, and were written in English. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We included a total of 15 studies for review and then subjected them to double independent data extraction. Information extracted included the citation, purpose of the study, use of theory, study design, study site and location, sampling strategy, response rate, sample size and characteristics, measurement of relevant variables, analyses performed, and results and findings. We summarized study design characteristics, and categorized and then synthesized substantive findings. MAIN RESULTS: Almost all studies used cross-sectional designs, convenience sampling, US participants, and the Implicit Association Test to assess implicit bias. Low to moderate levels of implicit racial/ethnic bias were found among health care professionals in all but 1 study. These implicit bias scores are similar to those in the general population. Levels of implicit bias against Black, Hispanic/Latino/Latina, and dark-skinned people were relatively similar across these groups. Although some associations between implicit bias and health care outcomes were nonsignificant, results also showed that implicit bias was significantly related to patient-provider interactions, treatment decisions, treatment adherence, and patient health outcomes. Implicit attitudes were more often significantly related to patient-provider interactions and health outcomes than treatment processes. CONCLUSIONS: Most health care providers appear to have implicit bias in terms of positive attitudes toward Whites and negative attitudes toward people of color. Future studies need to employ more rigorous methods to examine the relationships between implicit bias and health care outcomes. Interventions targeting implicit attitudes among health care professionals are needed because implicit bias may contribute to health disparities for people of color.

Low implicit and explicit aversion toward self-cutting stimuli longitudinally predict nonsuicidal self-injury.

There is a pressing need to improve the ability to identify individuals at risk for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI; e.g., cutting or burning oneself); unfortunately, beyond prior NSSI, there are few powerful longitudinal predictors of NSSI. The present study addressed this limitation by investigating the ability of a novel factor--low aversion to self-cutting stimuli--to longitudinally predict NSSI in 49 individuals with a history of self-cutting. Results revealed that both low implicit and explicit aversion to self-cutting stimuli were significantly associated with future NSSI (rs = .32-.51), and that these associations were unique from several other theoretically important predictors, including prior NSSI, number of NSSI methods, implicit identification with self-cutting, self-prediction of future NSSI, emotion dysregulation, and therapy status. These findings are consistent with the notion that instinctive barriers (e.g., aversion to NSSI stimuli, pain) dissuade most people from engaging in NSSI, and that the erosion of these barriers may facilitate NSSI.

Placebo effects in therapeutic outcomes.

The goal of this review is to address the medical implications of placebos and placebo effects in future medical practice. The applications of placebos have become increasingly relevant due to a recent abundance of clinical research that has been conducted on the mechanisms under which a placebo response is formed. With current research on placebo, the thoughts of using placebo effects as an effective form of co-treatment for patients with disorders such as pain, depression or Parkinson's disease might become a feasible proposition. This review focuses on crucial studies that have been done in this area of research with regard to the physiological and psychological mechanisms that are associated with the formation of a placebo effect, as well as emphasizing the patient-clinician relationship and the importance of this relationship for a successful treatment regimen.

Feeling worse to feel better: pain-offset relief simultaneously stimulates positive affect and reduces negative affect.

Although pain itself induces negative affect, the removal (or offset) of pain induces a powerful state of relief. Despite being implicated in a wide range of psychological and behavioral phenomena, relief remains a poorly understood emotion. In particular, some theorists associate relief with increased positive affect, whereas others associate relief with diminished negative affect. In the present study, we examined the affective nature of relief in a pain-offset paradigm with psychophysiological measures that were specific to negative valence (startle eyeblink reactivity) and positive valence (startle postauricular reactivity). Results revealed that pain offset simultaneously stimulates positive affect and diminishes negative affect for at least several seconds. Results also indicated that pain intensity differentially affects the positive and negative valence aspects of relief. These findings clarify the affective nature of relief and provide insight into why people engage in both normal and abnormal behaviors associated with relief.