positive and negative affect

Developing effective therapeutic protocols for LGBTQIA+ individuals requires a commitment to practices that do not perpetuate suffering. Addressing negative internalizations and minority stress are two common transdiagnostic aspects within this population. Therapeutic models, such as Schema Therapy (ST), have emerged as a promising strategy; however, research in this area is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate an Affirmative ST program for LGB individuals. The program was tested in a pilot study involving nine participants. A total of 10 sessions were conducted, and the evaluation focused on: positive and negative affect, anxiety, stress (including minority stress), and depression. The effects of the intervention were analyzed using the Hageman-Arrindell approach and GEE. Significant differences were found for: reduction in depression; stress; anxiety; negative affect; and an increase in positive affect and stigma perception. This research represents a pioneering effort in the field of ST with LGBTQIA+ individuals, and further studies are encouraged.

As AI virtual influencers (AIVIs) proliferate, understanding human-AI emotional engagement is vital for advancing affective computing. To examine whether AIVIs evoke comparable affective responses to human influencers (HIs), we analyzed 156,918 Instagram comments that received 12+ million likes, integratinglarge language model (LLM)-derived knowledge graphs, emotion analysis, and machine learning. HI-directed discourse shows more differentiated emotional expression and a pattern consistent with more cohesive semantic networks than AIVI-directed discourse. AIVI-directed comments are less likely to express positive affect (24.8% vs. 41.5%) and also less likely to express negative affect (5.8% vs. 9.3%), indicating reduced affective expression of either valence rather than heightened negativity. This group-level tendency is not uniform: affective engagement varies substantially across AIVIs, and that variation is more closely associated with positive than with negative expression. Our Multi-Signal Embedding Network (MSEN), incorporating behavioral metrics and OpenAI semantic embeddings, classified influencer types from behavioral, affective and semantic features (F1 = 0.89), outperforming baselines including a state-of-the-art zero-shot LLM. These findings identify a boundary condition for the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm: human-like appearance can elicit social responses without producing affective and semantic response patterns as rich as those elicited by HIs.

The research aimed to examine the effects of gamification environments on university students' achievement, flow experiences, and emotional states. This study utilized a mixed-methods design, incorporating a quasi-experimental approach for the quantitative phase and a phenomenological approach for the qualitative phase. The study group consisted of 80 students (Quizizz, n = 32; Quizlet, n = 48) enrolled in the Educational Psychology course at a state university. Data were collected through the Achievement Test, Flow Experience Scale, and Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Both groups showed significant pre-test to post-test gains in achievement, with no significant difference between the two groups. Flow experience was positively correlated with positive emotion in both groups, but with achievement only in the Quizlet group. In the Quizizz group, achievement was moderately and negatively correlated with negative emotion, whereas no such relationship was found in the Quizlet group. No significant relationship was found between achievement and positive emotion in either group. Qualitative findings revealed that students actively engaged in both environments, reported higher motivation, and found learning more enjoyable. However, they experienced the platforms differently. Quizizz users emphasized excitement through competition and scoring, whereas Quizlet users highlighted confidence gained from repetition and individual progress. Overall, these results indicate that gamification tools led to similar achievement gains, but through different flow and emotional processes.

Previous research has suggested that culturally mismatched interventions may cause resistance and reduce the effectiveness of music-based interventions. This pilot randomized exploratory study examined the implementation and preliminary outcomes of a music-based intervention incorporating large language model (LLM)-generated, culturally adapted verbal suggestions among Chinese undergraduate students. A total of 113 participants were randomly assigned to three multicomponent conditions: (1) Chinese film music accompanied by LLM-generated verbal suggestions involving Eastern imagery, (2) a standardized music therapy recording with conventional verbal guidance, or (3) piano music without verbal guidance. Following a 40-minute cognitively demanding task, participants completed pre- and post-intervention measures of state anxiety, positive and negative affect, and heart rate. Baseline-adjusted ANCOVAs showed no group differences in positive affect, F (2, 109) = 1.03, p = .360, η p 2 = .019, or state anxiety, F (2, 109) = 0.68, p = .511, η p 2 = .012. A significant group effect was found for negative affect, F (2, 109) = 4.60, p = .012, η p 2 = .078; the Eastern imagery group had lower adjusted post-intervention scores than both comparison groups (Holm-adjusted ps = .026). Heart rate also differed across groups, F (2, 109) = 10.56, p < .001, η p 2 = .162, with lower adjusted values in the standardized therapy group than in the other two groups. The findings identify potentially meaningful response patterns but do not establish efficacy or the independent effect of culturally adapted verbal suggestions because the conditions differed in musical material and duration. Larger, controlled trials are required. (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07359950).

پژوهش‌های پیشین نشان داده‌اند که مداخلات ناسازگار با فرهنگ ممکن است موجب مقاومت و کاهش اثربخشی مداخلات مبتنی بر موسیقی شوند. این مطالعه آزمایشی تصادفی اکتشافی به بررسی اجرای یک مداخله مبتنی بر موسیقی که شامل پیشنهادهای کلامی سازگارشده فرهنگی تولیدشده توسط مدل‌های زبانی بزرگ (LLM) بود، در میان دانشجویان کارشناسی چینی پرداخت. در مجموع ۱۱۳ شرکت‌کننده به طور تصادفی به سه وضعیت چندجزئی تقسیم شدند: (۱) موسیقی فیلم چینی همراه با پیشنهادهای کلامی تولیدشده توسط LLM با بهره‌گیری از تصاویر شرقی، (۲) یک ضبط استاندارد موسیقی‌درمانی با راهنمایی کلامی متعارف، یا (۳) موسیقی پیانو بدون راهنمایی کلامی. پس از انجام یک تکلیف ۴۰ دقیقه‌ای با بار شناختی بالا، شرکت‌کنندگان پیش و پس از مداخله، مقیاس‌های اضطراب حالتی، عاطفه مثبت و منفی و ضربان قلب را تکمیل کردند. تحلیل کوواریانس (ANCOVA) با تعدیل بر اساس خط پایه نشان داد که بین گروه‌ها در عاطفه مثبت (F (2, 109) = 1.03, p = .360, η p 2 = .019) یا اضطراب حالتی (F (2, 109) = 0.68, p = .511, η p 2 = .012) تفاوتی وجود ندارد. یک اثر معنادار گروهی برای عاطفه منفی مشاهده شد (F (2, 109) = 4.60, p = .012, η p 2 = .078)؛ گروه تصاویر شرقی نمرات تعدیل‌شده پایین‌تری پس از مداخله نسبت به هر دو گروه مقایسه داشت (ps تعدیل‌شده به روش Holm = .026). ضربان قلب نیز بین گروه‌ها متفاوت بود (F (2, 109) = 10.56, p < .001, η p 2 = .162)، به طوری که مقادیر تعدیل‌شده در گروه درمان استاندارد پایین‌تر از دو گروه دیگر بود. یافته‌ها الگوهای پاسخ بالقوه معناداری را شناسایی می‌کنند اما اثربخشی یا اثر مستقل پیشنهادهای کلامی سازگارشده فرهنگی را اثبات نمی‌کنند، زیرا شرایط از نظر محتوای موسیقی و مدت زمان متفاوت بودند. مطالعات بزرگ‌تر و کنترل‌شده مورد نیاز است. (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07359950).

Introduction Parent-child physiological synchrony may reflect coordinated regulatory processes, but its meaning appears to vary across developmental and interactional contexts. Greater synchrony has been associated with more and less adaptive functioning, suggesting that synchrony should not be interpreted as inherently beneficial. The current study examined whether mother-youth trend-level physiological synchrony during a dyadic stressor was associated with multiple indicators of wellbeing in preadolescence. Method One hundred seventy-three mother-child dyads (Mothers: M age = 41.60 years; Youth: M age = 9.54 years, range = 8–12; 53% female) completed the Performance Challenge Task, during which youth attempted unsolvable puzzles while mothers observed. Respiration rate, root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were assessed simultaneously in mothers and youth. Youth reported positive and negative affect, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and aggression; mothers reported youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Growth models estimated each participant's physiological trajectory across the task, and mother and youth trajectories were covaried to estimate trend-level synchrony. Results Greater RSA synchrony was associated with higher post-stressor positive affect after accounting for pre-stressor positive affect, higher mother-reported internalizing symptoms, and lower mother-reported externalizing symptoms. RMSSD synchrony showed a nonsignificant trend toward higher youth-reported anxiety ( p = 0.08), and respiration-rate synchrony showed a nonsignificant trend toward lower mother-reported externalizing symptoms ( p = 0.06). Most other associations were nonsignificant. Discussion Findings did not support a uniformly adaptive interpretation of physiological synchrony. Instead, associations varied across outcomes and physiological indices, underscoring the importance of considering what form of synchrony is measured and the context in which it occurs.

مقدمه: همزمانی فیزیولوژیک والد-فرزند ممکن است بازتاب فرآیندهای تنظیمی هماهنگ باشد، اما معنای آن بسته به زمینه‌های رشدی و تعاملی متفاوت به نظر می‌رسد. همزمانی بیشتر با عملکردهای سازگارانه‌تر و کمتر نیز مرتبط بوده است که نشان می‌دهد همزمانی نباید ذاتاً سودمند تفسیر شود. مطالعه حاضر بررسی کرد که آیا همزمانی فیزیولوژیک در سطح روند بین مادر و نوجوان در طول یک موقعیت استرس‌زای دوتایی با چندین شاخص بهزیستی در پیش‌نوجوانی مرتبط است یا خیر. روش: صد و هفتاد و سه زوج مادر-فرزند (مادران: میانگین سن = 41.60 سال؛ نوجوانان: میانگین سن = 9.54 سال، دامنه = 8 تا 12؛ 53٪ دختر) تکلیف چالش عملکرد را انجام دادند که طی آن نوجوانان پازل‌های غیرقابل حل را تلاش کردند در حالی که مادران مشاهده می‌کردند. نرخ تنفس، ریشه میانگین مربعات تفاوت‌های متوالی (RMSSD) و آریتمی سینوسی تنفسی (RSA) به طور همزمان در مادران و نوجوانان ارزیابی شد. نوجوانان عاطفه مثبت و منفی، نشانه‌های افسردگی، اضطراب و پرخاشگری را گزارش کردند؛ مادران نشانه‌های درونی‌سازی و برونی‌سازی نوجوانان را گزارش کردند. مدل‌های رشد، مسیر فیزیولوژیک هر شرکت‌کننده را در طول تکلیف برآورد کردند و مسیرهای مادر و نوجوان برای برآورد همزمانی در سطح روند همپوشانی داده شدند. نتایج: همزمانی بیشتر RSA با عاطفه مثبت بالاتر پس از استرسور (پس از کنترل عاطفه مثبت پیش از استرسور)، نشانه‌های درونی‌سازی بیشتر گزارش‌شده توسط مادر و نشانه‌های برونی‌سازی کمتر گزارش‌شده توسط مادر مرتبط بود. همزمانی RMSSD روند غیرمعناداری به سوی اضطراب بیشتر گزارش‌شده توسط نوجوانان نشان داد (p = 0.08) و همزمانی نرخ تنفس روند غیرمعناداری به سوی نشانه‌های برونی‌سازی کمتر گزارش‌شده توسط مادر داشت (p = 0.06). بیشتر سایر ارتباطات معنادار نبودند. بحث: یافته‌ها از تفسیر یکنواخت و سازگارانه همزمانی فیزیولوژیک حمایت نکردند. در عوض، ارتباطات بسته به پیامدها و شاخص‌های فیزیولوژیک متفاوت بود و اهمیت توجه به نوع همزمانی اندازه‌گیری‌شده و زمینه وقوع آن را برجسته می‌کند.