Emotion最新文献

The frustration of relational needs is a common source of conflict in romantic relationships. Empathic accuracy (EA) defined as the ability to accurately perceive and understand a partner's thoughts and feelings plays a key role in resolving these conflicts. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that need frustration and EA are associated both within individuals and between romantic partners during actual conflict interactions. Data were analyzed from a lab-based conflict interaction study conducted in 2014, which included a video-mediated recall task. Results from two cross-sectional actor-partner interdependence models revealed that women's EA was positively associated with their male partner's need frustration at the start of the conflict, but this association was no longer present by the end. Additionally, women's EA was marginally negatively associated with their own need frustration at both the start and end of the conflict interaction. These findings highlight the complex and dynamic nature of the relationship of need frustration and EA during couples' actual conflict interactions. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms driving these associations over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion differentiation-the ability to precisely label emotions-reflects a nuanced understanding of one's emotional experiences. Researchers posit that this nuance may be associated with knowing how one can use their emotions. As a result, we hypothesize emotion differentiation may be linked with holding instrumental emotion regulation motives, which involve regulating emotions to attain their benefits beyond solely feeling better or worse. In this research, we tested whether trait emotion differentiation was associated with instrumental emotion regulation motives in daily life, (a) in general and (b) at times when people felt strong emotion. To test these links, we used two experience sampling data sets collected in 2020 in Australia (Study 1, N = 173; 50.3% White), and in 2016 in Belgium (Study 2, N = 104; 100% European). Contrary to our hypotheses, there was no direct association between trait emotion differentiation and instrumental motive use. However, as hypothesized, in both studies, trait emotion differentiation moderated the relationship between emotion intensity and instrumental motives, though only in the case of negative-not positive-emotion. This interaction was such that those higher in trait emotion differentiation endorsed fewer instrumental motives when emotion was less intense, but more instrumental motives when emotion was more intense. This pattern suggests that people high in trait emotion differentiation may endorse instrumental motives flexibly, by regulating their emotions instrumentally when they are more intense, but not when they are less intense. Our findings support the idea that trait negative emotion differentiation may help individuals channel their intense emotions in useful ways. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The present study examined age differences in everyday prosocial behavior as well as its associated experienced meaning and emotions. In this study, with data collected from 2004 to 2005, a total of 180 participants aged 18-93 years completed an experience sampling procedure (five times a day for 7 days), where they reported the activities they were engaged in, the degree to which their present experiences were meaningful, and the emotions they were feeling. Age was positively associated with the frequency of helping others, and helping was related to greater experienced meaning at the between-person level. At the between-person level, helping was also associated with more positive emotional experience (and unrelated to negative emotional experience), and this effect was stronger for older than younger participants. At the within-person level, helping was associated with more momentary negative (but not positive) emotions. Within-individual analyses also showed that on occasions when participants were helping others, they reported more meaning than at moments when they were engaging in nonhelping activities. Findings are consistent with previous evidence for greater charitable giving in older people than younger people and extend prosocial acts to encompass helping others in daily life. Findings also suggest that individuals may experience negative emotions while helping others, but high overall frequencies of helping were associated with reports of greater positive emotion and meaning across adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Racial discrimination has severe adverse mental and physical health consequences for Black Americans. As such, it is critical to understand how best to help protect the health of Black Americans in the face of this stressor. The emotional burden of chronic stress represents a key pathway through which stress damages health; thus, the ability to manage this emotional burden using emotion regulation may represent a core protective factor. Racial discrimination targets individuals' identities, which may have important implications for which regulation strategies will be most helpful. We predicted that successfully using strategies that are more likely to validate individuals' experiences (e.g., emotional acceptance) may be particularly helpful. Other strategies that are less likely to validate individuals' experiences may be less helpful (e.g., cognitive reappraisal). In a sample of Black individuals (N = 504, data from 2018), the link between discrimination and multiple indices of worse health was consistently buffered for people who reported more successful use of emotional acceptance, but not for those who reported more successful use of reappraisal or suppression. These patterns were replicated in a follow-up time point predicting mental health 2 years later (N = 251). These findings underscore the crucial role of context for emotion regulation, suggesting that emotional acceptance may be a uniquely useful approach that protects the health of Black Americans by validating justified emotions in the context of racial discrimination. This work underscores a useful pathway for culturally competent psychosocial interventions for reducing anxiety, depression, and stress-related chronic illness in Black Americans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The widely used painkiller acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) has been found to blunt various emotional states and evaluations, possibly through the same mechanisms by which it dulls the affective component of physical pain. However, there are limited investigations into the behavioral consequences of blunting emotions pharmacologically. Previous work has demonstrated that acetaminophen lessens risk perception and increases risk-taking in tasks with low-stakes incentives, though no studies have tested its effects in fear-inducing contexts that require evaluating safety risk. As fear promotes behaviors that keep us safe, dampening fear could alter how people respond to threatening situations. To test this possibility, 260 participants were given either 1,000 mg of acetaminophen or placebo capsules prior to a frightening virtual reality plank walk at extreme heights. Compared to the placebo group, those on acetaminophen took less time to step onto the plank, walked across it faster, and had lower heart rates. These findings suggest that acetaminophen may reduce protective behaviors associated with the fear response, raising potential safety concerns for everyday users. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Honesty is highly valued in our close relationships, yet much of our understanding of honesty in interpersonal contexts has focused on the effects of sharing threatening information. In the current work, we examine how honesty may promote benefits in positive contexts, particularly during expressions of gratitude between romantic partners. Specifically, we examined whether expressed, perceived, and accurate perceptions of honesty about gratitude strengthen personal and relationship well-being. Romantic couples (N_couples = 214, N_individuals = 418) participated in a 14-day daily experience study (Study 1a) and a background survey, in-person lab interaction, and 3-month follow-up survey (Study 1b). Couples reported on their expressed and perceived honesty about a gratitude event, well-being, and felt appreciation. Results indicated that expressed honesty predicted intrapersonal benefits, with those who were more honest in their gratitude expressions experiencing greater personal and relationship well-being in the moment and across daily life. Perceived honesty predicted both intra- and interpersonal benefits. Those who perceived a partner to be honest about gratitude experienced greater personal well-being, relationship satisfaction, and felt gratitude in the moment, across daily life, and over time; additionally, their partners experienced greater relationship well-being in the moment and across daily life. Accurate perceptions of honest gratitude expressions did not predict any outcomes. Results could not be explained by baseline relationship satisfaction, expresser authenticity, or (perceived) gratitude intensity. Collectively, these results indicate that perceiving greater honesty about gratitude-regardless of a partner's actual honesty or accuracy in perceiving that honesty-is most consequential to couple well-being and feelings of being appreciated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

This research aimed to validate a newly developed tool for the assessment of emotions. The "Nonverbal Emotion Assessment Tool" (NEAT) is based on schematic facial expressions of emotions and serves to capture both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of common emotions. Study 1 (N = 126) was conducted with primary school children (6-11 years), who matched the emotions represented in vignettes to the emotional facial expressions of the NEAT. Although the children's recognition rates varied across emotions, they were overall moderately accurate. Older children did not perform substantially better than younger children. Study 2 validated the NEAT scales with adult participants from Germany (N = 102), Bulgaria (N = 116), and Malaysia (N = 132). Cross-country intraclass correlations revealed cultural differences in emotion perception, yet the construct validity was high. Comparisons of the two European samples with the Southeast Asian sample yielded a lower level of agreement across countries than the comparison of the two European samples, suggesting more similarities between the German and Bulgarian samples and stronger differences between the European and the Malaysian sample. Together, these findings provide evidence that the NEAT is a useful and valid tool for the assessment of emotions in child and adult samples from different areas of the world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

How do we truly assess the emotions of others? While numerous theories have highlighted the central role of facial expressions in evaluating emotions, some studies have challenged the ability to gauge others' feelings based solely on their faces (Aviezer et al., 2012). These studies suggest that we preferentially use bodies rather than faces to assess others' affective states. The aim of the present work is to replicate and extend these findings. A series of five experiments replicated the results obtained by Aviezer et al. (2012; Experiment 1) and extended them to other tasks (i.e., affective priming, affective misattribution procedure, feeling, and action tendencies). The results show that stimuli presenting only bodies, rather than faces, consistently produce these classic effects found in the literature. Overall, these findings highlight that faces do not seem to be discriminative in detecting emotions, nor do they elicit affective reactions when affective stimuli are extreme. These results thus support the idea that context is predominant in the detection of emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional facial expressions can indicate behavioral intentions to others. Observing a threatening emotional expression (e.g., angry face) could prompt avoidance. However, the literature reports mixed findings, with emotional expressions such as anger or fear being associated with both approach and avoidance. In this study (N = 152 participants; 93.9% women, 4.7% men, 1.4% other; M_age = 19.57, SD_age = 3.25), we investigated how facial characteristics (i.e., gaze direction) and individual traits (i.e., Big Five and schizotypal personality traits) modulate behavioral responses to the perception of approaching emotional facial expressions (angry, fearful, sad, and neutral faces). We assessed motor responses using force plates to investigate spontaneous postural adjustments. Results show that angry and fearful faces elicit defensive responses characterized by backward body sway (i.e., avoidance). Although facial features further qualified those defensive reactions with averted gazes in fear stimuli eliciting a relative approach, we did not find conclusive evidence for the role of personality in these responses. Results are discussed in light of sociofunctional and appraisal models of emotion perception. The present study underlines the relevance of studying postural sway to assess adaptive avoidance of threatening social stimulus. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Political polarization is increasingly recognized as a critical threat to individual and collective well-being. Prevailing frameworks suggest that political engagement diminishes well-being by evoking negative emotions, which act as chronic stressors. However, the relationship between politics and emotion has largely been investigated by relying on static snapshots of emotional reactions to political events, overlooking how well-being is impacted by the temporal dynamics of political engagement and associated emotional responses. Across two longitudinal experience-sampling studies that include long-form "diary" responses (N = 259, 1,788 observations), we examine how political engagement shapes daily affective experiences. Contrary to the prevailing notion that engaging with politics leads to sustained negative moods, we find that political engagement is characterized by heightened affective instability-that is, frequent and large fluctuations in affective states-which, in turn, predicts lower well-being (i.e., greater anxiety). Politically polarizing events are particularly destabilizing when they are highly salient and when individuals spontaneously engage with these events. Strong partisans on both ends of the political spectrum also show the greatest fluctuations in daily affect, characteristic of an unstable emotional life. By observing that political engagement is intimately tied to increased affective instability, this research reveals an overlooked emotional cost of political involvement. These findings open new avenues for understanding and mitigating the emotional and mental health consequences of political engagement in an era of deepening divides. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).