Affective science最新文献

The recent literature on theory of mind (ToM) aims to identify situations that necessitate a greater reliance on ToM. The self-to-other model of empathy proposes that when there is a discrepancy between affective and contextual information, the ToM system is activated more strongly to assist in the classification of the emotional state. In order to test this aspect of the theory, the study aimed to examine the neural response to emotional stimuli in context. Non-congruent images depict natural scenarios where there is a mismatch between the valence of facial expressions of one of the protagonists and the overall context, when considered in isolation. In contrast, congruent images are those in which there is no such discrepancy. The fMRI data of 53 healthy participants (31 females; mean age, 25.23 ± 5.09) were analysed using a pre-defined ToM mask. The results align with the prediction that non-congruent images will recruit the ToM system to a greater degree. Additionally, we found activations in areas implicated in emotion processing and control functions in response to non-congruent images relative to congruent ones. The results indicate that the emotional processing of complex social situations is supported by multiple processes. Consequently, identifying the sources of alterations in emotion processing and social cognition is crucial for understanding individual differences in neurotypical and clinical populations.

Research in affective science includes over one hundred thousand articles, the vast majority of which have been published in only the past two decades. The size and rapid growth of this field have led to unique challenges for the twenty-first-century scientist including how to develop both breadth and depth of scholarship, curb siloing and promote integrative and interdisciplinary framework, and represent and monitor the field in its entirety. Here, we help address these issues by compactly mapping out this enormous field using citation network analysis (CNA). We generated a citation matrix of over 100,000 publications and over 1 million citations since the seminal works on emotion by Charles Darwin (1872) and William James (1884). Using graph theory metric and content analysis of titles and abstracts, we identified and characterized the contents of 69 research communities, their most influential articles, and their interconnectedness with each other. We further identified potential “missed connections” between communities that share similar content but do not have strong citation-based connections. In doing so, we establish the first, low-dimensional representation, or field-wide map, of a substantial portion of the affective sciences literature. This panoramic view of the field provides affective and non-affective scientists alike with the means to rapidly survey dozens of major research communities and topics in the field, guide scholarship development, and identify gaps and connections for developing an integrative science.

The current study aimed to explore patterns of self-reported emotion expression across familial and college campus contexts among African American college students and the associations of these patterns with contextual features on college campuses (i.e., racial demographics of the university overall and students’ friend group and racial discrimination experiences). Theoretical support included Triple Quandary Theory and emotional development models. Online survey data from 169 self-identified African American college students (62.4% female; M_age = 20.60) across three college campuses were analyzed to compare reports of emotion expression with family members and emotion expression on campus. Additionally, family and campus emotion expression reports were analyzed via latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify latent profiles of emotion expression and their predictors. Four profiles of emotion expression across familial and college campus contexts emerged: Positive Low Expressors (n = 55; 32%), High Family – Low Campus Expressors (n = 44; 26%), Consistent Expressors (n = 37; 22%), and Low Family Positive – Consistent Negative Expressors (n = 33; 20%). College campus type was not a significant predictor of profile membership. However, campus experiences of racial discrimination and racial composition of friend group were significant predictors. African American college students’ varying emotion expression in familial domains relative to public domains (i.e., college campuses) may reflect variation in their racial experiences. These findings have implications for a contextual based understanding of African Americans’ emotional competence, broadly, and the necessity for colleges to consider how campus experiences shape African American college students’ emotional functioning.

Rumination and negative affect are mutually reinforcing experiences. Their dynamic relation can confer vulnerability to psychopathology. Cultivating mindfulness has been proposed to buffer against such downward spirals of negativity. However, it remains unclear whether practicing mindfulness in daily life causally impacts rumination, negative affect, and their dynamics. We investigated this using a micro-randomized intensive longitudinal trial. Participants (N = 91) were prompted eight times per day for 10 days using a smartphone app. At each prompt, participants were randomized to complete a brief mindfulness intervention or an active-control task and then reported levels of rumination and negative affect. Results of dynamic structural equation models showed that the mindfulness intervention led to lower levels of rumination and negative affect but that it had no reliable impact on their dynamics. Thus, cultivating mindfulness in daily life may be a promising approach for decreasing rumination and negative affect but not their dynamical relation.