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Substantial research indicates that individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) remember more negative information compared to neutral and positive information. This phenomenon is commonly attributed to attentional biases toward negative over neutral and positive information. A recent attentional resources model suggests that in MDD, negative cues not only capture attention, but also lead to deeper processing of subsequent information, irrespective of its content. This study aimed to replicate findings supporting this attentional resources model and go beyond it by investigating the effect of negative cues on encoding and retrieval processes. Forty-one participants with MDD and no comorbid diagnoses, and 42 healthy-controls completed the emotional recall task with negative or positive videos presented during encoding and retrieval stages of a neutral word-list memory test. During encoding, only the MDD group exhibited a difference between negative and positive videos, such that for negative videos memory recall was improved and for positive words it was reduced. Emotional videos had no effect when presented during retrieval. These results suggest that in MDD, encountering emotional cues not only biases retrieval processes toward recalling more negative content, but rather fundamentally alters the depth of information processing, while not leading to a broad-spectrum recruitment of cognitive resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy plays a fundamental role in successful social interactions. However, most tasks currently available for measuring empathy have limited ecological validity and therefore may not elicit true emotional responses in observers. To address this gap, we developed the Empathic Measure of True Emotion (EMOTE), the first emotion stimuli set to include footage of genuine positive and negative emotions unfolding in naturalistic contexts. We validated the EMOTE in a sample of 216 participants. The EMOTE demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, construct validity, and alternate forms reliability for both cognitive and affective empathy. We also found that, relative to conventional empathy measures, the EMOTE elicited stronger affective empathy ratings in observers, and the stimuli were rated higher in both genuineness and emotional intensity. Together, these findings demonstrate that the EMOTE is a reliable and valid measure of cognitive and affective empathy with enhanced ecological validity, providing a valuable new tool for measuring empathy in both clinical and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nHIGHLIGHTSBackground: Many medical students experience psychological distress from high academic demands, potentially harming their performance and mental health. Binaural beats (BB) stimulation, particularly gamma band entrainment, has been suggested to enhance neural communication, cognition, and reduce anxiety.Objective: This study aimed to determine whether 40 Hz BB could improve cognitive performance and mood in medical students.Method: Forty participants, selected based on the inclusion criteria of good health, normal hearing, and no mental illness were recruited considering factors such as all sessions availability and consent. Participants listened to BB for 15 min, three times a week, over three consecutive weeks. Electroencephalogram recordings confirmed that 40 Hz BB induced gamma neural oscillations in the brain. Emotional states were assessed using the 32-item Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) with ratings on a 5-point Likert scale, whereas cognitive function was measured with the Stroop’s test, based on reaction time in milliseconds. Pre- and post-BB comparisons and gender-related differences were analyzed using paired and unpaired t-tests or appropriate non-parametric tests.Result: Listening to BB significantly reduced negative emotions (p < 0.001), enhanced positive emotions (p < 0.001), and facilitated improvements in cognitive performance. However, the effects of BB were gender-specific, with female students showing greater improvements in ‘happiness’ and ‘calmness’, (p < 0.001), while males experienced more pronounced enhancements in cognitive performance (p < 0.001). Additionally, time-dependent effects of BB were also observed.Conclusion: 40 Hz BB appears to be an effective tool for helping students manage their challenges calmly and more efficiently.Listening to 40-Hz binaural beats increases the gamma-band activity in the brain40-Hz binaural beats help to improve mood and cognitive performanceBinaural beats-mediated effects are based on the gender and the duration of auditory stimulus.Listening to 40-Hz binaural beats increases the gamma-band activity in the brain40-Hz binaural beats help to improve mood and cognitive performanceBinaural beats-mediated effects are based on the gender and the duration of auditory stimulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three studies were designed to explore a major criticism of sacrificial dilemmas, namely that their potential humorous aspects may distort moral decision-making. We collected moral responses (i.e. moral judgment and choice of action) but also asked participants to rate the funniness of moral dilemmas, in order to combine humour assessment and moral responses. In addition, the emotional responses to moral dilemmas were recorded for both men and women (including emotions related to humour), and the potential effect of individuals’ need for humour was also considered. Overall, three main results were reported. Firstly, the dilemmas used in our studies were not rated as funny at all. Secondly, reading moral dilemmas increased negative emotions (i.e. sadness, disgust, guilt) and decreased positive emotions associated with humour (i.e. joy, amusement, and mirth), with gender effects since women experienced stronger negative emotions than men. Thirdly, funniness ratings of sacrificial dilemmas did not vary according to gender and need for humour. This series of studies does not report empirical evidence to support the humorous aspects of trolley-type dilemmas, but invites a more systematic examination of how sacrificial dilemmas are perceived by participants who have to produce moral responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the differences in learners' emotion, cognitive load, and cognitive performance among various scaffolding DGBLs, and the influences of emotion and cognitive load on cognitive performance when using DGBLs. Participants were 97 adult learners from some community college, randomly divided into the control group with 32 participants using non-scaffolding DGBL, the experimental group I with 34 participants using hard scaffolding DGBL, and the experimental group II with 31 participants using soft scaffolding DGBL. Results revealed: 1. positive emotion, germane cognitive load, and cognitive effectiveness and efficiency in scaffolding DGBL were significantly higher than those in non-scaffolding DGBL; negative emotion and extraneous cognitive load were significantly lower than those in non-scaffolding DGBL; 2. positive emotion in soft scaffolding DGBL was better than that in hard scaffolding DGBL, whereas there were no significant differences in negative emotion between both scaffolding DGBLs; 3. taking soft and hard scaffolding DGBLs together, positive emotion and germane cognitive load positively influenced cognitive effectiveness or efficiency; negative emotion, and intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load negatively influenced cognitive effectiveness or efficiency. Practical and theoretical suggestions were raised as references for researchers and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that emotional testimony given by victims or their family can affect jurors' or lay judges' decision-making processes, but little attention has been paid to cross-cultural and individual variations. The present study examined whether cultural and individual differences were associated with how victim impact statement (VIS) affected mock lay judges' decision making in East Asian contexts. Participants from Japan (n = 74) and Taiwan (n = 64) reviewed a transcript of a lay participation (or Saiban-In) trial with or without an emotional VIS by the bereaved family and then made verdict and sentencing decisions individually. The results showed no main and interaction effects of VIS and culture on verdict decision, perceived strength of evidence, and sentence decision. Regression analyses showed that Need for Affect predicted higher perceived strength of evidence against the defendant and more guilty verdicts, and the effects were stronger in the VIS condition. We concluded that emotional VIS in a written format may not be biasing by nature in East Asian contexts; however, including a VIS could risk the possibility of bias in the fact-finding process of lay judges with a higher tendency to approach emotional information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When recalling autobiographical events, people not only retrieve event details but also the feelings they experienced. The current study examined whether people are able to consistently recall the intensity of past feelings associated with two consequential and negatively valenced events, i.e. the 9/11 attack (N = 769) and the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 726). By comparing experienced and recalled intensities of negative feelings, we discovered that people systematically recall a higher intensity of negative feelings than initially reported – overestimating the intensity of past negative emotional experiences. The COVID-19 dataset also revealed that individuals who experienced greater improvement in emotional well-being displayed smaller biases in recalling their feelings. Across both datasets, the intensity of remembered feelings was correlated with initial feelings and current feelings, but the impact of the current feelings was stronger in the COVID-19 dataset than in the 9/11 dataset. Our results demonstrate that when recalling negative autobiographical events, people tend to overestimate the intensity of prior negative emotional experiences with their degree of bias influenced by current feelings and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have highlighted that temporal source memory can be influenced by factors such as the individual's age and the emotional valence of the event to be remembered. In this study, we investigated how the different points of view (POVs) from which an event is presented could interact with the relationship between age-related differences and emotional valence on temporal source memory. One hundred and forty-one younger adults (aged 18–30) and 90 older adults (aged 65–74) were presented with a series of emotional videos shot from different POVs (first vs. third-person) in three sessions. In the fourth session, participants were asked to indicate in which session (1, 2, or 3) they viewed each video. The results indicated that the first-person POV amplified the effects of the emotional valence on temporal source memory. Only in this experimental condition, older adults "pushed away" negative stimuli by perceiving them as more distant in time, and "kept closer" positive stimuli by perceiving them as more recent. In comparison, younger adults "kept closer" positive stimuli. These findings add to the existing literature on the positivity effect on temporal source memory and highlighted the importance of considering the POV in relation to the emotional valence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affiliation is both an antecedent and a consequence of emotional mimicry (i.e. imitating a counterpart's emotional expression). Thus, interacting with a disliked partner can decrease emotional mimicry, which in turn can further decrease liking. This perpetuating circle has not been investigated in the context of mental health stigma yet. The present study tested the influence of the label "schizophrenia" on liking, interpersonal closeness, and emotional mimicry. In an online experiment (n = 201), participants recruited from the general population saw several videos of actors displaying emotional expressions. Actors were described with one of four labels: "schizophrenia", "healthy", "diabetes", and a negative adjective (e.g. "hot-tempered"). Emotional mimicry was measured using OpenFace 2.2. Liking and interpersonal closeness were assessed with questionnaires. Overall, compared to other labels, participants reported less liking and interpersonal closeness to the actor with the schizophrenia label. However, no effect on emotional mimicry was found. The decreased liking of the schizophrenia actors was explained by a lack of knowledge about schizophrenia and the explicit stigma of schizophrenia. Our study contributes to the literature by highlighting the need to reduce the stigma of schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of emotions on the professional realities and practices of Burkinabè reporters working in conflict-ridden regions of Burkina Faso. To achieve this, it adopts an innovative theoretical perspective that links the emotional turn in journalism to the sociology of risk. Using an original "fieldwork in delegation" methodology involving three focus groups and 37 interviews with Burkinabè journalists, the study closely investigates the specific realities of these volatile areas. The results highlight four main forms of professional adjustment that are emerging in the current context of crisis: (1) individual adjustments - to secure both physical and mental security, (2) professional adjustments - to secure working and employment conditions, (3) media adjustments - to secure the practical and economic functioning of the media companies; and (4) values adjustments - to reflect the core values underpinning the profession in conflict-situation. The article demonstrates that the Burkinabè journalists' current attempt to manage risk and emotion is rooted in their traditional role, but also in the new responsibilities they wish to assume in the current security context. This innovative and significant research provides a useful foundation for reflection for those interested in the experiences of local journalists operating in other global conflict zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the development of Turkish Cypriot refugees' new emotive attachment to abandoned homes, after 1974 Turkish Cypriot Displacement in North Cyprus. After the war in 1974, refugees were relocated into abandoned homes containing objects abandoned by Greek Cypriots, who were also displaced by the war. Using an ethnographic research method, the results suggest that Turkish Cypriot refugees have developed new emotive attachment to abandoned homes through collecting happy family memories over time. Accordingly, they decorated their homes with the family-related material objects as a mirror of their family memories experienced in both their current and former homes. Currently, abandoned homes are described as a family place where refugees are happiest, while it was an uncanny place in the beginning. Finally, this research suggests new directions for research that places emotions at the heart of a project to investigate the development of new attachment to abandoned homes in psychology and sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Examination anxiety is a common occurrence, and is potentially detrimental to student attainment. In recent theorizing, it has been suggested that cognitive appraisals, as put forth in cognitive appraisal theory, and irrational beliefs, as put forth in rational emotive behavior therapy, may interact to predict affectivity. The current research examines the antecedents and associates of examination affect and academic self-concept in undergraduate students. Design: A preliminary study applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure of an irrational beliefs inventory. Study 1 utilized a cross-sectional and correlational approach to testing core theoretical assumptions. Study 2 took a two-wave longitudinal and path analytical approach to examine temporal effects between target variables. Method: All self-report data collection took place in the United Kingdom with university students. We recruited n = 1150, n = 362, n = 662 for preliminary, study 1, and study 2, respectively. Results: Across studies, data indicated that a pattern of adaptive cognitive appraisal was associated with more advantageous affectivity, and better academic self-concept. Conclusions: Reciprocal temporal relationships were revealed between many variables, supporting an interactive and bidirectional view of how cognition and affect are related pertaining to examination anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many authors acknowledge that people share emotions in various social contexts. However, the deeper role of social relationships for shared emotions is poorly understood. I argue that shared emotions are affected by the social relationships in which they emerge. Moreover, shared emotions help people to bond. In order to do so, emotional experiences involve an intentional component that tracks the state of our social relationships. I introduce some new terminology that helps us to clearly distinguish between different kinds of emotional phenomena. I propose to use the term social-relational emotions for emotions the subcomponents of which interact across individuals. I borrow from Helm the distinction between the target, the formal object and the focus of an emotion. By drawing insights from relationship science in general and relational models theory in particular, I elaborate on and explore the idea that shared emotions track social relationships as their foci. Sharing an emotion is experienced as rewarding even when the shared emotion itself is not a pleasant one, because it makes people feel "closer" to one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some argue that emotions represent so-called core relational themes. A core relational theme describes a relation between a particular event and an organism's well-being. For instance, the core relational theme of anger is 'a demeaning offense against me and mine'. I argue that a core relational theme is a summary or generalization of a more complex mental content. Defenders of the Simple Core Relational Theme View reject the idea that emotional content is complex. Instead, they argue that the content of emotion simply consists of a core relational theme. I argue that this view commits the linguistic fallacy: it confuses a theory of emotion categorization with a theory of emotional content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that teachers' feedback plays an important role in students' learning, as it enhances learners' cognitive development; yet there has been little research on how positive feedback given in the form of emojis works in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) courses. In this study, an experiment was designed to clarify how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' emotions are affected when such feedback is presented (no feedback vs. supraliminal feedback vs. subliminal feedback) and to examine how the feedback correlates with their learning effectiveness. A within-subject experiment with 33 participants was designed and administered to examine three proposed research hypotheses. Participants' frontal asymmetry alpha (FAA) and their recollection of the learning contents were used as the index of their emotional valence and learning effectiveness. The results revealed that positive feedback given in the form of emojis generated a positive/approach emotion when it was shown subliminally. Furthermore, a significant relationship was seen between EFL learners' positive emotion and their learning effectiveness; such a finding was supported by the significant relationship between the modes of emoji presentation and the participants' learning effectiveness. This study's originality and value lies in the innovative research method that was adopted and the interesting findings that it yielded. The limitations of this study such as research design and sampling are reported. The study also has practical and theoretical implications for practitioners and scholars of CALL for praxis and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though previous research shows the terminology and framing way that political elites choose can influence public climate attitudes, the association between term preferences and politicization of climate change is understudied. This study focuses on how different social groups in China use terminologies and frames and how the wording and framing choices affect public climate opinions. Using manual and computer-assisted content analysis of the highest viewed videos and users' comments on Bilibili, we found government accounts tended to use climate change (CC) and associated climate problems with politics, while individuals were likely to use global warming (GW) and understood climate mainly from its potential impacts. Post-video comments under the CC-titled videos were about climate politics, while comments under the GW-titled videos focused on humanity and earth. Meanwhile, users' comments to specific video frames had certain emotional patterns. We characterized the differences of CC- and GW-titled videos and comments as politicization and unpoliticization respectively. Our findings suggest that the preferences of terminologies and associated frames among different social groups can affect public opinions and facilitate (un)politicization of climate change in China. This study sheds light on how communication strategies could significantly spin public understanding of important public issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hindsight bias – also known as the knew-it-all-along effect – is a ubiquitous judgment error affecting decision makers. Hindsight bias has been shown to vary across age groups and as a function of contextual factors, such as the decision maker’s emotional state. Despite theoretical reasons why emotions might have a stronger impact on hindsight bias in older than in younger adults, age differences in hindsight bias for emotional events remain relatively underexplored. We examined emotion and hindsight bias in younger and older adults (N = 272) against the backdrop of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Participants predicted electoral college votes for the two presidential candidates before the election and were asked to remember their predictions approximately three weeks later, after the election results had been finalised. Republicans, for whom the electoral outcome was negatively tinged, exhibited greater hindsight bias for President Biden’s result compared with Democrats, for whom the electoral outcome was positive. The asymmetry in hindsight bias between Republicans and Democrats was similar for younger and older participants. This study suggests that negative emotions may exacerbate hindsight bias, and that adult age differences in hindsight bias observed in laboratory settings may not translate to real-world contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAffect-adaptive video games are increasingly concerned with changing game material based on the emotional states of player to best elicit the optimal experience. However, conceptual uncertainties and unreliable methodologies make this process currently difficult and results inconclusive. Here we present a methodological approach to explicitly test mapping assumptions between in-game variables, player input, and subjective experience to build affect-adaptive video games. In Experiment 1, 161 participants played through a newly developed 2D action arcade game. Their data was used to identify associations between game input, presented material, and affective valence. Results made it possible to identify two potential pathways for emotion adaptation which were implemented and evaluated in Experiment 2 (N = 158) against a non-adaptive version of the same game. The player-based emotional adaptation showed a significant increase in self-reported valence compared to the control condition, providing evidence for the utility of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’ maintains an omnipresence throughout modern British culture, apropos of its Second World War roots. And while a growing body of literature has focused on the propagandistic role of music during the Second World War, these studies have yet to link any select musical work’s historical popularity with its enduring preservation in the national cultural memory. This paper analyses the semiotic meanings and influence of ‘We’ll Meet Again’, both in its wartime context and in the ongoing British cultural memory of the war. In so doing, this research extrapolates the song’s inherent connections to wartime ideals of gender and the nation and concludes by presenting a theorised rationale for the song’s cultural longevity in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectivesMethodsResultsConclusionPreliminary examination of emotional awareness/expression relationships with pain in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic pain (CP) and exploration of psychological factors as mediators or moderators of these relationships.Cross-sectional study in adults (N = 59) with chronic TBI and CP using Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 Difficulty Identifying and Describing Feelings subscales; Ambivalence over Emotional Expressiveness Questionnaire; Emotional Approach Coping Scale; PROMIS Pain Intensity and Pain Interference scales, Michigan Body Map (pain widespreadness); headache frequency; Pain Catastrophizing Scale; Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (psychological distress), and Post-traumatic Stress Checklist-Civilian.Difficulty Identifying Feelings was positively associated with pain intensity, pain interference, and headache frequency. Difficulty Describing Feelings was positively correlated with pain interference and headache frequency. Emotional Approach Coping was inversely correlated with headache frequency. Emotional awareness/expression relationships with pain outcomes were mediated by Pain Catastrophizing; Difficulty Describing Feelings relationships with Pain Interference and headache frequency were mediated by psychological distress; and Difficulty Describing Feelings associations with Pain Interference were mediated by post-traumatic stress. No moderators were identified.These preliminary findings suggest that emotional awareness/expression is linked to pain in adults with TBI and CP, which may be connected via pain catastrophizing and psychological distress. If longitudinal studies with larger samples produce similar findings, researchers should explore training emotional awareness/expression for possible pain management after TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed fourteen different American water-efficiency campaigns for evidence of (1) explicit and implicit emotions, (2) explicit and implicit mortality reminders, and (3) cultural worldview appeals that could offer water users self-esteem–striving and worldview-defending opportunities. Self-esteem–striving and worldview defences are components of terror management theory's distal defences, which are used to repress discomforting mortality awareness. We discussed the implications for conservation campaigns containing mortality reminders and/or distal defence opportunities and considered how these potentially undermine residential water-efficiency efforts. Finally, we offered practical recommendations for scholars and practitioners responsible for developing water-efficiency campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the manuscript and two published editions of Anthony Trollope's understudied travelogue South Africa (1878), exploring the affective impetus driving the inconsistency and revisions in his articulations concerning the "native" question in South African colonies. It argues that Trollope's inability to fully legitimise Britain's colonisation of South Africa through conventional discourses stems from the profound impact of his immediate affective responses to the atrocity of colonialism. Trollope wrote with great haste as he travelled, in order to preserve his immediate emotions and thoughts experienced during his travels. In the travelogue, his scepticism of British colonialism ebbs and flows as he vacillates between moral scruples and conservatism during the writing and revision process. This article illuminates a neglected facet of nineteenth-century British travel writing: the travellers' fluctuating emotions contributed to the subtle fluidity of their narratives of colonialism, complicating their complicity in perpetuating racial and colonial ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the emotional experiences and beliefs of individuals who engage in self-harm by analyzing data from an online self-harm forum. Emphasis was placed on understanding how these individuals describe and evaluate their emotions (emotion beliefs) and the role these beliefs play in their emotion regulation and self-harming behaviors. Method: A total of 119 posts from a self-harm discussion board on the forum were analyzed. Thematic analysis, following a critical realist perspective, was employed to identify and interpret recurring patterns in how posters articulated their emotion beliefs. Results: Four themes were created during analysis: "My emotions are too much," "Self-harm as control or controlled by self-harm," "Suppression is better than expression," and "Self-harm helps me escape my emotional pain." Posters described experiencing overwhelming, uncontrollable, and unacceptable emotions, resulting in a desire to suppress or escape them through self-harm. Conclusions: Individuals struggling with self-harm hold negative beliefs about their emotions, which intensify emotional experiences and contribute to feelings of shame and guilt. The findings highlight the necessity of interventions targeting these negative emotion-related beliefs to foster alternative emotional regulation strategies and reduce reliance on self-harm, as well as the importance of increased education on these emotional beliefs for those who support them, in order to reduce stigma. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the potential of online forums in gaining valuable insights into sensitive behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Suicide ideation (SI) is prevalent among college students, and suicide disclosure (SD) is critical for crisis intervention. However, students with SI may worry about stigmatizing responses to their disclosure. To better understand the mechanism of stigmatizing responses to SD, we investigated the effects of a hypothetical classmate's SD on college students' emotions and reasoning when providing advice to a distressed classmate. Method: In a randomized controlled experiment, students wrote advice to a hypothetical classmate who recently failed in his pursuit of a romantic relationship with a peer. The experimental/control group also learned he wanted to either commit suicide/quit school. When typing the advice, participants' facial expressions were recorded and analyzed by Facereader7.1. After advising, participants reported their sadness, joy, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust when advising. Finally, trained coders coded the common themes of their advice and rated the wise reasoning involved. Additionally, two experts in suicide prevention rated the helpfulness of their advice for the classmate. Results: The experimental group showed significantly fewer facial expressions of happiness, reported higher sadness and fear, provided less helpful advice, and mentioned "confronting reality" less during advising. The difference in disgust and wise reasoning was nonsignificant. Conclusion: Learning of a classmate's SI may increase fear and sadness among recipients and reduce the helpfulness of their advice. Increased psychoeducation for students that focuses on improving emotional regulation (especially facial expressions) during SI may reduce the stigma surrounding SI and prevent perceived burdensomeness among individuals with SI after SD. HIGHLIGHTS: Hearing a peer's SI reduced listeners' happiness and increased sadness and fear. Listeners' disgust did not change significantly after learning of a classmate's SI. Learning of a classmate's SI reduced the helpfulness of listeners' advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on school choice within the public school system in Queensland, Australia. While school choice has typically been framed as a logic of economic rationalism (for middle-class families), in this paper we use Ahmed's concept of the cultural politics of emotion to describe a more complex dimension of choice through gendered community. We argue that mothers become responsibilized for school choice, and in the process become emotionally invested in school choosing. In managing their soft bodily desires and hard cognitive rationalities, they are responding to the emotional histories that stick to schools. The problem we frame through our empirical case is that there is a clash of cultures between the type of school mothers desire, and the reality of what schools are, and could ever be. This is the double-bind or 'cruel optimism' of mothering school-aged children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research conducted on emotionality in bilinguals suggests that language use modulates emotional expression. The current study examines bilingual disadvantaged minority members' emotional experience and expression as shaped by the group relations in a conflict area. We hypothesised that, in general, greater emotionality will be found in one's native language. Moreover, since the second language is imposed and acquired in a negative context, there may be differential effects on negative and positive language. A novel ecological paradigm was used: Twenty-eight Palestinian citizens of Israel were videotaped while recounting emotional stories in both Arabic (L1) and Hebrew (L2), resulting in 212 videos. Two studies followed: In Study 1 we compared participants' emotional ratings (1a) and analyzed the content of emotional expression (1b). In Study 2, American participants rated emotional expressiveness. In Study 1, an interaction effect was found between language and valence, with less positive emotions and expressions in L2. In Study 2, a general difference in expressiveness was found in favour of L1. These studies show an effect of power disparities on the emotional load of the second language, thus highlighting the emotional costs of using a second language acquired in a conflict area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored the effects of gamifying learning materials on the health care knowledge and emotions of middle-aged and older adults. A quasi-experimental research study was conducted to examine the effects of different learning approaches on the health care knowledge and emotional experiences of middle-aged and older adults. A total of 84 people voluntarily participated in this study and were assigned to three treatment groups: board games, digital games, and traditional instruction. The findings revealed that participants who engaged with board games demonstrated better health care knowledge than those who used digital games. Additionally, they reported positive emotions, such as pride and relaxation. In contrast, participants who accessed digital games were more likely to experience negative emotions, such as shame, sadness, and hopelessness. For middle-aged and older adults using digital games, it is important to consider their levels of technology acceptance, as this significantly influences their intention to use these tools. The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to strengthen the digital literacy and abilities of middle-aged and older adults to reduce learning-related anxiety. In conclusion, board games serve as a beneficial learning channel for middle-aged and older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional appeals are essential tools for political candidates to motivate supporters, donors, and voters. Prior research has demonstrated the distinct behavioral consequences of discrete emotions, such as anger, anxiety, and enthusiasm. Do political candidates take advantage of these distinctions in their communication strategies? In this paper, I use supervised machine learning to classify emotional content in debate transcripts and contemporaneous tweets of American presidential candidates in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and show that candidates preference different emotional appeals in each communication medium. I argue that this behavior enables candidates to reap strategic benefits from two dissimilar audiences simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a feminist reflection of our experience teaching and learning feminisms with Pacific Islanders. We take as a starting point that feminism itself is encased in emotion. In the Pacific, some antagonise the term "feminism" as a foreign imposition and a "threat" to Pacific cultures. To others, feminism instils hope in the context of egalitarian aspirations framed within a development discourse. Some cautiously engage with feminist values, others embrace the notion passionately, generating multiple Pacific feminisms. Indirectly but instinctively, our approach to the teaching of feminism in this context has been to embark with students on a journey of experience and idea sharing and view it as an emotional journey. Acknowledging our positionalities, with their commonalities and differences, we examine the sentiments towards feminism embedded in postcolonial dynamics, as they manifest in our classrooms, and consider strategies for decolonial pedagogies of feminism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conceptualises hotel quarantine as a dynamic stressor that demands the deployment of coping responses. The study investigates the experiences of travellers who have undergone strict quarantine, through the lens of Lazarus' transactional model of stress and coping. Using 20 semi-structured interviews, this study reveals that the quarantine experience is beleaguered by six stressors, both external and internal. As a result, travellers appraise their resources as insufficient, culminating in an array of psychological and physical effects. In response, problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies are employed. Theoretical insights, as well as practical recommendations, are provided to help prospective guests prepare for the experience, and aid hoteliers in enhancing their offerings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light has been demonstrated to influence transient mood states in healthy populations and can be used as a treatment for clinical mood disorders. However, it is still interesting to know whether stimulus with relatively low light levels can moderate the transient mood state of people with depressive tendencies, and what are the effects respectively from light levels and light color. In this study, 10 subjects with depressive tendencies were recruited and screened to receive a typical lighting intervention, including five crossover conditions with the 300 l×-isoluminance groups (red, 6500 K-white, blue) and 6500 K-isospectral groups (50 lx, 300 lx, and 1500 lx). Negative cognitive bias, high-frequency heart rate variability, and subjective emotion were measured at different stages during the lighting intervention. Statistical results demonstrated that the lighting condition of 1500 lx-6500 K was associated with a transient positive mood state (p < 0.001) and had a significant positive moderating effect on the negative cognitive biases compared with the other groups (p =.017). Colored lights are more likely to trigger negative emotions and negative cognitive biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis article presents findings from a qualitative study exploring parents’ struggles over their children’s education. Drawing on affective practice theory (Wetherell 2012) and feminist care ethics (Fisher and Tronto 1990), we offer insights into the affective practices of care driving parents’ educational activism. We detail how parents’ activism is rooted in both powerful feelings of parental responsibility and wider, more altruistic concerns. We argue that parents’ activism disrupts the binary between altruism and self-interest, indicating instead they can be mutually constitutive of collective action; a complex form of affective practice we designate altruistic self-interest. Our analysis suggests parental activism can be a force for progressive educational change in which care for intimates and care for others coincide, but also that educational authorities might adopt a more care-full approach when making key decisions affecting children, families and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the global rise of English as a lingua franca, there has been a rapid growth of English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes at all educational settings. However, EMI teachers face a variety of challenges due to the multilingual and multicultural contexts in which they operate. The challenges encountered by EMI teachers, including navigating language proficiency gaps, managing pedagogical complexities, and coping with emotional labour in diverse educational environments, play a pivotal role in shaping their professional journey and growth in different EMI classrooms. Through eight featured articles focusing on different contexts (i.e. Argentina, Vietnam, Spain, Hong Kong, and mainland China), this special issue delves into EMI teachers’ lived experiences and continuing development across distinct classroom contexts and offers useful insights into their experiences of identity formation, transformative agency, and professional growth. Collectively, the findings highlight the crucial roles of teacher agency, identity, emotional labour, and professional development in shaping effective EMI practices. Furthermore, they highlight directions for future research that could enhance the effectiveness and well-being of EMI teachers, which in turn may potentially contribute to improved educational outcomes for students in diverse linguistic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed large portions of the global populations to increased daily stressors. Research on risky choice in medical contexts suggests that affect-rich choice options promote less-advantageous decision strategies compared with affect-poor options, causing an “affect gap” in decision making. The current experiments (total N = 437, age range: 21–82) sought to test whether negative pandemic-related affect would lower expected-value (EV) maximisation within individuals. In Experiment 1, participants indicated how much they would be willing to pay to avoid specific pandemic experiences (e.g. “not being able to gather in groups”), and then chose among pairs of risky prospects that involved pandemic experiences or subjectively-equivalent monetary losses. EV maximising was lower for pandemic experiences than for equivalent monetary losses. Experiment 2 replicated this finding, and further demonstrated a moderating role of decision perspective. EV maximising was greater in decisions made for another person than in decisions made for oneself. These findings highlight potential strategies for boosting decision making under affect-rich real-world conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working memory capacity (WMC) refers to the ability to maintain information in short–term memory while attending to the immediate environment, and has been associated with emotional states. Yet, research on the link between WMC and emotion in naturalistic settings is growing and inconsistencies have been observed. In the current study (N = 109), we directly replicated the procedures of a prior experience sampling study (Garrison & Schmeichel, 2022), which found that higher WMC attenuates the relationship between stressful events in daily life and negative affect. We measured WMC in the laboratory and then measured the occurrence of stressful events, momentary emotional states, and coping responses to stress several times a day for six days. Higher WMC was associated with reduced momentary negative emotion, but this relationship did not depend on the occurrence of a stressful event. Exploratory analyses found that higher WMC was associated with a greater likelihood of planning as a coping response to stress and greater number of coping strategies reported per stressful event. However, coping did not mediate the link between WMC and momentary negative emotion. Our results contribute to the robustness and ecological validity of the link between WMC and reduced negative emotion in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional false memory findings using the DRM paradigm have been marked by higher false alarms to negatively arousing compared to neutral critical lure items. Explanations for these findings have mainly focused on false memory-based accounts. However, here we address the question of whether a response bias for emotional stimuli can, at least in part, explain this phenomenon. Participants viewed both neutral and negative arousing DRM lists and completed a recognition test in speeded or self-paced conditions. Speeded test reduces the opportunity to adjust response bias. Analysis showed no significant difference in false recognition across critical lure types for the speeded condition, but false recognition was higher for negative compared to neutral critical lures in the self-paced condition. We argue that when retrieval does not allow for shifts in response criteria, false alarms to negative emotional critical lures appear more similar to neutral equivalents. The discussion explores memory-based and criterion-shift explanations for the enhanced emotional false memory finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional events are often remembered better than neutral ones; however, emotion can also spill over and affect our memory for neutral experiences that precede an emotional event. Theories suggest that emotion can retroactively enhance memory for preceding neutral events that are considered high-priority while impairing memory for events deemed low-priority. However, the impact of conceptual relationships (i.e., semantic connections) between preceding neutral information and emotional events on memory for the preceding information has received little attention. This study investigated the influence of conceptual relatedness on the retroactive effects of emotion on memory. Participants sequentially encoded pairs of images that were high or low in conceptual relatedness, each comprising a neutral object followed by either a negative or neutral image. Participants returned the next day for a recognition memory assessment. The results indicated an interactive effect of emotion and conceptual relatedness on memory: In a “discovery” sample, memory was poorer for images preceding conceptually unrelated negative (vs. neutral) images, while the opposite pattern was seen for conceptually related images. In a “replication” sample, these effects were partially replicated, with the former impairment effect statistically observed but not the latter augmentation effect. Hence, conceptual relatedness affects how negative emotion influences memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractCivic protests around the globe have tried to highlight the increasing soft authoritarianism in democratic states. Under strict scrutiny, protestors have to devise a methodology that can help spread their message and yet not attract legal attention. Using a first-hand account, through activist-participatory observation, in the Justice for Rohith Vemula movement at the University of Hyderabad, India in 2016, this article develops the concept of ‘reasoned emotion’ to show how andolanjeevis tried to reach out to the non-protesting university community. The movement was aimed at seeking justice for the institutional discrimination meted out to Dalit-Bahujan students in Indian universities, and it started after the suicide of Rohith Vemula – an exceptionally bright, politically active Dalit doctoral researcher at the University of Hyderabad. By sharing factual legal documents to gain legitimacy and highlight the atrocities committed by the university administration in ‘socially boycotting’ five Dalit students, the andolanjeevis used binding reason to appeal to the emotional knowledge of the students. The performative aspect of the emotional appeal not only empowers protestors to mobilise empathy but also engenders an act of de-silencing suppressed narratives. This conceptualisation of the activism space foregrounds reason with emotion to build affective communities of support and solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis of breast cancer, depends significantly on its stage. However, early diagnosis happens infrequently due to delayed seeking of medical attention; and women's knowledge about the disease is important for timely diagnosis. We conducted this study to examine whether education offered via a traditional booklet or WhatsApp yielded superior results in increasing women's breast cancer knowledge. For this, an educational content organized in an easy language was delivered by two different methods to women attending our clinic: Video messages were sent to Group A by WhatsApp, and Group B received an easy-to-use attractive small book. Prticipants filled in a pre-test before, and a post-test three months after the intervention. Totally, 164 women completed the study; 86 in Group A, and 78 in Group B. The mean age was 42 (18–61) years. The two groups matched by age and level of education, and pre-test knowledge scores were statistically similar (p-value >0.05). The learning rate (p = 0.040) and the satisfaction rate (p = 0.014) were significantly higher in Group A, and the emotional improvement was also more prominent (but not statistically significant) in this group. There was no significant association between the studying rate and the rate of learning. This study showed that a short easy teaching program about breast cancer delivered via WhatsApp caused a higher rate of learning than the traditional paperback mode. Considering that WhatsApp is a very popular mobile application, this is a very useful finding in the topic of women's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emotion categorization has often been studied in the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (RR-MS), suggesting an impairment in the recognition of emotions. The production of facial emotional expressions in RR-MS has not been considered, despite their importance in non-verbal communication. Method: Twenty-five RR-MS patients and twenty-five matched controls completed a task of emotional categorization during which their faces were filmed. The stimuli were dynamic (sound or visual), expressed by adults (women or men), and expressing happy (laughing or smiling) or negative emotion. Two independent blinded raters quantified the happy facial expressions produced. The categorization task was used as a proxy for emotional categorization, while the happy facial expressions produced assessed the production of emotions. Results: The main analysis indicated impaired categorization of RR-MS for happy stimuli selectively, whereas their happy facial expressions were not statistically different from those of the control group. More specifically, this group effect was found for smiles (and not laughter) and for happy stimuli produced by men. Analysis of individual patient profiles suggested that 77% of patients with impaired judgments produced normal facial expressions, suggesting a high prevalence of this dissociation. Only 8% of our samples showed reverse dissociation, with happy facial expressions significantly different from those of the control group and normal emotional judgments. Conclusion: These results corroborated the high prevalence of emotional categorization impairment in RR-MS but not for negative stimuli, which can probably be explained by the methodological specificities of the present work. The unusual impairment found for happy stimuli (for both emotional categorization and facial congruence) may be linked to the intensity of the perceived happy expressions but not to the emotional valence. Our results also indicated a mainly preserved production of facial emotions, which may be used in the future sociocognitive care of RR-MS patients with impaired emotional judgments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swearing uses language forms that are taboo and potentially offensive. These are often used for emotional expression. Multilingual research shows that because the first language retains most emotional force (Dewaele [2004]. "The Emotional Force of Swearwords and Taboo Words in the Speech of Multilinguals." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 25 (2/3): 204–219; Pavlenko [2012]. "Affective Processing in Bilingual Speakers: Disembodied Cognition?" International Journal of Psychology 47 (6): 405–428), it is often the language of choice for swearing. Furthermore, swearing frequency and language preference are associated with different personality traits (Dewaele [2017a]. "Self-Reported Frequency of Swearing in English: Do Situational, Psychological and Socio-Biographical Variables Have Similar Effects on First and Foreign Language Users?" Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38 (4): 330–345). This study draws together these multilingualism research areas to investigate Persian immigrants' language choice for swearing, with reference to personality traits and socio-biographical factors, and in light of the Iranian cultural context. A mixed methods approach was adopted combining questionnaire and interview data. 204 Persian–English multilinguals residing outside Iran participated. Key findings revealed nuanced gender and personality dimensions. Specifically, women with higher Social Initiative (Extraversion) used English swearwords more frequently than Persian swearwords. Men who showed lower Emotional Stability (high Neuroticism) used Persian swearwords more frequently than English swearwords. There was also a positive relation between frequency of the use of Persian/English, self-rated knowledge in Persian/English, and Cultural Empathy and Open-mindedness. Semi-structured interviews provided deeper insight into these language choices. The study highlights how language preferences for swearing are shaped by both personality and socio-biographical factors in complex and nuanced ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that discriminatory policing can erode public trust in police. Yet, little research has examined the role that contempt can play in explaining this relationship. Focusing on Muslims in Australia, we test whether procedural justice and police effectiveness are associated with enhanced trust in police across two policing contexts (general duties policing and counterterrorism policing), and whether Muslims' level of contempt for police mediates these relationships. Using survey data from 504 Muslims, we show that both procedural justice and police effectiveness are positively associated with Muslims' trust in the police and negatively associated with contempt across both policing contexts. We also find that contempt is negatively associated with trust in both policing contexts. Finally, our findings show that contempt partially mediates the relationship between procedural justice and trust and between police effectiveness and trust. These findings reinforce the need for police to draw on procedurally fair and effective service delivery when engaging with minority groups who report strained relations with police. Our findings also highlight the need for scholars to closely consider distinct emotions as an important theoretical mechanism linking discriminatory police treatment with public (dis)trust of police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is considerable evidence to support Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) in the adult population, it has not been empirically studied in youth. EFT does not rely on an individual's adherence to manualized strategies or between-session homework tasks, focusing instead on within-session processes. These processes activate and transform core emotions that are often linked to experiences with primary caregivers, family members, and other significant relationships. This novel study reports on an adaptation of EFT for youth. Building upon the evidence base for EFT with adults, we examined the impact of an 8-session EFT-Y intervention on clinical disorders in youth (n = 43). Using a single-site randomized waitlist-controlled design, outcomes from a treatment group (n = 22) were compared to a waitlist control group (n = 21), similar in age and presenting problems. In comparison to youth in the waitlist control group, the treatment group reported a significant decrease in their emotion dysregulation and depression scores at the end of treatment. Youth in the treatment group also demonstrated a decrease in their emotion difficulties, conduct problems, and overall difficulties, with baseline scores controlled for. These findings provide preliminary evidence that EFT-Y is an efficacious therapeutic approach for common child and adolescent psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although interdisciplinary scholars have long debated the ethics of empathy, it continues to be widely seen as universal, prosocial, and reparative in education. Subject English, long associated with the work of producing civilised, moral and cultured students, is a critical locus for the activation of empathy. But what becomes of empathy in the high stakes senior secondary English classroom? Drawing on an in-school ethnography, the paper begins to map the ways in which empathy is activated through and around set literary texts in Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) English classrooms in Australia. In so doing, it highlights the unpredictable nature of empathy as a relation exceeding pedagogical mediation, as well as the troublesome aspects of empathy entangled with neoliberal imperatives and the interpellation of the civilised English student. Finally, it turns to the generative possibilities of an empathy unsettled – an unruly empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across four studies, we explored how feeling nostalgic about an attitude object impacts the metacognitive characteristics of the attitude toward that object and how those metacognitions predict the evaluation's underlying strength. In each study, participants reflected on and evaluated a song or television show that either did or did not elicit nostalgia. Across these studies, we found support for the hypotheses that nostalgic attitude objects are viewed more positively, appraised with greater attitudinal importance, and exhibited less objective ambivalence. In Study 4, we observed that nostalgic attitudes are associated with greater behavioural intentions and that this relationship was mediated both by attitudinal importance and objective ambivalence. These studies contribute to our understanding of how nostalgia affects attitude formation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correlational pilot study (N = 143) and an integrative data analysis of two experiments (total N = 377) provide evidence linking anger to the psychology of social hierarchy. The experiments demonstrate that the experience of anger increases the psychological accessibility of implicit cognitions related to social hierarchy: compared to participants in a control condition, participants in an anger-priming condition completed word stems with significantly more hierarchy-related words. We found little support for sex differences in the effect of anger on implicit hierarchy-related cognition; effects were equivalent across male and female participants. Findings fit with functionalist evolutionary views of anger suggesting that anger may motivate the use of dominance to strive for high social rank in group hierarchies. Implications for downstream behaviour, including aggression and negotiation, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Play can create a safe environment for children to escape from worries. The global COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders were stressful events for young children and families. This case study documents children's and parents' play, emotions and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Five mothers and their young children participated in our study, and we used the Parent Play Preferences Questionnaire (PPPQ), a semi-structured interview, and mother–child tasks for data collection in the Summer of 2020. Findings showed young children's daily activities and play changed, and both mothers and children experienced various emotions. Children were aware of the precautions taken to protect themselves from COVID-19, and they attempted to keep the play characters safe in their play. Children reported missing friends, school, playgrounds and playing with others. Our study highlights the importance of parent–child conversations and play to cope with unexpected events in children's lives and captures children's voices in early childhood education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has affected different aspects of teachers' personal and professional lives, including their teaching skills and their relationships with each other and the children they teach. This study investigated the effects of COVID-19 on preschool teachers' identity in a city in South East Turkey between September and October 2020. It aimed to understand how the teachers coped with the situation and how they feel about their personal and professional lives in the wake of the pandemic. The study was qualitative and used semi-structured interviews as the data collection method. The participants included 29 preschool teachers (one male and 28 female). Three main themes emerged from the data: emotional bonds, improving professional knowledge and taking on more responsibilities. The findings indicated that the participating teachers faced challenges in establishing emotional bonds with children, and they felt that a vital part of their profession was missing. The findings demonstrate that the teachers considered the pandemic as an opportunity to revise and improve their professional knowledge of child development and their use of technology in teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In restorative justice (RJ), forgiveness is usually eschewed because it is narrowly defined as a bilateral process. However, this conceptualisation neglects the multi-dimensionality of forgiveness in RJ because forgiveness can take place beyond an interpersonal level. We aim to shed light on the intrapersonal dimension of forgiveness in RJ. By redefining forgiveness in RJ, we argue that (1) intrapersonal forgiveness is as compatible with RJ as interpersonal forgiveness; (2) intrapersonal forgiveness comes before interpersonal forgiveness and facilitates it in RJ; (3) unlike interpersonal forgiveness as an emergent value, intrapersonal forgiveness can be embraced as a maximising value in RJ; (4) intrapersonal and interpersonal forgiveness can serve as a catalyst for victim recovery and desistance from crime in RJ respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory and research about trust in news typically draws on normative understandings of news as a conduit for information transmission in the service of the media's role as the Fourth Estate in democratic systems. These approaches rely on a narrow top-down view of trust, and of how and why people use news in their daily lives. In this study, we offer a complementary audience-centric view of trust in news, which foregrounds three attributes beyond politics and professional practice, closer to Carey's formulation of communication as ritual, which we argue is better aligned with how much of the public engages with news. Our qualitative analysis of focus groups and interviews in Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States identifies three attributes of trust in news that extend beyond the transmission view of communication—specifically those pertaining to habit, emotion, and identity. These findings show the importance of considering how trust operates through sociocultural levels sometimes in tandem with, but in other ways orthogonal to, political factors. We posit that journalists and reformer-advocates for journalism seeking effective strategies for rebuilding trust may need to look beyond politics and the professional practices in the industry to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]