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The COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges to psychological wellbeing, but how can we predict when people suffer or cope during sustained stress? Here, we test the prediction that specific types of momentary emotional experiences are differently linked to psychological wellbeing during the pandemic. Study 1 used survey data collected from 24,221 participants in 51 countries during the COVID-19 outbreak. We show that, across countries, wellbeing is linked to individuals’ recent emotional experiences, including calm, hope, anxiety, loneliness, and sadness. Consistent results are found in two age, sex, and ethnicity-representative samples in the United Kingdom (N = 971) and the United States (N=961) with pre-registered analyses (Study 2). A prospective 30-day daily diary study conducted in the United Kingdom (N = 110) confirms the key role of these five emotions, and demonstrates that emotional experiences precede changes in wellbeing (Study 3). Our findings highlight differential relationships between specific types of momentary emotional experiences and wellbeing, and point to the cultivation of calm and hope as candidate routes for wellbeing interventions during periods of sustained stress.

Nonverbal vocalizations of some emotions have been found to be recognizable both within and across cultures. However, East Asians tend to suppress socially disengaging emotions because of interdependent views on self-other relationships. Here we tested the possibility that norms in interdependent cultures around socially disengaging emotions may influence nonverbal vocal communication of emotions. Specifically, we predicted that East Asians' vocalizations of socially disengaging emotions would be less recognizable to Westerners than those of other emotions. To test this hypothesis, we performed a balanced cross-cultural experiment in which 30 Dutch and 30 Japanese listeners categorized and rated Dutch and Japanese vocalizations expressing nine emotions including anger and triumph, two socially disengaging emotions. The only condition for which recognition performance failed to exceed chance level was Dutch listeners' judgments of Japanese anger vocalizations, p = .302. The magnitude of the in-group advantage (i.e., enhanced recognition accuracy when producer and perceiver cultures match) was also largest for Japanese anger vocalizations out of all the 18 conditions investigated, p < .001. The second largest in-group advantage was obtained for Japanese triumph vocalizations, p < .001. In addition, Dutch listeners rated Japanese vocalizations of anger and triumph as less intense, negative/positive, and aroused than did Japanese listeners, ps < .001. Taken together, these findings suggest that East Asian-specific cultural norms of interpersonal relationships are associated with specificity in nonverbal vocal communication of socially disengaging emotions, especially anger, to the point that some signals can only be understood by individuals who are culturally familiar with them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Around the globe, people are living under the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many are experiencing curtailed opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and real-world social interactions. These conditions present a significant challenge to wellbeing1,2 and it is therefore essential to examine the factors associated with psychological wellbeing during this pandemic and other collective crises3. Here, we used survey data collected from 26,684 participants in 51 countries from 17 April to 15 May 2020 to examine the individual and societal factors that predict the degree of individuals’ suffering or thriving during the COVID-19 outbreak. We show that wellbeing is linked to an individual’s recent experiences of specific momentary positive and negative emotions, including calm, loneliness, love, and determination, as well as socioeconomic status. Around the world, calm, connection, and control were found to be central to wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak. The results are consistent with findings from two representative samples using pre-registered analyses, and a prospective 30-day daily diary study. Our findings highlight differential relationships between socio-affective processes and wellbeing during collective crises, and point to the importance of momentary experiences of calm, love and determination, particularly for those in less privileged positions in society. Funding Statement: This research was supported by ERC Starting grant 714977 awarded to D.A.S. Declaration of Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: The study received approval from the University of Amsterdam Department of Psychology Ethics Committee and all participants provided digital informed consent.

We investigated differences in trunk rotation patterns during baseball batting in eight skilled (collegiate level) players and nine unskilled novices using high-speed video cameras. The maximum angle during the backswing, angle at bat-ball impact, and angular displacement during the forward swing were analyzed for data on upper torso, pelvis, and torso-pelvis interaction (trunk twist) angles. We also noted movement variability in these angles over 10 trials, which was calculated as the standard deviation. The timing of the maximum angle during the backswing and variability was also analyzed. Statistical analysis revealed that angular displacements in the upper torso, pelvis, and torso-pelvis interaction were significantly larger in skilled players than in unskilled novices (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.05, respectively). The timing of the maximum pelvis angle during the backswing was significantly later in skilled players than in unskilled novices (p < 0.05). Movement variability in angular displacement during the forward swing and timing during the backswing were significantly greater in unskilled novices than skilled players. Although many previous studies reported the importance of angular velocity in trunk rotation during baseball batting, our results indicate that angular displacement and movement variability during trunk rotation are also key components for understanding the proficiency of skilled baseball players and unskilled novices.

The presence of an evaluative audience can alter skilled motor performance through changes in force output. To investigate how this is mediated within the brain, we emulated real-time social monitoring of participants’ performance of a fine grip task during functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging. We observed an increase in force output during social evaluation that was accompanied by focal reductions in activity within bilateral inferior parietal cortex. Moreover, deactivation of the left inferior parietal cortex predicted both inter- and intra-individual differences in socially-induced change in grip force. Social evaluation also enhanced activation within the posterior superior temporal sulcus, which conveys visual information about others’ actions to the inferior parietal cortex. Interestingly, functional connectivity between these two regions was attenuated by social evaluation. Our data suggest that social evaluation can vary force output through the altered engagement of inferior parietal cortex; a region implicated in sensorimotor integration necessary for object manipulation and a component of the action-observation network which integrates and facilitates performance of observed actions. Social-evaluative situations may induce high-level representational incoherence between one’s own intentioned action and the perceived intention of others which, by uncoupling the dynamics of sensorimotor facilitation, could ultimately perturbe motor output.

While novices who are unfamiliar to a new motor skill typically show variable and unstable movements, highly skilled experts show a stable and accurate performance. These distinct differences in motor control between experts and novices have led researchers to hypothesize that neuromotor noise is reduced in the process of motor skill acquisition. On the other hand, it should be noted that novices’ movements have other characteristics; they are habituated and stereotyped. In this review, we discuss the principles governing spatiotemporal organization of movements in novices and experts while solving specific motor problems under varied conditions, by introducing experimental and theoretical studies that use neurophysiological techniques such as electromyography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and transcranial magnetic stimulation, and mathematical models such as stochastic and dynamical models. On the basis of the findings from a variety of perceptual-motor skills (e.g., ballthrowing, badminton smash, long-distance running, piano and drum performance, street dance, a popular hand game of rock-paper-scissors, and temporal order judgement task), we argue that the novices’ characteristic movement patterns were organized under specific constraints and typical strategy, without which the variability would increase even more, while experts’ movements were organized with functional and compensatory variability that can drive out erroneous noise variability. We also showed that in a particular type of interlimb coordination, skilled and unskilled movement patterns could be seamlessly described as the time evolution of nonlinear and self-organized dynamical systems, suggesting that the dynamical systems approach is a major candidate for understanding the principle underlying organization of experts’ and novices’ movements.

We review research on athletes' brains based on data obtained using non-invasive neurophysiological and neuroimaging methods; these data pertain to cognitive processing of visual, auditory, and somatosensory (tactile) stimulation as well as to motor processing, including preparation, execution, and imagery. It has been generally accepted that athletes are faster, stronger, able to jump higher, more accurate, more efficient, more consistent, and more automatic in their sports performances than non-athletes. These claims have been substantiated by neuroscientific evidence of the mechanisms underlying the plastic adaptive changes in the neuronal circuits of the brains of athletes. Reinforced neural networks and plastic changes are induced by the acquisition and execution of compound motor skills during extensive daily physical training that requires quick stimulus discrimination, decision making, and specific attention. In addition, it is likely that the manner of neuronal modulation differs among sports. We also discuss several problems that should be addressed in future studies.

Music performance anxiety (MPA), or stage fright in music performance, is a serious problem for many musicians, because performance impairment accompanied by MPA can threaten their career. The present study sought to clarify on how a social-evaluative performance situation affects subjective, autonomic, and motor stress responses in pianists. Measurements of subjective state anxiety, heart rate (HR), sweat rate (SR), and electromyographic (EMG) activity of upper extremity muscles were obtained while 18 skilled pianists performed a solo piano piece(s) of their choice under stressful (competition) and non-stressful (rehearsal) conditions. Participants reported greater anxiety in the competition condition, which confirmed the effectiveness of stress manipulation. The HR and SR considerably increased from the rehearsal to competition condition reflecting the activation of sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Furthermore, participants showed higher levels of the EMG magnitude of proximal muscles (biceps brachii and upper trapezius) and the co-contraction of antagonistic muscles in the forearm (extensor digitorum communis and flexor digitorum superficialis) in the competition condition. Although these responses can be interpreted as integral components of an adaptive biological system that creates a state of motor readiness in an unstable or unpredictable environment, they can adversely influence pianists by disrupting their fine motor control on stage and by increasing the risk of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders.

The present study examined the effects of psychological stress on performance quality, autonomic responses, and upper extremity muscle activity in skilled pianists through comparisons between stressful (competition) and nonstressful (rehearsal) conditions. We observed increased levels of subjective anxiety, autonomic arousal, and electromyographic activity in the competition condition, which could contribute to the impairment of performance quality. The results provide important practical implications for enhancing performance quality as well as preventing playing-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians.

This study investigated the relationship between the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2R, Cox, Martens, & Russell, 2003; Jones & Swain, 1992; Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990) subscales and the quality of music performance to compare the anxiety-performance relationship in pianists with that in athletes and to gain insights into the effective coping strategies for music performance anxiety (MPA). Fifty one students (15 women and 36 men) aged 18–26 years ( M = 20.6, SD = 2.3) completed the CSAI-2R just prior to their individual piano performances in a concert, followed by the self-evaluation of performance quality. The CSAI-2R demonstrated adequate psychometric properties when applied to MPA. Consistent with the previous findings in sport psychology, correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses showed that self-confidence intensity positively predicted global performance ( p < .001). Cognitive anxiety intensity negatively predicted technical accuracy ( p < .05), while cognitive anxiety direction positively predicted global performance ( p < .05). On the other hand, the correlation between somatic anxiety and performance was non-significant. We conclude that acquiring self-confidence, reducing pre-performance cognitive anxiety, and interpreting the symptoms of cognitive anxiety as being facilitative to the subsequent performance will improve performance quality. Based on the present findings, the effectiveness of mental skills training for athletes and some educational methods in treating MPA is discussed.

The present study examined the effects of psychological stress, as manipulated by performance evaluation, on the cognitive, physiological, and behavioral components of music performance anxiety (MPA) and performance quality. Twelve skilled pianists (five women, seven men) aged 21.9 ± 3.3 yrs performed arpeggios on a digital piano at the metronome-paced fastest possible tempo under the evaluation and no-evaluation conditions. Measurements were made of self-reported state anxiety, heart rate (HR), sweat rate (SR), and electromyographic (EMG) activity from eight arm and shoulder muscles, and MIDI signals were obtained. The increases in selfreported anxiety score, HR, and SR in the evaluation condition confirmed the effectiveness of stress manipulation. The EMG activity of all the muscles investigated significantly increased from the no-evaluation to evaluation condition, suggesting that psychological stress can add to the risk of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders. Furthermore, the elevated muscle activity in the forearm was accompanied by increased key velocities. We also obtained the first evidence of increased arm stiffness associated with MPA by estimating the cocontraction levels of antagonist muscles in the forearm and upper arm. Consistent with the three systems model of anxiety, the three MPA components were moderately intercorrelated. Participants with high trait anxiety showed stronger correlations between the self-reported anxiety score and other objective measures, which indicated their heightened perceptual sensitivity to physiological and behavioral changes caused by psychological stress. These results provide some practical implications for understanding and coping with MPA. Med Probl Perform Art 2008;23:120–132.

We investigated how the emotional valence of an action outcome influences the experience of control, in an intentional binding experiment. Voluntary actions were followed by emotionally positive or negative human vocalisations, or by neutral tones. We used mental chronometry to measure a retrospective component of sense of agency (SoA), triggered by the occurrence of the action outcome, and a prospective component, driven by the expectation that the outcome will occur. Positive outcomes enhanced the retrospective component of SoA, but only when both occurrence and the valence of the outcome were unexpected. When the valence of outcomes was blocked - and therefore predictable - we found a prospective component of SoA when neutral tones were expected but did not actually occur. This prospective binding was absent, and reversed, for positive and negative expected outcomes. Emotional expectation counteracts the prospective component of SoA, suggesting a distancing effect.

Focal hand dystonia in musicians, which is characterized by involuntary flexion and/or extension of fingers while playing musical instruments, is a disabling neurological disorder that can even threaten their careers. The present study investigated whether or how a non-invasive intervention for focal hand dystonia called “slow-down exercise” affects motor performance, muscular activity, and somatosensation in a dystonic pianist. The patient was asked to performa simple five-finger exercise at three different tempi on a digital piano, just prior to, 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months after the onset of the slow-down exercise training. As the rehabilitation proceeded, the patient improved the regularity of piano keystrokes, as objectively quantified using musical instrument digital interface signals. Measurements of surface electromyographic activity from the forearm muscles demonstrated that the patient gradually regained the inherent bilateral difference in the co-contraction level of the extensor digitorum communis and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles. Furthermore, the practice of slow-down exercise lowered the two-point discrimination thresholds of affected fingers, indicating the restoration of tactile spatial resolution. These findings not only confirm the effectiveness of slow-down exercise for the treatment of focal hand dystonia but also provide objective evidence that a simple behavioral intervention can reverse the reorganization of sensorimotor neural networks in dystonic patients.

SummarySense of agency (SoA) refers to the feeling that one’s voluntary actions produce external sensory events [1, 2]. Several psychological theories hypothesized links between SoA and affective evaluation [3–6]. For example, people tend to attribute positive outcomes to their own actions, perhaps reflecting high-level narrative processes that enhance self-esteem [3]. Here we provide the first evidence that such emotional modulations also involve changes in the low-level sensorimotor basis of agency. The intentional binding paradigm [1] was used to quantify the subjective temporal compression between a voluntary action and its sensory consequences, providing an implicit measure of SoA. Emotional valence of action outcomes was manipulated by following participants’ key-press actions with negative or positive emotional vocalizations [7], or neutral sounds. We found that intentional binding was reduced for negative compared to positive or neutral outcomes. Discriminant analyses identified a change in time perception of both actions and their negative outcomes, demonstrating that the experience of action itself is subject to affective modulation. A small binding benefit was also found for positive action outcomes. Emotional modulation of SoA may contribute to regulating social behavior. Correctly tracking the valenced effects of one’s voluntary actions on other people could underlie successful social interactions.

We investigated the muscle activation pattern of lower limbs in baseball batting by recording surface electromyography (sEMG) from 8 muscles, the left and right rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles. The muscle activities were compared between 10 skilled baseball players and 10 unskilled novices. The batting motion was divided into 7 phases: waiting, shifting body weight, stepping, landing, swing, impact, and follow through. The timing for these phases was analyzed by using a high-speed video camera. The onset latencies of sEMG were significantly earlier in baseball players at the left-RF (p < 0.01), right-BF (p < 0.05), and left-BF (p < 0.01). The peak amplitudes of sEMG activity were greater in skilled players at the right-RF (p < 0.01), right-BF (p < 0.01), left-BF (p < 0.01), left-TA (p < 0.01), right-MG (p < 0.01), and left-MG (p < 0.05). The timing for shifting, stepping, and landing was also significantly earlier in skilled players (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively). Our findings suggest that preparations for the swing are made earlier in skilled baseball players who recruit their lower muscles for the swing more effectively than novices.

We investigated the muscle activation pattern of the lower limbs for the stopping motion of baseball batting by recording surface electromyography (EMG) from 8 muscles, the left and right rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles. First, muscle activities for 'Swing' and 'Stopping' trials were examined in 10 skilled baseball players and 10 unskilled novices. Second, the characteristics of EMG activities for 'Stopping' were compared between the 2 groups. The peak latencies of EMG were significantly shorter in 'Stopping' than in 'Swing' at the right-TA, left-BF, and left-MG between both groups. The peak amplitudes of EMG activity were significantly larger in 'Swing' than in 'Stopping' at the right-TA, left-BF, and left-MG in both groups. In addition, the peak amplitudes of EMG activity for 'Stopping' were significantly larger in the players than in novices at the right-RF and right-TA. The characteristics of EMG activity clearly differed between 'Swing' and 'Stopping,' and between baseball players and nonplayers, indicating that evaluating the EMG activity in batting enables the understanding of proficiency. Our findings should help players, novices, and coaches to optimize batting performance.

We investigated the pattern of head movement during baseball batting in 8 skilled players and 9 unskilled novices, using a high-speed video camera. The 2 directions of head movement were analyzed as an X-axis (from the home plate to the pitcher's plate) and Z-axis (vertical downward). On the X-axis, peak latency, peak value, the distance from the peak to the value at bat-ball impact, and data variability were compared between the 2 groups. On the Z-axis, peak latency, downward distance, and data variability were analyzed. Peak latency on the X-axis occurred significantly earlier in baseball players than in novices (p < 0.001), and the difference between the minimum peak and impact was significantly larger in the players (p < 0.05). The variability in peak latency on the X-axis was significantly larger in the novices (p < 0.05). The variability in peak value on the Z-axis was also significantly larger in the novices (p < 0.05). Our findings showed that the significant differences in head movement between the 2 groups should help baseball players, beginners, coaches, and strength and conditioning professionals to improve performance, be effectively applied to actual practice, and enhance coaching for batting.