abstract: Researchers lament that feedback interventions often fail. Traditional theories assume a cognitive relationship between the receipt of feedback and its impact on employee performance. I offer a theoretical model derived from Affective Events and Broaden and Build Theories to shed new light on the feedback-performance relationship. I bridge the two primary streams of feedback literature-the passive receipt and active seeking-to examine how employees' affective responses to feedback drive how they use feedback to improve performance. I develop and test a model whereby supervisor developmental feedback and coworker feedback seeking relate to the positivity ratio (the ratio of positive as compared to negative affect), enabling them to be more creative and thus improving their performance. I test my model using Experience Sampling Methodology with a sample of MBA students over a two week working period. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2014

Orientadores: Fernando Cendes, Priscila Camile Barioni Salgado / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T06:49:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nogueira_MateusHenrique_M.pdf: 10853006 bytes, checksum: 6d8dedc970380ba9d12e0c0d44f6b32e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Os transtornos de humor e de ansiedade são transtornos psiquiátricos frequentemente encontrados na epilepsia de lobo temporal mesial (ELTM). Essas comorbidades aparentam ser o produto de uma complexa interação entre os efeitos das drogas antiepilépticas (DAEs), das alterações neurobiológicas associadas às crises epilépticas, das experiências subjetivas e da vulnerabilidade social causada pelo impacto psicossocial da epilepsia. A proposta deste estudo foi avaliar os transtornos de humor e de ansiedade em pacientes com ELTM e correlacionar os dados clínicos e demográficos dos pacientes com as comorbidades psiquiátricas. Os participantes, avaliados no período de 02/2010 a 07/2011, eram pacientes com ELTM acompanhados no ambulatório de epilepsia do Departamento de Neurologia da FCM/UNICAMP. As entrevistas ocorreram de forma individual, com duração média de uma hora e meia. Foram utilizados como instrumentos de avaliação a Entrevista Clínica Estruturada para o DSM-IV-Transtornos do Eixo I (SCID I), o Inventário de Ansiedade Estado e Traço - IDATE I e II e o Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI). Os pacientes que concordaram em participar do estudo assinaram o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido, aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética da UNICAMP. Utilizamos para a análise estatística o programa SYSTAT 9®, com os testes Qui-quadrado ou Teste Exato de Fisher, Mann-Whitney e as correlações de Spearman. Foram avaliados 104 pacientes, considerando os critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Os transtornos psiquiátricos foram encontrados em 34 (32,70%) pacientes, sendo que destes, 47,06% não possuíam um diagnóstico prévio de transtornos psiquiátricos. O grupo de pacientes com comorbidades psiquiátricas se mostrou mais refratário ao tratamento clínico (p=0,03), apresentando maior frequência mensal de crises epilépticas (p=0,004) e maiores escores no BDI, IDATE-Traço e IDATE-Estado (p<0,0001). Houve associação significativa entre a refratariedade ao tratamento clínico da epilepsia e maiores escores no BDI (p<0,0001), IDATE-Traço e IDATE-Estado (p=0,002). Os resultados apontaram uma tendência em relação à maior ocorrência de transtornos psiquiátricos no gênero feminino (p=0,052), apresentando também escores maiores no BDI em comparação ao gênero masculino (p=0,029). Subdividimos o grupo de pacientes com transtornos psiquiátricos em dois grupos: um apenas com indicativos de transtornos de humor (GTH) e o outro com transtornos de humor e de ansiedade (GTHA). Os pacientes do GTHA apresentaram maior frequência mensal de crises (p=0,029) em relação aos pacientes do GTH. A presença de ideação suicida foi significativa (p<0,0001) no grupo de pacientes com transtornos psiquiátricos e correlacionada a maiores escores no BDI, IDATE-Traço e IDATE-Estado (p<0,0001). Maiores escores no BDI foram relacionados aos pacientes que não possuíam uma atividade profissional (p=0,046). A associação entre as comorbidades psiquiátricas e a epilepsia ainda é subdiagnosticada e pode influenciar negativamente o tratamento clínico da epilepsia / Abstract: Mood and anxiety disorders are psychiatric disorders often found in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). These comorbidities appear to be the product of a complex interaction between the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), neurophysiological changes resulting from epileptic seizures, subjective experiences and social vulnerability caused by psychosocial impact of epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to assess mood disorders and anxiety in patients with MTLE and correlate the clinical and demographic data of patients with psychiatric comorbidities. Patients were evaluated between February 2010 and July 2011. Patients were followed at the epilepsy outpatient clinic from the department of neurology at FCM / UNICAMP. The interviews took place individually, with an average time of one and a half hour. We used the following instruments: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID I), State Anxiety Inventory-Trait - STAI I and II, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Patients who agreed to participate signed a consent form approved by the Ethics Committee of UNICAMP. We used the program SYSTAT ® 9 for statistical analysis. We performed chi-square or Fisher's exact test, Mann- Whitney and Spearman correlations. We evaluated 104 patients considering the criteria for inclusion and exclusion. Psychiatric disorders were found in 34 (32,70%) patients, of whom 47,06% did not have a prior diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. The group of patients with psychiatric comorbidity was more refractory to medical therapy (p = 0,03), with higher monthly frequency of seizures (p = 0,004) and higher BDI, STAI-Trait and STAI-State (p <0,0001) scores. We found a significant association between the clinical treatment of refractory epilepsy and higher scores on BDI (p <0,0001) and STAI-Trait and STAI-State (p = 0,002). The results showed a trend toward higher incidence of psychiatric disorders in females (p = 0,52), who showed higher BDI scores compared to males (p = 0,029). We subdivided the group of patients with psychiatric disorders in two groups: one with only indicative of mood disorders (GTH) and the other with mood disorders and anxiety (GTHA). Patients in the GTHA had higher monthly frequency of seizures (p = 0,029) compared to patients of GTH. The presence of suicidal ideation was significant (p <0,0001) in patients with psychiatric disorders and correlated with higher scores on BDI, STAI-Trait and STAI-state (p <0,0001). Higher BDI scores were correlated with patients who did not have a professional activity (p = 0,046). The association between psychiatric comorbidities and epilepsy still is underdiagnosed and can negatively influence the clinical treatment of epilepsy / Mestrado / Fisiopatologia Médica / Mestre em Ciências

Background: There is increasing theoretical interest in the idea that a greater tendency for the mind to wander may reduce positive emotion experience, with specific interest in clinical conditions such as depression that are characterised by reduced pleasure experience (anhedonia). However, it is unclear to what degree these claims are empirically supported. Objective: A systematic review was conducted to examine the evidence regarding the association between mind wandering and positive emotion experience. Method: The Cochrane library, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Knowledge databases were searched. A narrative discussion considered both the pattern of findings and the methodological approaches utilised in this literature. Results: 879 studies were identified and 21 relevant papers were fully reviewed, consisting of cross-sectional, prospective and manipulation studies. Conclusions: Fourteen out of 15 cross-sectional studies supported the claim that increased mind wandering was related to decreased pleasure experience. One prospective study indicated that mind wandering generally preceded but was not subsequent to reductions in positive mood. There were six studies that manipulated mind wandering experimentally, four of which found that inducing greater mind wandering led to reduced positive affect and two of which found null results. Overall, this literature supports the claim that greater mind wandering is related to reduced positive affect. However, very few studies examined this relationship in the context of depression and therefore it remains to be established if these findings generalise to clinical populations. Empiricial Paper: Previous research has established that greater levels of mind wandering are associated with reduced positive affect (PA) in the general population. The present study aims to examine whether this mechanism may mediate the relationship between depression and reduced PA (anhedonia). A community sample (N = 69) with differing levels of depression severity took part. Using experience sampling methodology, we measured mind wandering and PA during everyday life and when completing a few scheduled positive activities. To examine if mind wandering specifically influenced PA or emotion experience more generally, we additionally measured levels of negative affect (NA). Across both contexts, both greater mind wandering and greater depression severity were independently associated with reduced PA and increased NA. Greater depression severity was associated with increasing levels of mind wandering in everyday life, but not during scheduled positive activities. Mind wandering did not mediate the link between depression and reduced PA/increased NA. Exploratory analyses did however reveal that a greater tendency for the mind wander to negative rather than positive themes did mediate the link between depression and reduced PA in everyday life. We replicated previous findings that increased mind wandering is related to reduced PA and increased NA but there was no evidence that this mediated the relationship between depression and altered affective experience. However, the greater tendency for the mind to wander to negative themes may mediate the link between depression and affect. If depression treatment approaches are to target mind wandering this suggests they should therefore focus on mind wandering valence in addition to extent.

The study was designed to examine the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with an affective deficit. Subjects were 42 incarcerated offenders divided into nonpsychopathic and psychopathic groups based on their scores on the Hare Revised Psychopathy Checklist (Hare, 1991). Facial expressions, central and peripheral physiological activity, and subjective ratings of affective valence and arousal were measured during exposure to a series of slides and film clips designed to elicit either positive or negative affective states. The results indicate that psychopaths do not differ from criminal controls in their affective self-report, autonomic nervous system response, or observed facial expressions to emotional stimuli. However, with respect to cerebral asymmetry, psychopaths failed to show relative right frontal activation during exposure to the disgust film. This result is discussed in relation to recent attempts to explain psychopathy in terms of lateralized cerebral dysfunction. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Are there aspects of affect that can be generalized across different languages? Are there consistent patterns of associations between self-reported affect and personality across groups speaking different languages? In the present dissertation, I explore these two questions in five different language samples. Studies of current self-reported affect in English suggest that Russell's (1980), Thayer's (1989), Larsen and Diener's (1992), and Watson and Tellegen's (1985) models of affect variables can be integrated and summarized by a two-dimensional space defined by Pleasant vs Unpleasant and Activated vs Deactivated axes. To assess the cross-language generalizability of this integrated structure, data on translations of the English affect scales (N for Spanish = 233, N for Chinese = 487, N for Japanese = 450, N for Korean = 365) were compared with the structure in English ON = 535). Systematic and random errors were controlled through multi-format measurements (Green, Goldman, & Salovey, 1993) and structural equation modeling. Individual measurement models as defined in English received support in all five languages, although revisions of these scales in non-English samples provided an even closer approximation to the two-dimensional structure in English. In all five languages, the two dimensions explained most, but not all, of the reliable variance in other affect variables (mean = 88%). The four structural models fit comfortably within the integrated two-dimensional space. In fact, the variables fell at different angles on the integrated space, suggesting a new circumplex structure. In prior studies conducted in English, the personality traits of Neuroticism and Extraversion were most predictive of affect and they aligned with the Pleasant Activated and Unpleasant Activated states. To clarify and extend the previous findings, participants in all five samples also completed NEO FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992), a measure for the Five Factor Model of personality (FFM). Again, Neuroticism and Extraversion were most predictive of affect, accounting for, on average, 10% of the variance. The remaining three factors of the FFM contributed, on average, 2%. In all five languages, the FFM dimensions did not align with the two predicted affective dimensions. Rather, they fell all around the upper half of the twodimensional space. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Since the 1950's, researchers have sought unsuccessfully to identify a consensual psychometric structure of self-reported affect. One unresolved question, central to any psychometric model, is whether the structure includes bipolar or unipolar dimensions. For example, are positive and negative affect two ends of the same bipolar dimension or are they better represented by separable unipolar dimensions? In contrast to what has been assumed in previous analyses, a bipolar model is presented that distinguishes between two forms of bipolarity, each with its own conceptual definition, operational definition, and statistical properties. It is shown both conceptually and empirically that the two forms of bipolarity lead to different results when examined by traditional psychometric methods such as exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and the linear correlation. Furthermore, when the bipolar model is applied to previous analyses, the psychometric evidence that has suggested unipolar dimensions can be interpreted as evidence suggesting bipolar dimensions. Two studies were conducted to examine specific predictions of the bipolar model. Study 1 examined judgements of the hypothesized opposites of hot-cold and happy-sad. Study 2 examined judgments of affect terms based on a circumplex model of affect characterized by orthogonal valence and activation dimensions. In both studies the bipolar model is strongly supported. Furthermore, the analyses highlighted specific problems with current methods that emphasize sophisticated techniques based on the correlation coefficient and demonstrated the utility of more simple descriptive statistics. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

M.A. (Counselling Psychology) / Gray proposed two psycho-neurobiological systems, namely the behavioural approach system (BAS) and the behavioural inhibition system (BIS) which are respectively related to positive affectivity and negative affectivity. The literature does not currently indicate any specific positive emotional traits related to the BAS scale with certainty, although happiness, elation and hope have been suggested as possibilities. Curiosity, empathy and hope were chosen as positive emotional traits to study in relation to the BAS, as these positive emotional traits can each be related to the three factors of the BAS, namely drive, fun seeking and reward responsiveness. Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory explains that each emotion evokes a thought-action tendency and when positive emotions are experienced, the types of possible behavioural responses are broadened. It is expected that this broadened response repertoire should be detected in the behavioural approach system, which is responsible for organising behaviour in response to stimuli that signal rewards or no punishment. Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory is thus a useful framework to utilise in the conceptualisation of the study. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which curiosity, empathy and hope act as predictors for the variance in the BAS. The sample consisted of 130 first year mathematics students at the University of Johannesburg. Psychometric instruments utilised for the study included Carver and White’s BIS/BAS scales, the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI), the short form of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-short) and the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale. A standard multiple regression was conducted to investigate the nature of the relationships between the BAS and curiosity, empathy and hope. The results indicate the total variance in the BAS levels explained by curiosity, empathy and hope simultaneously was 16.8 percent. Hope made the largest unique contribution by accounting for 6.8 percent of the variance in the total BAS scores while curiosity also made a statistically significant contribution by accounting for 3.2 percent of the variance in the total BAS scores. Empathy did not make a statistically significant unique contribution to the variance in the total BAS scores. Future studies of this nature should consider a larger sample size. The prefrontal cortex was identified as a neural counterpart that might be related to Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, but future research could explore this further.

Alexithymia is conceptualized as a personality variable involving profound affective deficits. Individuals with high levels of alexithymia are characterized by difficulty in describing emotions, a preoccupation with somatic symptoms, and an insensitive interpersonal style. Alexithymia is commonly found among chronic pain patients. Despite a burgeoning literature, researchers have not identified either the precise characteristics and source of the poor interpersonal performance associated with alexithymia, or how the presence of alexithymia relates to the phenomenology and conceptualization of pain. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to assess alexithymia in a sample of 145 female university students who had reported experiencing significant pain during the past year. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to check the factor structure of the TAS-20 with this sample. A series of three studies was designed to explore the relationship with alexithymia and: 1) reactions to facial expressions of emotion, 2) reactions to others' pain, and 3) conceptualization of own pain. The cleanest factor solution was yielded by a Maximum Likelihood Analysis with oblique rotation. In this sample, the TAS-20 is adequately represented as 4 factors: 1) Difficulty Identifying Bodily Sensations (Body); 2) Confusion about Emotions (Emotions); 3) External Cognitive Style (External), and 4) Interpersonal Awkwardness (Awkward). Study 1 investigated the ability to judge and respond to facial expressions of emotion, as a potential source of interpersonal difficulties. Participants examined slides of adults modeling specific emotions, and attempted to identify the modeled affective states. Alexithymia was expected to be related to difficulty in assessing facial expressions of emotion. As predicted, the ability to identify and appropriately respond to modeled emotional expressions was significantly lower in high-alexithymia participants. Alexithymia scores were related to a tendency to rate various modeled emotions as "pain," providing support for the association with a somatic preoccupation. Study 2 entailed evaluation of interpersonal perception in the context of pain by investigating the relationship between alexithymia and judgement of pain in infants. Participants evaluated two dimensions of pain (sensory discomfort and emotional distress) while watching videotapes of neonates undergoing invasive but routine medical procedures. It was hypothesized that the somatic preoccupation and emotional insensitivity associated with alexithymia would lead high-alexithymia individuals to exaggerate the sensory component of pain in infants and underestimate the affective domain. Predictions were only partially supported. When depressed mood and extent of current pain were controlled, the hypothesized relationship emerged between the TAS-20 External factor and lower ratings of perceived emotional distress, and between the Body factor and higher ratings of perceived sensory discomfort. Contrary to expectations, Body factor scores were related to higher emotional distress ratings. In Study 3, participants assessed retroactively the sensory and affective components of their own painful experiences. There is an increasing trend for multidisciplinary pain clinics to include psychological interventions, treatments whose success is largely dependent upon patients distinguishing the sensory and affective components of pain. It was predicted that high-alexithymia participants would emphasize the sensory rather than the affective dimension, a judgement pattern which could explain the link found between high levels of alexithymia and poorer recovery from chronic pain conditions. Contrary to expectations, it was found that alexithymia scores were unrelated to ratings of sensory intensity. After controlling for depressed mood and extent of current pain, the only significant result to emerge was between the TAS-20 Awkward factor and higher (not lower) ratings of the affective component of participants' own painful experiences. Results suggest that a source of the social awkwardness associated with alexithymia may arise from an insensitivity to facially expressed mood states. There is some evidence that individuals with an external cognitive style pay less attention to the affective distress entailed in infants' pain experiences. The overall pattern of results suggests that alexithymia, as measured by the TAS-20, is best viewed as factorially complex. While the factors display some interdependence, there is greater utility in computing and examining all factor scores rather than describing individuals by a global TAS-20 total score. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Affektmedvetenhet avser förmågan att vara medveten om, tolerera och uttrycka affekter. Affektskola är en gruppintervention och avser att öka individers affektmedvetenhet samt förmågan att uppleva och uttrycka affekter. Forskning avseende affektskola har gjorts på kliniska grupper men få studier har utförts på en icke-klinisk population. Psykologstudenter kan argumenteras gynnas av en hög affektmedvetenhet och känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) i sin kommande profession. Även hög KASAM kan ses som fördelaktigt då det korrelerar med psykisk hälsa. Studien syftade att undersöka effekterna av genomförd modifierad version av affektskola med frågeställningen om affektskola leder till ökad affektmedvetenhet och KASAM. 33 psykologstudenter vid Linnéuniversitetet fick förfrågan om deltagande. Deltagarna fyllde i självskattningsformulär (KASAM-29, TAS-20, Affektfobitestet) före affektskolans start, efter affektskolan avslutats samt en månad efter affektskolan avslutats. Resultatet visade på nästintill oförändrade medelvärden mellan mättillfällena och att interventionen affektskola inte ledde till någon mätbar förändring. Resultatet talar för att affektmedvetenhet och KASAM är stabila egenskaper. Korrelationsanalyser visade däremot på medelstarka korrelationer mellan affektmedvetenhet och KASAM. Framtida studier bör vidare undersöka detta samband för att ge en djupare förståelse för dess förhållande till psykisk ohälsa. / Affect consciousness is the ability to be aware of, tolerate and express affects. Affect-school is a group intervention that aims to increase individuals' affect consciousness and ability to experience and express affects. Studies on affect-school have been made on clinical groups but only a few on nonclinical populations. Psychology students are arguable favoured by high levels of affect consciousness in their future profession. High levels of sense of coherence (SOC) is also favorable as SOC correlates with mental health. The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of a modified version of affect-school with the research question if affect-school leads to increased levels of affect consciousness and SOC. 33 psychology students at Linnéaus University were asked to participate. The contestants completed questionnaires (KASAM-29, TAS-20, Affektfobitestet) before the affect-school begun, after the affect-school was terminated and one month after the affect-school was terminated. The results showed almost no changes of the mean values between the different times of measurement which indicates that the intervention did not lead to any changes. The results suggest that affect consciousness and SOC are stable traits. However, correlation analysis indicated moderate correlations between affect consciousness and SOC. This correlation should be further investigated in future studies to provide a deeper understanding of the constructs and their relationship to mental health.

How individuals process different affective cues, as well as how intensely they experience different emotions, may influence how efficient they are at engaging inhibitory control. To date, it is unclear if these influences differ among young adults with and without ADHD. The current study tested the variation in young adults’ inhibitory control to three affective cues (i.e., fear, happy, and neutral) in an Emotion Go/Nogo task. Results suggest better inhibitory control in response to more distinct cues (i.e., fear Nogo/happy Go). The order in which cues were presented also mattered, such that participants displayed enhanced inhibitory control when first presented with expressions that had similar valence. This task order was particularly helpful for inhibitory control engagement among young adults with ADHD. Furthermore, self-report measures suggest that young adults with ADHD were associated with higher levels of affect intensity. However, no additional relations were found in the processing of affective cues, affect intensity, and inhibitory control between young adults with and without ADHD. Results provide evidence for how affective cues and contexts differentially influence behavioral responses in young adults. Individuals with and without ADHD also appear to differ in the intensity with which they experience different emotions. Overall, the current study provides a framework for how to further explore how emotional cues and affect intensity influence inhibitory control.