Aim The study had the aim to increase knowledge of characteristics possessed by Swedish elite athletes. More specific the level of affect, athlete engagement and reaction time were investigated. A second aim was to test if a reflective training log based on principles from self-regulation could influence these variables.   Questions part one: Baseline What are the level of affect, athlete engagement and reaction time in a sample of Swedish elite athletes? How strong are the correlations between these variables? Questions part two: Intervention Does a self-regulation training log effect athlete engagement, affect or reaction time in Swedish elite athletes? Is there a difference if the reflections are based on either personal strengths or weaknesses? How do the athletes perceive the use of a self-regulation training log? Method/Experiment design The general outline is a randomized controlled trial on a population of Swedish elite athletes using a baseline measurement and an intervention consisting of two experiments (EG1; EG2) and one placebo group (PG). Eligibility criteria for participants were a membership in Sport Campus Sweden (SCS). The data were collected in the participants own home or current location using correspondence by mail/e-mail and a web-based test platform provided by Hogrefe psykologiförlag. A simple 1:1:1 randomization was used for allocation. Only previously tested and validated measurements were used (PANAS; AEQ; CompACT simple RT). 40 athletes performed the baseline registration of reaction time and 32 persons participated in the measurements of affect and athlete engagement. 23 athletes completed all stages of the one month intervention including pre and post-tests. EG1 (reflections on personal weaknesses) N=6; EG2 (reflections on personal strengths) N=8; PG (writing down time spent by watching TV or by the computer as a placebo) N=9.   Result Part 1 showed that Swedish elite athletes outperformed 91 % of a normative sample in reaction time. They were also more stable than 87 % of the norm. Correlation analysis show a strong significant correlation between positive affect and athlete engagement (0.74) (p=0.00). In Part 2 the training log intervention showed no significant results in affect, athlete engagement or reaction time. There were no differences if the reflections were based on personal strengths or weaknesses. In general the athletes perceived the self-regulation training log as rewarding and easy to use.   Conclusions Swedish elite athletes have a superior reaction time compared to a normative sample and are also more stable in their reactions. They experience a high level of positive affect and athlete engagement and these variables are also strongly correlated. A self-regulation training log did not show any results on affect, athlete engagement or reaction time. The training log got positive feedback. Consequences of these findings are discussed. / Syfte Studien har som syfte att utöka kunskapen om specifika egenskaper som svenska elitidrottare besitter. Mer detaljerat undersöks affekt, engagemang och reaktionstid. Vidare är syftet att undersöka om dessa variabler kan påverkas genom att skriva i en självreglerings- och reflektionsinriktad träningsdagbok.   Frågeställningar Del 1: Baslinjeundersökning Var ligger nivån gällande affek, idrottsligt engagemang och reaktionstid hos svenska elitidrottare? Hur starka är korrelationerna mellan dessa variabler? Del 2: Intervention: skriva i en reflektionsinriktad träningsdagbok Kan en träningsdagbok baserad på självreglering påverka affekt, idrottsligt engagemang och reaktionstid hos svenska elitidrottare? Är det skillnader om reflektionerna är baserade på personliga styrkor eller svagheter? Hur upplever elitidrottarna användandet av träningsdagboken? Metod Metoden är en randomiserad kontrollerad experimentell fältstudie på en population av svenska elitidrottare. Studien består av en baslinjeregistrering och en intervention under en månad med två experimentgrupper (EG1;EG2) och en placebogrupp (PG). Urvalskriterium var ett medlemskap i Sport Campus Sweden (SCS). Deltagarna genomförde tester i sitt eget hem eller på sin dåvarande position via brev/mail samt en webbaserad testplattform som tillhandahölls av Hogrefe psykologiförlag. En enkel 1:1:1 randomisering genomfördes. Enbart tidigare validerade frågeformulär samt mätutrustning användes (PANAS; AEQ; CompACT simple RT). 40 deltagare genomförde baslinjeregistreringen av data gällande reaktionstid och 32 deltagare genomförde den första mätningen av affekt och idrottsligt engagemang. Efter avslutad intervention hade 23 deltagare genomfört samtliga för -och eftertest. EG1 (reflektion på svagheter) N=6; EG2 (reflektion på styrkor) N= 8; PG (placebo genom att skriva ner tv-tittande och tid framför datorn) N=9.   Resultat Del 1 visade att elitidrottarna hade en kortare reaktionstid än 91 % av ett normativt snitt av befolkningen i samma åldersgrupp. De var även mer stabila i sina reaktioner än 87 % av normen. En stark och statistisk signifikant korrelation återfanns mellan positiv affekt och idrottsligt engagemang (0.74 )(p=0.00). Del 2 visade att interventionen med en reflekterande träningsdagbok inte gav några signifikanta resultat oavsett om interventionen var baserad på reflektioner gällande personliga styrkor eller svagheter. Idrottarna upplevde generellt träningsdagboken som givande och enkel att använda.   Slutsats Svenska elitidrottare har en överlägsen reaktionstid jämfört med en normalbefolkningsnorm. De är även mer stabila i sina reaktioner samt upplever en hög nivå av positiv affekt och idrottsligt engagemang. Dessa variabler var även starkt signifikant korrelerade.  Träningsdagboken hade ingen signifikant påverkan på upplevelsen av affekt och idrottsligt engagemang eller idrottarnas reaktionstid. Träningsdokumentationen upplevdes i allmänhet som givande. Konsekvenser av dessa resultat diskuteras

Psychopathy and alexithymia are disorders with many conceptual similarities. For example, Factor 1 of the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) contains items like shallow affect and lack of empathy, which seem to map on to the construct of alexithymia. Additionally, both psychopaths and alexithymics display striking differences from others in their use of language, especially affective language. The two areas of interest in the present study were (a) occurrence and co—occurrence of psychopathy and alexithymia in a sample of female inmates, and (b) the relationship between affective language and these two disorders. Psychopathy and alexithymia were assessed in 37 women offenders incarcerated in a Burnaby Correctional Centre, using the PCL-R and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale ( TAS; Taylor, Ryan & Bagby, 1985). Each subject was presented with a short written scenario designed to elicit an emotional response, and asked to describe the feelings of the characters in the story. Their taped responses were analyzed for measures of affect. Base rates of both disorders were comparable to those in similar samples, ( 30% of the inmates were diagnosed as psychopathic; 33% as alexithymic) but the coxnorbidity rate was only 8%. There was a significant correlation between alexithymia scores and PCL—R Factor 2 scores — the factor assessing antisocial behaviour. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the TAS and PCL-R were both predictive of violence. This relationship between the PCL-R and violence is well substantiated; that the TAS also predicts violence is a newer finding. Alexithymics spoke more slowly, used fewer total words overall and fewer affective words, and displayed less emotion in their voices than did nonalexithymics. Psychopaths could not be identified by any vocal measures except a slight tendency to speak faster than nonpsychopaths. Although both disorders are characterized’ by affective impoverishment, the verbal expressions of affect were very different in psychopaths and alexithymics. The psychopaths were adept at convincing raters of an emotional investment they did not feel; alexithymics could not disguise their lack of appropriate emotional response.

Suicide ideation is a growing phenomenon that can be observed in stressful environments such as those of a correctional official, and it is a cause for concern. Suicide ideation is seen as the first step of suicidal behaviour and refers to thoughts, cognitions and overt intent to kill oneself. The root causes for correctional officials experiencing such a severe state of hopelessness that they feel death must be the only escape, can be ascribed to different factors. The objective of this research is to establish the relationship between psychological strengths, stress and suicide ideation of employees of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). Three concepts of psychological strength namely locus of control, sense of coherence and affect as independent variables, were compared, with suicide ideation as a dependant variable. The relationship between suicide ideation and stress as an independent variable was also established. A cross-sectional design was used. A simple random sample (n=157) was taken from correctional officers from a management area in the Freestate Province. The Work Locus of Control Scale, Orientation to Life Questionnaire, Affectometer 2, and the Adult Suicide Ideation Questionnaire were administered. In addition, the Correctional Officer Stress Inventory was developed and administered. Principal component and factor extraction with Oblique rotation, Cronbach alpha and inter-item correlation coefficients, factor analysis, a discriminant analysis and a stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Results showed that positive affect and external locus of control were associated with suicide ideation. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This study investigated the relationships among attachment styles, affect regulation, and outcome in a clinical sample receiving treatment for depression. Sixty-six clients completed questionnaire measures of adult attachment, dysfunctional attitudes, interpersonal problems, self-esteem, and depression. Clients’ levels of affect regulation were assessed with an observer-rated measure of affect regulation. The study’s purpose was to extend previous research by examining the relationship between adult attachment and affect regulation within a clinical context. Results indicated significant and positive associations between clients’ attachment security and their levels of affect regulation at early and late stages of psychotherapy. Late modulation of expression and arousal were found to mediate the relationship between pre-treatment attachment insecurity and outcome. Pre-treatment attachment avoidance, characterized by high discomfort with closeness, had a direct relationship with depressive symptoms not mediated by the cognitive-affective processes of affect regulation. Implications of present findings for the treatment of depression are discussed.

Beginning with a series of several self-report questionnaire studies I examine the potential for everyday attention lapses to create an inability to form connections to the external world, particularly through the experience of chronic boredom, and to subsequently lead to depression. In the first study I examine this process through the intermediate role of memory failures in the onset of boredom and depression, while in the second I examine the role of self-efficacy and in the third I add psychological stress as a further intermediate step between attention lapses and depression. For each study significant associations are found between self-report measures of attention lapses and attention-related cognitive errors, as presumed causes, and boredom proneness and depression as presumed outcomes. Structural equation modeling is then used to show these associations are well explained by an Attention-to-Affect model in which the attention lapses and attention-related errors predict the onset of boredom and depression, in part through their effects on memory failures (Chapter 1), perceived self-efficacy (Chapter 2), and psychological stress (Chapter 3). That these Attention-to-Affect models provide much better fit for the data runs contrary to the typical conception of attention and memory problems as consequences of emotional distress. Following from these models I examine in more specific terms the disconnect experienced as a result of attention lapses, through a laboratory study employing the Sustained Attention to Response Task. This study (Chapter 4) revealed a significant influence of attentional challenges on blinking behaviour, suggesting that whenever our attentional capacity is tested we have a tendency to momentarily direct our thoughts inwardly, perhaps to re-evaluate our attentional performance, and that the timeframe of this redirection is expanded following lapses of attention, and the commission of attention-related errors.

Entry into elementary school marks the beginning of a crucial shift in the amount and quality of time that children spend with their peers (Coie & Dodge, 1988). For many 5-year olds, kindergarten provides the opportunity to encounter their first stable peer group. It is in the context of these interactions that children practice essential social skills, as well as develop a capacity to interact with others. For various reasons, however, many children have difficulty gaining acceptance into fundamental peer groups. For these children, the opportunities for peer interactions present in the early school years are limited and often characterized by a high degree of aggressive affect (Coie & Dodge, 1988). Although previous research has reliably identified the individual affective states characteristic of rejected children during a typical peer interaction (Newcomb, Bukowski, & Pattee, 1993), it should be kept in mind that these expressions are embedded within a larger peer context, which plays an important role in how these dynamic processes unfold in real time (O’Connell, Pepler, & Craig, 1999). The purpose of the present study was to explore the application of a dynamic systems (DS) technique, state space grids (SSG), to the study of kindergarten peer processes and their impact on long-term psychopathology. Participants were 267 kindergarten children from a single school serving a predominantly low socioeconomic neighbourhood. In order to examine the social dynamics of interacting triads, moment-to-moment changes in affect were documented. Parent and teacher ratings of child conduct problems were also obtained at four measurement points. Consistent with previous research, both controversial and rejected children were more likely to express aggressive affect. Differential effects across sociometric groups were also replicated for both externalizing and internalizing ratings, where rejected children were found to have significantly higher scores. Extending upon past research, the expression of particular triadic affective states were found to differ significantly across sociometric groups. Furthermore, specific triadic affective states were found to be related to the developmental trajectories of clinical outcomes. Overall, results of the present study extend previous findings on the expression of individual affective states through the application of DS principles and methodology. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-20 22:48:51.92

Consumers often pay different prices for the same product, and prices commonly vary across stores and time. Theories of fairness suggest that such price discrepancies will be deemed unfair, yet consumers’ perceptions of unfairness in such situations vary greatly (Haws and Bearden 2006). This dissertation aims to enrich our understanding of this issue by examining the role of threat in shaping consumers’ perceptions of unfairness. Specifically, integrating the extant literature on unfairness, affect and identity, it argues that an important basis for consumers’ perceptions of unfairness is the degree to which price differentials convey threatening information about important aspects of the consumers’ self-concept. In fact, it suggests that price differentials can convey threatening information about two distinct aspects of consumers’ identity – their perceived relational value and their personal identity - and identifies conditions under which such information is likely conveyed. Here, relational value refers to assessments of social worth and personal identity refers to the aspect of the self concerned with the achievement of individualized goals such as competence, mastery and conscience (Skitka 2003). The logic underlying this central argument is that self-threatening price differentials trigger more intense negative affect, which is subsequently used by consumers to inform their fairness judgments. The current work also examines whether price differentials that convey self-affirming information are likely to be deemed less unfair because of the positive feelings they inspire. Taken as a whole, this dissertation highlights the central role of threat in shaping consumers’ price fairness judgments. In doing so, it contributes to the fairness literature, both in marketing and more broadly, by offering an organizing framework for understanding the basis of consumers’ price fairness judgments. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-07 08:20:05.227

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This thesis examined the involvement of the lateral, central and basolateral nuclei of the amygdala in both appetitive and aversive affective behavior. In Experiment I, using electrolytic lesions, it was found that damage to the lateral but not central or basolateral nuclei blocked a Conditioned Cue Preference (CCP) to food (Froot Loops) in rats that were not deprived of food. In Experiment II, also using electrolytic lesions, it was found that damage to the basolateral but not central or lateral nuclei blocked a Conditioned Cue Aversion (CCA) produced by a lithium chloride injection (42 mg/kg). In Experiment III results similar to those in Experiments I and II were obtained using axon-sparing NMDA lesions. The results of Experiments I-III demonstrate a double dissociation of affective memory with respect to the amygdala. The lateral nucleus of the amygdala mediated the memory of an appetitive affective experience and the basolateral nucleus mediated memory for an aversive affective experience. / In Experiment IV the contributions of appetitive and aversive affective states to a food CCP were examined. Lesions of the lateral but not the basolateral nucleus were found to attenuate but not completely eliminate a food CCP when the rats were food deprived in the Paired compartment and sated in the Unpaired compartment. Food deprivation alone produced a CCA and lesions of the basolateral but not the lateral nucleus blocked this effect. The possibility that both the appetitive and aversive behaviours are mediated through connections from the dopamine-reward centres in the ventral striatum is discussed.

Emotional and external eating are common eating behaviours in the general population, while not disordered eating per se they have been linked to overeating, obesity and problems engaging in health behaviours. Theories of emotional and external eating have been around for decades however little is known of the factors that contribute to these eating behaviours. Emotional and external eating tend to co-occur, and high correlations between them have been reported. Some theorists have argued that they are not distinct constructs. The current study aimed to provide further understanding on the nature and distinction between emotional and external eating in a non-clinical sample. The associations of impulsivity, alexithymia and negative affect in emotional and external eating were investigated, utilising a cross-sectional design. These variables have been shown to be related to eating behaviour in clinical samples however there has been limited research in non-clinical samples. Emotional eating was positively associated with alexithymia, negative affect and lack of perseverance, the relationship with urgency was less clear. External eating was indirectly associated with depression through the mediating variable urgency. The results indicated that emotional and external eating do show some similarities in the variables associated with them, however, the pattern of associations were different for the two eating behaviours. It appears from this study that the theoretical distinction between emotional eating and external eating is warranted with emotional eating appearing to be directly associated with problems with affect regulation whereas external eating is indirectly associated with negative affect.