Bipolar disorder is characterized by disruptions in mood and affect that occur not only during mood episodes, but during euthymic periods as well. At the same time, sensitivity of the behavioral activation system (BAS) has been implicated in the disorder and is a risk marker for it. Less clear is the relationship between BAS sensitivity and positive affect, particularly lower level facets of positive affect. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between positive affect and vulnerability for mania as assessed using BAS sensitivity. Specifically, the link between daily levels and fluctuations of positive affect and baseline BAS sensitivity was examined. Following the hierarchical model of affect, this study also assessed the relationship between BAS sensitivity and the distinct facets of positive affect. Finally, this study examined whether BAS sensitivity moderates associations between daily rewards and positive affect. Undergraduates (N = 265) from a large university in the South were recruited to complete measures of BAS sensitivity, affect, and mood symptoms at baseline. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), participants completed daily surveys assessing affect and engagement with rewarding situations. An exploratory factory analysis revealed a four factor structure of positive affect, consisting of Serenity, Joviality, Attentiveness, and Self-Assurance. Greater daily levels of overall positive affect, as well as the lower order facets of Joviality, Self-Assurance, and Attentiveness, were predicted by heightened BAS sensitivity. In contrast, the facet of Serenity demonstrated minimal associations with BAS sensitivity. The study findings support a multi-faceted structure of positive affect and suggest that certain facets may be more closely related to risk for bipolar disorder. Specifically, Joviality and Self-Assurance may represent maladaptive forms of positive affect, whereas Serenity may function as a protective element against bipolar disorder.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study employed an experimental design intended to be an analog to the workplace to simultaneously examine the affect orientation and equity theory explanations of OCBs, which were evaluated as prosocial behaviors. Participants were 188 undergraduates. Participants' dispositional variables were measured at time 1, and at time 2, participants experienced an equity manipulation and were given the opportunity to perform prosocial behaviors. Results indicated a distinction between the decision to help and helping effort, which has not been thoroughly examined in literature on OCBs. Results revealed that the threshold for the decision to help was raised by inequity, yet once the decision had been made, affect and personality variables affected effort of helping. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / Master of Science

<p dir="ltr">Timing and time perception is essential to humans, whose lives and biology are organized around clocks. From the simple give-and-take of conversation to understanding cause and effect, individuals rely on accurate time perception to successfully complete tasks and organize their lives. However, accurate time perception is vulnerable to all manner of influence, from both internal and external sources, including affect. A robust body of literature suggests that negative affect is positively associated with time dilation, or subjective lengthening of time, whereas positive affect is positively associated with time constriction, or subjective shortening of time. Collectively, these are known as time distortion, which has been preliminarily linked to increased impairment in anxiety, depression, and BPD. However, this literature features two key limitations. First, researchers have mostly examined time perception as an objective measure, through the use of measures such as the temporal bisection tasks, which limits our understanding of the subjective experience of time distortion and how it may contribute to psychopathology. Second, across studies, time perception is most often studied as an outcome, rather than examining the role of time perception in predicting affective change, i.e., contextualizing the role of time distortion in clinically-relevant research questions. The current project aimed to address these gaps in the literature through two studies which examined (1) the roles of brief affect and time perception manipulations on affective change and subjective time perception in an online study (Study 1) and (2) the effect of a longer time perception manipulation on affective change during an in-person experimental protocol (Study 2).</p><p dir="ltr">Across studies, participants included a community-based sample of U.S. adults over age 18 and two separate undergraduate samples recruited from introductory psychology courses at Purdue University. In Study 1, the final sample size exceeded 750 and was comprised of community-based and undergraduate participants. Online participants reported on dispositional levels of clinical measures [e.g., rumination, borderline personality disorder (BPD) features] and then completed an experimental protocol with brief mood and time perception manipulations while repeatedly reporting on their negative affect. Results suggested that the time perception manipulation was not effective, but that across the protocol, negative affect rose and positive affect decreased. Further, participants reported overall that time seemed to be passing by slower than usual during the protocol. These findings informed the design of Study 2, which lengthened the time perception manipulation and eliminated the mood induction component in order to address the more basic question of whether time perception manipulation influences mood, particularly during neutral cognitive tasks.</p><p dir="ltr">One hundred and twenty-seven undergraduate participants completed Study 2. As in Study 1, participants filled out self-report surveys about dispositional symptoms of psychopathology (e.g., rumination, emotion dysregulation, and symptoms associated with BPD, depression, and anxiety) before completing an experimental protocol which included a manipulated clock (accelerated or control clock), three runs of a modified Erkisen flanker task, and repeated measures of negative and positive affect. Primary results suggested that the time perception manipulation was successful but that the influence of time distortion was more nuanced than hypothesized. Specifically, individuals with elevated clinical symptoms exhibited lower rating of negative and positive affect levels in the accelerated clock condition, compared to individuals endorsing low symptoms, who reported higher positive affect and higher negative affect in the accelerated clock condition.</p><p dir="ltr">Altogether, the results across studies highlight the complexity of time perception in influencing affect and help provide foundational information regarding the empirical convergence between cognitive and clinical phenomena.</p>

Patient adherence to medical treatment recommendations can affect disease prognosis, and may be beneficially or deleteriously influenced by psychological factors.AimWe examined the relationships between both adaptive and maladaptive psychological factors and treatment adherence among a sample of primary care patients.MethodsOne hundred and one rural, primary care patients completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised, Trait Hope Scale, Future Orientation Scale, NEO-FFI Personality Inventory (measuring positive and negative affect), and Medical Outcomes Study General Adherence Scale.FindingsIn independent models, positive affect, optimism, hope, and future orientation were beneficially associated with treatment adherence, whereas pessimism and negative affect were negatively related to adherence. In multivariate models, only negative affect, optimism and hope remained significant and, in a comparative model, trait hope was most robustly associated with treatment adherence.ImplicationsTherapeutically, addressing negative emotions and expectancies, while simultaneously bolstering motivational and goal-directed attributes, may improve adherence to treatment regimens.

No description available.

According to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging most of the 12,630 Canadians living with advanced dementia reside in long-term care facilities. This number is rising due to an aging population. The purpose of this study is to address an identified gap in our knowledge about what creates pleasure in people with advanced dementia, through first understanding family caregivers’ ways of eliciting and interpreting positive emotions in their relatives and then having the personal support worker (PSW) try these same approaches to see if similar responses are achieved. This study used a qualitative multiple case study design. Data collection methods included digitally recorded interviews and video-recorded observations of interactions between residents and caregivers. A case is defined as a resident with moderately to severely advanced dementia. Each case had two informants: a family member and a PSW meeting inclusion criterion. There were seven cases. The resident participants spanned a range from moderately advanced to severely advanced dementia. Data analysis used both inductive and deductive coding with sensitizing concepts of selfhood, personhood, continuity of personality and well-being. The results of this study centred on four main themes related to the research questions about the sources and indicators of pleasure and the potential for PSWs to replicate what family members did with residents. Some sources of pleasure were lost, some were maintained and new ones developed post-illness in all of the residents. Both family members and PSWs were knowledgeable about sources and indicators of pleasure for the people with dementia they were involved with. The analysis demonstrated that for individuals with very advanced dementia, the concept of pleasure or enjoyment is not applicable. The family members of the two residents with very advanced dementia used music, touch and sweets to elicit a pleasurable response but the resident did not display indicators of pleasure in response; instead, the residents responded with grasping or other responses which require further research to understand fully. Future research should build upon these findings in order to further understand the concept of positive affect: pleasure, interest and enjoyment in people with advanced dementia of the Alzheimer type.