An apparel product (or “apparel”) is a human product. The design of an apparel product (or “apparel design”) should share many features of general product design and be conducted with a high degree of systematics and rationality. However, the current practice of apparel design is relatively more experience-based and ad-hoc than it should be. Besides, computer support to apparel design is quite limited in that there are several software systems available for supporting apparel design but they are isolated. Two reasons may explain this above situation: (1) absence of the ontology of apparel and apparel design, and (2) absence of a systematic and rational apparel design process. Furthermore, apparel is a specialized type of product in that all three inherent requirements (i.e., function, comfort related to ergonomics, and pleasure related to aesthetics) are equally important, especially the latter, which creates positive affects in the human wearer. In general, knowledge of how to design an apparel product for pleasure/affects is missing from the current design. The general motivation for the research conducted in this thesis is to locate and articulate this “missing knowledge” in order to advance design technology including computer-aided design for modern apparel products. The specific objectives of the research presented in this thesis are: (1) development of a model for the ontology of apparel or apparel system so that all basic concepts and their relationships related to the apparel system are captured; (2) development of a systematic design process for apparel that captures all the inherent characteristics of design, namely iteration and open-endedness; and (3) development of a computer-aided system for affective design for apparel, whereby human feeling once described can be computed with the result that an apparel product meets the wearer’s “feeling needs” (functional and ergonomic needs are assumed to be satisfied or not the concern of this thesis). There are several challenges to achieving the foregoing objectives. The first of these is the understanding of ontology for apparel and apparel design, given that there are so many types of apparel and ad-hoc apparel design processes in practice. The second challenge is the generalization and aggregation of the various ad-hoc apparel design processes that exist in practice. Third is the challenge presented by imprecise information and knowledge in the aspect of human’s affect. All three above challenges have been tackled and answered in this thesis. The first challenge is tackled with the tool of data modeling especially semantic-oriented data modeling. The second challenge is tackled with the general design theory such as general design phase theory, axiomatic design theory, and FCBPSS knowledge architecture (F: function, C: context, B: behavior, P: principle, SS: state and structure). The third challenge is tacked with the data mining technique and subjective rating technique. Several contributions are made with this thesis. First is the development of a comprehensive ontology model for apparel and apparel design that provides a basis for computer-aided design and manufacturing of apparel in the future. Second is the development of a general apparel design process model that offers a reference model for any specific apparel design process. Third is the provision of new “data mining” technology for acquiring words in human language that express affects. It should be noted that this technology is domain-independent, and thus it is applicable to any other type of product for affective design. The final contribution is the development of a method for searching apparel design parameters which describe an apparel product meeting a wearer’s required feelings described by “feeling words”. The database of words and the algorithm can be readily incorporated into commercial software for computer aided design of apparel products with the new enabler (i.e., design for affect or feeling).

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Studies of affective forecasting examine people’s ability to predict (forecast) their emotional (affective) responses to future events. Affective forecasts underlie nearly all decisions people make and the actions they take. However, people engage in systematic cognitive errors when making affective forecasts and most often overestimate the intensity and duration of their emotional responses. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to affective forecasting errors (e.g., immune neglect) and examining the utility of methods for improving affective forecasting errors (e.g., surrogation) can provide highly valuable information for clinicians as they assist clients in determining their goals both for therapy and for life. The first purpose of the current study was to determine if affective forecasting errors due to immune neglect lead to misjudgments about the relative emotional impact of minor versus moderate negative experiences (i.e., trauma severity). The second purpose was to examine the utility of surrogation for improving affective forecasts. Potential interaction effects between these two variables were also examined. The current study utilized a 2 (Trauma Severity: minor, moderate) X 3 (Prediction Information: surrogation information only, simulation information only, both types of information) experimental design. Undergraduates were recruited via the SONA system and randomly assigned to one of the six experimental conditions. A preliminary study was conducted to obtain surrogation information for use in the main study. All participants in the main study predicted how they would feel 10 minutes after receiving negative personality feedback, using a 10-point scale ranging from (1) very unhappy to (10) very happy. These predictions constitute their affective forecasts. All participants then actually received the negative personality feedback (ostensibly from another participant, a peer, in a nearby room) and reported their actual affective states ten minutes later, using the same scale. These ratings constitute their affective reports. Affective forecasting error was calculated as the difference between affective forecasts and affective reports. Results showed the affective forecasts of participants in the moderate trauma severity condition were significantly less accurate than those of participants in the minor trauma severity condition, providing evidence of immune neglect. Surrogation information significantly improved the accuracy of affective forecasts when participants were deprived of simulation information. Limitations of the current study and implications of the findings are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

This dissertation contributes to a growing literature on affective forecasting showing that people are often inaccurate when predicting their future emotions, particularly the emotion of regret (Wilson & Gilbert, 2003). In the current program of research I explored the differences in the anticipated and experienced regret of participants who worked (or imagined working) either alone or as part of a group. In Experiment One I demonstrated that participants anticipated more regret from failing a task when alone than from failing a task that when working as part of a group. I speculated that this occurs because working with a group allows one to blame others for a failure, thus reducing one’s own regret. In Experiment Two I demonstrated that although participants anticipated more regret from an individual relative to a group failure, the regret they actually experienced is equivalent in these conditions. I hypothesised that this is because the psychological immune system (Gilbert, Pinel, Wilson, Blumberg, & Wheatley, 1998) works hard to reduce the regret of the participants who worked alone to levels matching that of the participants who worked in groups. I also demonstrated that this psychological immune system takes time to reduce regret differences in levels of regret were found between participants in the group and alone conditions when participants reported their regret immediately, but when regret was reported after a delay, these differences were no longer found. In Experiment Three I ruled out a potential confound by demonstrating that the differences between Experiments One and Two were not due to participants thinking of different time frames while reporting their regret. In Experiments Four and Five I extended my program of research by investigating whether the anticipated and experienced regret that is caused by failing a task varies depending on whether one is working with in-group or out-group partners. I found that while participants anticipate more regret from failing a task with an in-group compared to an out-group partner, the regret they ultimately experience is not affected by the group status of their partner. Implications and future directions are discussed. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-10 15:45:04.097

Il est largement reconnu que l'affectivité est en mesure d'influencer l'évolution de la douleur. D'une perspective clinique, les individus qui souffrnt de douleur chronique sont également affectés par des troubles affectifs reliés à la douleur. Plusieurs études ont également démontré un déficit au niveau des contrôles inhibiteurs diffus nociceptifs (CIDN) dans plusieurs cas de douleur chronique. D'un point de vue physiologique, la boucle spino-bulbo-spinale qui sous-tend les mécanismes endogènes descendants possède également des connexions avec des structures limbiques impliquées dans la composante affective de la douleur. De nombreuses études en neuro-imagerie supportent en fait que les CIDN pourraient être modulés par certaines régions du système limbique, notamment le cortex cingulé antérieur (CCA). Cependant, aucune étude n'a à ce jour investigué le lien entre la composante affective de la douleur et les CIDN. L'objectif de notre étude est donc de déterminer si la manipulation de la composante affective de la douleur, par le biais de suggestions spécifiques, est en mesure de moduler l'efficacité analgésique des CIDN. Trente-deux participants ont été recrutés par un échantillonnage de convenance. L'efficacité des CIDN a été évaluée à travers trois conditions du stimulus, soit une condition neutre (absence de suggestion), une condition où une augmentation de l'aspect désagréable est suggérée (condition A) et une condition où une diminution de l'aspect désagréable est suggérée (condition B). La réponse analgésique des CIDN a été déterminée par un test de douleur thermique et un test d'immersion de l'avant-bras (stimulation conditionnante) dans un bain d'eau froide. Les résultats démontrent une bonne réponse aux suggestions de la part des participants, indiquant que la manipulation cognitive a bien fonctionné. Les résultats relatifs à l'efficacité des CIDN ne démontrent aucun changement significatif entre la condition neutre et la condition A. Une diminution significative de la réponse analgésique par rapport à la condition neutre est néanmoins observée à la condition B. Ces résultats indiquent que l'augmentation de l'aspect désagréable perçu de la stimulation conditionnante n'évoque aucun changement au niveau de la réponse analgésique des CIDN, résultats qui pourraient être expliqués par un effet plafond. Cependant, une diminution de l'aspect désagréable perçu réduit de façon significative l'efficacité des mécanismes descendants. Ces observations démontrent que la composante affective de la douleur est en mesure de moduler l'efficacité analgésique des CIDN, bien qu'une réponse analgésique efficace à un niveau basal soit plus difficile à potentialiser. Nos résultats rapportent des preuves supplémentaires sur le rôle de l'affectivité dans les réponses douloureuses, démontrant davantage son importance. Cette étude met également en lumière l'interaction entre les processus physiques et cognitifs qui sous-tendent les CIDN.

This thesis addresses the effects of pharmacological manipulations of brain 5- hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) and it's precursor, tryptophan, on appetite and mood in humans. Chapter 1 is a presentation of the literature reviewed in order to carry out the studies contained within this thesis. General methods are described in Chapter 2; these include biochemical methods for analysis of plasma tryptophan, and measures and assessment methodologies for analysis of appetite and mood. This chapter also contains a pilot study of the methodology adopted for lowering plasma tryptophan levels. The first experiment (Chapter 3) examines the effects of calorie controlled dieting on plasma tryptophan, mood and appetite using a longitudinal design. Dieters were compared with a matched control group, and the results demonstrated that whilst dieting does not appear to alter mood or responses to food in a laboratory setting, it does lower levels of plasma tryptophan compared with baseline and with controls. In view of the confounding variables of dieting on mood and appetite, the second experiment (Chapter 4) examined the effects of an acute, laboratory based depletion of plasma tryptophan on these parameters in healthy female volunteers acting as their own controls. Significant depletion of plasma tryptophan was not associated with alterations in mood or appetite. The third experiment (Chapter 5) addresses the issue of predisposing factors in the effects of tryptophan depletion on mood and appetite. This was carried out with a group of women who had recovered from an eating disorder (bulimia nervosa). These subjects were acting as their own controls but were also compared directly with the non-clinical group of subjects from the previous experiment. This experiment demonstrated interesting differences in the eating behaviour of the two groups, and a significant difference in baseline levels of total plasma tryptophan. There were, however, no effects of tryptophan depletion on mood or appetite in the women who had recovered from bulimia nervosa. In view of the apparent lack of effect of tryptophan depletion on mood or appetite, the remaining two experiments examine the role of specific 5-HT receptor subtypes in the control of appetite. Chapter 6 examines the effect of meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), a 5-HT_2C receptor agonist on appetite, and Chapter 7 examines the effect of 5-HT₃ receptor blockade on amphetamine anorexia. Whilst the data from these experiments do not support a role for these receptor subtypes in appetite, it is suggested that this is a potentially fruitful area for future research. The results generated by the above experiments are discussed in Chapter 8 in the light of other research findings. The methodologies adopted for these experiments and the implications of these studies for future research are discussed.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). "June 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-135). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on May 11, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p.54-66).