Emotionale Bewusstheit (emotional awareness) beinhaltet die Fähigkeit, die eigenen Emotionen und die der Anderen erkennen als auch benennen zu können. Weiterhin gilt sie als psychische Gesundheit fördernder Faktor. Lane und Schwartz beschrieben emotionale Bewusstheit als kognitiven Entwicklungsprozess und stellten zur Messung die Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS), ein Performanz-basiertes Testverfahren, bereit. Ein Selbstbeurteilungstest ist der Emotionale-Kompetenz-Fragebogen (EKF). Ein wichtiges Thema ist die Vernetzung impliziter und expliziter Prozesse bei der Entwicklung emotionaler Bewusstheit. Vorhergehende Studien fokussierten auf die Zusammenhänge zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit und der expliziten Verarbeitung emotionaler Stimuli. Es ist nur wenig über die Zusammenhänge zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit und impliziten Emotionsverarbeitungsprozessen bekannt. Zudem waren die bisherigen Studien zum Themengebiet hauptsächlich defizitorientiert, untersuchten Beziehungen zwischen Alexithymie und automatischer Emotionsverarbeitung. Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Untersuchung des Zusammenhangs zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit und der automatischen Verarbeitung von mimischen und sprachlichen emotionalen Reizen. Gegenstand der Betrachtung war zudem der Zusammenhang zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit (LEAS) und selbstberichteten emotionalen Fähigkeiten (EKF). Anhand von zwei Priming-Experimenten (Wortpriming mit Fokus auf Reaktionszeiten sowie Gesichtspriming mit Fokus auf evaluative Urteile) sollten die Beziehungen zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit und automatischer Emotionsverarbeitung spezifiziert werden. Es wurden in beiden Priming-Aufgaben in der Gesamtstichprobe signifikante Priming-Effekte beobachtet. Die Daten der Wortbeurteilungsaufgabe indizieren keine signifikanten Korrelationen zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit und lexikalem affektivem Priming. In der Gesichtsbeurteilungsaufgabe fanden sich Korrelationen zwischen emotionaler Bewusstheit und Priming durch wütende Gesichter. Die Daten dieser Arbeit können zum besseren Verständnis von emotionaler Bewusstheit beitragen, indem sie einige Verbindungen zu grundlegenden Prozessen der Emotionswahrnehmung aufdecken.

The motivation of this work focused on inspiring the understanding of emotions and the ability to name them precisely to improve self-awareness and well-being. Through an online survey, competitor analysis, customer journey map, and interviews it was clear that the chosen target group of young people do not feel fully confident in understanding their emotions and lacked emotional vocabulary. With these results in mind, several concepts were developed. Due to users’ needs the mobile application was chosen as a platform to create an experience to learn emotional vocabulary. As a result, the interactive prototype was created to transform the learning experience into an engaging application to learn emotions definitions, connections, and their application to everyday life. The interactive prototype was tested on potential users and the results were positive. This in turn might be a first step in forming strategies to improve understanding of emotional vocabulary. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

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Bakgrund: Studiens syfte var att undersöka psykoterapiprocesser innan och under känslomässig upplevelse (EE) i en en-sessionsbehandling av Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), samt att beskriva hur vi kan förstå dessa. Ämnet valdes att studeras då det är eftersträvansvärt att undersöka hur processvariabler förhåller sig i interaktionella sekvenser. Dessutom har psykoterapiprocesser inte tidigare studerats i en EAET-behandling. Att förstå psykoterapiprocesser som föregår EE i en EAET-behandling kan generera hypoteser samt öka intresset för utforskandet av möjliga processer och mekanismer involverade i EE inom psykoterapi. Metod: Denna kvalitativa studies data samlades in från tio inspelade intervjuer som härstammade från KOSMOS-projektet, vilket var en vetenskaplig studie som studerade känslofokuserade digitala interventioner för patienter med medicinskt oförklarade kroppsliga symtom (MOS) med hög primärvårdskonsumtion. Samtliga deltagare genomförde Life-stress intervjun, vilket är en en-sessionsbehandling som fokuserar på att patienten berättar om, utforskar och uttrycker emotioner. För att urskilja EE i data användes kodningsinstrumentet Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System 2.0 (NEPCS 2.0), vilket spårar sekvenser där patienter upplever känslor, integrerar nya känslomässiga upplevelser och fångar reflekterande processer. Urskilda sekvenser transkriberades och analyserades med kvalitativ tematisk analys. Resultat: Resultatdel ett presenterade tio teman med tillhörande subteman i ett kodningsschema. Teman var Känslor, Frågor och reflektion, Tolkning, Förklaring, Upprepning, Bekräftelse, Visualisering, Motstridighet, Sammanfattning och Testa nytt beteende. Teman var olika återkommande och var olika gynnsamma utifrån studiens frågeställning. Resultatdel två presenterade samband mellan teman. Vi identifierade bland annat att subteman ofta följde efter varandra samt att teman stundtals var svåra att särskilja. Diskussion: I diskussionen förde vi ett resonemang gällande de urskilda psykoterapiprocesserna och dess eventuella koppling till EE, samt kring identifierade mönster inom och mellan de olika teman. Vissa teman identifierades vara eller likna vedertagna terapeutiska interventioner. Trots att inga kausala samband kunde dras från resultatet genererades hypoteser för framtida processforskning kring det potentiella sambandet mellan funna psykoterapiprocesser och EE. Med hänvisning till det nuvarande forskningsläget antas det viktigt att fortsatt undersöka detta. / Background: This study aimed to investigate psychotherapy processes before and during emotional experiencing (EE) in a single-session treatment with Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), and to describe how we can understand these processes. The topic was chosen because it is desirable to examine how process variables relate in interactional sequences. Additionally, no previous studies have investigated psychotherapy processes in an EAET treatment. Understanding psychotherapy processes preceding EE in an EAET treatment can generate hypotheses and increase interest for future research exploring possible processes and mechanisms involved in EE within psychotherapy. Method: This qualitative study included data from ten recorded interviews which originated from the KOSMOS project, which studied emotion-focused digital interventions for patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) with high primary care consumption. All participants underwent the Life-stress interview, which is a single-session treatment focusing on the patient narrating, exploring, and expressing emotions. To identify EE in the data, the Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System 2.0 (NEPCS 2.0) was used. It tracks sequences where participants experience emotions, integrate new emotional experiences, and capture reflective processes. The identified sequences were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: The first part of the results presents ten themes with corresponding subthemes in a coding scheme. The themes were Emotions, Questions and reflection, Interpretation, Explanation, Repetition, Confirmation, Visualization, Contradiction, Summary, and Testing new behavior. The themes varied in occurrence and were considered differently favorable based on the study's research questions. The second part of the results presents connections between themes. Among other findings, we identified that subthemes often followed each other and that themes were sometimes difficult to distinguish from one another. Discussion: In the discussion, we reasoned about the distinguished psychotherapy processes and its possible connection to EE. We also discussed identified patterns within and between the different themes. Some themes were identified as being or resembling established therapeutic interventions. Although no causal relationships could be drawn from the results, we generated hypotheses for future process research about the potential relation between psychotherapy processes and EE. With reference to the current state of research, it is assumed important to continue investigating this.

The present study examines the relationship of emotional awareness to anticipatory psychophysiological markers and performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The IGT is a computerized card game that simulates real-life decisions through uncertainty of reward or punishment. The participant’s goal is to make advantageous card choices. Anticipatory somatic markers of physiological arousal, like electrodermal activity and heart rate, have been proposed to bias decisions in the IGT. The central hypothesis is that a participant’s emotional awareness is related to their ability to make advantageous decisions through biasing psychophysiological responses. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale was used to assess each participant’s emotional awareness. Less emotional awareness was associated with enhanced performance on the IGT. However, anticipatory physiological arousal (electrodermal activity and heart rate) and emotional awareness yielded no significant relationships. Findings suggest a need for further research on cognitive models, such as the expectancy valence model, in relation to decision-making.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious disorder with long-term consequences for those afflicted. No evidence-based care is available for adults with full or subthreshold AN. The thesis research investigated aspects of emotion and cognition relevant to the maintenance of AN that might inform psychological treatment. In addition, the effectiveness of a recent psychotherapy model of AN was investigated. Study I investigated alexithymia and emotional awareness and their associations with depression, anxiety, and perfectionism among patients with AN compared with a control group. The AN group exhibited the same level of emotional awareness as did the control group and the same level of alexithymia when controlling for depression and anxiety. Alexithymia and emotional awareness were not associated, despite representing an overlapping construct. The results of the present study indicate that those with AN can trust their emotional awareness. Study II explored implicit pro-thin and anti-fat attitudes (towards the self and others), striving for thinness (loosely corresponding to positive reinforcement), and avoidance of fatness (loosely corresponding to negative reinforcement). The AN and the control groups were found to have equally strong implicit pro-thin and striving for thinness attitudes. The AN group exhibited stronger implicit anti-fat and avoidance of fatness attitudes (loosely corresponding to negative reinforcement) than did the control group. There was no association between implicit and explicit measures. The results are in line with the over-evaluation of weight and shape as a core feature of eating disorders. Study III compared the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and treatment as usual (TAU) for adults with AN after day-care. Follow-up measures indicated no difference in improvement or deterioration between the two groups. The level of perfectionism was reduced in the ACT group relative to the TAU group. The study was compromised by a lower inflow of patients than anticipated and by a high drop-out rate, and thus fails to provide evidence of a difference between the two groups. The present thesis demonstrates that emotional awareness is intact in those with AN and that implicit attitudes concerning weight and shape reflect the explicit attitudes, although without association. The treatment study indicates that, when designing treatment, it is important to consider the ambivalence to treatment among those suffering from AN, which is reflected in the high drop-out rate in the present study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential connection between emotional awareness and resilience in a young child affected by HIV/AIDS. The study forms part of a broad research project, the Kgolo-Mmogo project, involving a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and Yale University in the United States of America. The Kgolo-Mmogo project aims to investigate the adaptive functioning of children affected by HIV/AIDS, whilst potentially enhancing resilience. The project involves an assessment of the participating children, which is followed by a structured intervention and post assessment. The conceptual framework for my study was based on existing literature relating to early childhood development, emotional development, as well as children affected by HIV/AIDS and resilience. I followed a qualitative approach, anchored in the interpretivist paradigm. I utilised an instrumental case study research design and conveniently selected the participants, who were involved in the broader Kgolo- Mmogo project at the onset of my study. One five year old girl, her mother and the care workers who facilitated the intervention, participated in my study. I observed eleven intervention sessions, as well as the pre- and post assessment. In addition to observation, documented in the form of field notes, photographs and a research journal, I employed conversational interviews with the care workers, for data collection and member-checking purposes. I also conducted two semi-structured interviews with the mother of the participant. Three main themes emerged subsequent to thematic data analysis. The first theme relates to developmentally appropriate skills that remained constant throughout my study, with the sub-themes associated with the cognitive, emotional and social domain of development. The second theme concerns accelerated emotional functioning in certain areas of development, with the sub-themes being an increased frequency in referring to feelings, and an increased differentiation when referring to feelings and desires. The last theme entails the enhancement of social skills, with the sub-themes relating to the formation of trusting relationships and enhanced communication about experiences. Based on the findings I obtained, I can conclude that the Kgolo-Mmogo intervention seemingly provided some learning opportunities to foster emotional resilience in a young, vulnerable child. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

[pt] A presente tese teve como objetivo estabelecer um quadro teórico e empírico para desenvolver programas de intervenção para a alexitimia, uma condição relacionada com prejuízos socioemocionais. A tese é composta por quatro artigos. O artigo 1 validou uma versão adaptada do Bermond–Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) para o português brasileiro, mostrando que o TAS-20 e o BVAQ-BR medem diferentes aspectos da alexitimia. O artigo 2 validou a escala de precisão interoceptiva (IAS) adaptada para o português brasileiro, destacando a correlação negativa entre a precisão interoceptiva e alexitimia, sintomas de TEA e síndromes disfóricas. Os artigos 1 e 2 forneceram ferramentas confiáveis para avaliar alexitimia e acurácia interoceptiva no Brasil, mostrando seus potenciais benefícios na identificação de fatores de risco para transtornos psiquiátricos. O artigo 3 realizou uma revisão sistemática do impacto das intervenções baseadas em DBT na alexitimia, indicando a eficácia de tais intervenções na melhoria das habilidades de processamento emocional, embora as intervenções que incorporam princípios de outros tratamentos tenham sido mais eficazes. Por fim, o Artigo 4 explorou a relação entre alexitimia e empatia, revelando os aspectos multifacetados dessa relação. A tese propõe uma estrutura robusta para facilitar o desenvolvimento de programas de intervenção para alexitimia. / [en] The current thesis aimed to establish a theoretical and empirical framework to develop intervention programs for alexithymia, a condition related to socio-emotional impairments. The thesis is comprised of four articles. Article 1 validated an adapted version of the Bermond–Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire (BVAQ) for Brazilian Portuguese, showing that the TAS-20 and the BVAQ-BR measure different aspects of alexithymia. Article 2 validated the Interoceptive Accuracy Scale (IAS) adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, highlighting the negative correlation between interoceptive accuracy and alexithymia, and symptoms of ASD and dysphoric syndromes. Articles 1 and 2 provided reliable tools for assessing alexithymia and interoceptive accuracy in Brazil, showing their potential benefits in identifying risk factors for psychiatric disorders. Article 3 conducted a systematic review of the impact of DBT-based interventions on alexithymia, indicating the effectiveness of such interventions in improving emotional processing skills, although interventions incorporating principles from other treatments were more effective. Finally, Article 4 explored the relationship between alexithymia and empathy, revealing the multifaceted aspects of this relationship. The thesis proposes a robust framework to facilitate the development of intervention programs for alexithymia.

Objective: Binge-eating disorder (BED) is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating and is associated with eating disorder and general psychopathology and overweight/obesity. Deficits in cognitive and emotional functioning for eating disorders or obesity have been reported. However, a systematic review on cognitive and emotional functioning for individuals with BED is lacking. Method: A systematic literature search was conducted across three databases (Medline, PubMed, and PsycINFO). Overall, n = 57 studies were included in the present review. Results: Regarding cognitive functioning, individuals with BED consistently demonstrated higher information processing biases compared to obese and normal-weight controls in the context of disorder-related stimuli (i.e., food and body cues), whereas cognitive functioning in the context of neutral stimuli appeared to be less affected. Thus, results suggest disorder-related rather than general difficulties in cognitive functioning in BED. With respect to emotional functioning, individuals with BED reported difficulties similar to individuals with other eating disorders, with a tendency to show less severe difficulties in some domains. In addition, individuals with BED reported greater emotional deficits when compared to obese and normal-weight controls. Findings suggest general difficulties in emotional functioning in BED. Thus far, however, investigations of emotional functioning in disorder-relevant situations are lacking. Discussion: Overall, the cross-sectional findings indicate BED to be associated with difficulties in cognitive and emotional functioning. Future research should determine the nature of these difficulties, in regards to general and disorder-related stimuli, and consider interactions of both domains to foster the development and improvement of appropriate interventions in BED.

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