Although most research on bipolar I disorder has focused on biological models, recent investigation has elucidated the importance of psychosocial predictors of the course of illness. Theories of the Behavioral Activation System?s role in affect have helped unify biological and environmental explanations of the disorder. Along these lines, researchers have proposed that goal striving and attainment predict manic symptoms. In the current study, experience-sampling methodology was used to assess the relationship between fluctuations in goal striving and affect among 12 persons with bipolar I disorder and 12 without a history of mood disorder (control group). Participants completed measures of goal striving and affect three times each day for a period of three weeks. It was hypothesized that moving more quickly than expected toward a given goal would result in decreased subsequent effort toward that goal (coasting) for the control group, and increased subsequent effort (anti-coasting) for those with bipolar I disorder, with positive affect mediating the relationship in both cases. Results indicated that those in the bipolar I disorder group were significantly more likely to anti-coast than those in the control group. This finding, however, was explained primarily by gender, as men in the bipolar I disorder group showed no evidence of anti-coasting. In addition, there was no evidence of the mediating role of positive affect in these phenomena. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

User interface design is becoming more reliant on user emotional states to improve usability, adapt to the users state, and allow greater expressiveness. Historically, usability has relied on performance metrics for evaluation, but user experience, with an emphasis on aesthetics and emotions, has become recognized as important for improving user interfaces. Research is ongoing into systems that automatically adapt to users states such as expertise or physical impairments and emotions are the next frontier for adaptive user interfaces. Improving the emotional expressiveness of computers adds a missing element that exists in human face-to-face interactions. The first step of incorporating users emotions into usability evaluation, adaptive interfaces, and expressive interfaces is to sense and gather the users emotional responses. Affective computing research has used predictive modeling to determine user emotional states, but studies are usually performed in controlled laboratory settings and lack realism. Field studies can be conducted to improve realism, but there are a number of logistical challenges with field studies: user activity data is difficult to gather, emotional state ground truth is difficult to collect, and relating the two is difficult. In this thesis, we describe a software solution that addresses the logistical issues of conducting affective computing field studies and we also describe an evaluation of the software using a field study. Based on the results of our study, we found that a software solution can reduce the logistical issues of conducting an affective computing field study and we provide some suggestions for future affective computing field studies.

User interface design is becoming more reliant on user emotional states to improve usability, adapt to the users state, and allow greater expressiveness. Historically, usability has relied on performance metrics for evaluation, but user experience, with an emphasis on aesthetics and emotions, has become recognized as important for improving user interfaces. Research is ongoing into systems that automatically adapt to users states such as expertise or physical impairments and emotions are the next frontier for adaptive user interfaces. Improving the emotional expressiveness of computers adds a missing element that exists in human face-to-face interactions. The first step of incorporating users emotions into usability evaluation, adaptive interfaces, and expressive interfaces is to sense and gather the users emotional responses. Affective computing research has used predictive modeling to determine user emotional states, but studies are usually performed in controlled laboratory settings and lack realism. Field studies can be conducted to improve realism, but there are a number of logistical challenges with field studies: user activity data is difficult to gather, emotional state ground truth is difficult to collect, and relating the two is difficult. In this thesis, we describe a software solution that addresses the logistical issues of conducting affective computing field studies and we also describe an evaluation of the software using a field study. Based on the results of our study, we found that a software solution can reduce the logistical issues of conducting an affective computing field study and we provide some suggestions for future affective computing field studies.

Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is a real-time data capture method that can be used to monitor symptoms and behaviours as they occur during everyday life. With measures completed multiple times a day, over several days, this intensive longitudinal data collection method results in multilevel data with observations nested within days, nested within subjects. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the optimal use of multilevel models for ESM in the design, reporting and analysis of ESM data, and apply these models to a study in people with psychosis. A methodological systematic review was conducted to identify design, analysis and statistical reporting practices in current ESM studies. Seventy four studies from 2012 were reviewed, and together with the analysis of a motivating example, four significant areas of interest were identified: power and sample size, missing data, momentary variation and predicting momentary change. Appropriate multilevel methods were sought for each of these areas, and were evaluated in the three-level context of ESM.Missing data was found to be both underreported and rarely considered when choosing analysis methods in practice. This work has introduced a more detailed understanding of nonresponse in ESM studies and has discussed appropriate statistical methods in the presence of missing data. This thesis has extended two-level statistical methodology for data analysis to accommodate the three-level structure of ESM. Novel applications of time trends have been developed, were time can be measured at two separate levels. The suitability of predicting momentary change in ESM data has been questioned; it is argued that the first-difference and joint modelling methods that are claimed in the literature to remove bias possibly induce more in this context. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations were shown to be a flexible option for estimating empirical power under varying sample sizes at levels 3, 2 and 1, with recommendations made for conservative power estimates when a priori parameter estimates are unknown. In summary, this work demonstrates how multilevel models can be used to examine the rich data structure of ESM and fully utilize the variation in measures captured at all levels.

This thesis explores the attitudes of women with borderline personality disorder towards otherness. The aim of the thesis was to explore the relationship between different personality characteristics of five women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and their attitudes towards themselves and representatives of otherness. For these purposes, the Semi- Structured Interview for Personality Functioning (STiP-5.1) assessing personal functioning in the personal and interpersonal domains and the experience sampling method (ESM) were used, through which the respondents recorded the intensity of emotions felt towards themselves and various representatives of otherness for 30 days. The data were processed qualitatively into five case studies. The results indicated significant intraindividual variability in emotions toward self and representatives of otherness. The methods could find application in the treatment process and therapy, whereby assessment of personality functioning could contribute to the overall current picture of the patient and the variability of their psychological attitudes in response to certain life events could be monitored using ESM. KEYWORDS borderline personality disorder, otherness, STiP-5.1, experience sampling methodology

Customer churn has always been a problem to be addressed by the telecommunication service providers. So far, work done in this regard was based on analyzing historical data of the customers by using different data mining techniques. Investigations based on individual user behavior with a motive of churn prediction are expected to give an idea about the user’s point view towards churn. Data volumes/data usage of the users is seen as parameter to assess the satisfaction of the users with the service. The subjective and objective behavior of the mobile phone users has been captured by collecting data about the data volumes/data usage for both Wi-Fi and mobile services along with their ratings of Quality of Experience (QoE).   The Experience Sampling Method has been deployed to collect the user data. Android tool was used to collect weekly data volumes of the users. A questionnaire was prepared with questions regarding quality, annoyance and churn risk of the users. The questionnaire was used to collect the weekly opinions of the users on the service. A total of 22 users participated in the study, of which 3 persons churned to other service provider during the study. The data collected in the study was analyzed using averages, correlations and decision trees. Comparisons were made between Wi-Fi and mobile services, churners and non-churners/active users. A 2-fold churn prediction model was proposed based on conclusions of the study.

Public view removed at the authors request. 16/07/2006 / The daily experience of anorexia nervosa sufferers has not previously been studied and yet it is fundamental to understanding anorexia nervosa. This study examined and compared the daily experiences of anorexia nervosa patients and control participants in terms of sense of self, mood states and flow states. Flow is characterised by undivided concentration and interest in an activity for intrinsic benefits. Flow is not always desirable, as some ways of experiencing it may be harmful to the individual and society. Anorexia nervosa participants were recruited from hospitals and private practices of clinicians specialising in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Exclusion criteria included male gender, chronic anorexia nervosa, drug abuse, and current participation in an inpatient program. Anorexia nervosa participants completed a series of questionnaires at baseline, 3-6 month follow-up and 7-12 month follow-up (stage one, two and three respectively). The questionnaires were designed to measure the severity of their eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa and control group participants completed Experience Sampling Forms (ESF) and a Repertory Grid at baseline and 3-6 months. The ESFs were completed each time a pager was activated. The pager was activated seven times a day, for four days at random times between 8.00am and 10.00pm. The pager signals were a minimum of two hours apart. The Repertory Grid consisted of 23 constructs and 13 elements provided to the participant. Thirty-one anorexia nervosa sufferers and thirty-two control participants completed stage one and eighteen anorexia nervosa sufferers and twenty-seven control group participants completed stage two of the study. Eighteen anorexia nervosa sufferers completed stage three of the study. Control participants were not required to participate in stage three. There was no difference in the severity of anorexia nervosa between completers and drop-outs The analysis of the ESFs at stage one indicated that the anorexia nervosa group participants did not spend more time alone at home or more time alone in any situation than the control group. For both groups, being alone had a negative influence on mood state, but had no effect on sense of self. The anorexia nervosa group felt lonelier and less sociable than the control group. The mood state and sense of self for the anorexia nervosa group was significantly lower over all the ESFs when compared to the control group. They were also more self-critical, experienced higher levels of guilt, were less able to live up to their own expectations, and were less satisfied with their performance in the activity they were doing. The anorexia nervosa group experienced less flow states than the control group at stage one. There was an improvement in mood state, sense of self and self-criticism for the anorexia nervosa group when they were in a flow state compared to when they were not in a flow state. There was an improvement in mood state, sense of self, guilt and self-criticism for the control group when they experienced flow, however these differences were not significant. The anorexia nervosa group had a more positive mood state and sense of self at stage two when compared to stage one. Correspondingly, there was a trend towards a reduced severity of the disorder indicated by a significant improvement on some of the psychological tests (EAT, REDS, BDI, DT). There was also a significant improvement in BMI. However, there was a significant decline in the amount of flow of anorexia nervosa participants experienced at stage two when compared to stage one. This result may be attributed to the significant decline in the response rate on ESFs in the second stage of the study for both the anorexia nervosa and control groups. Anorexia nervosa non-responders at stage two reported more severe symptoms of anorexia nervosa than anorexia nervosa responders, although this was a trend and reached significance only on minor indicators of eating disorder severity. The identification of a factor that predicted severity over a six-month period was not possible. The repertory grid analysis showed that the construct system of the anorexia nervosa participants was tighter and less complex than that of the control group. The anorexia nervosa group construed themselves as dissimilar from the way they would like to be in any context. The control group construed themselves as similar to the way they would like to be when they were alone, but as dissimilar from the way they would like to be when they were with other people. While the most salient element for both the anorexia nervosa and control groups was 'alone at home', it appears that the controls use this time for goal-directed activities. In contrast, this time was dominated by fear of losing control for the anorexia nervosa group. Although there was a trend towards a decrease in the amount of variance accounted for by the first component for the anorexia nervosa group at stage two compared to stage one, the interpretation of this result was complicated by mixed result of the control group. The anorexia nervosa groups' daily experience of life was bleak when compared to the daily experience of the control group, except for periods when the anorexia nervosa participants experienced a flow state. DeVries (1992) has documented the success of therapeutic interventions that involve the identification and replication of activities that resulted in a flow state. This investigation suggests that a similar result may be possible in the treatment of anorexia nervosa.

The relationships between procrastination, self-regulation, and fatigue were assessed. Previous researchers have suggested that procrastination is positively related to fatigue (Gropel&Steel, 2008), and that the use of self-regulation results in higher levels of fatigue (Muraven, Tice,&Baumeister, 1998). In the present study, I proposed that self-regulation is the mechanism underlying the relationship between procrastination and fatigue. Undergraduate students (N=110) first completed an in-lab questionnaire, then completed 15 online questionnaires per week for three weeks. The online questionnaires assessed sleeping and waking habits, along with reports of state fatigue. Procrastination was assessed through the time spent putting off getting out of bed each morning. Participants were split into two groups, and the experimental group was instructed to use an alarm clock without a snooze button during Week 2. Three findings were of interest. First, in contrast to global, self-reported behavior, aggregated measures of daily self-reported procrastination indicated a positive relationship with trait measures of procrastination, suggesting that global self-reports of behavior delay should be interpreted with caution. Second, trait procrastination was found to be a significant predictor of the amount of time spent delaying getting out of bed in the morning; however, the amount of time spent delaying getting out of bed in the morning was not predictive of subjective morning or afternoon fatigue. Finally, partial support was provided for a relationship between trait procrastination and state fatigue after accounting for other variables which have been shown to predict state subjective fatigue (e.g., neuroticism and anxiety; Ackerman, Kanfer,&Wolman, 2008). Based on these findings, I suggest that a stronger relationship exists between procrastination and fatigue at the trait level than the state level, and the state-level relationship may operate through a mechanism other than self-regulation.

<p>The current study assessed the relationship between licensing and self-control maintenance. Previous research on licensing has found mixed results for the effect of perceived progress on goal pursuit. Some studies find evidence that progress increases commitment and motivation to a goal, making licensing less likely, whereas other studies have found that progress leads to coasting and feelings of earned licensing. Previous work on managing food consumption has demonstrated that using a mental budget in tandem with a salient avoidance goal is an effective means of monitoring and limiting overindulgence. The current study used a mixed event-contingent and fixed-interval experience sampling design to examine the role of licensing in the eating domain and its effect on goal pursuit. Participants in the experimental condition were prompted with personalized commitment devices each day to assess if they promoted goal pursuit and appropriate licensing. We found that licensing occurs infrequently, but when it does occur, goal progress and goal commitment increase. The use of commitment device has little impact on licensing or goal pursuit.</p> / Dissertation

As the past twenty years of justice research have demonstrated, perceiving the workplace as fair is associated with higher levels of organizational commitment, job satisfaction, work-related effort, acceptance of work-related policies and procedures, and decreased absenteeism. However, although not always explicitly stated in theories of fairness, there has been a tacit understanding that justice perceptions are not static, but influenced by a variety of factors. In short, extant justice theories assume there are underlying dynamic elements within the construct, but the measures and previous research examining justice has assessed it as if it were a stable and static perception. The purpose of this research, therefore, was to take the first step to explore and describe the frequency and intensity of injustice perceptions at work and how individuals' affective states and traits influence these perceptions. A snow-ball sample of working individuals from across the United States provided ESM data by responding to palmtop computers at randomly scheduled intervals several times a day for 3 work weeks. Additionally, participants provided event-contingent injustice data when they perceived unfair events during their workday. The results of this examination, as well as the use of experience sampling for the study of dynamic workplace injustice, are discussed.