Thesis (BA(Hons) (Psychology)) - Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. / "October 2006". A thesis is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree BA (Honours), [Faculty of Life and Social Sciences], Swinburne University of Technology - 2006. Typescript.

Empati är en grundförutsättning för människors interaktion, kommunikation och förståelse för varandra. Forskning har visat att individer med depression och olika personlighetsstörningar har en tendens till nedsatt empati. I en enkätstudie med 205 deltagare, varav 162 kvinnor, undersöktes om sinnesstämning har ett samband med empati. Deltagarna försattes i en sinnesstämning, de fick tänka på positiva eller negativa händelse. Sedan läsa en negativt riktad vinjett om en gripande händelse. Sinnesstämning mättes med The Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) och empati med hjälp av Batsons empatiskala. Studien avser att fylla luckan som finns om sinnesstämning och empati hos människor i allmänhet. Manipulationen gav inget signifikant resultat. Resultatet visar dock ett positivt samband mellan sinnesstämning och empati från självskattningsskalorna. Deltagarna med positiv sinnesstämning rapporterade mer empati. Kvinnor kände mer empati är män och de äldre mer än yngre. Studien relaterar till att högre välmående hos individer kan skapa mer empati i samhället.

In this dissertation, I investigate the structural representation of mood in a Minimalist framework. This investigation is based on the study of mood particles in Modern Standard Arabic and the way they interact with (i) the verb and (ii) negation. Arabic subjunctive particles are compared to subjunctive Balkan particles. / The main suggestion is that Arabic clause structure involves an inflectional projection Modal Phrase (ModP) that hosts the subjunctive particle ?an as well as other mood particles all of which check verbal mood morphology through the operation Agree. / The subjunctive particle ?an is compared to Balkan subjunctive particles and is argued to be an inflectional element rather than a lower complementizer in the sense of Rizzi (1997). In particular, it is suggested that Arabic and Balkan subjunctive particles fall into two types: (i) Type 1 inflectional particles that check a mood feature with the verb and that may occur in clauses lacking the CP layer. These include Arabic ?an and Romanian sǎ, and (ii) Type 2 lower Comp particles that do not check any verbal feature and that require the projection of the CP layer. These include Greek na and Bulgarian da. / As far as the interaction of mood particles with negation, it is suggested that some mood particles including subjunctive ?an may select NegP and check verbal mood across negation. Other particles, however, may not select NegP and are incompatible with negation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2007. / Title from title page screen, viewed on February 15, 2008. Dissertation Committee: Dawn M. McBride (chair), Alvin E. House, Karla J. Doepke, Robert Peterson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-100) and abstract. Also available in print.

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A substantial amount of research has investigated the psychophysiological profiles of various mood and emotional states; however, very little research has investigated individuals� mood responses from a psychophysiological perspective. As a result, little is known about the psychophysiological reactivity of individuals to various mood-related responses, or the ability of psychophysiological measures to differentiate between response styles. Furthermore, most investigations in the area of mood-related response styles have relied on participants self-report responses of their mood reactivity, which is considered to be susceptible to demand characteristics and response bias. Psychophysiological measures are thought to offer a unique and alternative measure of mood reactivity that can corroborate, or challenge self-report findings. They are considered to be less susceptible to demand effects than self-report, and can detect subtle changes in mood reactivity activity when an overt response is not apparent. In view of this, the primary objective of this thesis was to move beyond a reliance on subjective self-report measurements of mood reactivity, and to investigate the consequences of depressed mood-related cognitive response styles from a psychophysiological perspective. As part of this investigation, this thesis aims to address a number of theoretical and practical questions relating to the use of psychophysiological measures in mood research and clinical practice. The research is divided into four studies, each one focusing on a particular aspect of the investigation. The aim of Study 1 was to select and trial a laboratory-based mood induction procedure (MIP) and a self-report mood measure, with the intention of developing a reliable method of inducing and measuring depressed mood. Two film clips that contained either positive or negative affective content were presented to participants. Self-report responses on the Mood Scale confirmed that the negative film clip elicited a very unpleasant mood state with high emotional arousal, and that the positive film clip elicited a mildly pleasant mood state with low emotional arousal. The positive and negative Film Clip MIPs were then used in Studies 2 and 2a, to investigate participants� psychophysiological reactivity to induced mood. The aim of Studies 2 and 2a was to identify a set of psychophysiological measures that would differentiate between participants� mood states. In Study 2, the positive and negative Film Clip MIPs, from Study 1, were again presented to participants. Corrugator supercilii facial EMG activity, zygomaticus major facial EMG activity, skin conductance activity (SCA), heart rate (plethysmograph, sphygmomanometer), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and self-report ratings on the Mood Scale were recorded. Results confirmed that participant self-reported affective responses were similar to those reported in Study 1; however, mixed results were obtained in regards to individuals� psychophysiological responses to the MIPs. Facial EMG activity and heart rate (plethysmograph) were consistent with participants� self-reported mood, whereas, SCA and systolic blood pressure were inconsistent with participants� self-reported mood. Diastolic blood pressure and heart rate (sphygmomanometer) did not differentiate between the MIPs. As the results were somewhat contradictory to expectations, it was decided to further investigate the psychophysiology of induced mood in Study 2a, using a revised set of psychophysiological measures. In Study 2a, the positive and negative Film Clip MIPs were again presented to participants. Corrugator supercilii facial EMG activity, zygomaticus major facial EMG activity, SCA, heart rate (ECG), and finger temperature, were recorded along with participants� Mood Scale ratings. It was found that facial EMG activity and SCA, paralleled participant self-report as expected, and were most responsive to participants� change in mood state. Heart rate (ECG) and finger temperature did not clearly differentiate between the induced mood states. The aim of Study 3 was to conduct an experimental, laboratory-based investigation, into the psychophysiological and subjective mood consequences of two cognitive response styles: self-focused depressive rumination and external-focused distraction. As in the previous study, the negative Film Clip MIP and the Mood Scale were used to induce depressed mood and to measure participants� subjective mood state. Psychophysiological reactivity was recorded by measuring participants� corrugator supercilii facial EMG, zygomaticus major facial EMG, SCA, heart rate (sphygmomanometer), systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. Trait response style was measured using the Response Style Questionnaire (RSQ; Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991) and social desirability was measured using the Marlowe Crowne-Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS; Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). As predicted by the Response Style Theory of depression (RST), increased self-reported negative mood was found when participants responded to the induced depressed mood, using a self-focused depressive rumination response style, rather than an external-focused distraction response style. Psychophysiological activity increased over the course of the negative Film Clip MIP for all psychophysiological measures, however, only corrugator supercilii facial EMG activity clearly differentiated between the cognitive response styles, in a way predicted by individuals� self-report responses. There was no evidence of a relationship between participants� trait response style and their psychophysiological reactivity or mood responses during the experiment. However, individuals high in trait rumination reported greater depressive symptomatology, and less mood reactivity during the experiment, than those high in trait distraction. Furthermore, participants� ratings of social desirability were positively associated with their level of depressive symptomatology and trait rumination. The aim of Study 4 was to conduct a pilot study to investigate the psychophysiological consequences of two further cognitive response styles: negative automatic thoughts and positive autobiographical recall. A series of twelve single-case (ABC-ABC) experiments were carried out using a procedure analogous to a clinical therapy process. Initially a depressed Story MIP was used to induce a depressed mood in participants (A). Participants were then required to respond to their depressed mood using negative self-statements (B), and positive autobiographical recall (C). Consistent with previous studies, zygomaticus major facial EMG and corrugator supercilii facial EMG clearly paralleled participants� mood reactivity throughout the experiment, whereas SCA and heart rate showed less consistent patterns of reactivity. This thesis has made an important contribution to mood and psychophysiological research by presenting the first in-depth investigation into the psychophysiological consequences of how people respond to depressed mood, from both a theoretical and a clinical perspective. It is anticipated that the findings of this research will bring about further investigation into the comparative efficacy of various brief mood-related cognitive intervention techniques, which will ultimately assist scientist-practitioners in selecting suitable brief cognitive intervention techniques for helping clients ameliorate their negative mood, emotional, and cognitive states.

Women at the completion of treatment for breast cancer experience relief along with continued physical and psychological distress. This study explored the effectiveness of two forms of a Relaxation Intervention in providing psychosocial support to women at the completion of treatment for breast cancer. The two conditions included (1) Music-Assisted Relaxation (MAR), in which contemporary, sedative music was paired with standard, spoken relaxation directives, and (2) Relaxation Alone (RA), in which only spoken relaxation directives were used. Individual sessions were held once each week for four weeks. This study included a mixed method design. Quantitative measures included The Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale, The Profile of Mood States - Short Form, and The Benefit Finding Scale, a measure of psychological growth. Qualitative measures included Participant Diaries and a Semi-Structured Interview. A total of 20 women participated in this study, with 10 women in each of the two intervention conditions. Results revealed a statistically significant reduction in Depression for all participants over the course of the intervention. In addition, participants receiving MAR showed a statistically significantly greater improvement in Positive Affect during Week Three of the intervention when compared with participants receiving RA. Review of effect size calculations indicated that MAR had a stronger influence on Total Distress, Positive Affect, and Negative Affect than RA. Results from the qualitative analyses supported the quantitative findings, showing that the both forms of the Relaxation Intervention promoted reductions in Depression, seen in improved energy levels and better sleep. The Relaxation Intervention also led to improvements in Positive Affect, seen in greater focus of attention and elicitation of positive images and memories, especially for those participants in the MAR condition. In summary, the Relaxation Intervention used in this study was effective in reducing Depression among all participants. During specific weeks, all participants reported a decrease in Total Distress and Negative Affect and an increase in Positive Affect. MAR enhanced the effectiveness of the intervention, primarily through the promotion of positive mood states.