Affect psychology
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Understanding Affect Psychology: Key Insights and Models
Psychometric Principles of Affect
The study of affect in psychology often revolves around understanding the relationships between different emotional states. Watson and Clark (1997) proposed two fundamental psychometric principles: positive affects tend to correlate strongly with each other, while negative affects show weak correlations with positive affects. However, alternative analyses suggest that the correlation between affects depends on their positioning within a circular ordering, revealing exceptions to these principles1.
Psychological Structure and Development of Affect
Affect influences behavior and personal reactions to external stimuli. It is associated with specific situations, reactions, feelings, bodily gestures, facial expressions, and words. These associations can give affect protective functions and influence the psyche and consciousness2. This highlights the complex interplay between affect and various psychological processes.
Core Affect and Emotional Construction
Core affect, the fundamental feeling of being good or bad, energized or enervated, plays a crucial role in emotion, mood, and behavior. It influences reflexes, perception, cognition, and behavior, often without direct awareness of its causes. Core affect can be free-floating (mood) or attributed to specific causes, leading to emotional episodes3. This concept underscores the foundational role of core affect in emotional experiences.
Positive Psychology Interventions and Affective Dynamics
Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) aim to enhance positive affect (PA) and reduce negative affect (NA). A study on a 42-day PPI showed that participants experienced a significant decrease in activated and deactivated NA, while deactivated PA increased non-linearly and activated PA increased linearly. This suggests that PPIs can effectively modify daily affective trajectories4.
Models of Affect Relationships
The debate on whether positive and negative affects are independent (bivariate view) or inversely related (unidimensional, bipolar view) has extensive empirical support for both models. The Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA) integrates these views, specifying conditions under which both models are valid. This model helps analyze concurrent functioning of affect systems5.
Affect in Everyday Life and Work
Affect plays a significant role in everyday life, influencing stress, well-being, motivation, and job performance. Understanding how affect is elicited and its impact on these areas can provide valuable insights for both psychology and computer science, highlighting the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration6.
Affect as a Psychological Primitive
Affect is considered a fundamental, irreducible property of the human mind. The affective circumplex model represents core affective states and individual differences in emotional experiences. Core affect influences learning, consciousness, and extends beyond emotion, affecting various psychological processes7.
Affect as Information
The affect-as-information framework posits that affect provides evaluative information about stimuli, guiding judgment and decision-making. Positive affect promotes accessible responses, while negative affect inhibits them. The arousal dimension of affect amplifies reactions, enhancing evaluations, learning styles, and long-term memory8.
Metaphorical Representation of Affect
Affect is often represented metaphorically, linking it to brightness, vertical position, and distance. These automatic linkages influence evaluation, mood, and emotional behavior. Expanding research to include other perceptual experiences, cultural variations, and neuroimaging can further elucidate the metaphorical representation of affect9.
Affect Induction Procedures
Experimental studies often use affect induction procedures to modify participants' affective states. Methods such as recall with music, script-driven imagery, viewing images with music, and posing affective expressions have been effective in inducing both pleasant and unpleasant states. Viewing images with music was particularly effective for enhancing both positive and negative affect10.
Conclusion
The study of affect in psychology encompasses various models and frameworks that explain the relationships, development, and influence of affect on behavior and cognition. From core affect and its role in emotional construction to the impact of positive psychology interventions, understanding affect is crucial for comprehending human emotions and their broader psychological implications.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
On the Psychometric Principles of Affect
Watson and Clark's two fundamental psychometric principles of affect may be challenged by data sets showing exceptions to their principles, such as same-valenced pairs with weak correlations and oppositely valenced pairs with substantial correlations.
Highly CitedThe Question of the Psychological Structure of Affects
Affects influence behavior and personal reactions to external stimuli through their association with situations, reactions, feelings, bodily gestures, facial expressions, and words, and their ability to serve as protective functions.
Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion.
Core affect, influenced by internal and external factors, influences emotions, moods, and behavior, with its impact affecting reflexes, perception, cognition, and behavior.
Highly CitedModification of Affective Trajectory in a Positive Psychology Intervention.
A 42-day daily positive psychology intervention significantly reduced negative affect and increased positive affect compared to a control group.
RCT
Rigorous JournalDimensions of Affect Relationships: Models and Their Integrative Implications
The Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA) integrates both bivariate and bipolar models, allowing for a more integrative analysis of co-occurring types of affect in various research areas.
Highly CitedKeynote: Studying Affect at the Cross-Road of Psychology and Computer Science
Studying affect in psychology can provide insights into stress, well-being, motivation, and job performance, and collaboration between psychologists and computer scientists can yield valuable insights.
Affect as a Psychological Primitive.
Core affect is a fundamental psychological property of the human mind, influencing learning and consciousness beyond the boundaries of emotion.
Highly CitedAffective Arousal as Information: How Affective Arousal Influences Judgments, Learning, and Memory.
Affective arousal influences judgments, learning, and memory by amplifying reactions, providing information about urgency or importance, while valenced affective cues serve as information about value.
Highly CitedThe Metaphorical Representation of Affect
Metaphorical representation of affect has considerable merit in understanding its link to perception and evaluation, mood, and emotional behavior.
Highly CitedHow does this make you feel? A comparison of four affect induction procedures
Viewing images with music and recall with music enhance positive affect, while viewing images with music enhances negative affect.
RCTHighly Cited