Self-presentation and emotional contagion on Facebook: new experimental measures of profiles' emotional coherence

Social Networks allow users to self-present by sharing personal contents with others which may add comments. Recent studies highlighted how the emotions expressed in a post affect others' posts, eliciting a congruent emotion. So far, no studies have yet investigated the emotional coherence between wall posts and its comments. This research evaluated posts and comments mood of Facebook profiles, analyzing their linguistic features, and a measure to assess an excessive self-presentation was introduced. Two new experimental measures were built, describing the emotional loading (positive and negative) of posts and comments, and the mood correspondence between them was evaluated. The profiles "empathy", the mood coherence between post and comments, was used to investigate the relation between an excessive self-presentation and the emotional coherence of a profile. Participants publish a higher average number of posts with positive mood. To publish an emotional post corresponds to get more likes, comments and receive a coherent mood of comments, confirming the emotional contagion effect reported in literature. Finally, the more empathetic profiles are characterized by an excessive self-presentation, having more posts, and receiving more comments and likes. To publish emotional contents appears to be functional to receive more comments and likes, fulfilling needs of attention-seeking.Comment: Submitted to Complexit

How Do You Feel, Developer? An Explanatory Theory of the Impact of Affects on Programming Performance

Affects---emotions and moods---have an impact on cognitive activities and the working performance of individuals. Development tasks are undertaken through cognitive processes, yet software engineering research lacks theory on affects and their impact on software development activities. In this paper, we report on an interpretive study aimed at broadening our understanding of the psychology of programming in terms of the experience of affects while programming, and the impact of affects on programming performance. We conducted a qualitative interpretive study based on: face-to-face open-ended interviews, in-field observations, and e-mail exchanges. This enabled us to construct a novel explanatory theory of the impact of affects on development performance. The theory is explicated using an established taxonomy framework. The proposed theory builds upon the concepts of events, affects, attractors, focus, goals, and performance. Theoretical and practical implications are given.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures. Postprin

Chronotype is differentially associated with lifetime mood and panic-agoraphobic spectrum symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls.

Objective. Although the association between chronotype and mood disorders has been con- sistently reported, conversely, attempts to measure the association between chronotype and anxiety symptoms have generated inconsistent results. We aimed at evaluating whether chron- otype (assessed through subjective and objective measures) is associated with lifetime mood and panic-agoraphobic spectrum symptoms in healthy controls (HCs) and in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Methods. Overall, 173 subjects, patients with BD in euthymic phase (n = 76) and HC (n = 97), were evaluated through the reduced Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), acti- graphy monitoring and mood and panic-agoraphobic spectrum self-report (MOODS-SR and PAS-SR). The discrepancy between objective (actigraphic-based) versus subjective (rMEQ- based) circadian typology was estimated through the Circadian Classification Discrepancy Index (CCDI). Results. rMEQ-based evening chronotype (ET) was associated with higher scores in MOODS- SR depressive and rhythmicity and vegetative functions domains in HC and BD.Both ET and morning chronotypes (MT) were associated with higher PAS-SR scores in BD only. Actigraphic-based MT was associated with higher MOODS-SR depressive scores in HC. Likewise, the discrepancy between actigraphic-based and rMEQ-based circadian typology was associated with depressive symptoms in HC only. Conclusion. Self-reported ET was consistently associated with mood symptoms, while associ- ations with panic-agoraphobic symptoms only emerged in BD and involved both extreme chronotypes. The discrepancy between the preferred circadian typology (rMEQ-based) and the actual one (actigraphic-based) could contribute to depressive symptoms in HC. These results pave the way for interventional studies targeting circadian typology in an attempt to prevent or treat mental health disorders

Cross Cultural Relationships of Depression, Attachment Styles, and Quality of Romantic Relationships: Cultural Difference between Taiwanese/Chinese and American College Students

Relationship quality has been determined to be a positive factor in the treatment of depression (Brown, 2000; Fagan, 2009). Although the importance of marriage has been broadly studied, little research has investigated correlations among relationship quality, depressive moods, and attachment styles. Although the prevalence of depressive moods has been documented within populations of Taiwanese/Chinese international students and American college students (Wei et al., 2007), Wang and Mallinckrodt (2006) found that definitions of ideal attachment differ in these groups. Furthermore, researchers have not yet investigated the effect of cultural differences and attachment styles on the interactions between relationship quality and depressive moods among Taiwanese and Chinese international students.;Two-group and four-group comparison (Macready, 2005) methods were applied to answer the following questions: 1) Is there a significant difference between quality of romantic relationships or levels of depressive moods of American college students with anxious or avoidant attachment style and Taiwanese or Chinese college students studying in America with anxious or avoidant attachment style? 2) How does the effect differ between the two groups? A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine the effect on the linear combination of relationship quality and levels of depressive moods between the American students and Taiwanese/Chinese international students with different attachment categories (secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful). Four follow-up analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to determine statistical significant differences in levels of depressive moods or relationship quality among Taiwanese/Chinese international students with different attachment categories

A Trip to the Moon: Personalized Animated Movies for Self-reflection

Self-tracking physiological and psychological data poses the challenge of presentation and interpretation. Insightful narratives for self-tracking data can motivate the user towards constructive self-reflection. One powerful form of narrative that engages audience across various culture and age groups is animated movies. We collected a week of self-reported mood and behavior data from each user and created in Unity a personalized animation based on their data. We evaluated the impact of their video in a randomized control trial with a non-personalized animated video as control. We found that personalized videos tend to be more emotionally engaging, encouraging greater and lengthier writing that indicated self-reflection about moods and behaviors, compared to non-personalized control videos

Spanish validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder-20 (IGD-20) Test

In recent years, problematic and addictive gaming has been a phenomenon of growing concern worldwide. In light of the increasing awareness about this issue, the latest (fifth) edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as an area in need of more empirical research. The Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20 Test) was developed as a valid and reliable tool to assess IGD. The aim of the present study was to validate the Spanish version of the IGD-20 Test, and analyze the different profiles found among a sample of 1,074 Spanish-speaking gamers. A confirmatory factor analysis showed the validity of the Spanish version of the IGD-20 Test and its six factor structure (i.e., salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse). The latent profile analysis (LPA) showed five different gamer classes. The 'disordered gamers’ class comprised 2.6% of the participants. Based on this class, sensitivity and specificity analyses showed an adequate empirical cut-off point of 75 (out of 100). It is concluded that the Spanish version of the IGD-20 Test is valid and reliable and can be used in research into IGD among Spanish speaking populations

Assessing Internet addiction using the parsimonious Internet addiction components model - a preliminary study [forthcoming]

Internet usage has grown exponentially over the last decade. Research indicates that excessive Internet use can lead to symptoms associated with addiction. To date, assessment of potential Internet addiction has varied regarding populations studied and instruments used, making reliable prevalence estimations difficult. To overcome the present problems a preliminary study was conducted testing a parsimonious Internet addiction components model based on Griffiths’ addiction components (2005), including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. Two validated measures of Internet addiction were used (Compulsive Internet Use Scale [CIUS], Meerkerk et al., 2009, and Assessment for Internet and Computer Game Addiction Scale [AICA-S], Beutel et al., 2010) in two independent samples (ns = 3,105 and 2,257). The fit of the model was analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Results indicate that the Internet addiction components model fits the data in both samples well. The two sample/two instrument approach provides converging evidence concerning the degree to which the components model can organize the self-reported behavioural components of Internet addiction. Recommendations for future research include a more detailed assessment of tolerance as addiction component

Kişilerarası Duygulanım İyileştirme Stratejileri Ölçeği’nin (KDİSÖ) Türkçe Adaptasyonu ve Psikometrik Özellikleri

The aim of this study was to adapt the Interpersonal Affect Improvement Strategies Questionnaire (IAISQ) into Turkish population, as well as to examine its validity and reliability estimates. The sample consisted of 610 university students. The original factor structure of the scale was confirmed in Turkish sample by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The internal reliability coefficient was found as .75 for overall scale (.74 for Positive Engagement subscale, .63 for Acceptance subscale). Significant correlation coefficients were found between the subscales of IAISQ and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ), confirming a good criterion related validity. Overall results suggest that Turkish form of IAISQ is a valid and reliable measure to use for research purposes in order to investigate the Turkish students’ interpersonal affect improvement strategies.Bu çalışmanın amacı Kişilerarası Duygulanım İyileştirme Stratejileri Ölçeğini (KDİSÖ) Türk popülasyonuna uyarlamak ve geçerlik/güvenirlik değerlerini incelemektir. Çalışmanın örneklemi 610 üniversite öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Ölçeğin orijinal faktör yapısı, Türkiye örnekleminde doğrulayıcı faktör analiziyle (DFA) doğrulanmıştır. İç güvenirlik katsayısı ölçeğin tamamı için .75 olarak bulunurken, Pozitif Katılım alt ölçeği için .74, Kabul alt ölçeği için .63 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Ölçeğin ölçüt geçerliği için Kişilerarası Duygu Düzenleme Ölçeği (KDDÖ) kullanılmış olup, KDİSÖ ve KDDÖ alt ölçekleri anlamlı korelasyon katsayıları bulunmuştur. Araştırmanın bulguları, KDİSÖ'nün, Türk öğrencilerinin kişilerarası duygulanım iyileştirme stratejilerini değerlendirmek amacıyla kullanılacak geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olduğunu göstermektedir