The Impact of Program Context on Motivational System Activation and Subsequent Effects on Processing a Fear Appeal

This manuscript reports three experiments investigating the impact of television programming context on the processing of a fear-appeal message. This is done using a dual-motivation system theory conceptualizing emotion as arising from activation of the appetitive and/or aversive motivational systems. Results show that, as predicted, sad programming activates viewers\u27 aversive motivational systems, whereas comedic programming activates their appetitive motivational systems. Furthermore, by activating these systems through programming context, we were able to predict both retrospective self-report and real-time physiological reactions to a persuasive message employing a fear-appeal strategy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as are suggestions for future experiments using the dual-motivation approach

Distracted in a Hyperconnected World: a Literature Review of Social Media and Distraction.

openSocial media platforms have become an omnipresent force in contemporary society, fundamentally transforming communication and information access. However, accumulating evidence suggests that excessive social media usage can detrimentally impact attention and contribute to distraction, thereby compromising productivity and affecting various domains such as academics, professional engagements, and social interactions. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between social media and distraction, this dissertation conducted a systematic literature review to identify pertinent articles exploring the effects of social media on distraction. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the interplay between social media and distraction across cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions. Findings pertaining to the cognitive dimension elucidate the impact of social media on the ability to sustain focus, as evidenced by an eye-tracking study. The behavioral dimension reveals that frequent switching between social media and other cognitive tasks incurs a cost of divided attention, resulting in compromised performance and reduced productivity. Moreover, the emotional dimension encompasses phenomena such as Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and social comparison, which contribute to the emotional aspects of distraction. In conclusion, the utilization of social media exerts a negative influence on the cognitive, behavioral, and affective components of attention, thereby engendering disruptive consequences for productivity, academic achievements, professional endeavors, and social interactions. By shedding light on these dynamics, this research underscores the significance of cultivating mindful social media habits and developing strategies to mitigate distraction, fostering healthier and more focused engagement with digital platforms.Social media platforms have become an omnipresent force in contemporary society, fundamentally transforming communication and information access. However, accumulating evidence suggests that excessive social media usage can detrimentally impact attention and contribute to distraction, thereby compromising productivity and affecting various domains such as academics, professional engagements, and social interactions. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between social media and distraction, this dissertation conducted a systematic literature review to identify pertinent articles exploring the effects of social media on distraction. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the interplay between social media and distraction across cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions. Findings pertaining to the cognitive dimension elucidate the impact of social media on the ability to sustain focus, as evidenced by an eye-tracking study. The behavioral dimension reveals that frequent switching between social media and other cognitive tasks incurs a cost of divided attention, resulting in compromised performance and reduced productivity. Moreover, the emotional dimension encompasses phenomena such as Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and social comparison, which contribute to the emotional aspects of distraction. In conclusion, the utilization of social media exerts a negative influence on the cognitive, behavioral, and affective components of attention, thereby engendering disruptive consequences for productivity, academic achievements, professional endeavors, and social interactions. By shedding light on these dynamics, this research underscores the significance of cultivating mindful social media habits and developing strategies to mitigate distraction, fostering healthier and more focused engagement with digital platforms

Motives for the social sharing of an emotional experience

International audienc

The Neurobiological Correlates of Savoring

Personality traits pertaining to positive emotion may be a key factor in deriving vitality from our lives. Positive affectivity refers to one\u27s disposition to experience intense and frequent episodes of positive affect, while savoring capacity refer to one\u27s ability to regulate positive affect. Both traits have been positively associated with happiness, self-esteem, prosocial behaviors, improved health outcomes, as well as attenuated depressive symptomatology and neuroticism. The late positive potential (LPP) is an electroencephalography (EEG) component that is theorized to index a visual cortical/amygdala pathway that is involved in evaluating the affective salience of stimuli. LPP is sensitive to the emotional content of stimuli, as well as how these stimuli are appraised. Research examining the neural time course of affective processing has long utilized the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The Open Affective Standardized Image Set (OASIS) is an up-to-date and open access stimulus set that may improve upon some shortcomings of the IAPS. Thus, the present study evaluated the following hypotheses: a) enhanced LPP is evoked by positive and negative compared to neutral OASIS images, b) participants\u27 LPP evoked by passively watching positive images will vary based on levels of positive affectivity and c) participants\u27 LPP in response to increasing emotional intensity to positive images will vary based on levels of savoring capacity. As predicted, results showed enhanced LPP in response to positive and negative OASIS stimuli, indicating that the OASIS may be an advantageous replacement stimulus set for the IAPS in future psychophysiological research. However, in the present study, positive affectivity and savoring capacity did not moderate the relationship between passively viewing positive images/increasing emotional intensity in response to positive images and LPP activity. The present study brings much needed attention to positive emotion and its neurobiological correlates. This work is critical to developing neuroscience-informed clinical interventions for those with psychological and physiological disorders, as well as uncovering the biological implementations of well-being

Emotional responses to environmental messages: Implications for future environmentally responsible behavioral intentions

The present study analyzed the role of environmental message characteristics (message modality and message valence) and emotional arousal (positive and negative) in predicting environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. Using an experimental protocol designed to induce emotions in the laboratory, I measured specific emotional responses to gains-framed and losses-framed video and text-only environmental messages, and investigated the relation between intensity of emotional responses to environmental messages and environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. The sample consisted of 161 college students (116 women, 45 men). A hierarchical linear multiple regression was computed to assess the contributions of background variables (environmental knowledge, environmental beliefs, and outdoor recreational behavior), message modality and strength of emotional responses in predicting environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. Findings supported the overall model in explaining variance in environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. Results suggest that background variables, message modality, and negative emotional arousal significantly predicted environmentally responsible behavioral intention. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed