Embodied Robot Models for Interdisciplinary Emotion Research

Due to their complex nature, emotions cannot be properly understood from the perspective of a single discipline. In this paper, I discuss how the use of robots as models is beneficial for interdisciplinary emotion research. Addressing this issue through the lens of my own research, I focus on a critical analysis of embodied robots models of different aspects of emotion, relate them to theories in psychology and neuroscience, and provide representative examples. I discuss concrete ways in which embodied robot models can be used to carry out interdisciplinary emotion research, assessing their contributions: as hypothetical models, and as operational models of specific emotional phenomena, of general emotion principles, and of specific emotion ``dimensions''. I conclude by discussing the advantages of using embodied robot models over other models.Peer reviewe

Idiographic Emotion Structures in Subjective Emotional Experiences

abstract: Psychological theories often reduce descriptions of people’s emotional experiences to a small number of underlying dimensions that capture most of the variation in their responses. These underlying dimensions are typically uncovered by comparing the self-reported emotions of many individuals at one specific time point, to infer a single underlying structure of emotion for all people. However, theoretical work suggests that underlying dimensions uncovered in this way may not hold when modeling how people change over time. Individuals may differ not just in their typical score on a given dimension of emotion, but in what dimensions best characterize their patterns of emotional experience over time. In this study, participants described two emotional events per day for 35 days, and analyses compared individualized structures of emotion to those generated from many people at one point in time. Analyses using R-technique factor analysis, which compares many people at one time point, most often uncovered a two-factor solution corresponding to positivity and negativity dimensions - a solution well-established in the literature. However, analyses using P-technique factor analysis, which compares many emotional events for one person, uncovered a broader diversity of underlying dimensions. Individuals needed anywhere from one to five factors to best capture their self-reported emotions. Further, dimensions specifically related to romantic relationships were much more common when examining the experiences of individuals over time. This suggests that external factors, such as pursuing or being in a romantic relationship, might lead to a qualitative shift in how emotions are experienced. Research attempting to characterize emotion dynamics, including those attempting to help people shift or regulate their emotions, cannot assume that typical two dimensional structures of emotional experience apply to all people. Instead we must account for how individuals describe their own emotional experiences.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Psychology 201

The Role of Emotion Regulation on Compulsive Shopping of Clothing

During the Covid-19 pandemic, almost all student activities are carried out from home, whether for lectures, shopping, etc. The number of activities carried out at home for a long period has resulted in students feeling bored/bored and feeling pressured by their routine activities. They seek entertainment by looking at the products offered in online store outlets. This can encourage students to spend excessively or compulsively, especially for students who are less able to regulate emotions. This study aims to empirically prove the effect of emotion regulation on compulsive shopping and wants to know the dimensions of emotional regulation inability that support students' compulsive spending. This study uses a quantitative approach. The subjects of this study amounted to 166 active students of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Muhammadiyah Malang. The data collection methods used were the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the compulsive shopping scale for clothing. Data analysis was performed using the regression analysis method with the help of the SPSS version 21 program. The results of the analysis showed that there was an influence of emotion regulation on compulsive clothing shopping. The dimensions of difficulty controlling impulses and refusing to realize emotions are dimensions of the inability to regulate emotions that play a major role in compulsive shopping for clothe

The role of resilience in individual innovation

Organisations in today‘s changing environment face significant challenges, requiring continual innovation. A critical factor in their response may be employees‘ resilience, the ability to apply high levels of effort and persistence while initiating, promoting and applying new ideas. However, despite growing evidence of the value of many positive psychological characteristics in organisational behaviour, the role of resilience in individual innovation has received little attention in the literature. This thesis describes two studies of this issue. First, current perspectives and definitions of resilience were reviewed, revealing a need for an improved definition, a re-examination of its dimensions and a new measure. A new construct based in the positive psychology framework is proposed. Unlike previous studies viewing resilience as recovery from adversity, in the present view adversity is an opportunity for employees to grow as a person. This distinction between ‗survival‘ and ‗growth‘ perspectives can be traced back to humanistic psychology. A measure of this new construct was developed, building on existing measures, and tested on 167 managers from large organisations in Indonesia. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two dimensions to the new construct: developmental persistency, a combination of perseverance and commitment to growth, and positive emotion. Study 2 validated the results of Study 1 and assessed the causal model linking resilience to innovative behaviour using 241 managers from companies and industries comparable to Study 1. Confirmatory factor analysis using two-step structural equation modelling showed two primary findings. First, construct validity was demonstrated by the factor analysis results and by correlations with related constructs. The correlation between developmental persistency and positive emotion was moderate, and the reliability of each construct was reasonably acceptable. Second, factor analysis confirmed that Janssen‘s (2000) measure of innovative behaviour is better treated as multidimensional – comprising idea generation, idea promotion and idea implementation rather than unidimensional. Finally, the causal relationships between the dimensions of resilience and the dimensions of innovative behaviour were positive, as hypothesised. Four paths had moderately large and statistically significant coefficients: from developmental persistency to idea implementation and idea promotion, and from positive emotion to idea promotion and idea generation. Two paths had low and insignificant coefficients: from developmental persistency to idea generation and from positive emotion to idea implementation. In light of these findings, suggestions for future research are presented and theoretical and practical implications, including interventions to increase employees‘ resilience, are explored

Personality, Coping, and Burnout in Online Doctoral Psychology Students

Completion times for doctoral psychology students are twice as long as those of other disciplines, and the attrition rate is over half of the matriculated students. Research indicates that (a) burnout plays an integral part in delayed completion and attrition for doctoral students and (b) personality and coping influence the development of burnout. In an effort to support prevention and intervention strategies, this study explored the gap in research regarding moderating effects of coping styles on the relationship between personality traits and burnout levels in online doctoral psychology students, as this population is growing at a significant rate and possesses additional risks for burnout due to physical isolation from faculty, academic peers, and support services. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory assessed the personality traits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness; the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations measured Task-, Emotion-, and Avoidant-Oriented coping styles; and the Maslach Burnout Inventory--Student Survey assessed the burnout dimensions of Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Efficacy. Results of multiple regression analysis indicated positive relationships between Neuroticism, Emotion-Oriented Coping, and Burnout, and negative relationships between Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, Task-Oriented Coping, and Burnout. Avoidant-Oriented Coping was identified as a moderating variable on the predictive relationship between Conscientiousness and Professional Efficacy. This study contributes to social change by improving the understanding of burnout factors for online doctoral psychology students, which could enhance intervention strategies and improve timely program completion

Re-reading discourse and social psychology: transforming social psychology

This paper considers one theme in the contemporary legacy of Potter and Wetherell's (1987) Discourse and Social Psychology. It overviews the context that led to that book and considers a series of critical responses from both experimental and critical/qualitative social psychologists. It refutes criticisms and corrects confusions. Focusing on contemporary discursive psychology, it highlights (a) its rigorous use of records of actual behaviour; (b) its systematic focus on normative practices. In methodological terms, it (a) highlights limitations in the use of open-ended interviews; (b) considers the way naturalistic materials provide access to participants’ own orientations and displays; (c) builds a distinctive logic of sampling and generalization. In theoretical terms, it (a) highlights the way discourse work can identify foundational psychological matters; (b) offers a novel approach to emotion and embodiment; (c) starts to build a matrix of dimensions which are central to the constructing and recognizing of different kinds of social actions. It now offers a fully formed alternative social psychology which coordinates theory and method and a growing body of empirical work

Competitive anxiety in athletes: Emotion regulation and personality matter

Competitive anxiety is an important issue in sport psychology since it is capable of influencing athletes’ performance. This study aims to examine the role of emotion regulation and personality in explaining individual differences in competitive anxiety of athletes, considering their sex and sport modality. A total of 101 athletes (50.5% males), aged between 18 and 69 years (M = 26.22; SD = 0.99), were included in this cross-sectional study. They filled out self-report scales on emotion regulation, personality, and competitive anxiety. Multiple regressions were used to analyze the data. Results partially supported our hypotheses. While sex differences were found in competitive anxiety, with women experiencing higher cognitive and somatic anxiety and lower self-confidence in comparison to men, no differences were found according to sport modality. Additionally, cognitive reappraisal was significantly associated with self-confidence, whereas neuroticism and extroversion were significantly associated with competitive anxiety dimensions

Emotions, power, and environmental conflict : Expanding the 'emotional turn' in political ecology

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MBuilding on the framework of emotional political ecology, we seek to expand ways of studying the relationships between emotion, power, and environmental conflict. Our review of work in feminist studies, human geography, social psychology, social movement theory, and social and cultural anthropology suggests the need for a theoretical framework that captures the psychological, more-than-human, collective, geographical, and personal-political dimensions that intersect subjectivities in environmental conflicts. We stress the need to explicitly consider 'the political' at stake when researching emotions in environmental conflicts, and develop a conceptual framework for facilitating nuanced conceptualisations and analyses of subjects and power in environmental conflicts