Effects of clown doctors on child and caregiver anxiety at the entrance to the surgery care unit and separation from caregivers

This study investigated the effects of hospital Clown Doctors intervention on child and caregiver preoperative anxiety at the entrance to the surgery care unit and separation from caregivers. A total of 88 children (aged 4-12 years) were assigned to one of the following two groups: Clown Doctors intervention or control group (standard care). Independent observational records using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale instrument assessed children’s anxiety, while the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory measured caregiver’s state anxiety. In addition, caregivers assessed the children’s functional health problems by completing the Functional Status Questionnaire. Although no effects of Clown Doctors were found on children’s anxiety, results showed that both low functional health problems and Clown Doctors intervention were significant predictors of lower caregiver anxiety. Caregivers also reported being very satisfied with their intervention. Overall, this study demonstrated the positive role of Clown Doctors for caregivers at a specific pediatric hospital setting.peer-reviewe

The effects of clown intervention on worries and emotional responses in children undergoing surgery

This study investigated whether clown intervention could reduce preoperative worries and the affective responses of children undergoing minor surgery. Parental anxiety was also tested. Child’s age, previous hospitalization, and temperament were tested as predictors of the child’s responses during this preoperative phase. Seventy children were assigned to one of two groups: children accompanied by their parents and a pair of clowns or, those accompanied by the parents but without the clowns. The results emphasized the relevance of clown intervention on the reduction of preoperative worries and emotional responses, not only in children but also in their parents

The relationship between playing violent electronic games and aggression in adolescents

The concern with the effect of exposure to violent contents on behavior is not recent and has been the subject of intense research. Earlier findings on exposure to violence on television (TV) indicated that: (1) people can learn aggressive behaviors and attitudes1; (2) it may reinforce the behavior of already aggressive people; (3) it may desensitize individuals to violence, turning them indifferent to other people’s suffering2, and to an increasing acceptance of violence in real 1ife3–4; and (4) it can lead to a distorted perception of the world, in which they overestimate their risk of victimisation5. Berkowitz6 mentioned that exposure to violence in the media is most likely to increase the probability of aggressive behavior if the individuals are under the following conditions: (a) the focus of attention is directed to the aggression instead of focusing on other aspects; (b) the observed violence is not punished, nor does it have adverse consequences for the aggressor; (c) the individual identifies himself with aggressive models; and (d) the portrayal of violence is not considered inappropriate or unjustified

Fábrica de emoções : A eficácia da exposição a excertos de filmes na indução de emoções

O presente estudo teve como objectivo testar a eficácia do recurso a excertos de filmes na indução das emoções alegria, tristeza, raiva, medo e repugnância. Oitenta participantes foram expostos a 18 excertos e reportaram o modo como se sentiram após a breve exposição. Além das emoções específicas em análise, avaliou-se a valência e a activação afectivas bem como a sensação de presença. De um modo geral, foi possível induzir a maioria das emoções com relativa eficácia em participantes de ambos os sexos. O posicionamento dos excertos em relação ao modelo afectivo dimensional é consistente com os resultados de estudos com outros estímulos emocionais. A sensação de presença nos ambientes visualizados foi elevada para a maioria dos excertos seleccionados.ABSTRACT: The present study aimed to test the efficacy of using film excerpts for the induction of sadness, happiness, anger, fear and disgust emotions. Eighty participants were exposed to 18 film excerpts and reported the way they were feeling after each brief exposure. Besides the specific emotions under analysis, affective valence and arousal, as well as the sense of presence, were evaluated. Overall, it was possible to induce the majority of emotions with relative efficacy in participants of both genders. The film excerpt’s positioning within the affective dimensional model is consistent with the findings of studies that used other emotional stimuli. The sense of presence in the visualized environment was high for the majority of the selected excerpts

Playing for better or for worse? Health and Social outcomes with electronic gaming

Of the many of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products, electronic games are considered as having great potential for improving health and social outcomes. This chapter considers the factors that may be involved in facilitating health and social outcomes and also those factors that might be considered risk factors by reviewing studies that have shown both positive and detrimental effects on people’s physical and mental health. The authors also debate some research questions that remain unanswered and suggest guidelines for practitioners, researchers, and game designers.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT) under the grant PTDC/PSI-PSO/099985/2008

Indução de emoções através de breves excertos musicais

O presente estudo testou a eficácia de vários excertos musicais na indução dos seguintes quatro estados emocionais específicos: a tristeza, a alegria, o medo e a raiva, e um estado neutro. Cinquenta estudantes universitários (29 do sexo feminino; 19-30 anos de idade) avaliaram os seus estados emocionais e afectivos imediatamente após a exposição a cada um dos 11 excertos musicais seleccionados. Foram usados itens específicos para avaliar as emoções-alvo e as escalas selfassessment manikin para medir a valência e a activação afectivas. No geral, os resultados mostraram que os estímulos usados para induzir o medo, a alegria, a tristeza, e os estados neutros foram eficazes,sugerindo a sua utilidade na indução de emoções em estudos experimentais

Indução de emoções através de breves excertos musicais

O presente estudo testou a eficácia de vários excertos musicais na indução dos seguintes quatro estados emocionais específicos: a tristeza, a alegria, o medo e a raiva, e um estado neutro. Cinquenta estudantes universitários (29 do sexo feminino; 19-30 anos de idade) avaliaram os seus estados emocionais e afectivos imediatamente após a exposição a cada um dos 11 excertos musicais seleccionados. Foram usados itens específicos para avaliar as emoções-alvo e as escalas selfassessment manikin para medir a valência e a activação afectivas. No geral, os resultados mostraram que os estímulos usados para induzir o medo, a alegria, a tristeza, e os estados neutros foram eficazes, sugerindo a sua utilidade na indução de emoções em estudos experimentais.ABSTRACT: The present study tested the efficacy of several musical excerpts for the induction of the following four specific emotional states: sadness, happiness, fear, anger, and a neutral state. Fifty students (29 female and 21 male; 19-30 years old) rated their emotional states immediately after exposure to each of the 11 selected musical excerpts. Specific items were used to evaluate the target emotions and the selfassessment manikin scales to measure valence and arousal affect). Overall, the results showed that the stimuli used to induce fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral states were successful, suggesting that they might be useful for the elicitation of emotions in experimental studies

Local versus foreigners´emotion-motivational responses towards traditional and non-traditional food

Rita, P., Arriaga, P., Guerreiro, J., & Moura, A. (2022). Local versus foreigners´emotion-motivational responses towards traditional and non-traditional food. Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC. https://doi.org/10.1108/SJME-11-2021-0213----- Paulo Rita (P.R.) and Patrícia Arriaga (P.A.) were supported by national funds through the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; P.R. through Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC/NOVA IMS) (UIDB/04152/2020); and P.A. through Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social (Cis-Iscte) (UID/PSI/03125/2020).Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to study responses to traditional food of a country, focusing on emotion-motivational responses by locals and foreigners. Design/methodology/approach Through an experimental design study, Portuguese and Foreign participants were exposed to both traditional and nontraditional food pictures of a country and asked to evaluate their emotional and motivational responses while physiological responses of electrodermal activity were being continuously recorded. Predisposition factors of body dissatisfaction, food neophobia and food involvement were also evaluated given their potential role in predicting the responses to the visualization of the food pictures. Findings: This study found that local traditional food received a higher positive evaluation than nontraditional food with locals evaluating it even higher than foreigners. Higher feelings of arousal and desire as well as willingness to try in response to traditional food were also found as well as higher feelings of pleasure by locals. However, interestingly, and contrary to expectations derived from previous literature, emotion-motivational responses were not significantly different between locals and foreigners. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research addressed an identified research gap in the literature, being the first one evaluating the autonomic responses of consumers to traditional food by exploring how local and foreign consumers respond to traditional food versus nontraditional food using psychophysiological measures of emotion.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Considerações gerais sobre a definição e a avaliação da dor pediátrica

Bolsa de Doutoramento à 1º autora, financiada pela FCT com a referência SFRH/BD/61041/200