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Emotional induction through music: measuring cardiac and electrodermal responses of emotional states and their persistence

Publication . Ribeiro, Fabiana Silva; Santos, Flávia Heloísa; Albuquerque, Pedro Barbas; Oliveira-Silva, Patrícia

Emotional inductions through music (EIM) procedures have proved to evoke genuine emotions according to neuroimaging studies. However, the persistence of the emotional states after being exposed to musical excerpts remains mostly unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the curve of emotional state generated by an EIM paradigm over a 6-min recovery phase, monitored with valence and arousal self-report measures, and physiological parameters. Stimuli consisted of a neutral and two valenced musical excerpts previously reported to generate such states. The neutral excerpt was composed in a minimalist form characterized by simple sonorities, rhythms, and patterns; the positive excerpt had fast tempo and major tones, and the negative one was slower in tempo and had minor tone. Results of 24 participants revealed that positive and negative EIM effectively induced self-reported happy and sad emotions and elicited higher skin conductance levels (SCL). Although self-reported adjectives describing evoked-emotions states changed to neutral after 2 min in the recovery phase, the SCL data suggest longer lasting arousal for both positive and negative emotional states. The implications of these outcomes for musical research are discussed.

2019Journal article

Open access

Assessing preschoolers interactive behaviour: a validation study of the “Coding System for Mother–Child Interaction”

Publication . Baiao, Rita; Baptista, Joana; Carneiro, A.; Pinto, R.; Toscano, C.; Fearon, P.; Soares, Isabel; Mesquita, A.R.

Background: The preschool years are a period of great developmental achievements, which impact critically on a child's interactive skills. Having valid and reliable measures to assess interactive behaviour at this stage is therefore crucial. The aim of this study was to describe the adaptation and validation of the child coding of the Coding System for Mother–Child Interactions and discuss its applications and implications in future research and practice. Methods: Two hundred twenty Portuguese preschoolers and their mothers were videotaped during a structured task. Child and mother interactive behaviours were coded based on the task. Maternal reports on the child's temperament and emotional and behaviour problems were also collected, along with family psychosocial information. Results: Interrater agreement was confirmed. The use of child Cooperation, Enthusiasm, and Negativity as subscales was supported by their correlations across tasks. Moreover, these subscales were correlated with each other, which supports the use of a global child interactive behaviour score. Convergent validity with a measure of emotional and behavioural problems (Child Behaviour Checklist 1 ½–5) was established, as well as divergent validity with a measure of temperament (Children's Behaviour Questionnaire–Short Form). Regarding associations with family variables, child interactive behaviour was only associated with maternal behaviour. Conclusions: Findings suggest that this coding system is a valid and reliable measure for assessing child interactive behaviour in preschool age children. It therefore represents an important alternative to this area of research and practice, with reduced costs and with more flexible training requirements. Attention should be given in future research to expanding this work to clinical populations and different age groups.

2018Journal article

Open access

Mind wandering and the attention network system

Publication . Gonçalves, Óscar F.; Rêgo, Gabriel; Oliveira-Silva, Patrícia; Leite, Jorge; Carvalho, Sandra; Fregni, Felipe; Amaro, Edson; Boggio, Paulo S.

Attention and mind wandering are often seen as anticorrelated. However, both attention and mind wandering are multi-component processes, and their relationship may be more complex than previously thought. In this study, we tested the interference of different types of thoughts as measured by a Thought Identification Task - TIT (on task thoughts, task related interference thoughts, external distractions, stimulus independent and task unrelated thoughts) on different components of the attention network system - ANT (alerting, orienting, executive). Results show that, during the ANT, individuals were predominantly involved in task related interference thoughts which, along with external distractors, significantly impaired their performance accuracy. However, mind wandering (i.e., stimulus independent and task unrelated thoughts) did not significantly interfere with accuracy in the ANT. No significant relationship was found between type of thoughts and alerting, orienting, or executive effects in the ANT. While task related interference thoughts and external distractions seemed to impair performance on the attention task, mind wandering was still compatible with satisfactory performance in the ANT. The present results confirmed the importance of differentiating type of "out of task" thoughts in studying the relationship between though distractors and attention.

2017Journal article

Restricted access

Romantic relationships and nonsuicidal self-injury among college students: the mediating role of emotion regulation

Publication . Silva, Eliana; Machado, Bárbara César; Moreira, Célia S.; Ramalho, Sofia; Gonçalves, Sónia

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an increasing health problem among college students. Research about risk factors behind the development of this behavior has been limited. This study aims to test whether emotion regulation mediates the connection between romantic relationships and NSSI. Participants were 566 college students (72.8% female) between 18 and 35 years old. Eighty participants (14.1%) reported having injured themselves. Emotion regulation fully mediated the associations between NSSI and four important subdomains of romantic relationships, namely, avoidance of intimacy, anxiety over abandonment, violence victimization, and violence perpetration. We specified a model that evidences the mediating role of the emotion regulation between romantic relationships (romantic attachment and intimate partner violence) and NSSI. This study makes a unique contribution by assessing the pathway through which romantic relationship functioning impact NSSI.

2017Journal article

Restricted access

The moderating role of purging behaviour in the relationship between sexual/physical abuse and nonsuicidal self-injury in eating disorder patients

Publication . Gonçalves, Sónia; Machado, Bárbara César; Silva, Cátia; Crosby, Ross D.; Lavender, Jason M.; Cao, Li; Machado, Paulo P. P.

This study sought to examine predictors of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in eating disorder patients and to evaluate the moderating role of purging behaviours in the relationship between a theorised predictor (i.e. sexual/physical abuse) and NSSI. Participants in this study were 177 female patients with eating disorders (age range = 14–38 years) who completed semistructured interviews assessing eating disorder symptoms and eating disorder-related risk factors (e.g. history of sexual and physical abuse, history of NSSI and feelings of fatness). Results revealed that 65 participants (36.7%) reported lifetime engagement in NSSI, and 48 participants (27.1%) reported a history of sexual/physical abuse. Early onset of eating problems, lower BMI, feeling fat, a history of sexual/ physical abuse and the presence of purging behaviours were all positively associated with the lifetime occurrence of NSSI. The relationship between sexual/physical abuse before eating disorder onset and lifetime NSSI was moderated by the presence of purging behaviours, such that the relationship was stronger in the absence of purging. These findings are consistent with the notion that purging and NSSI may serve similar functions in eating disorder patients (e.g. emotion regulation), such that the presence of purging may attenuate the strength of the association between sexual/physical abuse history (which is also associated with elevated NSSI risk) and engagement in NSSI behaviours. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

2016Journal article

Restricted access