Can positive affect induce self-focused attention? Methodological and measurement issues.
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Paul Silvia, Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: Some studies find that positive affect can induce self-focused attention, but other studies find no effect. We suggest that the contrary findings result from how self- awareness was measured. One group of participants listened to happy or neutral music; another group imagined and described a happy or neutral event. Two measures of self-focus were then taken. The experiment replicated past findings: Positive affect increased self-focus on a pronoun selection task, but had no effect on a modified private self-consciousness scale. The results were slightly stronger when affect was induced using music. Implications for future research are discussed.
Emotional experience has been closely tied to self-awareness since Duval and Wicklund’s (1972) original statement of objective self-awareness theory. Research has explored the influence of self-focus and self-standard discrepancies on emotion (Ickes, Wicklund, & Ferris, 1973), the effects of self-awareness on emotional intensity (Scheier &Carver, 1977; Silvia, 2002, in press), self-perceptions of emotional states (Silvia & Gendolla, 2001), the role of self-focus in dysfunctional affective experiences (Wells &Matthews, 1994), and the impact of affect on self-evaluation (Berkowitz, 1987; Salovey & Rodin, 1985).
Can positive affect induce self-focused attention? Methodological and measurement issues.
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Created on 1/1/2006
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Cognition and Emotion, 16, 845-853
- Language: English
- Date: 2006
- Keywords
- Positive affect, Self-focused attention