tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/emotional-response-11376/articlesEmotional response – The Conversation2023-01-09T13:27:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1961982023-01-09T13:27:13Z2023-01-09T13:27:13ZHow to unlock your creativity – even if you see yourself as a conventional thinker<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502966/original/file-20230103-19747-jirq1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=988%2C322%2C5741%2C3925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People engage in creative thinking every day, whether they realize it or not.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/creative-mind-locking-concept-background-royalty-free-image/1445259503?phrase=brain unlocked&adppopup=true">Ekaterina Chizhevskaya/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you think that creativity is an innate gift? Think again. </p>
<p>Many people believe that creative thinking is difficult – that the ability to come up with ideas in novel and interesting ways graces only some talented individuals and not most others. </p>
<p>The media <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/14/the-tweaker">often portrays</a> creatives as those with quirky personalities and unique talent. Researchers have also identified numerous personality traits that are associated with creativity, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.170">openness to new experiences, ideas and perspectives</a>.</p>
<p>Together, they seem to paint a dire picture for those who consider themselves conventional thinkers, as well as those who do not work in creative occupations – including roles that are often considered traditional and noncreative, such as accountants and data analysts.</p>
<p>These beliefs miss a key part of how creativity works in your brain: Creative thinking is actually something you engage in every day, whether you realize it or not. </p>
<p>Moreover, creativity is a skill that can be strengthened. This matters even for people who don’t consider themselves creative or who aren’t in creative fields. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104209">In research</a> that I recently published with organization and management scholars <a href="https://merage.uci.edu/research-faculty/faculty-directory/Christopher-Bauman.html">Chris Bauman</a> and <a href="https://merage.uci.edu/research-faculty/faculty-directory/Maia-Young.html">Maia Young</a>, we found that simply reinterpreting a frustrating situation can enhance the creativity of conventional thinkers.</p>
<h2>Using creative thinking to cope with emotions</h2>
<p>Creativity is often defined as the generation of ideas or insights that are novel and useful. That is, creative thoughts are original and unexpected, but also feasible and useful.</p>
<p>Everyday examples of creativity are plentiful: combining leftover food to make a tasty new dish, coming up with a new way to accomplish chores, mixing old outfits to create a new look. </p>
<p>Another way you do this is when you practice what’s called “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2020-03346-001.html">emotional reappraisal</a>” – viewing a situation through another lens to change your feelings. There is an element of creativity to this: You’re breaking away from your existing perspectives and assumptions and coming up with a new way of thinking.</p>
<p>Say you’re frustrated about a parking ticket. To alleviate the bad feelings, you can think of the fine as a learning moment.</p>
<p>If you’re anxious about a presentation for work, <a href="https://digitalcollections.babson.edu/digital/collection/ferpapers/id/2848/rec/8">you can cope with the anxiety by framing it</a> as an opportunity to share ideas, rather than as a high-stakes performance that could result in demotion if handled poorly.</p>
<p>And if you’re angry that someone seemed unnecessarily combative in a conversation, you might reevaluate the situation, coming to view the behavior as unintentional rather than malicious. </p>
<h2>Training your creative muscles</h2>
<p>To test the link between creative thinking and emotional reappraisal, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104209">we surveyed 279 people</a>. Those who ranked higher on creativity tended to reappraise emotional events more often in their daily life. </p>
<p>Inspired by the link between emotional reappraisal and creative thinking, we wanted to see whether we could use this insight to develop ways to help people be more creative. In other words, could emotional reappraisal be practiced by people in order to train their creative muscles?</p>
<p>We ran two experiments in which two new samples of participants – 512 in total – encountered scenarios designed to provoke an emotional response. We tasked them with using one of three approaches to manage their emotions. We told some participants to suppress their emotional response, others to think about something else to distract themselves and the last group to reappraise the situation by looking at it through a different lens. Some participants were also given no instructions on how to manage their feelings. </p>
<p>In a seemingly unrelated task that followed, we asked the participants to come up with creative ideas to solve a problem at work.</p>
<p>In the experiments, conventional thinkers who tried reappraisal came up with ideas that were more creative than other conventional thinkers who used suppression, distraction or received no instructions at all. </p>
<h2>Cultivating flexible thinking</h2>
<p>Negative emotions are inevitable in work and life. Yet people often hide their negative feelings from others, or use distraction to avoid thinking about their frustrations.</p>
<p>Our findings have implications for how managers can think about how to best leverage the skills of their workers. Managers commonly slot job candidates into creative and noncreative jobs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839215616840">based on cues</a> that signal creative potential. Not only are these cues <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/30040623">shaky predictors of performance</a>, but this hiring practice may also limit managers’ access to employees whose knowledge and experience can play major roles in generating creative outcomes. </p>
<p>The result is that the creative potential of a significant part of the workforce may be underutilized. Our findings suggest that supervisors can develop training and interventions to cultivate creativity in their employees – even for those who might not seem predisposed to creativity.</p>
<p>Our research also indicates that people can practice flexible thinking every day when they experience negative emotions. Although people may not always have control over the external circumstances, they do have the liberty to choose how to cope with emotional situations – and they can do so in ways that facilitate their productivity and well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lily Zhu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research highlights how anyone can train their creative muscles by rethinking the anxiety, frustration and anger they encounter in daily life.Lily Zhu, Assistant Professor of Management, Information Systems and Entrepreneurship, Washington State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1882452022-08-18T08:15:48Z2022-08-18T08:15:48ZHow the pandemic lockdown in South Africa affected mental health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477621/original/file-20220804-16-rgbc55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>When SARS-CoV-2 emerged in South Africa, the country took measures to restrict people’s movements and activities, to slow the spread of infections. There were various <a href="https://www.gov.za/covid-19/about/about-alert-system">levels of restrictions</a>, the most severe being in place in March and April 2020. </p>
<p>During this “hard lockdown”, many people in South Africa really struggled. Not only did they have financial difficulties but the lockdown took an emotional and mental toll. The common themes, no matter where people lived, were feelings of anxiety, frustration and isolation. And as lockdown went on, those feelings got worse. </p>
<p>In today’s episode of Pasha, Sarita Pillay, a PhD student at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Miriam Maina, a research associate at the University of Manchester, take us through their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03736245.2022.2087728">research</a> on this lockdown toll.</p>
<p>The researchers got their information from multimedia diary entries made during the “level 5” lockdown. Their informants were people living in a variety of dwelling types, households and urban neighbourhoods. The entries recorded participants’ daily experiences, concerns and feelings. </p>
<p>Much of the anxiety people felt came from the fact that it was an unknown virus. People didn’t know how it would affect them. They also worried about people breaking lockdown regulations. The economic impact of the lockdown was a concern; food security was a big issue.</p>
<p>Feelings of isolation and frustration came from being alone. It didn’t help that people were separated from their daily routines. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Photo</strong>
“Empty streets in the city of Cape Town during the lockdown for Covid-19” by fivepointsix found on <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/2-april-2020-cape-townsouth-africa-1691087062">Shutterstock</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Music</strong>
“Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/happy-african-village">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1</a>.</p>
<p>“Back To My Roots” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="https://freesound.org/people/frankum/sounds/393520/">Freesound</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0">Attribution 4.0 International License.</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188245/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
People in South Africa felt anxious and stressed during the COVID-19 lockdown.Caroline Southey, Founding EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1879952022-08-03T00:56:48Z2022-08-03T00:56:48ZMost adults with autism can recognise facial emotions, almost as well as those without the condition<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477075/original/file-20220802-12-wtizjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5599%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-friendly-male-mature-students-600w-160661273.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Difficulties with social communication and interaction are considered <a href="https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/autism/#:%7E:text=Restricted%2C%20repetitive%20behaviors%2C%20interests%2C,hypo%2Dsensitivity%20to%20sensory%20input.">core features</a> of autism. There is a common perception autistic people are poor at recognising others’ emotions and have little insight into how effectively they do so. </p>
<p>We are used to seeing these challenges <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347366137_Popular_culture_and_the_misrepresentation_of_Asperger's_A_study_on_the_sitcoms_Community_and_The_Big_Bang_Theory">portrayed</a> in popular culture, such as television shows <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6470478/">The Good Doctor</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6315640/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Atypical</a> or <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11904786/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Love on the Spectrum</a>. And there are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacqueline-Hill-4/publication/283921846_Systemizing_empathy_Teaching_adults_with_asperger_syndrome_and_high_functioning_autism_to_recognize_complex_emotions_using_interactive_multimedia/links/56c197d408ae2f498efaae60/Systemizing-empathy-Teaching-adults-with-asperger-syndrome-and-high-functioning-autism-to-recognize-complex-emotions-using-interactive-multimedia.pdf">exercises and therapies</a> autistic people might do with a psychologist or speech pathologist to try to help them <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01626434221095031">improve</a> at this important social skill.</p>
<p>Yet, the research findings are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2713">messy</a>. Some studies have very small sample sizes, others do not control for cognitive ability. Some studies only show participants a limited range of emotions to respond to. Some rely heavily on static images of face expressions or only require multiple-choice responses. Studies designed this way don’t capture the dynamic demands of everyday social interactions.</p>
<p>Our new research sought to overcome these challenges and found little difference between the ability of adults with autism and those without to recognise emotions in others.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/150-years-ago-charles-darwin-wrote-about-how-expressions-evolved-pre-empting-modern-psychology-by-a-century-170880">150 years ago, Charles Darwin wrote about how expressions evolved – pre-empting modern psychology by a century</a>
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<h2>Two matched groups</h2>
<p>For our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2713">research</a>, conducted by then doctoral student Dr Marie Georgopoulos, myself, Professor Robyn Young and post-doctoral researcher Dr Carmen Lucas, we <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aur.2781">studied</a> a relatively large sample of 67 IQ-matched autistic and 67 non-autistic adult participants. We presented them with multiple examples of 12 different face emotion types captured not only in still photographs but also videoed in the context of social interactions. Participants were then able to give open-ended reports of the emotions they saw. </p>
<p>Several key findings emerged. First, emotion type, the way in which the stimuli were presented and the format for providing responses all affected accuracy and speed of emotion recognition. But those variations didn’t affect the differences between autistic and non-autistic groups’ responses. </p>
<p>Second, although emotion recognition accuracy was a little lower for the autistic group, there was substantial overlap in ability between the two groups. Just a small subgroup of the autistic participants performed below the level of the non-autistic group.</p>
<p>Third, the autistic participants responded more <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2713">slowly</a>, but again there was considerable overlap between the two groups. Although slower responses to others’ emotions might impede social interactions, our study suggests autistic people were probably just acting more cautiously in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aur.2781">laboratory setting</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two people talking at a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477082/original/file-20220802-21-5zj3k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Further research could look at how autistic people respond after recognising emotion in others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/upset-girlfriend-sitting-silence-boyfriend-600w-2028537980.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aur.2781">found</a> there was no evidence that, as a group, autistic people were less aware of strengths and weaknesses in their emotion recognition skills than their non-autistic peers. But again, the awareness of people within in each group varied substantially.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/autism-is-still-underdiagnosed-in-girls-and-women-that-can-compound-the-challenges-they-face-176036">Autism is still underdiagnosed in girls and women. That can compound the challenges they face</a>
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<h2>Challenging beliefs</h2>
<p>These findings challenge some common perceptions about autistic adults’ ability to recognise others’ emotions and their insight into their processing of emotions. The findings also demonstrate previously unacknowledged capabilities of many autistic people and remind us that autistic adults are not all the same.</p>
<p>That said, there are many unanswered questions. A full understanding of emotion processing by autistic people will require the incorporation of many more elements in future research. </p>
<p>For example, it is possible our findings underestimate autistic individuals’ difficulties with processing emotions. These difficulties might only emerge in the hurly-burly of real-life interactions with others. </p>
<p>So, we will need to develop more sophisticated research methods that still allow us to conduct carefully controlled studies. These studies would seek to accommodate the complexities of everyday interpersonal interactions that not only require processing of faces, but also gestures and voice tone or emphasis at the same time. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWghD2Gzpzk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In The Good Doctor, Freddie Highmore plays a doctor with autism.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-on-the-autism-spectrum-experience-more-bullying-schools-can-do-something-about-it-184385">Kids on the autism spectrum experience more bullying. Schools can do something about it</a>
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<h2>The impact of autism</h2>
<p>Future research will also need a greater focus on how autistic people respond to others’ emotions. Perhaps they can recognise emotions but respond in ways that might compromise the effectiveness of their social exchanges? </p>
<p>We have conducted further research to explore autistic and non-autistic adults’ perceptions of the appropriate ways to respond to different emotions displayed by others. This is but one dimension of what is often referred to as “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797621995202">empathic responding</a>” – knowing what might be considered an appropriate reaction when confronted with another person who is, for example, sad, angry, or frustrated. However, sensing what an appropriate response is then carrying out that action, or even being motivated to do so, don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. </p>
<p>Answers to questions like these will be critical for refining interventions and therapies <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-011-1328-4">designed to improve social interaction skills</a> in autistic people. Identifying the most important focus for intervention, the most effective procedures and the developmental stages at which such interventions should be implemented, are all important areas for ongoing research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Brewer receives funding from Australian Research Council</span></em></p>Problems identifying and responding to emotions in others is thought of as a core feature of autism. But our research shows there may be minimal differences in this aspect of social interaction.Neil Brewer, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824892022-05-18T17:58:32Z2022-05-18T17:58:32ZIs hypersensitivity a strength or a weakness?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462435/original/file-20220511-12-70bug7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C31%2C5041%2C3297&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hypersensitivity is often associated with vulnerability. But it can also be a strength.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Veja/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The word <em>sensitivity</em> is thrown around a lot in relation to a number of different things. It can refer both to the senses – that is, our ability to perceive the world around us – or to our tendency to be affected by the slightest action or attack from the outside world.</p>
<p>More than “sensitive”, some are labelled “hypersensitive”. People who fit this description are particularly emotive and readily shed a tear when watching romantic films or listening to sad songs, for instance.</p>
<p>The term <em>hypersensitivity</em> <a href="https://trends.google.fr/trends/explore?date=all&geo=FR&q=hypersensibilit%C3%A9">has become gradually more popular in recent years</a> and is often applied, partly erroneously, to hyperaesthesia (a condition similar to sensory overload) or abnormally frequent intense emotions. With a view to avoiding these negative connotations of excess, we have opted to use the term <em>heightened sensitivity</em> in this article.</p>
<p>Sensitivity can occur either internally, in a physiological reaction or an emotion, or externally, in a movement of withdrawal, for example. In both cases, it is linked to internal (e.g., thoughts) or external (e.g., surroundings) triggers known as stimuli.</p>
<p>Taking on a variety of natures, stimuli can be social (e.g., a phone call from a friend, a colleague speaking to us or a stranger stopping us in the street), emotional (e.g., a memory of a loved one or a cuddle from a pet), physiological (e.g., a rumbling stomach or a racing heartbeat) or sensory (e.g., auditory, olfactory or visual).</p>
<p>Regardless of their form, we are continually exposed to them in our everyday lives. Relying on the resources in their environment to survive, humans are required to perceive, assimilate, and process all these stimuli to keep adapting.</p>
<p>However, not all of us react in the same way to each given stimulus…</p>
<h2>Why do we have different levels of sensitivity?</h2>
<p>Most people react in roughly the same way when presented with the same stimulus, while those who exhibit a stronger reaction are said to be more sensitive. This difference is explored in a number of theories, which were consolidated in 2016 under the umbrella term of <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-18508-001"><em>environmental sensitivity</em></a>.</p>
<p>This definition takes in the concept of sensory processing sensitivity (<a href="https://hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/">SPS, as measured by the <em>highly sensitive self-test</em></a>), which corresponds most closely in theory to what we refer to as “hypersensitivity” or “high sensitivity” in everyday language. Coined in 1997 by Elaine and Arthur Aron, it presents <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-05290-010">sensitivity as a personality trait</a> bearing the following characteristics:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>greater depth of information processing</p></li>
<li><p>heightened emotional reactivity and empathy</p></li>
<li><p>increased awareness of subtle changes in one’s environment</p></li>
<li><p>greater propensity for overstimulation</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The concept of environmental sensitivity can also be seen as a metatrait, i.e., a higher-order personality trait that encompasses and justifies, to a certain extent, existing psychological concepts such as introversion, shyness, behavioural inhibition, or a reactive temperament.</p>
<p>This presents important implications for therapy, clinical diagnosis of mental pathologies, and research into the origins of certain mental disorders.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of a DNA spiral" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459596/original/file-20220425-26-qdefzq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An individual’s level of sensitivity is linked to many different things, including environmental, psychological and physiological factors, as well as genetics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MiniStocker/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The negative effects often associated with heightened sensitivity</h2>
<p>Historically, research on environmental sensitivity has focused mainly on determining individual vulnerabilities, which stem from many different factors (be them genetic, psychological, or physiological), and result in higher sensitivity to various stimuli.</p>
<p>In other words, our own inherent characteristics influence the way we are affected by our surroundings. For example, if an individual has a certain version of a gene associated with a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15654286/">lower production of the serotonin transporter molecule</a> (a.k.a. the “feel-good hormone”), they are more likely to <a href="https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.9.1588">exhibit symptoms of depression</a> during stressful events. As such, a genetic factor can produce adverse effects when combined with negative stimuli.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, these studies do present a certain bias. Given that a large proportion of the research links vulnerabilities to heightened sensitivity, the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19883141/">vast majority of studies</a> associate negative environments (e.g., childhood abuse, insensitive parents or negative life events) with heightened sensitivity and its detrimental effects (e.g., predisposition to mental health problems or a poor quality of life).</p>
<p>As a result, heightened sensitivity is often associated with a form of vulnerability that offers very little benefit to daily life and encourages the emergence of complications in negative contexts, including <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11029804_Behavioural_inhibition_and_symptoms_of_anxiety_and_depression_Is_there_a_specific_relationship_with_social_phobia">social phobia</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230777339_Sensory_Sensitivity_Attachment_Experiences_and_Rejection_Responses_Among_Adults_with_Borderline_and_Avoidant_Features">avoidant personality disorder</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886905001911">anxiety and depression</a>, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-03378-010">self-perceived stress</a>, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-13420-006">agoraphobia</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886908001281">alexithymia and autism spectrum disorder</a>, and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270516287_Is_the_relationship_between_sensory-processing_sensitivity_and_negative_affect_mediated_by_emotional_regulation">poor emotional regulation</a>.</p>
<p>But are those with heightened sensitivity really predisposed to developing these adverse effects?</p>
<h2>An adaptive advantage</h2>
<p>A study on the heritability of sensitivity revealed that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-020-0783-8">47% of individual variations in sensitivity are genetically determined</a>, while the remaining 53% are due to environmental influences. This means that sensitivity is a heritable trait. If heritable, it must therefore present some adaptive advantage (or at least, not be debilitating), however minor, to have been kept by natural selection down through the ages.</p>
<p>This trait may even have been long preserved through evolution, since it is also present in other mammals (as shown, for instance, by the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177616">reliable measurement of sensitivity in dogs published in 2017</a>).</p>
<p>Moreover, numerical simulations and empirical research suggest that heightened sensitivity could be advantageous if present in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0805473105">15 to 20% of the population</a> as a negatively frequency-dependent trait. This means that individuals within a group can rely on their variations in sensitivity to employ diverse strategies, adapt more quickly to changes in their environment, and be more attentive.</p>
<h2>Exploring potential benefits</h2>
<p>For over a decade, an increasing amount of research has examined how beneficial environments can positively affect individuals with heightened sensitivity.</p>
<p>A 2015 study on the link between heightened sensitivity and responsiveness to a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273789708_Sensory-Processing_Sensitivity_predicts_treatment_response_to_a_school-based_depression_prevention_program_Evidence_of_Vantage_Sensitivity">depression-prevention programme</a> among teenagers showed that sensitive individuals were more responsive to the offered support. More importantly, such changes were considerably more noticeable in the highly sensitive subjects.</p>
<p>In 2018, another study revealed a link between heightened sensitivity and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2167702618782194">responsiveness to a school-based anti-bullying programme</a>. In this case, not only was there a significant drop in bullying, but the phenomenon could be observed almost exclusively among highly sensitive individuals.</p>
<p>These studies suggest, therefore, that highly sensitive individuals have a better capacity for socialisation, reflective thinking, learning, and awareness.</p>
<p>These results are consistent with a brain imaging study that shows how, when exposed to positive or negative emotional stimuli, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322402052_Sensory_processing_sensitivity_and_childhood_quality%27s_effects_on_neural_responses_to_emotional_stimuli">highly sensitive individuals experience increased activity</a> in the areas of the brain linked to these same capacities (i.e., the hippocampus, parietal-frontal area, prefrontal cortex, etc.).</p>
<p>For example, showing them positive images (if they had a positive childhood) triggers increased activity in the centres associated with calmness, relating to others (i.e., the insular cortex) and reward responses (i.e., the ventral tegmental area, locus niger, and caudate nucleus). The latter of these acts as our basic survival motivator and <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/7854_2015_387">can be involved in generating pleasure, including through substance use</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, presenting them with negative images causes overactivity in the areas associated with self-control (i.e., the medial prefrontal cortex), and cognitive and emotional self-regulation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Des enfants souriants font du découpage à la maternelle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459599/original/file-20220425-95080-hw4jm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A positive environment and a healthy childhood are crucial in enabling hypersensitive people to reach their full potential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making the most of hypersensitivity</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3119">Research into addiction and mood disorders</a> has shown that the medial prefrontal cortex plays an important role in self-control, and that greater impulse control in response to positive stimuli is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1369-1600.2009.00193.x">linked to reduced risk-taking and addictive behaviours</a>.</p>
<p>This research suggests that heightened sensitivity, coupled with a healthy developmental environment, could be a factor in preventing addiction. This is because highly sensitive individuals may be less likely to exhibit abusive or problematic behaviours (related to Internet use, online gaming or gambling, etc.) or to become dependent after using narcotics.</p>
<p>All of these studies agree on the vital importance of a healthy childhood and environment. Given that environmental factors account for around half of all individual variations in sensitivity, it is essential to limit any negative experiences (or mitigate deleterious effects) that can be exacerbated by a sensitive personality trait.</p>
<p>Properly identifying individual sensitivity levels could prove helpful in gauging the success of certain therapies and intervention programmes. In fact, the importance of this particular success factor is such that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51819108_Therapygenetics_Moving_towards_personalized_psychotherapy_treatment">therapygenetics research</a> is currently moving toward more personalised psychotherapy.</p>
<h2>How to thrive through hypersensitivity</h2>
<p>Studies on environmental sensitivity are already starting to understand individual developmental differences under specific contexts and the related susceptibility to certain psychopathologies. This research may also be useful in early intervention for preventing abnormal developments in highly sensitive individuals, while giving them the tools to thrive in our modern society, with its many challenging stimuli.</p>
<p>In time, these studies will help shed light on this trait, in terms of the neural mechanisms involved, as well as its origin or associations with certain disorders.</p>
<p>Heightened sensitivity or hypersensitivity can therefore be a precious asset! Far from a mental disorder, it plays a vital role in the way we adapt to our environment. Its myriad evolutionary, medical and social implications are already being outlined in many ongoing studies in psychology, genetic biology and neuroscience. It is our hope that such research will allow the individuals concerned to overcome the prejudices that are all too often attributed to them.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Translated from the French by Enda Boorman for <a href="http://www.fastforword.fr/en">Fast ForWord</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evan Giret ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The term is often pejorative: to be hypersensitive is to cry over nothing, to feel things are “too much”, etc. But we now understand that this trait has real evolutionary and social benefits.Evan Giret, Doctorant en psychologie au 2LPN (EA 7489), Université de LorraineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706862022-01-03T13:42:22Z2022-01-03T13:42:22ZRifts between older mothers and their adult children usually endure – even through divorce, illness and death<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436180/original/file-20211207-141178-16mtglq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7866%2C4462&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Relationships among family members can be tough.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-hands-stretching-a-rubber-band-with-their-royalty-free-image/1248758332?adppopup=true">vm/ iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the start of every new year, individuals <a href="https://theconversation.com/9-tips-to-give-yourself-the-best-shot-at-sticking-to-new-years-resolutions-151372">often make resolutions</a> to change aspects of their lives that they find undesirable. For some, these promises to themselves may involve trying to mend broken family relationships. </p>
<p>Well-meaning friends and family members may encourage estranged older parents or adult children to reconnect with one another as well. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eC_EnjYAAAAJ&hl=en">I study</a> family estrangement, and specifically estrangement between mothers and adult children. Along with my colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=-tFHDcYAAAAJ">Jill Suitor</a> of Purdue University and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=cpuxaDsAAAAJ">Karl Pillemer</a> of Cornell University, I have learned that rifts between older parents and their adult children are relatively common. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12207">2015 research</a> that we co-authored, we examined older mothers and found that 1 in 10 experienced estrangement with at least one of their adult children. This was one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12207">first systematic studies of intergenerational estrangement</a>.</p>
<p>In our most <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211036966">recent research</a>, published in September 2021, we followed these families across seven years. Our goal was to better understand how major life events, such as divorces, illnesses and deaths in the family, had affected estrangement between older mothers and their adult children over time. </p>
<p>In particular, we wondered if important and potentially life-altering experiences would contribute to both rifts and reconciliation between older mothers and their adult children.</p>
<h2>Life changes and family estrangement</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211036966">For our 2015 study</a>, we used data from Purdue University’s <a href="https://web.ics.purdue.edu/%7Ejsuitor/within-family-differences-study/">Within-Family Differences Study</a>, a research project to learn more about relationships between parents and their adult children over time and how these connections factor into both generations’ well-being.</p>
<p>In 2015 we interviewed over 550 mothers who were in their late 60s and early 70s. They typically lived with their husbands in their own homes and were generally in good health. Sixty-four of these older mothers reported being estranged from at least one of their adult children. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211036966">our 2021 study</a>, we followed these same families across seven years to examine patterns of estrangement across time. The mothers were by then in their late 70s and 80s. Over the preceding seven years, most had experienced major life transitions, including serious health events and the death of their spouse. Their middle-aged adult children had also experienced important life events during these years, such as job loss or marital transitions like separation, divorce and remarriage.</p>
<p>Consistent with our earlier research, we considered the older mothers’ reports on how frequently they contacted or were contacted by each of their adult children, and the level of emotional closeness they felt in those relationships. This definition of estrangement draws strongly on <a href="https://www.thebowencenter.org/emotional-cutoff">the concept of emotional cutoff</a> advanced by Murray Bowen, founder of family systems therapy: that family members intentionally distance themselves from one another both physically and emotionally as a way to deal with unresolved issues.</p>
<p>We expected that the major life transitions would factor into the processes of estrangement across time. However, our analyses revealed that these life changes did not result in abrupt movement in or out of estrangement across the seven-year interval since <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211036966">our earlier study</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, mothers often articulated that the overall dynamics in their relationships with estranged children had continued for several years and in many cases for decades. Also, our findings indicated that reconciliation might not be a desired outcome for older mothers or adult children. None of the mothers described true reconciliation with their estranged adult children across the seven-year period. </p>
<p>Often, mothers described remaining upset by events from their children’s early adulthood, such as marital, education and career choices. It appeared that those tensions wore on the relationships between the mothers and their children for years.</p>
<h2>Estrangement doesn’t always mean no contact</h2>
<p>Some researchers in this field <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2018.01.004">have defined estrangement</a> as the complete termination of contact. However, many of the mothers in our study did have contact with estranged adult children during the seven-year period. They often described contact that was irregular, tense and sometimes unwanted. </p>
<p>For example, sometimes mothers reported receiving a greeting card from an estranged child on a particular holiday, even though they had not spoken to that child in several years. </p>
<p>Some mothers described calling estranged adult children but not being able to engage in meaningful conversation, because the children would often hang up as soon as they heard their mother’s voice. </p>
<p>Most of the mothers in our study were not able to provide contact information for estranged adult children.</p>
<p>When mothers became widowed, estranged adult children sometimes returned home to attend their father’s funeral services. However, these interactions were often fraught. For example, some mothers described being in the same room with estranged adult children but not speaking to them. </p>
<p>Mothers’ major health events also rarely resulted in reconciliation with estranged adult children. Instead, mothers often described seeking help from other adult children in the family with whom they had a history of positive support exchanges. </p>
<h2>Learning more about estrangement</h2>
<p>Overall, our findings suggested a relatively high degree of stability in intergenerational estrangement in later-life families. That said, it is important to note that our research so far considers only the perspective of the older mothers. More research is needed to better understand intergenerational estrangement from the perspective of adult children and would ideally encompass the viewpoints of those on both sides of a family rift.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (RO1
AG18869-01 and 2RO1 AG18869-04; J. Jill Suitor and Karl Pillemer, Co-Principal Investigators).
</span></em></p>Contrary to society’s celebrations of family togetherness, the ‘ties that bind’ often become frayed or broken.Megan Gilligan, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657812021-12-20T13:15:38Z2021-12-20T13:15:38ZFamily rifts affect millions of Americans – research shows possible paths from estrangement toward reconciliation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437322/original/file-20211213-21-ma2md3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C7293%2C4308&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Early research suggests that nearly 1 in 5 Americans, about 68 million people, are in the midst of a family estrangement.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-and-woman-walking-on-different-directions-royalty-free-image/1219697052?adppopup=true">baona/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Family relationships are on many people’s minds during the holiday season as sounds and images of happy family celebrations dominate the media. Anyone whose <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-deal-with-difficult-family-holidays/">experiences don’t live up to the holiday hype</a> may find this difficult or disappointing, but those feelings may be felt even more acutely among those involved in family rifts. </p>
<p>I have done <a href="https://www.human.cornell.edu/people/kap6">a significant amount of research</a> on ambivalence and conflict in families, which led to a five-year study of family estrangements. </p>
<p>At the outset, I was surprised at how little evidence-based guidance exists on the frequency, causes and consequences of family estrangement, or how those involved cope with the stress of family rifts. There are few studies published in academic journals on the topic, as well as limited clinical literature. I sought to fill these gaps through a series of interrelated studies and have presented and described my findings in my 2020 book “<a href="https://www.karlpillemer.com/books/fault-lines/">Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them</a>.”</p>
<p>My findings suggest that estrangement is widespread and that there are several common pathways people take on the way to a family rift. Also, people who decide to try to close such a rift have discovered a number of different routes for getting to reconciliation.</p>
<h2>Anyone can experience a family rift</h2>
<p>To get an idea of how much estrangement is going on, in 2019 I conducted a <a href="https://www.karlpillemer.com/books/fault-lines/">national survey</a> that asked the question: “Do you have any family members (i.e., parents, grandparents, siblings, children, uncles, aunts, cousins or other relatives) from whom you are currently estranged, meaning you have no contact with the family member at the present time?” </p>
<p>The survey involved a nationally representative sample of 1,340 Americans aged 18 and older whose demographics closely mirrored the United States population. </p>
<p>The data from this survey revealed no statistically significant differences in estrangement according to a number of factors, including race, marital status, gender, educational level and region where the respondent lived. This finding suggests that that estrangement is relatively evenly distributed in the population. </p>
<p>Over a quarter of the respondents – 27% – reported a current estrangement. Most had a rift with an immediate family member: 24% were estranged from a parent, 14% from a child and 30% from siblings. The remainder were estranged from other relatives. </p>
<p>There have yet to be any longitudinal studies on family rifts – studies that repeatedly survey participants with the same questions over time. So we do not know if estrangement is increasing or decreasing. </p>
<p>The sheer numbers, however, are striking. Extrapolating the <a href="https://www.karlpillemer.com/books/fault-lines/">national survey responses</a> to the entire U.S. adult population suggests that around 68 million people have at least one current estrangement.</p>
<h2>Pathways to estrangement</h2>
<p>Between 2016 and 2020 my research team conducted 270 in-depth interviews with individuals who experienced estrangements, around 100 of whom had reconciled. </p>
<p>The findings of this study, which are <a href="https://www.karlpillemer.com/books/fault-lines/">included in my book</a>, reveal that there are multiple “pathways” to estrangement: diverse trajectories toward family rifts that unfold across people’s lives. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>The long arm of the past. The groundwork for a family estrangement can be established early in life, through disruptions and difficulties that occur while growing up. Harsh parenting, emotional or physical abuse or neglect, parental favoritism and sibling conflict can impair relationships decades into the future. </p></li>
<li><p>The legacy of divorce. One frequent estrangement scenario involves the long-term effects of divorce in the lives of adult children. Loss of contact with one parent, or hostility between the former partners, can weaken parent-child bonds. </p></li>
<li><p>The problematic in-law. <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/commstudiespapers/68">In-law relations can be challenging</a> under ordinary circumstances. But when the struggles between family of origin and family of marriage become intolerable, they can reach a breaking point.</p></li>
<li><p>Money and inheritance. Conflicts over wills, inheritance and financial issues are a major source of family rifts.</p></li>
<li><p>Values and lifestyle differences: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fjomf.12207">Disapproval of a relative’s core values</a> can turn into outright rejection.</p></li>
<li><p>Unmet expectations: Estrangement can result when relatives violate norms for what others believe is proper behavior.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What about reconciliation?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.karlpillemer.com/books/fault-lines/">This study</a> was the first in the field to focus intensively on individuals who had successfully reconciled after years or decades of estrangement. </p>
<p>By carefully analyzing their detailed accounts, my research team identified a number of strategies and approaches that worked for them: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Focus on the present. Many interviewees reported that the history of the estranged relationship was inseparably interwoven with present circumstances. In some family rifts, the past almost entirely overwhelmed the present moment. As a result, many people interpreted relatives’ present actions as signs or symptoms of underlying, decades-old pathologies. Nearly all who successfully reconciled reported that one key step was giving up attempts to force their interpretation of past events on the other person. They abandoned efforts to process the past and instead focused on the relationship’s present and future.</p></li>
<li><p>Revise expectations. Often respondents said that family values held them back from reconciling, because the other person had violated their standards for proper family life. Reconciliation involved modifying or dropping past expectations and abandoning the urge to force the relative to change. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and a woman converse in front of bookshelves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437327/original/file-20211213-31407-2j62ei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people interviewed in a research study on estrangement said that focusing on the relationship’s present, rather than continuing to try to understand its past, was a key step toward mending the family rift.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-and-woman-walking-on-different-directions-royalty-free-image/1219697052?adppopup=true">Cecilie_Arcurs/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li>Create clear boundaries. Interviewees reported that making the terms of the reconciliation as unambiguous as possible was key to moving beyond old grievances and patterns of behavior. Even people who had severed ties because of intolerable behaviors were able to create clear, specific, take-it-or-leave-it conditions for one final try to repair the relationship.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Whether or not to reconcile</h2>
<p>Whether to attempt a reconciliation is a complicated decision. Some family situations involve damaging behavior, a history of abuse or currently dangerous individuals. People experiencing these extreme situations may find that cutting off contact is the only solution, and a critical one for their safety and psychological well-being. </p>
<p>Many interviewees in challenging situations like these reported that working with a counseling professional helped them answer the question, “Am I ready to reconcile?” In some cases, the answer was “no.”</p>
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<p>One positive finding of my research is that those who reconciled their rift found it to be an engine for personal growth. Reengaging with the family – after careful consideration and preparation – was almost never regretted. </p>
<p>However, it was a highly individual decision and not for everyone. </p>
<h2>A need for knowledge</h2>
<p>There are still gaps to fill in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12216">basic research on how and why family rifts</a> and reconciliations occur. Further, there is no evidence-based therapy or treatment for individuals coping with or trying to resolve estrangements. Therefore, intervention research is critically needed.</p>
<p>Expanding research and clinical insight on this widespread problem may help pave the way to solutions that will help not just at the holidays, but over the course of the entire year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karl Pillemer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A researcher who studied family estrangement identifies the main reasons behind it and how people can find a path to reconcile and heal family rifts.Karl Pillemer, Hazel E. Reed Human Development Professor and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine, Cornell UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1380142020-05-13T19:59:07Z2020-05-13T19:59:07ZNot all doom and gloom: even in a pandemic, mixed emotions are more common than negative ones<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333929/original/file-20200511-49589-knowam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C36%2C6133%2C4052&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1585536793918-bc027b91828c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=2702&q=80">Patrick Fore / Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Much has been written on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/dealing-with-feelings-about-covid-19">negative emotions</a>, such as rising <a href="https://theconversation.com/cant-sleep-and-feeling-anxious-about-coronavirus-youre-not-alone-134407">anxiety</a> and the loneliness of self-isolation. </p>
<p>But while things may seem all doom and gloom, new data reveals it’s surprisingly rare for a person to experience <em>purely negative</em> emotions. More commonly, people are instead experiencing <a href="https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2020/03/24/1379876/covid-19-emotional-and-behavioural-reactions-to-the-unexpected">mixed emotions</a>, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-distancing-can-make-you-lonely-heres-how-to-stay-connected-when-youre-in-lockdown-133693">Social distancing can make you lonely. Here's how to stay connected when you're in lockdown</a>
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<h2>What are mixed emotions?</h2>
<p>Psychologists have <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1981-25062-001">traditionally</a> viewed emotions as falling along a single dimension, ranging from positive (such as happy or excited) to negative (such as sad or anxious). This implies at any given moment we feel “good” or “bad”, but not both. Positive and negative emotions have even been said to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9990843">mutually inhibit</a> each other – so if you are enjoying your day but receive some bad news, your positive mood is supposedly replaced by a negative one. </p>
<p>However, an <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-23134-003">alternative view</a>
suggests positive and negative emotions vary independently, and can therefore occur simultaneously. This allows for the experience of “mixed emotions”, such as feeling both happy and sad, or nervous but excited, at the same time. </p>
<p>There is now <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00428/full">extensive evidence</a> for the existence of mixed emotions. And new data reveals they may be surprisingly common. </p>
<h2>Mixed emotions are more common than purely negative ones</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/per.2264">recent study</a> led by Kate Barford (an author of this article) examined how mixed emotions arise in day-to-day life. Across three participant samples, Barford and her colleagues found mixed emotions typically emerge when negative emotions intensify (such as following a negative event), and blend with ongoing positive emotions. </p>
<p>Thus, bad feelings do not always extinguish positive ones, like flicking off a light switch. Rather, they more often transform a positive mood into mixed emotions.</p>
<p>Intriguingly, the study also found <em>purely</em> negative emotions (the absence of any concurrent positive emotions) are surprisingly rare. In all three samples, participants reported purely negative emotions less than 1% of the time during one to two weeks of daily life. In contrast, mixed emotions were reported up to 36% of the time. </p>
<p>This shows our negative emotions are rarely so strong that they overwhelm our positive ones, at least during everyday circumstances.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333920/original/file-20200511-49584-ksqjs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mixed emotions are much more common than purely negative feelings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adrian Swancar/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mixed emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic</h2>
<p>Currently, most of us are not facing everyday circumstances. As the coronavirus spreads around the globe many nations have gone into lockdown, and most of us are wondering when life might return to normal. You might think negative emotions would dominate during such ominous times. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-three-ways-the-crisis-may-permanently-change-our-lives-133954">Coronavirus: three ways the crisis may permanently change our lives</a>
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<p>To find out, we <a href="https://osf.io/72md9/?view_only=7dc3e33d77da4f2aa9add2a4713121af">surveyed</a> 854 Australian residents about their emotional experiences in late March, as government restrictions were introduced. In line with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/04/half-of-british-adults-felt-anxious-about-covid-19-lockdown">widespread reporting</a>, we found 72% of our sample were indeed experiencing negative emotions. </p>
<p>However, almost all of these people also reported feeling positive emotions, such as joy and contentment. And only 3% of our sample reported <em>purely</em> negative emotions as the crisis unfolded. In comparison, around 70% of people reported feeling mixed emotions – much higher than previously found by Barford and colleagues.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=265&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333915/original/file-20200511-49569-h878yr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">This chart shows the prevalence of mixed emotions, alongside purely positive and negative emotions, in a representative sample of 854 Australians aged 18-89 (about 44% males and 56% females). Data was collected by the authors in early April, 2020.</span>
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<p>The high rate of mixed emotions during the COVID-19 crisis may be the result of increased negative emotions that blend with positive ones – as Barford and her colleagues found.</p>
<p>Mixed emotions might also arise from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23717292">conflicted thoughts and feelings</a> about this predicament. For instance, we might dislike social distancing, but approve of it for the sake of our collective health. Or we might enjoy the novelty and flexibility of altered working arrangements (such as working from home), even though they can be disruptive. </p>
<p>Indeed, almost half of the participants in our sample reported they enjoyed tackling some of the challenges of lockdown.</p>
<h2>Who experiences mixed emotions?</h2>
<p>Our emotions are not determined simply by our circumstances, but <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167298243005">also our personalities</a>. </p>
<p>In the study by Barford and her colleagues, individuals scoring lower on a personality trait called “<a href="https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-big-five-personality-traits/">emotional stability</a>” experienced more mixed emotions. This was because these individuals were more susceptible to increases in negative emotion, which blended with ongoing positive ones to create an overall bittersweet experience. </p>
<p>This same finding emerged in our survey in the context of COVID-19. We found the personality trait of low emotional stability was a stronger predictor of mixed emotions than other situational and demographic factors. These factors included age (younger people experienced more mixed emotions) and the extent of disruption to one’s day-to-day activities. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/personalities-that-thrive-in-isolation-and-what-we-can-all-learn-from-time-alone-135307">Personalities that thrive in isolation and what we can all learn from time alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Could mixed emotions be helpful?</h2>
<p>Interestingly, psychologists think mixed emotions may have some benefits. Specifically, whereas purely negative emotions can lead us to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1990-13921-001">disengage from our goals</a>, mixed emotions may prepare us to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8721.00031">respond to uncertain situations in flexible ways</a>, such as re-proritising our work projects, or socialising via Zoom instead of in person.</p>
<p>There is even evidence the experience of mixed emotions may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886917300144">cushion the impact of uncertainty on our wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>So, while sentiments of fear and sadness are dominating the headlines, the high prevalence of mixed emotions during this pandemic may be good news for our mental health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138014/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A survey conducted in early April reveals that, even in lockdown, fewer than 3% of people were feeling only negative emotions.Luke Smillie, Associate Professor, The University of MelbourneJeromy Anglim, Lecturer in Research Methods in Psychology, Deakin UniversityKate A. Barford, Associate lecturer, Deakin UniversityPeter O'Connor, Professor, Business and Management, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1068652019-01-25T16:25:12Z2019-01-25T16:25:12ZWhy people with anxiety and other mood disorders struggle to manage their emotions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255415/original/file-20190124-135145-nnpbeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Struggling to be positive.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-young-businesswoman-deep-thought-685747408?src=FX_nhwTX4wW504CTMMTgIw-1-91">Mangostar/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Regulating our emotions is something we all do, every day of our lives. This psychological process means that we can manage how we feel and express emotions in the face of whatever situation may arise. But some people cannot regulate their emotions effectively, and so experience difficult and intense feelings, often partaking in behaviours such as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1348/014466508X386027">self-harm</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952990.2013.877920">using alcohol</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-difficulty-in-identifying-emotions-could-be-affecting-your-weight-105917">over-eating</a> to try to escape them. </p>
<p>There are several strategies that <a href="https://theconversation.com/emotions-how-humans-regulate-them-and-why-some-people-cant-104713">we use to regulate emotions</a> – for example, reappraisal (changing how you feel about something) and attentional deployment (redirecting your attention away from something). Underlying <a href="https://tu-dresden.de/mn/psychologie/ifap/allgpsy/ressourcen/dateien/lehre/pruefungsliteratur_KN_2013/Ochsner-Gross-2005.pdf?lang=en">neural systems</a> in the brain’s prefrontal cortex are responsible for these strategies. However, dysfunction of these neural mechanisms can mean that a person is unable to manage their emotions effectively. </p>
<p><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-44085-004">Emotion dysregulation</a> does not simply occur when the brain neglects to use regulation strategies. It includes unsuccessful attempts by the brain to reduce unwanted emotions, as well as the counterproductive use of strategies that have a cost that outweighs the short term benefits of easing an intense emotion. For example, avoiding anxiety by not opening bills might make someone feel better in the short term, but comes with the long-term cost of ever increasing charges. </p>
<p>These unsuccessful attempts at regulation and counterproductive use of strategies are a core feature of many <a href="https://journals.lww.com/co-psychiatry/Abstract/2012/03000/Emotion_regulation_and_mental_health___recent.11.aspx">mental health conditions</a>, including anxiety and mood disorders. But there is not one simple pathway that causes the dysregulation in these conditions. In fact research has found several causes.</p>
<h2>1. Dysfunctional neural systems</h2>
<p>In anxiety disorders, dysfunction of the brain’s emotional systems is related to emotional responses being of a much higher intensity than usual, along with an increased <a href="http://people.socsci.tau.ac.il/mu/anxietytrauma/files/2014/04/Pergamin-Height-et-al-2015-CPR.pdf">perception of threat</a> and a negative view of the world. These characteristics influence how effective emotion regulation strategies are, and result in an over-reliance on maladaptive strategies like avoiding or trying to suppress emotions. </p>
<p>In the brains of those with anxiety disorders, the system supporting the reappraisal does not work as effectively. Parts of the prefrontal cortex show <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/210184">less activation</a> when this strategy is used, compared to non-anxious people. In fact, the higher the levels of anxiety symptoms, the less activation is seen in these brain areas. This means that the more intense the symptoms, the less they are able to reappraise. </p>
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<p>Similarly, those with <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Mohr3/publication/308172676_Major_depressive_disorder/links/59ce9dfaaca2721f434efc3d/Major-depressive-disorder.pdf">major depressive disorder (MDD)</a> – the inability to regulate or repair emotions, resulting in prolonged episodes of low mood – struggle to use <a href="http://sites.oxy.edu/clint/physio/article/EmotionRegulationinDepressionTheRoleofBiasedCognitionandReducedCognitiveControlClinicalPsychologicalScience-2014-Joormann.pdf">cognitive control</a> to manage negative emotions and decrease emotional intensity. This is due to <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2203837">neurobiological differences</a>, such as decreased <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811910011857">density of grey matter</a>, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322301013361">reduced volume</a> in the brain’s prefrontal cortex. During emotion regulation tasks, people who have depression show less <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/27/33/8877.full.pdf">brain activation</a> and metabolism in this area.</p>
<p>People with MDD sometimes show less effective function in the brain’s motivation systems – a network of neural connections from the <a href="https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/scientists-say/scientists-say-ventral-striatum">ventral striatum</a>, located in the middle of the brain, and prefrontal cortex – too. This might explain their difficulty in regulating positive emotions (known as <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/106/52/22445.full.pdf">anhedonia</a>) leading to a lack of pleasure and motivation for life.</p>
<h2>2. Less effective strategies</h2>
<p>There is little doubt that people have different abilities in using different regulation strategies. But for some they simply don’t work as well. It’s possible that people with anxiety disorders find reappraisal a <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/43509779/Emotional_reactivity_and_cognitive_regul20160308-6583-1i7qqg3.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1544177061&Signature=wG2kJQEWhjSupMVDCGjIjeImecI%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DEmotional_reactivity_and_cognitive_regul.pdf">less effective</a> strategy because their <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dominique_Lamy/publication/6598643_Threat-related_attentional_bias_in_anxious_and_nonanxious_individuals_a_meta-analytic_study_Meta-Analysis_Research_Support_Non-US_Gov%27t/links/02bfe510acc10b0e3d000000/Threat-related-attentional-bias-in-anxious-and-nonanxious-individuals-a-meta-analytic-study-Meta-Analysis-Research-Support-Non-US-Govt.pdf">attentional bias</a> means they involuntarily pay more attention towards negative and threatening information. This can stop them from being able to come up with more positive meanings for a situation – a key aspect of reappraisal. </p>
<p>It’s possible that reappraisal doesn’t work as well for people with mood disorders either. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lauren_Hallion/publication/51466532_A_Meta-Analysis_of_the_Effect_of_Cognitive_Bias_Modification_on_Anxiety_and_Depression/links/5642034608aeacfd8937f221/A-Meta-Analysis-of-the-Effect-of-Cognitive-Bias-Modification-on-Anxiety-and-Depression.pdf">Cognitive biases</a> can lead people with MDD to interpret situations as being more negative, and make it difficult to think more positive thoughts. </p>
<h2>3. Maladaptive strategies</h2>
<p>Although maladaptive strategies might make people feel better in the short term they come with long term costs of maintaining anxiety and mood disorders. Anxious people rely more on maladaptive strategies like <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.463.83&rep=rep1&type=pdf">suppression</a> (trying to inhibit or hide emotional responses), and less on adaptive strategies like reappraisal. Though research into this is ongoing, it’s thought that during <a href="https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/10/10/1329/1647887">intense emotional experiences</a> these people find it very difficult to disengage – a necessary first step in reappraisal – so they turn to maladaptaive suppression instead.</p>
<p>The use of maladaptive strategies like suppression and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735809000907">rumination</a> (where people have repetitive negative and self-depreciating thoughts) is also a common feature of MDD. These, together with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjc.12210">difficulties using adaptive strategies</a> like reappraisal, prolong and exacerbate depressed mood. It means that people who have MDD are even less able to use reappraisal during a depressed episode. </p>
<p>It’s important to note that mood disorders don’t just come from neural abnormalities. The research suggests that a combination of brain physiology, psychological and environmental factors are what contributes to the disorders, and their maintenance. </p>
<p>While researchers are pursing promising <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/45245021/DA_Emotion_Dysregulation.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1544123102&Signature=CuwEuqpH%2B4c78EoNxnkA1i7gGmU%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DEMOTION_DYSREGULATION_MODEL_OF_MOOD_AND.pdf">new treatments</a>, simple actions can help people loosen the influence of negative thoughts and emotions on mood. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tayyab_Rashid2/publication/299155510_Rashid_T_2015_Positive_Psychotherapy_A_Strengths-Based_Approach/links/570951f408aed09e916f9518.pdf">Positive activities</a> like expressing gratitude, sharing kindness, and reflecting on character strengths really do help.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106865/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Rowlands receives funding from EU Social fund through the Welsh Government.</span></em></p>A neuropsychologist explains the underlying brain mechanisms which stop people managing their emotions.Leanne Rowlands, PhD Researcher in Neuropsychology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1047132018-10-19T10:24:42Z2018-10-19T10:24:42ZEmotions: how humans regulate them and why some people can’t<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241211/original/file-20181018-41144-1vh8so4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-holds-changes-her-face-portraits-400796335?src=7OAD-1GjlsLsJJ0lniB1Ow-1-98">Gearstd/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Take the following scenario. You are nearing the end of a busy day at work, when a comment from your boss diminishes what’s left of your dwindling patience. You turn, red-faced, towards the source of your indignation. It is then that you stop, reflect, and choose not to voice your displeasure. After all, the shift is nearly over. </p>
<p>This may not be the most exciting plot, but it shows how we as humans can <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c9a9/a1e13031c6548c7e52e45ed9b69edc6a4921.pdf">regulate our emotions</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hcgBAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=emotion+regulation+conceptual+foundations&ots=cgMw_6WuaJ&sig=FFPDahopHjVFFwQuZ_Yjj2UTCm8#v=onepage&q=emotion%20regulation%20conceptual%20foundations&f=false">regulation of emotions</a> is not limited to stopping an outburst of anger – it means that we can manage the emotions we feel as well as how and when they are experienced and expressed. It can enable us to be positive in the face of difficult situations, or fake joy at opening a terrible birthday present. It can stop grief from crushing us and fear from stopping us in our tracks. </p>
<p>Because it allows us to enjoy positive emotions more and experience negative emotions less, regulation of emotions is incredibly important for our <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2003-05897-016.html">well-being</a>. Conversely, emotional dysregulation is associated with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-2850.1995.tb00036.x">mental health</a> conditions and psychopathology. For example, a breakdown in emotional regulation strategies is thought to play a role in conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance misuse and <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fccb/bd33f74e9a4685e248b5d33a2720631a456e.pdf">personality disorders</a>.</p>
<h2>How to manage your emotions</h2>
<p>By their very nature, emotions make us feel – but they also make us act. This is due to changes in our autonomic nervous system and associated hormones in the endocrine system that anticipate and support emotion-related behaviours. For example, adrenaline is released in a fearful situation to help us run away from danger.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changing moods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-boy-teen-select-between-positive-387530503?src=EJaqW8kaFGBWiAyjEUnRUg-1-64">Oksana Mizina/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before an emotion arises there is first a situation, which can be external: such as a spider creeping nearer, or internal: thinking that you are not good enough. This is then attended to – we focus on the situation – before we appraise it. Put simply, the situation is evaluated in terms of the meaning it holds for ourselves. This meaning then gives rise to an emotional response. </p>
<p>Psychologist and researcher James Gross, <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e729/3b6be5a7cbf36498d5dcc6554a85b699296e.pdf">has described</a> a set of five strategies that we all use to regulate our emotions and that may be used at different points in the emotion generation process: </p>
<p><strong>1. Situation selection</strong></p>
<p>This involves looking to the future and taking steps to make it more likely to end up in situations that gives rise to desirable emotions, or less likely to end up in situations that lead to undesirable emotions. For example, taking a longer but quieter route home from work to avoid road rage.</p>
<p><strong>2. Situation modification</strong></p>
<p>This strategy might be implemented when we are already in a situation, and refers to steps that might be taken to change or improve the situation’s emotional impact, such as agreeing to disagree when a conversation gets heated. </p>
<p><strong>3. Attentional deployment</strong></p>
<p>Ever distracted yourself in order to face a fear? This is “attentional deployment” and can be used to direct or focus attention on different aspects of a situation, or something else entirely. Someone scared of needles thinking of happy memories during a blood test, for example.</p>
<p><strong>4. Cognitive change</strong></p>
<p>This is about changing how we appraise something to change how we feel about it. One particular form of cognitive change is reappraisal, which involves thinking differently or thinking about the positive sides – such as reappraising the loss of a job as an exciting opportunity to try new things.</p>
<p><strong>5. Response modulation</strong></p>
<p>Response modulation happens late in the emotion generation process, and involves changing how we react or express an emotion, to decrease or increase its emotional impact – hiding anger at a colleague, for example. </p>
<h2>How do our brains do it?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn4044">mechanisms</a> that underlie these strategies are distinct and exceptionally complex, involving psychological, cognitive and biological processes. The cognitive control of emotion involves an interaction between the brain’s ancient and subcortical emotion systems (such as the periaqueductal grey, hypothalamus and the amygdala), and the cognitive control systems of the prefrontal and cingulate cortex. </p>
<p>Take <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322307005926">reappraisal</a>, which is a type of cognitive change strategy. When we reappraise, cognitive control capacities that are supported by areas in the prefrontal cortex allow us to manage our feelings by changing the meaning of the situation. This leads to a decrease of activity in the subcortical emotion systems that lie deep within the brain. Not only this, but reappraisal also changes our physiology, by decreasing our heart rate and sweat response, and improves how we experience emotions. This goes to show that looking on the bright side really can make us feel better – but not everyone is able to do this. </p>
<p>Those with emotional disorders, such as depression, remain in difficult emotional states for prolonged durations and find it difficult to sustain positive feelings. It has been suggested that depressed individuals show <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/33/8877.short">abnormal activation patterns</a> in the same cognitive control areas of the prefrontal cortex – and that the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/47/15726.short">more depressed they are the less able</a> they are to use reappraisal to regulate negative emotions. </p>
<p>However, though some may find reappraisal difficult, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699931.2017.1295922">situation selection might be just a little easier</a>. Whether it’s being in nature, talking to friends and family, lifting weights, cuddling your dog, or skydiving – doing the things that make you smile can help you see the positives in life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104713/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Rowlands receives funding from EU Social fund through the Welsh Government.</span></em></p>Managing your feelings takes more than just turning that frown upside down.Leanne Rowlands, PhD Researcher in Neuropsychology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/972122018-05-25T10:46:18Z2018-05-25T10:46:18ZWhy we hate making financial decisions – and what to do about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220377/original/file-20180524-51135-1r54rxq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Financial decisions can be a real maze. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrii Vodolazhskyi/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The advice to use your head, not your heart, might not be helpful after all.</p>
<p>We all make tough decisions, but choices relating to money send many of us running in the other direction. Unfortunately, ample evidence indicates that aversion toward financial decisions leads many of us to put off things like <a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/REST_a_00100">funding a 401(k)</a>, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/43/1/134/2379613">saving at a sufficient rate</a>, or just doing a better job <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=843826">managing our credit card debt</a>. All of these things can hurt <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.91.1.79">our long-term financial health</a>.</p>
<p>Economists and behavioral scientists have proposed several explanations for this phenomenon. For example, financial products are often quite <a href="http://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jppm.11.061">complicated</a>, and we may feel we <a href="http://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jmr.10.0518">lack the necessary expertise</a>. We may be overwhelmed by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272710000290">too many choices</a> – such as when picking mutual funds to put in our 401(k) portfolio.</p>
<p>But as valid as these reasons may be, my co-author <a href="https://site.warrington.ufl.edu/jane-jeongin-park/">Jane Jeongin Park</a> and I felt that there was more to the story. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220378/original/file-20180524-51091-ob6nzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A typical look when dealing with finances.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pormezz/Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Money matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/anersela/home">Take me</a>, for example: I have an MBA with a concentration in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=w-VZnkwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">finance</a> and a Ph.D. in business, yet I still hate dealing with financial decisions. Whenever I get a statement from my bank, my instinct is to shove it in my desk drawer. </p>
<p>Clearly, knowledge regarding financial products or subjective perceptions of competence do not explain this type of behavior very well. What is going on here?</p>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2966299">Our research</a> suggests that the culprit might be our stereotypes about money matters. We discovered that people perceive financial decisions – more so than decisions in many other equally complex and important domains – as cold, unemotional and extremely analytical – in other words, as highly incompatible with feelings and emotions.</p>
<p>This may not be surprising considering how media gurus <a href="https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T031-C032-S014-the-high-cost-of-emotion.html">routinely caution people</a> against allowing <a href="https://lifehacker.com/how-emotions-drive-bad-financial-decisions-and-how-to-1637678746">feelings to get in the way</a> of our personal finances, and how popular culture often portrays <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/">Wall Street</a> and other financial professionals as “cold fish” who are <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596363/">morally</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140479/">emotionally</a> apathetic.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220385/original/file-20180524-51130-1gqcxs4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Finance is cold and calculating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Emotional thinkers</h2>
<p>Consistent with this notion, we conducted several studies to examine how people’s perceptions of their own thinking style might influence their tendency to avoid financial decisions. </p>
<p>In our initial study, we asked about 150 people to fill out an online survey, which involved several sets of questions. First, we asked about their tendency to rely on emotions in decision-making generally. We then tried to ascertain their tendency to avoid decisions in a range of domains, such as finance or health. We also asked specific questions reflecting engagement in everyday financial decisions like, “Do you read your bank statements?” or “Have you ever tried to figure out how much you needed for retirement?” Finally, we looked for evidence of financial literacy with questions like, “Do stocks or bonds normally fluctuate more over time?”</p>
<p>We found that the more people perceived themselves as emotional thinkers, the higher their tendency to avoid or neglect their personal finances. For example, people who ranked high on emotional decision-making were less likely to have ever tried to figure out how much they needed to save for retirement, read financial statements, or know the fees and interest rates on their credit cards. </p>
<p>Interestingly, this relationship did not extend to decisions in other areas, such as buying clothes or making health care decisions. It was also unrelated to respondents’ financial literacy or feelings of competence.</p>
<p>In four more separate studies, we led half of the participants to view themselves as emotional decision-makers and the others as more analytical. We did this by asking them to reflect on a prior decision in which they used either emotions or analytical thinking. In each study, we measured participants’ propensity to avoid – or engage in – financial matters by asking them to choose between two types of tasks – one involving financial decisions and the other one not – or by offering them an opportunity to take advantage of a financial workshop. </p>
<p>We found that when people were led to view themselves as emotional decision-makers, as opposed to analytical, they became more likely to avoid tasks in which they had to engage in financial decisions and instead preferred to work on other tasks that were equally difficult and time-consuming. </p>
<p>They were also more likely to decline our offer to participate in an educational workshop on personal finance, which could potentially improve their financial well-being. </p>
<p>In other words, our studies show that the more people perceive themselves as emotional beings, the more they feel alienated from money matters. This appears to be because they perceive the type of person they are – warm, emotional – as incompatible with how financial decisions are made – cold, unemotional. </p>
<p>We found that these perceptions of incongruity – namely, that financial decisions are just “not me” – account for a significant portion of the tendency to shun financial decisions regardless of people’s actual knowledge about financial matters and their confidence in their ability to make sound financial decisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220379/original/file-20180524-51130-1v1v9zd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">They saved wisely.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Spotmatik Ltd/Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A lifestyle hack</h2>
<p>So is there a way to get around this problem? </p>
<p>The good news is yes. We found that study participants were less likely to avoid financial decisions when those exact same choices were reframed as decisions about their lifestyle. </p>
<p>For example, in our survey, when we asked participants to think about choosing annuities for their retirement portfolio as “a decision about your life in retirement” instead of “a decision about financial investments for retirement,” seeing themselves as emotional thinkers no longer resulted in decision avoidance. </p>
<p>That’s a hack you can use to tackle a money matter you’ve been putting off. Try to picture the pleasant outcome you’re creating down the line, not the icky decision facing you right now.</p>
<p>These insights could also help employers, policymakers and financial product providers to present information in ways that make us more likely to engage – instead of run screaming. Advertising financial services as being about life outcomes, such as lifestyle goals in retirement, instead of as “financial investments,” may reduce people’s tendency to shun these decisions. </p>
<p>Considering that the cost of doing so is ridiculously low, this may be worth a shot.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aner Sela does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research suggests that the reason people may put off funding their 401(k) plans or managing credit card debt is because our perception of finance as ‘cold’ conflicts with our hot-blooded emotions.Aner Sela, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/530282016-01-27T10:47:45Z2016-01-27T10:47:45ZWhy is it so tough for some to exorcise the ghosts of their romantic pasts?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109279/original/image-20160126-20542-1puj0kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For some, it's not so easy to forgive and forget... </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-246243121/stock-photo-close-up-heart-and-needles-on-wooden-background-vintage-style-valentines-day-concept.html?src=sKgjsAQYSXZcsy1nomq1Zg-1-46">'Heart' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A friend once grumbled that, given the choice, she’d rather see her ex miserable than herself happy. </p>
<p>Few things in life are as traumatic as the end of a long-term, romantic relationship. Nonetheless, many people are able to eventually recover and move on relatively unscathed. </p>
<p>Others, like my friend, aren’t so lucky. Even years later, they remain mired in the pain of the experience. Any reminder of their former partner – whether it’s a casual mention in conversation or a Facebook photo – can elicit profound feelings of sadness, anger and resentment. </p>
<p>Why is it that some people continue to be haunted by the ghosts of their romantic pasts, struggling to let go of the pain of rejection?</p>
<p>In <a href="http://psp.sagepub.com/content/42/1/54.short">new research</a>, my colleague Carol Dweck and I found that rejection actually makes some people redefine themselves – and their future romantic prospects.</p>
<p>In one study, we asked people to write about any lessons they’d taken away from a past romantic rejection. Analyzing their responses, we realized that a number of respondents thought the rejection unmasked a basic negative truth about themselves – one that would also sabotage their future relationships. Some said they’d realized that they were too “clingy.” Other thought they’d been “too sensitive” or “bad at communicating.” </p>
<p><a href="http://psp.sagepub.com/content/42/1/54.short">Additional studies</a> explored the consequences of believing that rejection had revealed a fundamental flaw. By linking rejection to some aspect of their core identity, people found it more difficult to move on from the experience. Some said they “put up walls” and became warier about new relationships. Others were afraid to disclose the rejection to a new partner, fearing that this person would change their opinion of them, thinking they had “baggage.” (This might explain why some people hide past rejections, treating them like a scar or stigma.) </p>
<p>We then wondered: what makes someone more likely to link a romantic rejection to some aspect of “who they really are”? After all, other respondents wrote that rejection was merely a part of life, that it was an important part of growing up and actually caused them to become better people. </p>
<p>It turns out that your beliefs about personality can play a big role in how you’ll respond to romantic rejection.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327965pli0604_1">Past research</a> has found that people hold divergent views about their personal characteristics, whether it’s their intelligence or shyness. Some people have a “fixed mindset,” believing that these qualities are unchangeable. In contrast, those who have a “growth mindset” believe that their personality is something that can evolve and develop throughout their lives. </p>
<p>These basic beliefs shape how people respond to failure. For example, when people believe that intelligence is fixed, they’ll feel worse about themselves – and are less likely to persist – after experiencing a setback. </p>
<p>We thought that beliefs about personality might determine whether people see rejection as a piece of evidence about who they really are – as a sign of whether they are a flawed and undesirable person. </p>
<p>In one study, we divided people into two groups: those who think personality is fixed, and those who think personality is malleable. <a href="https://osf.io/h6tm5/">Participants then read one of two stories</a>. In one, we asked them to imagine being left, out of the blue, by a long-term partner. In the other, we asked them to imagine meeting someone at a party, feeling a spark and then later overhearing that person telling a friend that they would never be romantically interested in her or him.</p>
<p>We might expect that only a severe rejection from a serious relationship would have the power to make people question who they are. Instead, a pattern emerged. For people with a fixed view of personality, we found that even a rejection from a relative stranger could prompt them to wonder what this rejection unveiled about their core self. These people might worry that there was something so obviously undesirable about them that a person would reject them outright – without even getting to know them. </p>
<p>So what can we do to prevent people from linking rejection to the self in this negative way? One promising piece of evidence shows that changing someone’s beliefs about personality can shift his or her reaction to rejections. </p>
<p>In a final study, <a href="https://osf.io/yt49a/">we created articles</a> that described personality as something that can evolve throughout the course of a lifetime, rather than as something that’s predetermined. When we asked people with a fixed view of personality to read these articles, they became less likely to interpret rejections as an indication of a permanent, fatal deficiency. </p>
<p>By encouraging the belief that personality can change and develop over time, we may be able to help people exorcise the ghosts of their romantic pasts – and move on to satisfying relationships in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53028/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Howe receives funding from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Shaper Family Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellowship. </span></em></p>New research highlights how the pain of a breakup can linger for years.Lauren Howe, Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/470592015-09-14T10:15:24Z2015-09-14T10:15:24ZHow advertising research explains Donald Trump’s profound appeal<p>Politics and advertising are closely intertwined. Like a good advertisement, a good politician needs to present a compelling case for why the voter should check his or her box on the ballot over all the other options.</p>
<p>Many good ads or politicians will make a direct appeal to viewers’ emotions – and of all the candidates in recent memory, Donald Trump may be the best at doing this. </p>
<p>While some pundits and late-night comedians have eviscerated Trump’s campaign, calling it all flair and no substance, this might not matter to voters. Whether you’re trying to get someone to buy a product or vote for a candidate, <a href="http://www.adsam.com/files/The%20Power%20of%20Affect.pdf">studies</a> have shown that appealing to emotion is nearly <em>twice</em> as effective as presenting facts or appearing believable.</p>
<p>As academics who study what makes advertisements successful and engaging, we believe Trump’s allure can be boiled down to three key factors, one of which – empowerment – encourages voters to actually work on his behalf.</p>
<h2>Emotions influence behavior</h2>
<p>But first, some background on the current understanding of emotional response in people. </p>
<p><a href="http://adsam.com/files/Observations.PDF">Studies</a> have shown that humans interpret what they hear and see through an emotional lens that is made up of three mechanisms: appeal, engagement and empowerment.</p>
<p>In a world where we’re bombarded with stimuli, from advertisements to buzzing phones, these mechanisms influence what we pay attention to, and how we react.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Appeal is simply the degree to which we judge something to be positive or negative.</p></li>
<li><p>Engagement is fairly self-explanatory: the extent to which an object or idea produces active or passive feelings – in other words, the level of emotional intensity it produces. </p></li>
<li><p>Lastly – and maybe most important – is empowerment, which is the amount of control someone feels in a given situation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Until recently, researchers didn’t seem all too interested in empowerment. The lack of interest seems to have stemmed from a misunderstanding about this dimension, and insufficient empirical support of its effects. </p>
<p>And while appeal and engagement are pretty self-explanatory, empowerment is a bit more abstract. When we ask people how they feel, they can easily describe their current emotional state as either positive or negative and, to some extent, how intense that emotion feels. </p>
<p>In contrast, people can have a tough time delineating their feelings of empowerment, because being “in control” can’t exactly be expressed or felt in a direct or obvious way. </p>
<p>But this doesn’t mean that empowerment is irrelevant. Think about the emotions anger and fear. They’re both low in appeal (no one wants to feel angry or fearful) but have high levels of engagement. </p>
<p>So what makes these two emotions so distinctive from each other? Empowerment. When you’re scared, you feel like you’re not in control. But when you’re angry, you feel the irresistible urge to speak out and take action.</p>
<h2>Empowerment’s potency</h2>
<p>When it comes to the emotional appeal of an advertisement or politician, empowerment may be more important than we think.</p>
<p>We recently conducted a <a href="http://www.jou.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Empowerment-the-overlooked-dimension-of-emotional-responses_0629.pdf">study</a> on empowerment, and presented it at the Association in Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) conference this past August.</p>
<p>Analyzing an array visual ads and public service announcements, the research indicated that appeals to fear (like images of dead bodies on a battlefield) were associated with feelings of uncertainty and a lack of control. </p>
<p>People felt a sense of danger and became acutely aware of the cruelties of war, but didn’t feel like there was anything they could do about it. Therefore, they reported low empowerment. </p>
<p>In contrast, messages focusing on anger (like a PSA showing a healthy body being harmed by secondhand smoke) evoked appraisals of certainty and individual control among viewers, who felt a sense of responsibility to take action and help the victims. Therefore, people expressed high empowerment on the emotional response measure. </p>
<p>But perhaps most importantly, the study also showed that empowerment is in some situations a better predictor of behavioral intentions than appeal or engagement. In other words, high levels of empowerment trigger action, since people are motivated to seek solutions to the problems presented. </p>
<p>The findings revealed an important fact: feeling in control is highly related to people’s attitudes and behaviors on social, political and health-related issues.</p>
<p>In the case of communicating to the public – whether through television or social media – this study recommended that speakers and messengers attempt to tap into empowerment’s potency, using rhetoric and imagery that make audiences feel in control and able to enact change. </p>
<p>In most cases, that means appealing to or eliciting a sense of anger or indignation.</p>
<h2>The Trump effect</h2>
<p>It goes without saying that there’s a level of manipulation involved. The speaker must be adept at formulating a persona and message that resonates with audiences. Whether or not the message is grounded in reality – well, that’s almost beside the point.</p>
<p>Enter Donald Trump, who seems to have an innate mastery of this process. He is an ad-man’s dream, a political consultant’s perfect plaything. </p>
<p>Maybe he honed these skills during his years on network television; either way, he’s shown the ability to easily appeal to and engage with audiences, which he’ll do <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/donald-trump-i-will-be-the-greatest-jobs-president-that-god-ever-created">directly</a> (“I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created”) or <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/251862-trump-asians-are-very-offended-by-bushs-anchor-babies">indirectly</a> (“the other candidates are dull and weak”).</p>
<p>But it’s the third and key element – empowerment – where he shines.</p>
<p>He’s able to consistently evoke issues in a way that makes people feel anger, rather than fear. (Some of his opponents use fear; for example, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Ted Cruz <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/ted-cruz-and-the-politics-of-faith-and-fear-how-the-gop-mastered-the-art-of-exploiting-scared-christians/">told the crowd</a> that the IRS “would start going after Christian schools, Christian charities, and…Christian churches.”) </p>
<p>And though Trump frequently raises issues that could elicit fear – terrorism, crime, economic collapse – he does so with indignation, which suggests that the audience should feel that way, too. </p>
<p>He’s angry, but not fearful. </p>
<p>That’s why he’s <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317">said</a> that he favors soldiers that have been wounded over those that were captured: to Trump, surrendering under any circumstance connotes fear.</p>
<p>Then there’s Trump’s solution to the illegal immigrants who are supposedly overrunning the country: “throw the bums out, build a wall.”</p>
<p>As for China, he’ll <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/10/why-donald-trump-is-smart-to-talk-about-china-china-china/">argue</a> that China is “stealing” jobs from the US (there’s the indignation) – and if he were in office, he wouldn’t let the nation “have its way with us.”</p>
<p>Furthermore, the feelings of anger he evokes lead to action on his behalf. Outraged voters are all too eager to post his videos on Facebook, retweet his tweets and promote his candidacy to friends and family.</p>
<p>Note what’s going on here: he simplifies complex issues, framing them in a way that’s intended to get a rise out of voters and infuriate them. But he presents solutions (often simplified, often unfeasible) in a way that comes across as clear – even obvious – and has the added benefit of making him appear in control. </p>
<p>In the end, it’s a calculated image that makes him an incredibly appealing candidate.</p>
<p>Look at what happens when you hold empowerment and engagement high for a person or product, while varying the level of appeal (click to zoom). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94550/original/image-20150911-1578-88gxzi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When moving a person’s appeal from “low” to “high,” a shift occurs in the way they’re described. </p>
<p>At the lower end, they’re called angry and defiant. But then, as their appeal rises, they become aggressive, daring and bold. Near the top, they’re described as masterful. </p>
<p>And when appeal’s at its highest? </p>
<p>Victorious.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon D Morris consults to/owns shares in AdSAM Marketing LLC. He has received no funding for this study. This study was conducted under the auspices of the University of Florida and is a not-for-profit study. Some of the tools were borrowed with permission form AdSAM. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor Wen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trump is an ad-man’s dream, a candidate who reflects what the best advertisements possess.Jon D Morris, Professor of Advertising, University of FloridaTaylor Wen, PhD Candidate in Communications, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428982015-06-24T20:14:40Z2015-06-24T20:14:40ZCan we love happiness? Or do we then risk more sadness?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86032/original/image-20150623-19371-19tqo71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The most powerful strategy for achieving happiness is to give up trying to be happy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-266829029/stock-photo-living-painting-smiling-woman-completely-covered-with-thick-paint.html?src=tvfNNSpK4dUkqVvbsXcHDQ-3-49">Mila Supinskaya/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/on-happiness">On Happiness</a>, examining what it means and how it might be achieved in the 21st century.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>To pose the question of whether we can love happiness in today’s world feels a bit like asking whether the Pope is Catholic. Most of us believe we not only <em>can</em> love happiness, but that we <em>should!</em> Unfortunately, it is this very love of happiness that is leading many of us to experience more sadness. </p>
<p>Why, I hear you ask? Well let me start with an example. Imagine you have a goal and it is to become smarter. You decide to enrol in an science degree and major in astrophysics (being an astrophysicist is clearly going to make you smarter), you spend every spare minute playing Sudoku and purchase the latest “get smart quick” brainpower gimmick. </p>
<p>Over time you notice that indeed you are becoming smarter. You are winning more often at Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit and can amaze your friends with complex theories of black holes and dark energy.</p>
<p>Yet, you would still like to be smarter. You feel slightly disappointed that you are not as smart as you thought you might be. This feeling of disappointment motivates you to learn more and try harder until eventually you reach your goal. </p>
<p>Now imagine that your goal is to be happy. You buy the latest books on how to be happy, repeat positive sentiments to yourself in the mirror each morning and spend at least ten minutes a day holding a pencil between your teeth (it’s true, it <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/54/5/768/">actually does work</a>!). </p>
<p>Upon reflection, however, you are not as happy as you would like to be. Now, the feeling of disappointment, rather than motivating you to try hard, tends to make you feel less happy. As a result, you are now further removed from your desired state of happiness. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86036/original/image-20150623-19411-1ltg5rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Endless pleasure, and endless happiness, quickly becomes very dull and even painful.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/duni_dun/6166474655/">Duunn/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The nature of goal pursuit itself predicts this ironic outcome. Aiming for a goal often involves feelings of disappointment along the way, which means that trying to be happy may be <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/emo/11/4/807/">counter-productive</a>. </p>
<p>The aim of this illustration is to show that the very act of trying to be happy ironically pushes happiness further away. The most powerful strategy for achieving happiness is to give up trying to be happy. </p>
<h2>Living in a world of laughing clowns</h2>
<p>Consistent with the above insights, current approaches within psychotherapy have begun to challenge how people relate to their own emotions. People walk out of these sessions more accepting of their negative emotions and holding less tightly to the need to be happy. </p>
<p>As they walk out of the therapist’s door, however, they are confronted with a world that is beset by happiness. From advertising on billboards and television screens to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9535365/State-happiness-campaigns-leave-people-feeling-gloomier-research-suggests.html">national campaigns</a> designed to raise national levels of happiness, the value of happiness is <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YLb1148-VWcC&oi=fnd&pg=PT2&dq=Smile+or+die:+How+positive+thinking+fooled+America+and+the+world.+&ots=SPhvbxvrqx&sig=9YdvqJsLJ1e0qcXKIw3NP58YgVs#v=onepage&q=Smile%20or%20die%3A%20How%20positive%20thinking%20fooled%20America%20and%20the%20world.&f=false">promoted everywhere</a>.</p>
<p>On the flip side, our Western world values sadness very differently. In some cases even everyday malaise is quickly pathologised and medicalised, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Normal-Out-Control-Medicalization/dp/0062229265">treated with drugs</a> designed to return people to “normality”.</p>
<p>Indeed, there is an eerie similarity between our current approaches to our emotional worlds and the kind of dystopian society that Aldous Huxley envisaged in his book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World">Brave New World</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/86034/original/image-20150623-19368-18k73yj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We believe we need to have complete control of our emotional lives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/beth19/4907410699/">Βethan/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our own research has begun to highlight the possibility that “happiness cultures” may be responsible for <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/emo/12/1/69/">reducing life satisfaction and increasing depression</a>. This is especially true when people experience high levels of negative emotion and <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/emo/14/4/639/">feel that these emotional states</a> are socially devalued. </p>
<p>Experiencing this mismatch between our own emotional states and those that are considered valuable by the cultures that we live in <a href="http://spp.sagepub.com/content/6/5/496">may even leave us</a> feeling lonely and socially disconnected.</p>
<h2>So should we hate happiness?</h2>
<p>I am certainly not suggesting we should all dress in black and revel in our shared despair. Being happy is a good thing and it is exactly this state that we are all so keen to achieve. </p>
<p>The point is that we often go about this in the wrong way. We fail to value negative experiences along the way and think that striving for more and more pleasure and enjoyment is the best way to achieve our happiness goals. </p>
<p>The fact is that endless pleasure, and endless happiness, quickly becomes very dull and even painful. For true well-being we need contrasts. Our negative experiences and negative feelings give meaning and context to happiness: they make us happier overall. As <a href="http://psr.sagepub.com/content/18/3/256">our own research suggests</a>, pain has many positive consequences and experiencing pain is often a critical pathway to flourishing in life. </p>
<p>So can we love happiness? I think we can. It is not so much our love of happiness, but our dislike of sadness, the tendency to run away from pain and suffering and to see these experiences as a sign of failure, that leads to the problems I describe above. </p>
<p>Perhaps our problem with happiness comes about because we live in a world where we believe we can control everything in our lives. From our temperature-controlled homes to our capacity to insure against every possible risk, we believe we should have the same level of control over our emotional lives.</p>
<p>There is an oft-quoted saying (commonly found on a wall calendar at your grandmother’s house), “If you love something set it free”. Perhaps that is how we should be thinking about happiness? </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is based on an essay in the collection <a href="http://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/on-happiness-new-ideas-for-the-twenty-first-century">On Happiness: New Ideas for the Twenty-First Century</a> (UWA Publishing, June 2015).</em></p>
<p><em>You can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/on-happiness">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42898/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brock Bastian receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>To pose the question of whether we can love happiness feels a bit like asking whether the Pope is a Catholic. Most of us believe we not only can love happiness, but that we should!Brock Bastian, ARC Future Fellow, School of Psychology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/283402014-07-08T13:12:39Z2014-07-08T13:12:39ZWebcam bird rescue shows how quickly our attraction to nature can turn sour<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/51957/original/z9j76tyg-1403537767.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cute for now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ell-r-brown/4608299425/sizes/l/in/photolist-82dJSn-6vCVSq-6uRyS4-4G14JG-87yiWG-82sDAP-82sCZr-82vKz9-82sEbM-83jDv6-9S6Gp7-82jR62-87S8ST-87VedC-eHJJUc-c2sRaW-9PgnmC-87UWrY-87WcFf-87VgHY-87RZja-bn7cYN-87Wdv1-bZuxV9-9N1iEp-87SZ5i-87Vq8j-87S6En-87V8kG-87RRpr-87RNdp-87UYem-87UUFq-87UTdf-87RDB8-87UNFS-4s6Wzv-9oB3Jk-bB7tJW-9pmwB2-81txF1-e6DHLC-7X52Qo-82dhbe-gLkmAH-9HYbMw-eiVHwR-82dKkn-9vX6D3-4rJwX8-efqtJa/">Ell Brown</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The proliferation of webcams streaming live feeds has brought wild animals directly onto our screens, sometimes from thousands of miles away. Watching on the web in real time, we can peer into nests, hover over watering-holes, and gaze into zoos. But when something bad happens – an intrinsic part of the wild nature we’re watching – is there anything more going on behind our emotional reactions to end the suffering?</p>
<p>In <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/20/streaming-eagles/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&rref=opinion&_r=0">a recent article</a> in the New York Times, Jon Mooallem reported on a painful drama concerning a family of bald eagles nesting in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a <a href="http://www.webcams.dnr.state.mn.us/eagle/">live webcam feed</a> to enable nature lovers across the world to lurk unseen as the chicks are raised. But this is real life and prettiness cannot be guaranteed. The DNR made this very clear in two disclaimers on its <a href="http://www.webcams.dnr.state.mn.us/eagle/">home page</a>. Viewer discretion is advised and content may not be suitable for younger viewers, it said. The warning was made even more explicit:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is live video of wild birds in the natural process of raising their young. Life and death struggles occur all the time in the natural world. DNR staff will monitor this camera and will evaluate incidents as they occur, but we do not plan to, nor do we condone, any interference with this nest or its occupants.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The DNR soon found itself in a difficult position: increasing anxiety about the failing health of one of the eagle chicks (nicknamed Snap by its adoring viewers) led to an outpouring of concern until eventually the DNR gave in and went to the rescue. “It was badly injured — most likely trampled accidentally by one of its parents,” Mooallem reported. “It had a severely fractured wing and a systemic infection. There was no chance of recovery. Snap had to be euthanised.” </p>
<p>A webcam set up to bring pleasure to its audience and attract donations to support the programme had opened a ghastly window to the real red-in-tooth-and-claw world of nature, where creatures get hurt and die. </p>
<p>As one woman put it, she wasn’t “up for that learning experience”. But if we’re so keen on nature and how it makes us feel, why did all the webcam watchers feel so distressed when it started to go wrong? Beyond one explanation of anthropomorphism, another could be biophobia – a fear of the natural world.</p>
<h2>Natural turn offs</h2>
<p>In most cases, images of animals have a beneficial effect on us, says <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biophilic-Design-Practice-Bringing-Buildings/dp/0470163348/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403519173&sr=1-1&keywords=biophilic+design">Stephen Kellert</a>, a social ecologist at Yale University. He believes images of animals often provoke satisfaction, pleasure, stimulation and emotional interest. For philosopher <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biophilia-Hypothesis-Shearwater-book/dp/1559631473/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403518917&sr=1-1&keywords=biophilia+hypothesis">Paul Shepard</a>, seeing animals in ornamentation, decoration and art, may lead us to experience “the tug of attention to animals as the curved mirror of ourselves”.</p>
<p>But sometimes we respond fearfully not only to certain living things (most notably spiders, snakes and bugs) but also to some natural situations which might contain hidden dangers and be difficult to escape from, says psychologist Roger Ulrich, writing in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biophilia-Hypothesis-Shearwater-book/dp/1559631473/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403518917&sr=1-1&keywords=biophilia+hypothesis">The Biophilia Hypothesis</a>. It is this that he describes as biophobia.</p>
<p>Just as positive encounters with nature can have calming effects, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biophilia-Hypothesis-Shearwater-book/dp/1559631473/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403518917&sr=1-1&keywords=biophilia+hypothesis">argues</a> Ulrich, it follows that the opposite should result in negative effects such as anxiety – something that the many nature centres and wildlife reserves that manage live webcam feeds will be aware of.</p>
<p>Webcams allow us to watch real animals with an unprecedented level of intimacy. But the unrealistic empathy they can create has the potential to provoke real distress when it goes wrong. And this is where it seems we’re only human.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The proliferation of webcams streaming live feeds has brought wild animals directly onto our screens, sometimes from thousands of miles away. Watching on the web in real time, we can peer into nests, hover…Sue Thomas, Visiting Fellow, The Media School, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.