Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, Psychology

Child anxiety is highly prevalent, with many typically-developing children showing patterns of excessive worry. These anxiety symptoms often emerge in toddlerhood and are highly predictive of children's later anxiety outcomes, underscoring the importance of early mechanisms (e.g., emotion processes) and contexts (e.g., family environment) involved in anxiety symptoms arising in early childhood. Still, there remains a need for integrative, longitudinal, and multi-method models of family emotion processes that may contribute to child anxiety. The current study examined how mothers' emotion dysregulation related to their emotion socialization practices (either supportive or unsupportive) and children's emotion regulation (either attention- or caregiver-focused) over time, with a primary focus on how these emotion processes are relevant to later child anxiety. Results indicated that models tended to fit the data well. Maternal emotion dysregulation consistently predicted child anxiety, and to a lesser extent, relations emerged among emotion processes. Serial mediation was not significant; however, there was one marginally significant indirect effect. Specifically, greater maternal emotion dysregulation predicted greater unsupportive emotion socialization, which in turn related to children's greater caregiver-focused emotion regulation. These findings lend partial support to current theoretical models of family emotion processes and child anxiety development and suggest promising avenues of future research.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2015, Computer Science and Engineering PhD

People's emotions can be gleaned from their text using machine learning techniques to build models that exploit large self-labeled emotion data from social media. Further, the self-labeled emotion data can be effectively adapted to train emotion classifiers in different target domains where training data are sparse. Emotions are both prevalent in and essential to most aspects of our lives. They influence our decision-making, affect our social relationships and shape our daily behavior. With the rapid growth of emotion-rich textual content, such as microblog posts, blog posts, and forum discussions, there is a growing need to develop algorithms and techniques for identifying people's emotions expressed in text. It has valuable implications for the studies of suicide prevention, employee productivity, well-being of people, customer relationship management, etc. However, emotion identification is quite challenging partly due to the following reasons: i) It is a multi-class classification problem that usually involves at least six basic emotions. Text describing an event or situation that causes the emotion can be devoid of explicit emotion-bearing words, thus the distinction between different emotions can be very subtle, which makes it difficult to glean emotions purely by keywords. ii) Manual annotation of emotion data by human experts is very labor-intensive and error-prone. iii) Existing labeled emotion datasets are relatively small, which fails to provide a comprehensive coverage of emotion-triggering events and situations. This dissertation aims at understanding the emotion identification problem and developing general techniques to tackle the above challenges. First, to address the challenge of fine-grained emotion classification, we investigate a variety of lexical, syntactic, knowledge-based, context-based and class-specific features, and show how much these features contribute to the performance of the machine learning classifiers. We also propose a meth (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2014, Psychology

Haynos and Fruzetti (2011) provide a transactional model for conceptualizing anorexia nervosa (AN) in which the combination of an invalidating environment and individual emotional vulnerability increases the likelihood of an individual developing pervasive emotion dysregulation, and subsequent use of eating disordered behaviors to regulate emotion. The aim of the current study was to provide initial support for this model in adolescent AN, through examining relationships between specific emotion regulation deficits (e.g., maladaptive attentional deployment and poor emotion recognition), invalidating parental response to adolescent emotion, and adolescent AN status. Adolescents with chronic pain were used as a comparison group, as both conditions are chronic and can significantly impair psychosocial functioning, but have relatively non-overlapping primary symptom profiles. Fifty adolescent girls (25 with AN and 25 with chronic pain) between the ages of 11 and 17 completed a dot-probe attention bias task, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task (a measure of emotion recognition), and several self-report measures on psychopathology symptoms and perceived difficulties with emotion regulation. Both parents and adolescents filled out the Emotions as a Child Scale to assess parental response to adolescent emotion. Results showed mixed evidence for increased self-reported difficulties with emotion regulation in adolescents with AN compared to adolescents with chronic pain. In regard to maladaptive parental reaction to emotion, adolescents with AN endorsed more maternal neglect of fear, punishment of anger, and magnification of anger. Finally, adolescent attentional bias and emotion recognition served to moderate the relationship between parental response to sadness and adolescent AN status: for adolescents with high attention bias towards angry faces, as well as for adolescents with superior emotion recognition abilities, maladaptive parental response to sadness predicted inc (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2024, Psychology

There is long-standing evidence that acquired capability and emotion regulation are key to understanding the progression from self-harm to suicide (Law et al., 2015; Turton et al., 2021; Van Orden et al., 2010). However, recent literature suggests that emotion dysregulation alone is not a sufficient explanation for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality. Research has demonstrated that emotion-regulation self-efficacy (ERSE), or the belief in one's ability to regulate one's emotions (e.g., Gratz et al., 2020), is a factor in predicting the pathway between NSSI and suicidal behavior (Gratz et al., 2020). The purpose of this project was to examine the relationship between emotion reactivity, ERSE, NSSI, acquired capability, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Participants were asked to complete a screener and those who endorsed self-harm history were eligible to complete the follow-up questionnaire (N = 174). Findings indicated that ERSE is lower among people with history of NSSI and either suicidal ideation or suicide attempt history, as compared to those with only a history of NSSI. In addition, ERSE is negatively associated with emotion reactivity such that those with greater emotion reactivity have lower ERSE. ERSE predicted suicidal risk over and above emotion reactivity, acquired capability, and number of NSSI methods. Last, ERSE for positive affect predicted suicidal risk over and above emotion reactivity and acquired capability, such that those with lower ERSE have higher suicidal risk. Implications of these findings point to ERSE as a predictor for suicidal risk.

Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.), University of Dayton, 2022, Computer Science

A picture is worth a thousand words. A single image has the power to influence individuals and change their behaviour, whereas a single word does not. Even a barely visible image, displayed on a screen for only a few milliseconds, appears to be capable of changing one's behaviour. In this thesis, we experimentally investigated the relationship between facial expressions and perceived emotions. To this end, we built two datasets, namely, the image dataset for image emotion analysis and the face dataset for expression recognition. During the annotation of the image dataset, both facial expressions and perceived emotions are recorded via a mobile application. We then use a classifier trained on the face dataset to recognize the user's expression and compare it with the perceived emotion.

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2021, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Depression is marked by depressive affects which consists of dysphoric mood reflected by increased levels of negative affect (NA), and anhedonia which is characterized by decreased positive affect (PA). The dysregulation of affective states that characterizes depressive disorders may reflect emotion regulation deficits. Prior work has frequently linked maladaptive responses with depression, while evidence linking adaptive responses and depression has been mixed. Additionally, emerging evidence has shown a degree of specificity between emotion regulation and affect. Therefore, the present study examined whether emotion regulation responses show specificity with NA and PA across 7-day and 12-month periods within a large sample of those with various depression histories. Community dwelling and undergraduate participants (N= 241) completed self-report surveys to assess their trait emotion regulation tendencies, positive and negative affect, and a measure of their depression symptoms in-lab. They then engaged in a 7-day ecological momentary assessment protocol. Lastly, at 4-, 8-, and 12-months post-lab visit, participants completed self-report surveys to assess NA and PA over the past month. As expected, maladaptive responses significantly predicted increased NA and adaptive responses significantly predicted increased PA across all time points. Further, there was specificity as adaptive ER was more strongly linked to trait positive affect and maladaptive ER was more strongly linked to trait negative affect (p's< .001). Results suggest specific ties across maladaptive responses and negative affect as well as adaptive responses and positive affect, though they may be different across measurement type.

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2020, Psychology

Research on emotion regulation while in residential substance abuse treatment is scarce, and even more so within the veteran population. This present data analysis examined the relation between emotion regulation and various aspects of residential substance abuse treatment. First, it was found that difficulties with emotion regulation significantly decreased from admission to post-completion of a veteran residential substance abuse program. In addition, treatment persistence, or the act of remaining in treatment for the recommended duration, was examined. This data analysis tested the hypothesis that fewer difficulties regulating emotions would increase the chances veterans would remain in the 21-day program. This hypothesis, however, was not supported. In addition to veterans voluntarily leaving the program earlier than recommended, some veterans are involuntarily asked to leave due to violating program rules. As such, it was hypothesized that fewer emotion regulation difficulties upon admission would lessen the likelihood of committing rule infractions; this hypothesis was not supported. Lastly, it was found that the greater the change in DERS scores from admission to discharge, the lower the likelihood of returning to aftercare treatment (e.g., outpatient follow-up appointments); these results were contrary to what was hypothesized. Although emotion regulation difficulties can significantly decrease after a 21-day program, further research is needed to determine variables associated with remaining in treatment, following program rules, and attending recommended follow-up care.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2020, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science

Anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of childhood psychopathology and are associated with both short-term and long-term impairments in a child's socioemotional functioning (Buss & McDoniel, 2016). Using both naturalistic and laboratory observational methods, this study examined the prospective contribution of maternal parenting behaviors and emotion expression and children's compliance behaviors and self-evaluative statements on children's adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation in response to an anxiety eliciting situation. This study also examined the moderating role of child sex on the relationship between maternal characteristics and children's emotion regulation in response to anxiety. Participants were 105 mother-child dyads. Children were assessed at ages 3-4 (T1) and 5-6 (T2). At T1, mother-child dyads participated in a one-day naturalistic observation where their conversations were recorded at home. At T2 children's adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation in response to anxiety was assessed in a laboratory observation wherein children were given three increasingly difficult puzzles to complete under a time restriction. Results indicated that mothers' general positivity and emotion coaching behaviors in the home positively and significantly influence children's use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies in response to stress/anxiety in the lab. Additionally, child sex significantly moderated the relationship between mother's emotion coaching behaviors and children's adaptive emotion regulation in the lab. Regarding maladaptive emotion regulation, results suggested that children who use more positive self-evaluative statements and engage in more noncompliant behaviors in response to parental requests or demands exhibit higher levels of maladaptive emotion regulation in response to anxiety

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Psychology

Despite the negative implications associated with increasing age for physical and cognitive health, emotional well-being appears to remain stable, if not improved, with age. This phenomenon is believed to be explained by age-related increases in motivation to regulate emotions and shifts in emotion regulation strategies to compensate for physical and cognitive declines. Yet, past studies have predominantly relied on self-report measures of dispositional strategy use that are particularly susceptible to retrospective biases, and where behavioral measures have been employed, use of regulation strategies has been limited to only one strategy at a time to modify emotional responses. Additionally, there has been limited prior research examining age differences in how emotion regulation strategies are flexibly adapted to shifts in salient contextual features (e.g., interpersonal context, type/intensity of emotion elicited) in daily life. As people often use multiple strategies to regulate their emotions and the contexts in which these strategies are implemented are ever-changing, evaluating the cumulative effects of simultaneous strategy use and strategy flexibility in daily life is critical for understanding the processes underlying age-related changes in emotional well-being. The current study recruited 130 young adults and 130 older adults for an online study where participants were asked to complete a daily diary measure of emotion regulation, in which they responded to questions about their emotional experience, emotion regulation strategy use, and salient contextual features of “episodes” in their daily life. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing overall emotional well-being including affect balance and emotion dysregulation. In Aim 1, we examined age differences in emotion regulation strategy use, variability, and flexibility (i.e., covariation of strategy use with changes in negative affect intensity) in daily life. Aim 2 investigated how strategy u (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2019, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

While research in the psychology of human aging suggests that older adults are quite adept at managing negative affect, emotion regulation efficacy may depend on the discrete emotion elicited. For instance, prior research suggests older adults are more effective at dealing with emotional states that are more age-relevant/useful and lower in intensity (i.e., sadness) relative to less relevant/useful or more intense (i.e., anger). The goal of the present study was to probe this discrete emotions perspective further by addressing the relevance/intensity distinction within a broader set of negative affective states (i.e., fear and disgust, along with anger and sadness). Results revealed that participants reported relatively high levels of the intended emotion for each video, while also demonstrating significant affective recovery after the attentional refocusing task. Age differences in sadness and anger reactivity were observed with older adults reporting higher subjective reactivity relative to younger adults, with comparable recovery levels. Results from the physiological analyses did not reveal significant age differences in reactivity and recovery profiles. We discuss how the present results, at least in terms of participants' subjective emotional experiences, suggest potential expansions to the discrete emotions approach for affective processing and regulation throughout the adult lifespan.

MA, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Attachment is inextricably linked to emotion, although less is known about positive emotion and dynamic measures of emotion in middle childhood. The development of a secure attachment relationship is also predictive of a child's depressive symptoms, and this relationship has been proposed to be explained by a mechanism such as emotion. The goal of the present study is therefore to investigate associations among attachment, emotion, and depressive symptoms by (1) examining how average and dynamic measures of negative and positive emotion are related to attachment patterns and (2) investigating measures of emotion as mechanisms explaining the relation between attachment patterns and depressive symptoms in middle childhood. Parent-child attachment was coded from a story stem method, emotion was reported via daily diaries, and depressive symptoms were measured using the short version of the Children's Depression Inventory 2. In a sample of Midwestern children (N=102, M=10.4 years), attachment security was not related to emotion; greater attachment avoidance was associated with less mean positive emotion; greater attachment ambivalence was associated with greater mean negative emotion and mean positive emotion; and greater attachment disorganization was associated with greater positive emotion instability. The association between attachment ambivalence and depressive symptoms was not explained by mean negative emotion. These findings provide insight into the emotion profiles for different attachment patterns in middle childhood and have clinical implications for children's well-being and mental health.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 0, Psychology

People believe that expressing regret to others fosters social connection (Summerville & Buchanan, 2014). However, it is unclear if this social closeness function is indeed served by expressing regret. Three studies test whether or not expressions of regret coincide with feeling closer to others relative to baseline or other emotional expressions. These studies examined feelings of closeness from the perspective of the recipient of the regret expression (Study 1) and the expresser of the regret (Study 2), and also examined both anticipated and actual feelings of closeness towards others (Study 2). Overall, the studies did not provide support for the social closeness function of regret. Study 2, however, provided evidence that regret expression is motivated by a social closeness goal. Limitations of the present studies and possible future research on regret expression are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Philosophy, Applied

Resentment is widely held to be central in moral practice and moral theory, perhaps even the key to understanding concepts like moral wrongness and moral responsibility. Despite this, philosophers pay relatively little attention to resentment itself. For the most part, it is often simply assumed that resentment is a kind of anger, where resentment is differentiated from anger by a belief, judgment, or thought that one has been morally wronged by the object of one's emotional response. However, this assumption gives rise to problematically circular accounts of our moral concepts, since it involves characterizing resentment in terms of the very concepts that moral philosophers were hoping to explain in terms of resentment. And while some philosophers have claimed that the circularity inherent in such accounts is unproblematic, I contend that such accounts are not informative enough to help us understand our moral concepts. My dissertation explores the implications of the assumption that resentment is simply a moral form of anger, and argues that this account of resentment is both inaccurate and not well-suited to the role that resentment plays in moral philosophy. First, I argue that despite prevailing assumptions to the contrary, resentment should not be thought of simply as a moral version of anger. Instead, I argue for a non-cognitive, adaptive account of resentment as an emotional response to violations of the interpersonal norms of one's social group. This account is both empirically well-grounded and consistent with evolutionary and developmental accounts of emotion. It also avoids the circularity inherent in contemporary characterizations of our moral concepts, when given in terms of resentment. Finally, it allows for a ready-made response to the charge that resentment is an immoral or imprudent emotion that we would be better off without. Resentment, on this account, is an adaptive response with deep biological roots, and it plays a crucial rol (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Psychology

Selecting interpersonal behavior that is best suited to a situation relies on identifying and incorporating cues. Among these cues may be the emotion of interaction partners or the intimacy of the relationship. One situation in which it may be particularly important to use information from interpersonal cues may be in the case of interpersonal emotion regulation. Emotion regulation allows us to motivate and organize behavior. Some emotion regulation strategies rely on interactions with others; these are referred to as Interpersonal Emotion Regulation strategies (IER). Use of IER when environmental cues suggest such strategies may be unwelcome or inappropriate may result in unsuccessful attempts at regulation, increased dissatisfaction in relationships, or both. One aim of the current investigation was to understand whether BPD symptoms were related to impaired use of interpersonal cues. In this study, participants (N= 174) were asked to indicate the likelihood of using IER in vignette scenarios which varied by cues of emotion (i.e., anger or neutral emotion) and relationship intimacy (i.e., high intimacy or low intimacy relationship). There was no significant difference in participant ratings of the likelihood of using interpersonal emotional regulations strategies when and anger cue was presented versus when it was not, t(172) = -.88, p = .38. Participants reported that the mean likelihood for using interpersonal emotion regulation strategies was higher when a cue of intimacy was present, when it was not, such that individuals were more likely to use F-IER when intimacy cue was present, t(172) = -2.82, p = .01. There was also a significant difference between groups presented with intimacy cue and not presented with intimacy cue on interpersonal factors like “How good a time is this to talk to this person about how you feel?” t(172) = -4.02, p<.01. This result might mean that cues of intimacy are particularly relevant in the likelihood of engaging function (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Philosophy

Although the idea that emotions can be rational has come to be widely accepted by philosophers, theories of emotional rationality are generally wedded to particular theories about the nature of emotions. In contrast, I develop a theory of emotional rationality that is applicable to a broad range of theories of emotions in both psychology and philosophy. Emotional rationality is excellence in exercising one's emotional capacities in one's practical endeavors. From this definition of emotional rationality, I develop some rationality assessments of agents with respect to their emotions. The project is organized around three assessments: warrant, imprudence, and acumen. Emotion theorists commonly discuss three distinct static emotion assessments (fit, warrant, and benefit); I call this group, the traditional assessments. For each of these assessments, emotion theorists have claimed that it is an assessment of rationality. Roughly, an agent's emotion is (i) fitting in a certain situation if the emotion corresponds to the relevant features of her situation, (ii) warranted in a certain situation if she has evidence that for the fittingness of the emotion, and (iii) beneficial in a certain situation if the emotion contributes to her well-being. I argue that none of the traditional assessments, as commonly understood, count as a rationality assessment. One problem with thinking that warranted emotions are rational is that an agent's emotion may be accidentally warranted. In response, I introduce warrant*; roughly, an agent's emotion is warranted* if the agent has evidence for the fittingness of the emotion and the emotion is grounded in that evidence in the right way. I introduce the assessment of imprudence in Chapter Three. An agent is imprudent with respect to a pattern of emotion tokens of the same emotion type felt in similar situations roughly if the agent fails to take steps to regulate her emotion tokens properly in light of actual relevant feedback providing e (open full item for complete abstract)

Bachelor of Science of Media Arts and Studies (BSC), Ohio University, 2014, Media Arts and Studies

The evolution of video game content is at a point where developers are beginning to explore the untapped narrative possibilities in video games. As technology advances, more developers bring unique concepts and goals to the games industry. In the ever-changing landscape of the video game medium, game creators constantly try to reach new heights. Independent game developers have spearheaded this movement with games that challenge the users’ perspectives and emotions. Critical acclaim has moved from the games with the most action and biggest budget to the games with the most personality and heart. I, like many game developers, am more interested in the emotional impact of games versus their “fun” value. The goal of my thesis paper and my game project, Mori, is to create an emotionally provocative video game through research and execution. I will begin with a brief history of narrative in video games, and then explore current dialogue of game narrative and an analysis of several narrative techniques. Following that, I will explain dynamic composition and finish by relating everything that I have learned back to the production of Mori, my video game project

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2014, Psychology

The current study had three aims: (1) to determine if proximal intergenerational transmission of affect occurs from mothers to their adolescent children and if it occurs along valence-specific pathways (e.g., maternal positive affect to adolescent positive, but not negative, affect), (2) to explore how maternal individual characteristics (i.e., depression) influence transmission, and (3) to explore how adolescent individual characteristics (i.e., depression, gender) influence transmission. One hundred thirty-five mothers (29-60 years old) and their adolescent children (12-16 years old) completed questionnaires and engaged in a problem-solving discussion. Results supported proximal intergenerational transmission down valence-specific paths. However, when prior adolescent state affect was added to the model, evidence for transmission of positive affect disappeared. Individual characteristics did not influence transmission. Given this evidence for proximal transmission of affect in a microsocial context, future work should examine proximal mechanisms of emotion socialization in the family and how these mechanisms predict long-term outcomes.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2010, Communication Studies (Communication)

In this dissertation, I position schools as social and emotional arenas, embedded within powerful societal and educational discourses about emotion, relationships, and learning. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation at New Haven High School, I present a qualitative study of students' and teachers' emotional experiences related to learning and being at school. Guided by a reflexive methodology, key reflective sensibilities emerged as meaningful when analyzing discourses: social constructionism, organizational socialization, and feminist-poststructuralism. Specifically, theoretical frameworks for the major themes were crafted using structuration, narrative, dialectical, boundary-management, emotion socialization, instructional, learning, and critical theories. Results coalesce around four key themes which include analysis of (1) how emotion shapes teaching and learning; (2) how discursive and material structures and practices shape emotion rules and experience in schooling; (3) the ways in which peers groups, close friendships, and romantic relationships evoke, mediate, and socialize emotion; and (4) the influence of home life on students' emotional socialization and well-being at school. The impact of dualistic thinking on school life is discussed within each of these themes. Specifically, the consequences of viewing emotion as separate from reason, and public spheres as separate from private spheres are examined. This project attempts to disrupt dispassionate views of schools that ignore the emotional realities of teaching and learning, and, conversely, explore ways in which emotion both enables and constrains students' abilities to learn and thrive at school. In so doing, I draw attention to taken-for-granted ideologies and practices shaping emotional experience, and interrogate the ramifications of dominant societal and educational discourses about emotion. Of particular importance are the ways in which these discourses pervade student life and (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2023, College of Sciences and Health Professions

The process of perceiving and expressing emotion is multifaceted and governed by a plethora of variables. Culture and group membership have been shown to influence how emotions are displayed and interpreted. Individuals demonstrate inaccurate emoting perception to members of an out-group. Furthermore, perceiving emotions depends on contextual cues, preconceived biases, and familiarity. Cultural cues have an embedded meaning that guide emotional inferences. For the present study, a sample of 40 Muslim female participants were shown pictures of veiled female faces. The type of veil was be manipulated using an Islamic niqab or simply a scarf and a winter cap. Participants were asked to identify the emotion being displayed (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, or neutral) within the veiled faces whereby only the eye region of each face will be visible. Overall, participants were able to identify happy and angry faces more accurately compared to neutral, sad and fear. Participants showed no differentiation in perceiving the covered faces between the two head covering conditions This suggests that cultural familiarity with face processing in the presence of head coverings may account for this absence of distinction.

MA, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Negative interpretation bias, the tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as negative or threatening, is associated with reports of intense and more frequent negative affect. However, there is a relative paucity of work seeking to determine whether this cognitive bias might account for individual differences in positive affect. Given the wealth of benefits associated with positive emotional experiences, such as greater psychological wellbeing and better physical health, this investigation tested the influence of negative interpretation bias on positive emotion responses to emotionally-evocative film clips. In particular, we tested the potential role that negative interpretation biases might play in reducing reports of positive emotion in individuals with generally higher trait negativity. Mediation analyses across two samples of college students at a large, Midwestern public university revealed partial effects of negative interpretation bias on the association between trait negativity and reports of positive emotion following emotionally-evocative films in one sample (b = −0.051), but no significant mediation in the other sample. A potential reason for these mixed findings may be that the demand of the context was too clear, given prior evidence of the role of ambiguity in bias. Future investigation using less explicit stimuli may help to determine whether negative interpretation bias reliably drives low positive emotional reactivity and what role context may play on this process.