The Emergence and Consequences of Self-focused Vs. World-focused Experiences of Affect
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The perception of eeriness in old house is part of the experience of fear. I draw from prior work in philosophy and affective science to argue that affect can be experienced as a property of one’s internal state (self-focused) or as a perceived property in the external world (world-focused). As of yet, there has been no published empirical work examining self-focused vs. world-focused affect, nor is there any empirical work examining the mechanisms through which self-focused vs. world-focused affect arise and their consequences for subjective experiences and behavior. I conducted three studies to empirically examine self-focused vs. world-focused affect. Study 1 investigated whether self-focused and world-focused affect are experienced differently using self-report measures. Study 2 expanded on the findings of Study 1 by using direct and indirect measures of affect. Finally, Study 3 investigated whether self-focused vs. world-focused affect led to differences in regulation of affect vs. behavioral avoidance. Study 3 also investigated attention as a key mechanism that gives rise to self-focused vs. world-focused affect. Across these three studies I find evidence that self-focused (vs. world-focused affect) may be less intense and be associated with more reflection and regulation.
DOI: 10.17615/6dsx-ap85
Author: Lee, Kent M
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3174183662