PURPOSE:Loneliness is high among emerging adults in the United States, which leads to unique health risks among emerging adults with lower subjective social status. We aimed to optimize evidence-based intervention messages as video social media posts to encourage in-person social interactions. METHODS:We conducted a between-persons online experiment with young adults (aged 18-29, lower subjective social status, and low-to-moderate psychosocial health). Participants were randomized to visual framing (showing socially connected peers, showing lonely peers, showing safe spaces, or nonintervention control videos) and message framing for intervention conditions only (intervention advice from a peer only vs. institutional source). Participants rated their message reactions for six video posts. RESULTS:Young adult participants (N = 1,103) reported that all intervention messages encouraged social interactions (i.e., perceived message effectiveness) more than the control video posts, p < 0.001. The connected peer and lonely peer messages led to greater perceived social presence and relevance than the safe spaces or control messages, both p < 0.001. Connected peer posts (vs. lonely) led to greater positive affect, whereas lonely peer posts (vs. connected) led to greater identification with the person posting and (unintended) negative affect, all p < 0.05. There were no differences for the message framing (peer vs. institutional), all p > 0.05. DISCUSSION:Video social media posts are a promising approach to communicate intervention advice to young adults experiencing economic hardship. Showing peers in videos-successfully connected or feeling lonely-is key to positive message reactions and for encouraging in-person social interactions.

As a group, family caregivers of people with dementia (PWDs) have substantially elevated levels of depression and anxiety, compared to same-aged non-caregiving adults. However, there is striking variation in mental health among individual caregivers. Previous research on predictors of the sources of these individual differences has focused on characteristics of individual caregivers and PWDs (rather than on the caregiver-PWD relationship), self-report measures (rather than behavioral measures), and negative emotion (rather than positive emotion). We examined 185 caregiver-PWD dyads who had an unrehearsed 10-minute conversation about an area of conflict in the laboratory. Video recordings were coded for Behavioral Indicators of Positivity Resonance (BIPR), which derives from Positivity Resonance Theory and assesses dyad-level behavioral expressions of positive affect, mutual warmth, and synchrony. Caregivers reported their level of depression, anxiety, and emotional well-being and PWDs underwent a comprehensive neurological and neuropsychological evaluation. Pearson’s correlations revealed that greater dyad-level BIPR was associated with caregivers’ higher emotional well-being (r(181) = .19, p = .008), lower depression (r(179) = -.17, p = .025), and lower anxiety (r(180) = -.15, p = .045). Regression analyses revealed that these associations were still obtained after controlling for caregiver age and sex and PWD dementia severity, cognitive impairment, and neuropsychiatric behavior (emotional well-being ß = .18, p = .012; depression ß = -.15, p = .039; anxiety ß = -.15, p = .044). Future studies should determine whether interventions that increase co-experienced positive emotions among caregiver-PWD dyads help buffer caregivers from adverse mental health consequences.

The affective quality of social interaction is linked to the well-being of individuals, relationships, and communities. This construct has been measured in multiple ways, albeit rarely concurrently. The current study tests for convergent validity across three methodologically distinct measures of the affective quality of social interaction. In a video-recorded laboratory session, a sample of university students ( N = 274) got acquainted with an unknown peer in a 10-min semi-structured conversation that used the fast friends procedure with escalating self-disclosure. After the conversation, participants privately completed the Perceived Positivity Resonance Scale to indicate the degree to which they experienced mutual, kind-hearted positive affect. Later, trained observers coded videos (with audio) to identify wide-ranging dyad-level behavioral indicators of positivity resonance. In addition, audio recordings were submitted to an automated voice-to-text transcription service that provided high-resolution time stamps for turn-taking to compute participants’ conversational response time. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated good fit with all three indicators loading significantly on a single latent factor. In addition, relative to single indicators, the resulting factor score (i.e., affective quality of social interaction) showed the most consistent associations with prosocial tendencies and positive mental health. These findings (1) are the first to show the convergence of self-reported and observer-coded positivity resonance, (2) extend the evidence that these indices of positivity resonance align with conversational response time in the context of strangers getting acquainted, and (3) replicate past evidence of benefits linked to the positive affective quality of social interaction. Discussion centers on theoretical and methodological implications for studies of social connectedness.

Social interactions with strangers carry benefits for individual and community well-being. Whereas ample research has focused on social connection as vital to health, less has addressed communal and structural barriers that limit people’s ease of experiencing high-quality social interactions with unknown others in the community. One potential barrier may be the extent which people generally trust unspecified others in the area in which they live. Community trust may thus alter interaction with strangers. In one correlational and two experimental studies (total N = 1867), we tested whether general trust in the community shapes the positive emotional quality of social interactions with strangers. We found that community trust, whether reported or manipulated, predicts the positive emotional quality of interactions with strangers, but not close others. Additionally, when randomized to perceive one’s own community as high in economic inequality, people expected lower quality connection with a stranger later that day, an effect mediated by reduced community trust. These findings suggest that community contexts influence the quality of social interaction with strangers, which is critical for developing interventions and policy to improve individual and public health.

Positivity resonance is a collective emotion experienced by two or more individuals during moments of shared positive affect; it is theorized to constitute the experience of love, yet this claim has not been empirically tested. Using archival data from 148 long-term married couples, we examined whether dyad-level indicators of positivity resonance are linked to dyad-level indicators of trait and state love. Trait love was assessed as a latent variable using partners' ratings of their spouse on validated adjectives prototypic of love (e.g., affectionate, warm) and previously validated nonverbal cues of love displayed in synchrony (i.e., head tilts, body leans, Duchenne smiles, and nodding) during a recorded spousal interaction. State love was assessed as synchronous nonverbal cues of love during successive 30-s segments of this interaction. A global measure of positivity resonance, as well as measures of its constituent components of co-expressed and co-experienced positive affect (but not physiological linkage), were positively associated with the latent index of trait love. Within-couple variation over time in the global measure of positivity resonance was associated with within-couple variation over time in state love. These findings provide initial support for convergent validity between the measures of positivity resonance and love at trait and state levels.

OBJECTIVE:Text analysis is a form of psychological assessment that involves converting qualitative information (text) into quantitative data. We tested whether automated text analysis using Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) can match the "gold standard" of manual text analysis, even when assessing a highly nuanced construct like spirituality. METHOD:In Study 1, N = 2199 US undergraduates wrote about their goals (N = 6597 texts) and completed self-reports of spirituality and theoretically related constructs (religiousness and mental health). In Study 2, N = 357 community adults wrote short essays (N = 714 texts) and completed trait self-reports, 5 weeks of daily diaries, and behavioral measures of spirituality. Trained research assistants and GPTs then coded the texts for spirituality. RESULTS:The GPTs performed just as well as human raters. Human- and GPT-generated scores were remarkably consistent and showed equivalent associations with other measures of spirituality and theoretically related constructs. CONCLUSIONS:GPTs can match the gold standard set by human raters, even in sophisticated forms of text analysis, but require a fraction of the time and labor.

We propose that the emotional quality of people's interactions with acquaintances (i.e. weak ties) and strangers contributes to well-being. We test whether a new micro-intervention can raise the quality of these interactions. We randomized young adults (N = 335) to this connectedness micro-intervention or a control intervention. Both interventions were delivered via a psychoeducational video followed by a brief conversation with a virtual human, with whom participants developed if-then plans to carry out their assigned behavioral goal. Pre-intervention, high-quality weak-tie and stranger interactions were associated with lower loneliness and greater mental health, independent of strong-tie interaction quality. Experimental data showed that the connectedness intervention improved the emotional quality of participants' interactions with weak ties and strangers over 2 days, evident in participants' episodic self-reports and faster in-lab conversational response time. Discussion centers on implications for developing scalable behavioral interventions to improve well-being.

Individual and household behaviors are key targets for climate change mitigation efforts and studies suggest that people who enact more pro-environmental behaviors tend to experience higher levels of well-being. Yet these studies have typically used coarse-grained, retrospective reports that offer limited insight into the immediate impacts of specific behaviors. In three studies (total N = 8,522 observations, N = 1,353 US and UK participants) we adopted a highly fine-grained approach. Using the day reconstruction method, we zoomed in on particular moments in everyday life to examine links between specific behaviors and different aspects of well-being. This revealed generally positive associations, but also substantial variation. Pro-environmental behaviors are more closely and consistently associated with positive and especially “eudaimonic” dimensions of well-being, and more active, effortful, and social behaviors tended to show stronger positive associations. Although the relationships between pro-environmental behaviors and well-being are considerably more complex than prior research has indicated, these findings continue to suggest that ecological and individual well-being can be pursued in tandem.

To address the challenge of predicting psychological response to a psychosocial intervention we tested the possibility that baseline gene expression profiles might provide information above and beyond baseline psychometric measures. The genomics strategy utilized individual level inferences of transcription factor activity to predict changes in loneliness and affect in response to two well-established meditation interventions. Initial algorithm development analyses focused on three a-priori defined stress-related gene regulation pathways (CREB, GR, and NF-ĸB) as inferred from TELiS promoter-based bioinformatic analysis of basal (pre-intervention) blood samples from a randomized-controlled trial comparing a compassion-based meditation (CM, n = 45) with mindfulness meditation (MM, n = 44). Greater baseline CREB activity (but not GR or NF-ĸB) predicted greater reductions from pre- to post-intervention in loneliness (b = -0.24, p = 0.016) and negative emotions (b = -0.23, p = 0.017) for CM, but not for MM. A second algorithm validation analysis applied the same approach to another randomized controlled trial comparing CM (n = 42) with MM (n = 38) and a health education control condition (n = 41). Similarly, greater baseline CREB activity predicted greater pre- to post-intervention decreases in loneliness (b = -0.24, p = 0.029) and greater increases in satisfaction with life (b = 0.21, p = 0.046) for the CM condition only. Baseline CREB activity was not associated with baseline psychometric measures in either study. Results raise the possibility that pre-intervention gene expression profiles may reflect non-conscious psychobiological states that affect psychological responses to distinct psychosocial interventions, and thereby help personalize intervention selection.

Interparental interactions have an important influence on child well-being and development. Yet prior theory and research have primarily focused on interparental conflict as contributing to child maladjustment, which leaves out the critical question of how interparental positive interactions—such as expressed gratitude, capitalization, and shared laughter—may benefit child growth and development. In this article, we integrate theory and research in family, relationship, and affective science to propose a new framework for understanding how the heretofore underexamined positive interparental interactions influence children: interparental positivity spillover theory (IPST). IPST proposes that, distinct from the influence of conflict, interparental positive interactions spill over into children’s experiences in the form of their (a) experience of positive emotions, (b) beneficially altered perceptions of their parents, and (c) emulation of their parents’ positive interpersonal behaviors. This spillover is theorized to promote beneficial cognitive, behavioral, social, and physiological outcomes in children in the short term (i.e., immediately after a specific episode of interparental positivity, or on a given day) as well as cumulatively across time. As a framework, IPST generates a host of novel and testable predictions to guide future research, all of which have important implications for the mental health, well-being, and positive development of children and families.

Social interactions with strangers carry benefits for individual and community well-being. Whereas ample research has focused on social connection as vital to health, less has addressed communal and structural barriers that limit people’s ease of experiencing high-quality social interactions with unknown others in the community. In one correlational and two experimental studies (total N = 1,867), we test whether generalized trust shapes the positive emotional quality of community social interactions. We found generalized trust, whether reported or manipulated, predicts the positive emotional quality of interactions with strangers, but not close others. Additionally, when randomized to perceive one’s own community as high in economic inequality, people expected lower quality connection with a stranger later that day, an effect mediated by reduced generalized trust. These findings suggest that community contexts influence the quality of social interaction with strangers, which is critical for developing interventions and policy to improve individual and public health.

Introduction: Psychological well-being (PWB) may influence cardiovascular health (CVH) through what the American Heart Association has called the “mind-heart-body connection”. However, few studies have examined longitudinal relationships between positive PWB and CVH. We estimated associations between trajectories of PWB and Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) achievement. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that women who maintained high levels of PWB over time would have higher LE8 scores later in life. Methods: We conducted group-based trajectory modelling in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) to identify latent trajectories of PWB among those with ≥3 measurements of purpose in life (PIL, N=29,717) and personal growth (PG, N=12,148). PIL and PG scores were calculated according to participants’ responses to the FACIT-Sp Meaning Subscale and Ryff’s Scales of PWB, collected between 2000-2021. The selection of trajectory models was informed by statistical criteria and prior literature. Late life CVH (2018-2021) was summarized by LE8, with scoring adapted based on available data: self-reported treatment for hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, and historical food frequency questionnaires were used. Logistic regression was performed to estimate associations between PIL and PG trajectory group membership and high CVH (LE8≥80), summarized by odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Logistic models adjusted for baseline age, WHI study arm, race, marital status, income, and education in those with complete data (PIL N=28,033; PG N=11,495). Results: On average, PIL trajectories spanned 17 years (age 66-83) and three latent groups were identified: high/decreasing (n=12,073; 47.4%), moderate/decreasing (n=12,096; 44.1%), and low/stable (n=2,548; 8.6%). Compared to those in the low/stable group, women in the moderate/decreasing and high/decreasing PIL groups had significantly higher odds of having high CVH (OR 1.47 [1.35, 1.61] and OR 2.09 [1.92, 2.28], respectively). These associations were robust to adjustment for demographics and social determinants of health: moderate/decreasing (aOR 1.40 [1.27, 1.53]), high/decreasing (aOR 1.88 [1.71, 2.07]). PG trajectories spanned 9 years (age 74-83) and high/stable (n=3,832, 31.5%), moderate/stable (n=5,692, 46.9%), and low/stable (n=2,624, 21.6%) latent groups were identified. Membership in moderate/stable (OR 1.53 [1.40, 1.69] and high/stable (OR 1.95 [1.75, 2.16]) PG trajectory groups was also significantly associated with odds of having high CVH. These associations remained significant after adjustment (moderate/stable aOR 1.40 [1.27, 1.55]; high/stable aOR 1.64 [1.46, 1.84]). Conclusions: Maintaining high levels of PIL and PG may contribute to better CVH late in life. Further research is needed to investigate how strategies to improve PWB may be integrated within cardiovascular care among older adults.

Caring for a person with dementia (PWD) can produce declines in caregivers’ emotional well-being and physical functioning, which could result from disruptions in the emotional linkage between PWDs and caregivers. We examined the effects of interpersonal linkage in emotional behaviors on emotional well-being and physical functioning in caregivers and control partners. Forty-five PWD–caregiver dyads and 12 control dyads had a 10-min unrehearsed conflict conversation in the laboratory. We quantified positive and negative emotional linkage as the covariation between objectively coded positive and negative emotional behaviors during the conversation. Caregivers and one partner in the control dyads completed questionnaires concerning their emotional well-being and physical functioning. We found that lower positive emotional linkage was associated with lower emotional well-being in caregivers and control partners. We did not find similar effects with negative emotional linkage or for physical functioning. We offer possible explanations for these findings and implications for assessing caregiver risk.

Background: Young adults (ages 18-39 years) with cancer face unique risks for negative psychosocial outcomes. These risks could be lessened with positive psychology interventions adapted for social media if intervention messages encourage intentions to do the activities and positive message reactions and if young adults with cancer perceive few downsides. Objective: This study aimed to assess whether social media messages from evidence-based positive psychology interventions encouraged intentions to do the intervention activities and intended positive message reactions, overall and among sociodemographic or cancer characteristic subgroups. We also aimed to identify perceived downsides of the activity that would negatively impact the interventions' feasibility. Methods: Young adults (ages 18-39 years, cancer diagnosis ages 15-39 years) were randomized to a between-persons web-based experiment. Participants viewed a social media message with social context cues (vs not) for 1 of 2 types of intervention (acts of kindness vs social connectedness). Participants reported intentions to do the activity, along with their perceived social presence in the message (how much they felt the sense of others) and forecasted positivity resonance (whether they would experience socially connected positive emotions when doing the activity), with 5-point items. Participants also reported their self-efficacy (how certain they can do the intervention activity) with a 0-100 item and potential downsides of the activity categorically. Results: More than 4 out of 5 young adults with cancer (N=396) reported they "somewhat" (coded as 3) to "extremely" (5) intended to do the intervention activity (336/396, 84.8%; mean ranged from 3.4-3.6, SD 0.9-1.0), perceived social presence in the messages (350/396, 88.4%; mean 3.8, SD 0.7), and forecasted positivity resonance (349/396, 88.1%; mean 3.8-3.9, SD 0.8). Participants reported having self-efficacy to complete the activity (mean 70.7% of possible 100%, SD 15.4%-17.2%). Most (320/396, 80.8%) did not think of the downsides of the interventions. Messages with social context cues (vs not) and both intervention types were rated similarly (all P >.05). Black young adults reported lower intentions, perceived social presence, and forecasted positivity resonance than White young adults (all P <.001). Participants in active treatment (vs completed) reported greater intentions to do the activities (P<.001). Conclusions: Positive psychology intervention messages adapted for social media were perceived as acceptable and feasible among young adults with cancer. The social media-based messages encouraged increasing one's social connectedness and performing acts of kindness. Young adults with cancer also predicted they would have feelings of positive social engagement (positivity resonance) when doing the interventions-the key ingredient for experiencing the health benefits of these activities. This study provides promising evidence for the development of age-appropriate, highly scalable interventions to improve psychosocial health among young adults with cancer.

Background: The efficacy of vaccination depends on its widespread adoption, making vaccine uptake not just a personal health behavior but also a prosocial one. Previous research has shown that everyday moments of coexperienced positive emotions (positivity resonance) are associated with higher prosocial tendencies, and these moments, in turn, prospectively predict people's pandemic hygiene behaviors. Yet, limited research has explored how moments of positivity resonance may have predicted greater COVID-19 vaccine intentions during the early months of the pandemic. Methods: We longitudinally surveyed a national U.S. sample across four weeks during the fall of 2020. We tested the hypothesis that positivity resonance with strangers and acquaintances indirectly predicts COVID-19 vaccine intentions, as statistically mediated by prosocial tendencies. We also aimed to replicate the indirect effects of positivity resonance on hygiene behaviors (such as mask wearing and hand washing), effects that have been demonstrated in previous research. Results: In a pre-registered structural equation model, we found that perceived positivity resonance experienced with strangers and acquaintances prospectively predicted prosocial tendencies, which in turn amplified people's COVID-19 vaccine intentions (8 = 0.053) and hygiene behaviors - i.e., social distancing (8 = 0.032), mask wearing (8 = 0.027), hand washing (8 = 0.049). Conclusions: Understanding the effects of high-quality social interactions with strangers and acquaintances on vaccine intentions and hygiene behaviors is critical, particularly given the likelihood of emerging pandemics and novel vaccines. We discuss theoretical and practical implications related to perceived positivity resonance, prosocial tendencies, and vaccination uptake for novel vaccines.

Positivity resonance, defined as a co-experienced kind-hearted positive emotion, is commonly observed to strengthen relationships in the United States. However, it is unclear whether levels of positivity resonance differ across cultures. Prior research suggests that in cultures that are perceived as offering more freedom and choice in social ties (defined as high relational mobility cultures), individuals more frequently engage in adaptive strategies to build relationships. We hypothesized that positivity resonance, achieved via such adaptive strategies, might be similarly linked to cultural variation in relational mobility. Across two studies ( N = 5,711) we found supportive evidence for our prediction that, compared with European American participants, East Asian participants showed lower levels of positivity resonance with strong social ties. Such differences were in part explained by lower levels of perceived relational mobility among East Asian participants. Comparable effects were not present for weak social ties. Implications for theories of culture and emotion are discussed.

Purpose To describe caregiver psychological processing during the 12 weeks after transplant and the potential role of positive emotions in caregiving experiences. Methods We conducted a longitudinal qualitative descriptive study and interviewed 11 BMT caregivers monthly for 12-weeks post-transplant about their experiences and psychological processing. We analyzed 38 interviews using directed content analysis based on guiding theories and inductive in vivo coding to develop themes. Results The majority of participants appraised caregiving as a challenge that needed to be met. Caregivers described feeling positive emotions throughout the time after transplant (gratitude, interest, and hope). We identified two new themes: mirroring (caregiver feelings reflecting patient status) and emotion regulation (hiding negative emotions and displaying positive emotions when with the patient). Implications Findings provide further evidence that interventions focused on emotion regulation and positive emotion experiences during caregiving to reduce the negative effects of caregiving related stress may be promising.