Style in the perception of affect and its relation to mental health.
Item
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Title
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Style in the perception of affect and its relation to mental health.
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Identifier
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AAI9605572
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identifier
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9605572
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Creator
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Bernet, Michael.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Harold Wilensky
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Health Sciences, Mental Health | Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, Personality
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Abstract
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A 93-item self-report measure, Styles in Perception of Affect Scale (SIPOAS), was developed to explore the construct "Being in Touch with One's Feelings," within the framework of classical and contemporary theories of emotions. SIPOAS discriminates among preferences for three perceptual styles conceptualized as mediating between bodily feelings and the resultant emotional states: Based on Body (BB) style perceives emotions through integrated awareness of subtle physical changes; Emphasis on Evaluation (EE) interprets feelings by concerned introspection; Looking to Logic (LL) uses reasoning to understand and control feelings.;Scale items reflected face and content validity: internal reliability of the SIPOAS styles ranged from.81 to.86 {dollar}(N=987),{dollar} mean item-scale correlation was.42.;The BB style correlates with established measures of mental health and with warmth, aesthetics and feelings; EE correlates with neuroticism, vigilance, apprehension and tension; LL shows no correlation with mental health but correlates negatively with feelings and warmth. Ratings of mental health by the participants' practitioners show similar correlations. Participants' self-report of awareness of small changes in bodily feelings correlate positively with BB, and negatively with EE and LL. Self reports of general satisfaction correlate positively with BB, negatively with EE.;Mean EE score decreases significantly with age; BB score rises with age among those reporting extensive therapeutic experience; LL rises absent extensive therapy. The high and consistent correlation of EE with the components of neuroticism and discontent suggests that limited awareness of internal bodily cues as mediators between feeling and emotion, may be a significant, and hitherto neglected, component of neuroticism.;The commonalties of effective therapies were also explored. BB correlated highly with the personal relevance of various psychotherapies (e.g. Gestalt, Jungian, Rogerian), body modalities (e.g. dance and massage therapies), and spiritual disciplines (e.g. meditation); LL correlated negatively. Combinations of psychotherapies with physical and spiritual modalities significantly enhanced correlations with BB.;The study further suggests that therapies which address physical feelings at the sub-cortical level, and those which increase the ability to perceive subtle feelings, may optimize mental health and personal functioning.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
