Environmental Support and Strain of Emotional Experiences During a Challenging Task

Abstract

Objective: Emotions encode our experience of an event and are implicated in motivations to engage in activities in daily life. This study examined how restoration and pressure elements within the environment can influence positive emotions and the interplay of positive and negative emotions while engaging in a challenging task. Method: The study employed a 2x2 (restoration vs. not X pressure vs. not) within-person design and took place within a simulated home office. Under each condition, 57 participants (age 50-82, 53% women) played a word-search puzzle, reflected for 30 seconds and provided sentiment and affect data by telling stories and endorsing adjectives about feelings while playing the game, respectively. Restoration and pressure were manipulated turning an electric fireplace on/off and the absence/presence of remote assessment via video conferencing. Multilevel models regressed positive emotion on negative emotion and study conditions. The negative emotion coefficient represented the interplay of positive and negative emotions, with weaker and stronger effects indicating complexity and polarity, respectively. Results: The restoration element significantly increased sentiment complexity, positive affect in the absence of pressure, and affective polarity in the presence of pressure. The pressive element differentiated positive affect across age groups and the interplay of positive and negative affect. In the presence of pressure, positive affect and affective complexity were greater for older adults. Discussion: Results suggest that elements within the environment could support expansive behaviors by influencing socioemotional experiences during a challenging task.