University of Twente Student Theses
The Effect of Subclinical Anhedonia on the Association Between Event Pleasantness and Positive Affective Reactivity in Daily Life
Weinberg, Anne (2023) The Effect of Subclinical Anhedonia on the Association Between Event Pleasantness and Positive Affective Reactivity in Daily Life.
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| Abstract: | Objective: Anhedonia, a diminished lack of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, impairs positive affective (PA) functioning in daily life. However, anhedonia’s underlying mechanisms influencing the experience of momentary PA reactivity and savouring of daily positive events are yet not fully understood. Methods: The experience sampling method (ESM) was chosen to assess whether subclinical anhedonia moderated the association between positive events and momentary PA reactivity and savouring in young adults. The sample consisted of 52 healthy individuals (Mage = 23.98, SDage = 3.05; 86.5% female) who were assessed ten times a day over eight consecutive days. Results: Linear mixed models (LMM) results revealed that subclinical anhedonia was not associated with average momentary PA over the assessment period. Moreover, a significant interaction was found between event pleasantness and subclinical anhedonia on momentary PA. Lastly, no difference was observed in savouring PA of a positive event between individuals scoring high or low in subclinical anhedonia. Conclusion: Contrary to expectation, this implies that the PA reactivity mechanisms of anhedonia are less flat and rather similar in daily life between high and low anhedonic individuals. However, the major implication of the sample’s low mean average of subclinical anhedonia needs to be considered while interpreting the results. Future research should combine laboratory and ESM research to capture the dynamic and complex interplay of PA reactivity in subclinical anhedonia and design new depression theories accordingly. Keywords: subclinical anhedonia, event pleasantness, positive affect, savouring, affect reactivity, ESM |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 70 social sciences in general, 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/97228 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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