dianatamir.bsky.social
Psych Professor at Princeton studying how brains think about people. https://psnlab.princeton.edu/
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Prolific Poster
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Across two EMA studies conducted during COVID, we find that face-to-face interaction predicts higher short- and long-term wellbeing; face-to-face interaction outperforms virtual interactions in supporting well-being; and voice calling and texting are the best alternatives to face-to-face interaction
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(5/5) So why do we think? Using natural language processing and machine learning, we find evidence for two longstanding hypotheses about the function of spontaneous thought: optimizing memory and keeping the mind focused on ongoing goal pursuits.
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(4/5) Spontaneous thoughts also prioritize current concerns (here, COVID). But, instead of jumping when content dips too low, they jump when it's highest. This pattern was strongest for people with the greatest concern. We’re still trying to figure out what this pattern means.
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(3/5) If memory optimization is a goal of spontaneous thought, thoughts should jump when episodic detail dips too low. This is exactly what we find. The first thought in a new cluster then contains a lot of detail. Subsequent thoughts decrease in detail until the next jump.
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(2/5) We looked at thought jumps to reveal its function. Spontaneous thought is clustered - thoughts explore one topic until they jump to a new one. Thoughts should jump away from a cluster when it no longer contributes to its function, and land on a new one that does contribute.
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(5/5) In sum, being good at predicting emotions by reading internal and external cues may be key to social success, and a novel target for social skills intervention.
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(4/5) Individuals with communication difficulties common in ASD struggle with emotion prediction. This is partly due to less typical emotional transitions and difficulties understanding both their own and others’ emotions.
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(3/5) People learn how emotions transition by observing their own emotions internally & others’ emotions, externally. We find that people predict emotions better when their own emotion transitions align with the general public & they can accurately read others' emotions.
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(2/5) Emotion prediction is the ability to intuit what someone will be feeling next, given their current emotion.
Why does emotion prediction matter? 🤷♂️
Better emotion prediction = stronger social networks & less loneliness.
Who gets these benefits?