Papers by Gillian Sandstrom
... [email: [email protected]] Gillian Sandstrom is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Psychology ... more ... [email: [email protected]] Gillian Sandstrom is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Appendix A. Music excerpts from the four quadrants of Russell's circumplex model Negative valence Positive valence ...
Measuring mental well-being with mobile sensing has been an increasingly active research topic. P... more Measuring mental well-being with mobile sensing has been an increasingly active research topic. Pervasiveness of smartphones combined with the convenience of mobile app distribution platforms (e.g., Google Play) provide a tremendous opportunity to reach out to millions of users. However, the studies at the confluence of mental health and mobile sensing have been longitudinally limited, controlled, or confined to a small number of participants. In this paper we report on what we believe is the largest longitudinal in-the-wild study of mood through smartphones. We describe an Android app to collect participants' self-reported moods and system triggered experience sampling data while passively measuring their physical activity, sociability, and mobility via their device's sensors. We report the results of a large-scale analysis of the data collected for about three years from 18,000 users.
The paper makes three primary contributions. First, we show how we used physical and software sensors in smartphones to automatically and accurately identify routines. Then, we demonstrate the strong correlation between these routines and users' personality, well-being perception, and other psychological variables. Finally, we explore predictability of users' mood using their passive sensing data. Our findings show that, especially for weekends, mobile sensing can be used to predict users' mood with an accuracy of about 70%. These results have the potential to impact the design of future mobile apps for mood/behavior tracking and interventions.
Physical activity, both exercise and non-exercise, has far-reaching benefits to physical health. ... more Physical activity, both exercise and non-exercise, has far-reaching benefits to physical health. Although exercise has also been linked to psychological health (e.g., happiness), little research has examined physical activity more broadly, taking into account non-exercise activity as well as exercise. We examined the relationship between physical activity (measured broadly) and happiness using a smartphone application. This app has collected self-reports of happiness and physical activity from over ten thousand participants, while passively gathering information about physical activity from the accelerometers on users' phones. The findings reveal that individuals who are more physically active are happier. Further, individuals are happier in the moments when they are more physically active. These results emerged when assessing activity subjectively, via self-report, or objectively, via participants' smartphone accelerometers. Overall, this research suggests that not only exercise but also non-exercise physical activity is related to happiness. This research further demonstrates how smartphones can be used to collect large-scale data to examine psychological, behavioral, and health-related phenomena as they naturally occur in everyday life.
Can we predict which conversations are enjoyable without hearing the words that are spo-ken? A to... more Can we predict which conversations are enjoyable without hearing the words that are spo-ken? A total of 36 participants used a mobile app, My Social Ties, which collected data about 473 conversations that the participants engaged in as they went about their daily lives. We tested whether conversational properties (conversation length, rate of turn taking, proportion of speaking time) and acoustical properties (volume, pitch) could predict enjoyment of a conversation. Surprisingly, people enjoyed their conversations more when they spoke a smaller proportion of the time. This pilot study demonstrates how conversational properties of social interactions can predict psychologically meaningful outcomes, such as how much a person enjoys the conversation. It also illustrates how mobile phones can provide a window into everyday social experiences and well-being.
Does personality predict how people feel in different types of situations? The present research a... more Does personality predict how people feel in different types of situations? The present research addressed this question using data from several thousand individuals who used a mood tracking smartphone application for several weeks. Results from our analyses indicated that people's momentary affect was linked to their location, and provided preliminary evidence that the relationship between state affect and location might be moderated by personality. The results highlight the importance of looking at person-situation relationships at both the trait-and state-levels and also demonstrate how smartphones can be used to collect person and situation information as people go about their everyday lives.
Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, Jan 11, 2016
Does spending money on others (prosocial spending) improve the cardiovascular health of community... more Does spending money on others (prosocial spending) improve the cardiovascular health of community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure? In Study 1, 186 older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure participating in the Midlife in the U.S. Study (MIDUS) were examined. In Study 2, 73 older adults diagnosed with high blood pressure were assigned to spend money on others or to spend money on themselves. In Study 1, the more money people spent on others, the lower their blood pressure was 2 years later. In Study 2, participants who were assigned to spend money on others for 3 consecutive weeks subsequently exhibited lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to participants assigned to spend money on themselves. The magnitude of these effects was comparable to the effects of interventions such as antihypertensive medication or exercise. Together, these findings suggest that spending money on others shapes cardiovascular health, thereby providing a pathway ...
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2012
When students chatter in class it can be disruptive, but could that chatter also have some redeem... more When students chatter in class it can be disruptive, but could that chatter also have some redeeming qualities? We asked students to keep track of their social interactions in a particular class. On days when students had more social interactions than usual, they reported a greater sense of belonging, which was, in turn, related to greater class enjoyment (i.e., a withinperson effect). Further, students who tended to have more social interactions than others reported a greater sense of belonging, which was, in turn, related to greater class enjoyment (i.e., a between-person effect). These results held when examining daily ratings of social interactions, belonging, and class enjoyment, and when examining overall end-of-semester ratings. Critically, higher average daily feelings of belonging mediated the effect of the number of average daily classroom interactions on students' end-of-semester class enjoyment and marginally on grades. For educators, promoting peer-to-peer conversation may create a positive effect by which students judge the overall class experience positively.
When we buy our daily cup of coffee, sometimes we engage in a social interaction with the barista... more When we buy our daily cup of coffee, sometimes we engage in a social interaction with the barista, and sometimes we are in a rush. Every day we have opportunities to transform potentially impersonal, instrumental exchanges into genuine social interactions, and the happiness literature suggests that we may reap benefits by doing so; in other words, treating a service provider like we would an acquaintance (i.e., weak tie) might make us happier. In the current study, people who had a social interaction with a barista (i.e., smiled, made eye contact, and had a brief conversation) experienced more positive affect than people who were as efficient as possible. Further, we found initial evidence that these effects were mediated by feelings of belonging. These results suggest that, although people are often reluctant to have a genuine social interaction with a stranger, they are happier when they treat a stranger like a weak tie.
Listening to music often leads to physiological responses. Do these physiological responses conta... more Listening to music often leads to physiological responses. Do these physiological responses contain sufficient information to infer emotion induced in the listener? The current study explores this question by attempting to predict judgments of “felt” emotion from physiological responses alone using linear and neural network models. We measured five channels of peripheral physiology from 20 participants—heart rate (HR), respiration, galvanic skin response, and activity in corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major facial muscles. Using valence and arousal (VA) dimensions, participants rated their felt emotion after listening to each of 12 classical music excerpts. After extracting features from the five channels, we examined their correlation with VA ratings, and then performed multiple linear regression to see if a linear relationship between the physiological responses could account for the ratings. Although linear models predicted a significant amount of variance in arousal ratings, they were unable to do so with valence ratings. We then used a neural network to provide a non-linear account of the ratings. The network was trained on the mean ratings of eight of the 12 excerpts and tested on the remainder. Performance of the neural network confirms that physiological responses alone can be used to predict musically induced emotion. The non-linear model derived from the neural network was more accurate than linear models derived from multiple linear regression, particularly along the valence dimension. A secondary analysis allowed us to quantify the relative contributions of inputs to the non-linear model. The study represents a novel approach to understanding the complex relationship between physiological responses and musically induced emotion.
dunn.psych.ubc.ca, 2012
Above and beyond the benefits of biases such as positivity and assumed similarity, does the accur... more Above and beyond the benefits of biases such as positivity and assumed similarity, does the accuracy of our first impressions have immediate and long-term effects on relationship development? Assessing accuracy as distinctive self-other agreement, we found that more accurate personality impressions of new classmates were marginally associated with greater liking concurrently, and significantly predicted greater interaction throughout the semester and greater liking and interest in future interactions by the end of the semester. Importantly, greater distinctive self-other agreement continued to promote social interaction even after controlling for Time 1 liking, suggesting that these positive effects of accuracy operate independently of initial liking. Forming positively biased first impressions was a strong predictor of both initial and longer-term relationship development, while assumed similarity showed strong initial but not long-term associations. In sum, independent of the benefits of biased impressions, forming accurate impressions has a positive impact on relationship development among new acquaintances.
Psychology of Music, Jan 1, 2011
Despite the rise in research investigating music and emotion over the last decade, there are no v... more Despite the rise in research investigating music and emotion over the last decade, there are no validated measures of individual differences in emotional responses to music. We created the Absorption in Music Scale (AIMS), a 34-item measure of individuals' ability and willingness to allow music to draw them into an emotional experience. It was evaluated with a sample of 166 participants, and exhibits good psychometric properties. The scale converges well with measures of similar constructs, and shows reliability over time. Importantly, in a test of criterion validity, emotional responses to music were correlated with the AIMS scale but not correlated with measures of empathy or music training.
Social and Personality Psychology …, Jan 1, 2011
Why is it difficult to be virtuous? Although cultural wisdom teaches that cultivating virtue brin... more Why is it difficult to be virtuous? Although cultural wisdom teaches that cultivating virtue brings happiness—and empirical studies have demonstrated the long-term benefits of acting virtuously—many people seem to behave as though exercising virtues is difficult, or even painful. When it comes to virtue, any benefits for the self may seem distant: short-term pain for long-term gain. We propose, however, that behaving virtuously often provides affective benefits even in the short term, but these benefits are obscured by systematic affective forecasting errors. Using five virtues (humanity, wisdom, courage, temperance, and transcendence), we demonstrate that people tend to feel happier after acting virtuously. We also show that people do not realize that these short-term emotional benefits will occur; when asked to predict how they will feel, people make inaccurate affective forecasts. We argue that these affective forecasting errors drive people away from the exercise of virtue.
Positive Psychology as …, 2010
… : Music, Mind and Brain, Jan 1, 2011
PloS one, Jan 1, 2011
Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happines... more Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak ties-relationships characterized by less frequent contact, lower emotional intensity, and limited intimacy. We randomly assigned participants to reflect on a time when they spent money on either a strong social tie or a weak social tie. Participants reported higher levels of positive affect after recalling a time they spent on a strong tie versus a weak tie. The level of intimacy in the relationship was more important than the type of relationship; there was no significant difference in positive affect after recalling spending money on a family member instead of a friend. These results add to the growing literature examining the factors that moderate the link between prosocial behaviour and happiness.
Music and Medicine, Jan 1, 2010
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the valence and arousal dimensions of... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the valence and arousal dimensions of music over the time course of physiological (skin conductance level and heart rate) and subjective (Subjective Unit of Discomfort score) recovery from an acute stressor. Participants experienced stress after being told to prepare a speech, and were then exposed to happy, peaceful, sad, or agitated music. Music with a positive valence promoted both subjective and physiological recovery better than music with a negative valence, and low-arousal music was more effective than high-arousal music. Repeated measures analyses found that the emotion conveyed by the music affected skin conductance level recovery immediately following the stressor, whereas it affected heart rate recovery in a more sustained fashion. Follow-up tests found that positively valenced low-arousal (i.e., peaceful) music was more effective across the time course than an emotionally neutral control (white noise).
Conference Presentations by Gillian Sandstrom
What are the affective consequences experienced by both parties when higher SES givers are genero... more What are the affective consequences experienced by both parties when higher SES givers are generous toward lower SES receivers? Study 1 -Receiving money How does it feel to receive $ from someone higher in SES? To what factors do people attribute the gift?
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Papers by Gillian Sandstrom
The paper makes three primary contributions. First, we show how we used physical and software sensors in smartphones to automatically and accurately identify routines. Then, we demonstrate the strong correlation between these routines and users' personality, well-being perception, and other psychological variables. Finally, we explore predictability of users' mood using their passive sensing data. Our findings show that, especially for weekends, mobile sensing can be used to predict users' mood with an accuracy of about 70%. These results have the potential to impact the design of future mobile apps for mood/behavior tracking and interventions.
Conference Presentations by Gillian Sandstrom
The paper makes three primary contributions. First, we show how we used physical and software sensors in smartphones to automatically and accurately identify routines. Then, we demonstrate the strong correlation between these routines and users' personality, well-being perception, and other psychological variables. Finally, we explore predictability of users' mood using their passive sensing data. Our findings show that, especially for weekends, mobile sensing can be used to predict users' mood with an accuracy of about 70%. These results have the potential to impact the design of future mobile apps for mood/behavior tracking and interventions.