Alice Chirico

Research has shown that transforming embodiment can influence pain perception. Building on work demonstrating how immersive virtual environments can evoke body ownership and awe, we conducted a pilot study examining the effects of three VR experiences, designed to manipulate self-perception and self-location, on experimentally-induced pain. Twenty-three healthy individuals completed 1. an embodied avatar experience with alignment between the physical and virtual body locations; 2. a drifting body experience (DBE) with deliberate misalignment between virtual and physical body locations, and 3. a non-embodied 360-degree audiovisual experience known to evoke awe, while pain thresholds were measured via Q-sense thermode. We triangulated participants’ shifting experiences of embodiment and pain across conditions through observation, surveys, and interviews. Our exploratory mixed-methods analysis suggests a beneficial state of liminal or "drifting embodiment" during the DBE and indicates the presence of additional analgesic mechanisms. These preliminary findings highlight nuances and discrepancies between subjective and objective experiences of virtual embodiment and pain, particularly in the virtual awe-inducing condition. We conclude by outlining next steps and considerations for clinical pain research geared towards therapeutic intervention design.

Picture this: a young woman is struggling to decide what to wear today. It is not a special day, and nothing significant is expected to happen. She simply wants something that will make her feel serenity and contentment. She opens her wardrobe, and there is the green, half-length dress waiting for her, ready to bring her that sense of serenity and contentment.Can clothes elicit emotions? And, if yes, which ones? How?Globally, the answer to the first question is yes, to the second and the third is still an open issue [1][2][3]. While the way a person dresses has been shown to signal social categories such as status and aesthetics, as well as cognitive states [4] -and specifically, emotions -little evidence is available on how clothing can shape and relate to wearers' emotions and to which emotions, in detail. Although prior research has linked clothing, affect and emotion through a range of traditions (e.g., affective design [5][6][7], Kansei engineering [8], mood regulation frameworks [1,9,10], and the theory of Enclothed Cognition [11]), these perspectives tend to focus on general affective states or broad emotional categories, and only rarely systematically address the underlying emotional mechanisms. What remains largely unexplored is a framework that synthesizes existing perspectives and redirects attention toward the underlying mechanisms, relying on experimental manipulation and systematic measurement of emotional processes in relation to clothing.Here, I argue that the approach of discrete emotions, intended as fleeting discrete, universal, and evolutionarily adaptive phenomena functionally organized and composed of coordinated behavioral, psychophysiological, experiential, and cognitive responses to perceived challenges and opportunities [11,12] -can serve as a promising foundation for this endeavor, complementing existing frameworks, for three reasons. First, this approach is well-grounded in experimental research with clear emotion-induction procedures and assessment tools [13]. Second, discrete emotions are differentiable at the cognitive, behavioral and physiological level [14][15][16], while still encompassing core affective dimensions of valence and arousal. Finally, this framework has already enabled the identification of specific pathways linking individual emotions to distinct behavioral, cognitive, and physiological components involved in emotion regulation processes [12][13][14].Among discrete emotions, awe offers a particularly relevant case for investigation. Awe is a complex, multifaceted, and self-transcendent emotion [15], consistently elicited by appraisals of vastness and the need for cognitive accommodation [16]. Its cognitive and behavioral effects have been extensively studied. A central mechanism -self-diminishment (the "small self") [17] -shifts attentional focus away from self-concern and toward broader systems, thereby fostering a heightened sense of connectedness with others and with nature [18][19][20]. Awe promotes systems-based, meaning-oriented thinking [21] and elicits an abstract mindset [22], which has been associated with an expanded perception of time and a diminished emphasis on money and short-term desires [23][24][25]. In the context of material goods, object-inspired awe enhances appreciation and perceived value, imbuing the item with a deeper sense of meaning-an important factor for long-term retention [26]. These effects contribute to pro-environmental intentions and increased green purchasing behavior, often mediated by a stronger sense of psychological ownership of nature [27]. In fashion and marketing specifically, awe-inspiring content has proven effective in increasing consumer engagement with ethical brands. This is because awe activates deontological moral beliefs -principles rooted in fairness and care -which have been shown to be stronger predictors of ethical fashion consumption than utilitarian reasoning [28]. When awe triggers these self-transcendent processes, it can generate tangible behavioral changes, including a preference for eco-conscious brands, increased garment care and repair, and reduced impulsive purchasing [23,[29][30][31]. These outcomes are further reinforced by awe's incompatibility with exclusivity-driven motives [32] and its facilitation of adaptive regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal [30]. Altogether, these findings outline a pathway from awe-evoking design choices to emotion regulation, via mediators like the small self, connectedness, and reappraisal, enhancing the symbolic and moral value of garments and promoting sustainable practices, including extended use, repair, and reduced replacement. Awe may thus act as a regulatory mechanism reshaping the emotional relationship between individuals and their clothing towards more sustainability-oriented choices, a theme further explored in the next sections.Clothing, a fundamental aspect of human life, serves far beyond its primary function of protection, acting as a crucial medium for communication, self-expression [33], and social interaction [34,35]. While its impact on first impressions and social perceptions has been widely recognized, there is no systematic treatment, though, of how emotional experiences relate to clothing [1], especially from the perspective of the wearer. Clothing serves as a fundamental component of the material self and is conceptually viewed as an extension of the self, profoundly shaping one's self-concept, self-esteem, and body image [3,36]. This deep identification is critical for sustainable fashion, as emotional bonds are necessary for durability and attachment [37], thereby promoting practices like extended use and repair [38] and resisting impulsive replacement [39,40]. Furthermore, attire is deliberately used as a psychological regulatory tool [36], allowing the wearer to reflect, express, and manage personality traits, mood, and vulnerability in social settings [41]. This functional role of clothing in...

Flow and creativity have always held a special link in artistic domains. Music-making is increasingly demonstrated as a source of group flow and collaborative musical creativity. The Networked Flow (NF) model outlines factors supporting optimal collaborative group work in different contexts, including music. The model suggests that high levels of affect, group flow, and social presence are crucial for optimal group creativity, along with the progressive emergence of a particular group communication structure. Therefore, it would be crucial to study group creativity over time by examining communication dynamics, experiential features, and creative outcomes. In this study, the NF model was applied to a 2-day real-world music contest. A total of nine bands and eight rappers participated in the first round of the contest. At the end of the first round, each band was randomly paired with a rapper, forming new bands that were asked to compose a piece of music and perform it in the second round of the contest a month later. Measures of affect, group flow, social presence, communication structure, self-assessed and expert-rated performance outcomes, and creativity in group performance were collected during each of the two rounds. Methods of evaluating creative collaboration included Social Network Analysis (communication structure) and Consensual Assessment Technique (creativity in group performance). Significant positive correlations between group flow and social presence emerged. Only one of the three judges reported an increase in group creativity in the final phase. There was little agreement between the judgments of the expert judges and participants in terms of artists’ creativity and performance. Flow dimensions were positively correlated with self-rated performance outcomes and creativity but not with expert-rated performance outcomes. Bands that scored high for flow had a specific communication structure, characterized by high-status members. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how group flow and intersubjective dynamics interact in live music.

For several years, researchers in the realm of music psychology have sought to understand how listeners perceive and experience emotions during music listening. Experimental and psychometric tools have been developed to explore the nuances of these emotional experiences, highlighting individual differences. Surprisingly, while much effort has been made to relate musical elements to specific emotional states, it is still an open issue explaining how listeners shift between different affective states (affect dynamics). In this study, we introduce a novel methodological approach to measuring affect dynamics in music by employing a Markov chain model—a stochastic framework that predicts the likelihood of transitions between affective states based on the current state. A single-case study was conducted in which a participant was exposed to emotion-inducing images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and a week later to emotion-inducing music. During both sessions, physiological responses were recorded using facial electromyography (fEMG) to measure corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscle activity, assessing emotional valence, alongside galvanic skin response (GSR) to assess arousal. The Markov chain framework was used to create a matrix of conditional transition probabilities, identifying both the participant’s baseline affective state (self-transitions, reflecting trait-like stability) and three types of affective transitions based on Russell’s circumplex model: vertical (i.e., arousal changes), horizontal (i.e., valence changes), and oblique (i.e., simultaneous arousal and valence changes). Our exploratory analysis demonstrated that affect transitions can be quantified in both conditions, revealing modality-specific patterns. Image exposure led to greater vertical transitions across all signals, whereas music elicited more stable baseline affective states. Oblique transitions showed consistent physiological patterns (specifically, decreased GSR and increased muscle activity) across both modalities, highlighting distinct yet interconnected affective dynamics. Taken together, the findings reveal a complex interplay between stimulus modality and the physiological markers of affect dynamics.

This study explores the potential of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) versus traditional whiteboards in supporting group brainstorming. Sixteen groups of five members each used Miro (a conventional whiteboard) and DALL-E (an image-based GAI tool), either online or offline, in a 2 × 2 experimental design (online vs. offline; Miro vs. DALL-E). Researchers measured participants’ affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), emotions (Aesthetic Emotions Questionnaire), creative self-efficacy, technological readiness (Technology Readiness Survey), user experience (User Experience Questionnaire), flow (Flow State Scale–Short Version), and creativity (fluidity, elaboration, flexibility, and originality). Two independent raters evaluated the groups’ ideas for each member. Results showed that DALL-E generated more positive affect, richer esthetic experiences, and higher attractiveness and novelty than Miro, particularly online. A significant interaction effect was found for “efficiency” (UX dimension) and “union action-consciousness” (flow dimension). Participants felt more creative and preferred working with DALL-E. Moreover, online sessions with DALL-E led to greater idea elaboration. These findings suggest that GAI tools such as DALL-E could reshape and enhance traditional group creativity methods, making them core assets in group collaboration, especially in online settings.