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Research

Publications

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Insert Title Here: Effects of Titles on the Emotional Perception of a Musical Work (2017)

Carle Jordan Wirshba, Dr. Christopher Bartlette, Ph.D., Dr. Vladimir Miskovic, Ph.D

Abstract: This study aims to explore the impact of visual titles on the emotional perception within a piece of chamber music. Does the visual stimuli of text alter, enhance, or change the aural stimuli of the music in terms of an individual’s emotional response? Author, CJ Wirshba, composed an original six-movement piece titled, Outside In, with a singular emotional intention per movement. During the performance of the piece, the audience (n=86) was broken up into 3 cohorts, each receiving different titles for the movements of the piece. One cohort agreed with the intended emotions, one disagreed, and one was neutral, using a random word generator. Participants were presented the titles via paper one at a time, asked to reflect on each title before and after the movement was played, and asked to not look at anyone else’s paper. Two measures – 1) Differential Emotion Scale–IV (DES- IV) (Izard, Libero, Putnam, & Haynes, 1993) – Wirshba and Bartlette Adaptation and 2) The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) (Bradley & Land, 1994) – only pleasure and arousal variables (excluded dominance) – were used to assess the emotional response to the movements in relation to the visual titles. Brief review reveals minimal significance for the DES and SAM across movements, various significance for specific emotional response to movements, and various significance between cohort for a few movements in terms of the DES and several movements in terms of the SAM.

 
 
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Prevalence Increases With Latitude (2018)

Meredith E. Coles, Carle Jordan Wirshba, Jacob Nota, Jessica Schubert, Breanna A. Grunthal

Abstract: Many individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) report difficulty falling asleep until later than desired. This may reflect a misalignment between the sleep-wake cycle and the natural light dark cycle. Delayed bedtimes are related to disruptions in cognitive processes, increases in repetitive negative thinking, and OCD symptoms. Misalignment is more common in higher latitudes. AIMS: We hypothesized that the prevalence of OCD would be positively correlated with latitude. A systematic review of the literature identified peer-reviewed publications with estimates of OCD prevalence in the general population. Twenty-four estimates of the lifetime prevalence of OCD were identified and showed that the prevalence of OCD was significantly positively correlated with latitude. Other potential alternative individual, community and study specific factors were not significantly correlated with OCD prevalence. Finally, parallel analyses of a “psychiatric control” (panic disorder) failed to find a significant relationship between panic disorder and latitude. Findings from this study support a relation between latitude and OCD and suggest potential specificity of the relation to OCD vs factors related to mental health concerns broadly. These findings are consistent with recent results suggesting that the timing of sleep may be important in OCD. Future work in this area is warranted.

 
 

Posters & Presentations

  • Wirshba, Carle Jordan, Bartlette, Christopher, & Miskovic, Vladimir. (2017, April). INSERT TITLE HERE: Effects of Titles on the Emotional Perception of a Musical Work. Poster presented at the Binghamton University 2017 Research Days, Vestal, NY.

  • Wirshba, Carle Jordan, Bartlette, Christopher, & Miskovic, Vladimir. (2017, April). INSERT TITLE HERE: Effects of Titles on the Emotional Perception of a Musical Work. Poster presented at the 39th Annual Psi Chi Research Fair, Vestal, NY.

  • Folk, J. B., Wirshba, C. J., Dobbins, A. E., Tangney, J. P., & Stuewig, J. (2016, January). Neighborhood disadvantage and gender among former inmates: Differential relationships to feeling connected to the community. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, CA.

  • Wirshba, C. J. (2015, July). Alcohol and Drug Use; Time-Line Follow-Back Vs. Global Measures of Self Report. Presentation presented to all faculty and staff of George Mason University’s Human Emotion and Regulation Laboratory, Fairfax, VA.