Justin Kopec | Syracuse University (original) (raw)

Papers by Justin Kopec

Research paper thumbnail of Specific differences in temporal binding aspects of the attentional blink in Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

Research paper thumbnail of You are what I feel: A test of the affective realism hypothesis

Emotion

We present evidence for the affective realism hypothesis, that incidental affect is a key ingredi... more We present evidence for the affective realism hypothesis, that incidental affect is a key ingredient in an individual's experience of the world. In three studies, we used an interocular suppression technique (continuous flash suppression [CFS]) to present smiling, scowling, or neutral faces suppressed from conscious visual awareness while consciously perceived neutral faces were presented at three different timing intervals: 150 ms before, 150 ms after, and concurrent with the suppressed affective faces (Studies 1 and 3) or at timing intervals of 100 ms (Study 2). Results for all three studies revealed that consciously perceived neutral faces were experienced significantly more positively (e.g., as more trustworthy) when concurrently paired with suppressed smiling faces than when concurrently paired with suppressed scowling faces; there was no effect of suppressed affective faces on first impressions in the other timing conditions. This pattern of results is consistent with the affective realism hypothesis but inconsistent with both affective misattribution and affective priming interpretations. Incidental affect must be meaningfully contiguous in time with the target stimulus to be experienced as a property of the target.

Research paper thumbnail of Does Awareness of Your Body Change How You Feel?: Investigating the Relationship Between Interoceptive Awareness and Affective Reactivity

Research paper thumbnail of Affective Reactivity as a Stable Individual Difference: A Multi-Method Approach

Research paper thumbnail of Music, technology and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: The effectiveness of the touch screen interface

Music Education Research, 2015

The use of technology in music education is gaining momentum, although very little work has focus... more The use of technology in music education is gaining momentum, although very little work has focused on students with disabilities. Our SoundScape programme addressed this gap through implementing a technologybased music programme for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Programme participants met on a weekly basis for 9 weeks and engaged in a range of music-related activities mostly utilising touch screen technology and iPads. We were particularly interested in how those with ASD responded to the iPad interface and its impact on social interactions among participants. We also investigated whether participating in the programme reduced stress and anxiety among participants. Questionnaire data completed by programme participants at the beginning and end of the programme, as well as qualitative analysis of focus groups conducted with parents, provided evaluation of the efficacy of our programme model. Findings from the questionnaires indicated that more than half of the participants reported feeling less stressed and anxious at the end of the programme compared to their responses at the beginning, said they benefited socially from the programme, and had made friends. This was supported in the analysis of the focus group transcriptions which highlighted the advantages of the iPads compared to a more traditional desktop platform, the utility of the iPad technology for promoting social skills, the significance of the university setting, and the participants' use of music to regulate mood. Future research evaluating the use of technology in music education for students with disabilities seems warranted.

Research paper thumbnail of The Valency of Music Has Different Effects on the Emotional Responses of Those with Autism Spectrum Disorders and a Comparison Group

Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2014

EMOTION PERCEPTION DEFICITS ARE COMMONLY observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (... more EMOTION PERCEPTION DEFICITS ARE COMMONLY observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Numerous studies have documented deficits in emotional recognition of social stimuli among those with ASD, such as faces and voices, while far fewer have investigated emotional recognition of nonsocial stimuli in this population. In this study, participants with ASD and a comparison group of typically developing (TD) control participants listened to song clips that varied in levels of pleasantness (valence) and arousal. Participants then rated emotions they felt or perceived in the music, using a list of eight emotion words for each song. Results showed that individuals with ASD gave significantly lower ratings of negative emotions in both the felt and perceived categories compared to TD controls, but did not show significant differences in ratings of positive emotions. These findings suggest that deficits in processing emotions in music among those with ASD may be valence specific.

Research paper thumbnail of Preparing for University Life: A Program Evaluation

Background: Adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum are attending university in rapid... more Background: Adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum are attending university in rapidly increasing numbers. While academically many excel, social and executive functioning challenges, as well as severe anxiety can impede their success. Preparing high school students in advance for the realities of university life, the academic expectations, the social challenges, and the many ways in which university differs from high school is crucial preparation for this transition. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a college preparation mentoring program for high school students with autism spectrum disorders. Methods: Forty-seven adolescents (39 Males, 8 females) between the ages of 16 and 22 years (average age: 18 years) participated in a 6-week college preparation mentoring program. Nine cohorts completed the program over a four year period. Program sessions were an hour once a week and participants met on a university campus with a current university student...

Research paper thumbnail of Unconscious affect influences first impressions and physiology

Research paper thumbnail of Increased physiological responsiveness to preferred music among young adults with autism spectrum disorders

Psychology of Music, 2015

ABSTRACT Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience high levels of anxiety and d... more ABSTRACT Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience high levels of anxiety and difficulty with emotion regulation and self-control. Music has been shown to modulate moods and emotions and may be useful in mediating individuals’ physiological state. This study investigated whether listening to preferred self-selected music would have a significant physiological effect with regard to skin conductance responses, and also psychologically as measured by a self-report anxiety tool, among persons with ASD as compared to a matched control group. Results showed that participants with ASD were more responsive physiologically to their preferred music than those in the comparison group. They did not differ from controls in their responses to a piece of music previously demonstrated to induce feelings of relaxation among typical populations. Our findings indicate that persons with ASD are particularly responsive to the influence of music with regard to modulating their physiological state and this could potentially be a useful non-pharmacological tool for self-regulating emotional responses to stressors in their environment.

Research paper thumbnail of Specific differences in temporal binding aspects of the attentional blink in Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

Research paper thumbnail of You are what I feel: A test of the affective realism hypothesis

Emotion

We present evidence for the affective realism hypothesis, that incidental affect is a key ingredi... more We present evidence for the affective realism hypothesis, that incidental affect is a key ingredient in an individual's experience of the world. In three studies, we used an interocular suppression technique (continuous flash suppression [CFS]) to present smiling, scowling, or neutral faces suppressed from conscious visual awareness while consciously perceived neutral faces were presented at three different timing intervals: 150 ms before, 150 ms after, and concurrent with the suppressed affective faces (Studies 1 and 3) or at timing intervals of 100 ms (Study 2). Results for all three studies revealed that consciously perceived neutral faces were experienced significantly more positively (e.g., as more trustworthy) when concurrently paired with suppressed smiling faces than when concurrently paired with suppressed scowling faces; there was no effect of suppressed affective faces on first impressions in the other timing conditions. This pattern of results is consistent with the affective realism hypothesis but inconsistent with both affective misattribution and affective priming interpretations. Incidental affect must be meaningfully contiguous in time with the target stimulus to be experienced as a property of the target.

Research paper thumbnail of Does Awareness of Your Body Change How You Feel?: Investigating the Relationship Between Interoceptive Awareness and Affective Reactivity

Research paper thumbnail of Affective Reactivity as a Stable Individual Difference: A Multi-Method Approach

Research paper thumbnail of Music, technology and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: The effectiveness of the touch screen interface

Music Education Research, 2015

The use of technology in music education is gaining momentum, although very little work has focus... more The use of technology in music education is gaining momentum, although very little work has focused on students with disabilities. Our SoundScape programme addressed this gap through implementing a technologybased music programme for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Programme participants met on a weekly basis for 9 weeks and engaged in a range of music-related activities mostly utilising touch screen technology and iPads. We were particularly interested in how those with ASD responded to the iPad interface and its impact on social interactions among participants. We also investigated whether participating in the programme reduced stress and anxiety among participants. Questionnaire data completed by programme participants at the beginning and end of the programme, as well as qualitative analysis of focus groups conducted with parents, provided evaluation of the efficacy of our programme model. Findings from the questionnaires indicated that more than half of the participants reported feeling less stressed and anxious at the end of the programme compared to their responses at the beginning, said they benefited socially from the programme, and had made friends. This was supported in the analysis of the focus group transcriptions which highlighted the advantages of the iPads compared to a more traditional desktop platform, the utility of the iPad technology for promoting social skills, the significance of the university setting, and the participants' use of music to regulate mood. Future research evaluating the use of technology in music education for students with disabilities seems warranted.

Research paper thumbnail of The Valency of Music Has Different Effects on the Emotional Responses of Those with Autism Spectrum Disorders and a Comparison Group

Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2014

EMOTION PERCEPTION DEFICITS ARE COMMONLY observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (... more EMOTION PERCEPTION DEFICITS ARE COMMONLY observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Numerous studies have documented deficits in emotional recognition of social stimuli among those with ASD, such as faces and voices, while far fewer have investigated emotional recognition of nonsocial stimuli in this population. In this study, participants with ASD and a comparison group of typically developing (TD) control participants listened to song clips that varied in levels of pleasantness (valence) and arousal. Participants then rated emotions they felt or perceived in the music, using a list of eight emotion words for each song. Results showed that individuals with ASD gave significantly lower ratings of negative emotions in both the felt and perceived categories compared to TD controls, but did not show significant differences in ratings of positive emotions. These findings suggest that deficits in processing emotions in music among those with ASD may be valence specific.

Research paper thumbnail of Preparing for University Life: A Program Evaluation

Background: Adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum are attending university in rapid... more Background: Adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum are attending university in rapidly increasing numbers. While academically many excel, social and executive functioning challenges, as well as severe anxiety can impede their success. Preparing high school students in advance for the realities of university life, the academic expectations, the social challenges, and the many ways in which university differs from high school is crucial preparation for this transition. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a college preparation mentoring program for high school students with autism spectrum disorders. Methods: Forty-seven adolescents (39 Males, 8 females) between the ages of 16 and 22 years (average age: 18 years) participated in a 6-week college preparation mentoring program. Nine cohorts completed the program over a four year period. Program sessions were an hour once a week and participants met on a university campus with a current university student...

Research paper thumbnail of Unconscious affect influences first impressions and physiology

Research paper thumbnail of Increased physiological responsiveness to preferred music among young adults with autism spectrum disorders

Psychology of Music, 2015

ABSTRACT Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience high levels of anxiety and d... more ABSTRACT Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience high levels of anxiety and difficulty with emotion regulation and self-control. Music has been shown to modulate moods and emotions and may be useful in mediating individuals’ physiological state. This study investigated whether listening to preferred self-selected music would have a significant physiological effect with regard to skin conductance responses, and also psychologically as measured by a self-report anxiety tool, among persons with ASD as compared to a matched control group. Results showed that participants with ASD were more responsive physiologically to their preferred music than those in the comparison group. They did not differ from controls in their responses to a piece of music previously demonstrated to induce feelings of relaxation among typical populations. Our findings indicate that persons with ASD are particularly responsive to the influence of music with regard to modulating their physiological state and this could potentially be a useful non-pharmacological tool for self-regulating emotional responses to stressors in their environment.