About me
Oh the places you'll go!
Location: 38
Mentor: Dr. Aaron Heller
The MANATEE Lab has previously found that increased diversity in one’s daily spatial environment has an association with greater Positive Affect (Heller et al., 2020).1 This study follows down that path and explores if specific attributes of different places correlate to noticeable effects on Positive Affect (PA) and/or Negative Affect (NA).
This research records and reports visits over a four-month period, using a combination of GPS tracking and self-reported affective surveys. A sample of 132 undergraduates completed bi-daily ecological momentary assessments (EMA) measuring PA and NA along with additional psychological assessments.
Using Google Place Data, locations were categorized by prevalence and type, revealing that students primarily spent time at their university campus or homes, with occasional visits to locations tag-identifiable by Google Maps. We analyzed the correlation of tags and attributes of locations to PA and NA to explore the connection between the two ideas. To analyze this relationship between location and affect, a post-logarithmic transformation was applied on a predictor-wise basis to address data skewness. Future research should explore additional factors, such as the distance between visited locations, the frequency of visits, and time-of-day effects on affect. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between daily environments and emotional well-being.
