Fear behavior, fear imagery, and the psychophysiology of emotion: The problem of affective response integration.

Exp I compared the psychophysiological reactions of 25 Ss with 2 fears, focal phobia and social-performance anxiety. Ss were determined by questionnaire (e.g., Differential Personality Questionnaire, Fenz-Epstein Anxiety Scale) and interview to be at the high extreme of their respective fear reference groups. Each group was exposed to both its own and the other group's primary fear stress (i.e., a snake-exposure test and a public speaking performance). These same Ss were also instructed to imagine both types of fear situations as well as control scenes. Results indicate a different psychophysiological response for the 2 fear groups across the 2 fear contents. Thus, snake-phobic Ss showed greater arousal when exposed to a live snake than did socially anxious Ss. Despite significantly greater verbal reports of fear and arousal by socially anxious Ss, both fear groups showed a similar marked increase in physiological arousal during speech performance. Neither group generated a significant physiological reaction to either fear content during imagery assessment. Exp II examined emotional imagery with 40 undergraduates from the same 2 fear populations. An imagery pretraining program, based on the reinforcement of verbal report of somatic response content in imagery, led to a significant visceral arousal response during fear imagery. Response-trained Ss showed a pattern of heart rate change during imagery that varied between Ss and fear contents. Response-trained Ss also showed relatively greater concordance between verbal and visceral measures than did untrained Ss. (60 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physiological arousal, dissonance, and attitude change: Evidence for a dissonance-arousal link and a "Don't remind me" effect.

Two experiments, with 80 undergraduates, replicated and extended research by R. T. Croyle and J. Cooper (see record 1984-11595-001) indicating that cognitive dissonance involves physiological arousal. In Exp I, Ss wrote counterattitudinal essays under conditions of high or low choice and, to assess arousal effects owing to effort, with or without a list of arguments provided by the experimenter. In high-choice conditions only and regardless of effort, Ss showed both arousal (heightened galvanic skin response) and attitude change. Arousal, however, did not decline following attitude change. The more effortful task (no arguments provided) produced increased arousal but not greater attitude change. In Exp II, the opportunity to change one's attitude following a freely chosen counterattitudinal essay was manipulated. As in Exp I, arousal increased following the essay but did not decline following a postessay attitude change opportunity. When Ss were not given an attitude change opportunity, however, arousal did decline. It is suggested that if dissonance is a drive state, drive reduction typically may be accomplished through gradual cognitive change or forgetting. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial muscle patterning and lateralization during elation and depression imagery.

26 18–30 yr old female Ss read a standard set of self-referent statements and imagined scenes with elated, depressed, and neutral content. The dependent measures were subjective mood ratings (Self-Rating Depression Scale) and left and right zygomatic- and corrugator-muscle activity. The self-statements elicited feelings of elation and depression in approximately 70% of Ss. Among these Ss, elation was accompanied by immediate increases in zygomatic activity, especially on the right side of the face in pure right-handed Ss. Depression was accompanied by bilateral increases in corrugator activity that grew over time. In the remaining 30% of Ss who reported experiencing little or no subjective differences between the elation and depression self-statements, similar though smaller facial patterns of zygomatic and corrugator activity were found that reliably differentiated the affective conditions. Data support the hypothesis that facial EMG patterning is a sensitive psychophysiological indicator of mood. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissonance arousal: Physiological evidence.

Two studies examined whether cognitive dissonance is accompanied by physiological arousal. In Exp I, a standard induced-compliance paradigm was replicated and found to produce the expected pattern of attitude change in 30 male undergraduates. In Exp II, physiological recordings were obtained from 30 additional male undergraduates within the same paradigm. Ss who wrote counterattitudinal essays under high-choice conditions displayed significantly more nonspecific skin conductance responses than other Ss, but they did not change their attitudes. Results support dissonance as an arousal process. Results also indicate that the Ss misattributed their arousal to the physiological recording device. Findings are discussed in terms of dissonance theory, misattribution phenomena, and social psychophysiological research methods. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distractibility in dieters and nondieters: An alternative view of "externality."

Performed 2 experiments in an investigation of the effects of distraction and emotional arousal on the proofreading performance of 60 dieting and nondieting female undergraduates. In Exp I, it was found that distraction initially impaired the performance of dieters and facilitated the performance of nondieters, a pattern previously shown by J. Rodin (see record 1973-27101-001) to apply to obese and normal weight Ss, respectively, and interpreted as evidence of greater externality in the obese. Subsequent retesting of the same Ss in succeeding months, however, revealed a complete reversal of the original results. In Exp II, the reaction to distraction found in the first phase of Exp I was obtained when Ss were in a situation of minimal threat. In a situation of high threat, the relative distractibility of dieters was reversed, as in the latter phases of Exp I. An explanation is offered for these data in terms of the greater emotionality of dieters, the susceptibility of cognitive performance to arousal (distraction, anxiety) manipulations, and the potentially competing effects of distraction and anxiety. Implications for the prevailing "trait" view of externality (stimulus binding) are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passionate love and the misattribution of arousal.

Two studies provide evidence that misattribution of arousal facilitates romantic attraction. In Exp I, arousal of 54 male undergraduates was manipulated through exercise. Arousal Ss liked an attractive female confederate more and an unattractive female less than did controls. In Exp II, arousal of 66 Ss was manipulated in a positive (comedy tape) or negative (mutilation tape) way; other Ss heard a nonarousing tape (textbook excerpt). Results replicate the interaction found in Exp I: Valence of initial arousal did not affect attraction to the confederate. Salience of plausible labels for arousal is hypothesized to mediate the misattribution effect. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysiology of fear imagery: Differences between focal phobia and social performance anxiety.

Studied 11 spider phobics and 16 speech anxious undergraduates who imaged fear scenes with spider and public-speaking content and a series of standard scenes that were constructed to vary in degree of emotional arousal and movement. Phobic levels were determined by the Fear Survey Schedule, the Speech Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Spider Fear Questionnaire. Both S groups did not differ on Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale scores. Heart rate, skin conductance, and ocular activity were recorded. Spider phobics rated all imagery contents as more vivid and reported more scene movement than speech anxious Ss. Both groups responded to their own fear scenes with higher ratings of emotion and a greater physiological response than to the other group's fear scenes. The arousal response of spider phobics to relevant fear scenes was greater than that of speech anxious Ss. The data suggest that the outcome of imagery-based therapies may be partly determined by type of fear. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of preparatory information about sensations, threat of pain, and attention on cold pressor distress.

Three experiments with 170 male undergraduates investigated pain experience conceptualized as a combination of stimulus sensations (e.g., aching) and emotional distress. In Exp I, less distress was reported to cold pressor stimulation by Ss first told about stimulus sensations than by Ss who were uninformed or were told about symptoms of bodily arousal (e.g., tension). Adding a pain warning to sensation information blocked distress reduction, presumably by eliciting an emotional interpretation of the stimulus. In Exp II, Ss attending only to hand sensations reported less distress than Ss attending to their bodies. This decrease in the power of the stimulus to provoke emotion is presumably mediated by a schema of hand sensations formed by attention. In Exp III, Ss attending to hand sensations early in the immersion and distracting themselves later reported the same low levels of distress as did Ss who attended to hand sensations throughout. Ss distracted throughout and Ss attending to hand sensations later showed no distress reduction. Therefore, stimulus schematization must precede distress reduction. (64 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimenter approval, social desirability, and statements of self-reference.

Using 40 undergraduate Ss high or low on a social desirability scale, a verbal conditioning attempt was made to alter the relative frequency of self-referent statements that were either positive or negative. Before reinforcement, high and low social desirability Ss responded very similarly, and used more positive than negative self-references. High social desirability Ss responded to reinforcement by increasing equally the frequency of both positive and negative self-referent statements. Low social desirability Ss did not condition, but continued to make more positive than negative self-references. Although high and low social desirability Ss both have the need to impress others favorably, the high social desirability person is apparently more dependent on the overt, evaluative behavior of others, and for this reason he can be manipulated more easily than low social desirability Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of irrational beliefs on emotional arousal.

Studied the relationship between the tendency to hold certain irrational beliefs and the likelihood of becoming emotionally aroused in various types of situations. In a correlational study (Exp I), 77 female undergraduates completed a battery of tests including Jones's Irrational Beliefs Test, the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, and Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test. Results show a positive relationship between irrational beliefs and the measures of interpersonal, examination, and public speaking anxiety. Exp II, with 18 female undergraduates who completed the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist 3 times, focused on 1 specific irrational belief-the overriding importance of social approval-and investigated the likelihood of emotional arousal occurring among individuals who ascribed to this belief. When asked to imagine themselves in social situations that might be interpreted as involving rejection by others, Ss holding this belief reported feeling significantly more anxious and angry than those who did not. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unsolicited interpretation and recall of interpersonal events.

Conducted 4 experiments with a total of 246 undergraduates to examine the variables that influence interpretations and cued recall of interpersonal events. In Exp I, Ss were given a set to empathize with or to be detached from a couple who were shown having an intimate discussion on videotape. The discussion culminated in either a seriously or a moderately negative outcome (SO or MO). A greater amount of attribution (AT) and more accurate recall were found for the empathy set vs the detached set. Greater AT was also found for SO vs MO conditions. In Exp II with a different videotaped event, an SO version and a set to remember the event led to more AT than did an MO version or no set, respectively. Memory-set Ss showed greater recall than no-memory set Ss. In Exp III, Ss given a set to anticipate interaction with 1 of the stimulus persons showed more AT and more accurate recall (R) than did Ss given no such set and an SO led to more AT than did an MO. In Exp IV, Ss given a set about the emotional condition of a stimulus person before observing the event exhibited greater AT and more accurate recall than did Ss given the same set after observing the event or Ss given no set at all. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathic mediation of helping: A two-stage model.

Proposes a 2-stage model of empathic mediation of helping behavior, which holds that taking the perspective of a person in need increases empathic emotion; this in turn increases helping. Ss in 2 experiments learned of another person's need from taped radio broadcasts and were subsequently given an opportunity to offer help to that person. The experiments used different strategies for manipulating empathic emotional response to the other's plight. In Exp I, using 44 male and female undergraduates, the empathic emotion of some Ss was experimentally reduced by a misattribution of arousal technique; in Exp II, using 33 female undergraduates, the empathic emotion of some Ss was experimentally increased by a false feedback of arousal technique. Results of each experiment support the proposed model. Ss who experienced the most empathic emotion also offered the most help. Results of Exp I indicate that perspective taking did not directly affect helping; it affected helping only through its effect on empathic emotion. Motivational implications are discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned helplessness and learned resourcefulness: Effects of noncontingent success and failure on individuals differing in self-control skills.

In Exp I, 72 undergraduates were assessed using the Self-Control Schedule and received noncontingent success-, failure-, or no-feedback on a task that ostensibly assessed therapeutic abilities. Ss were subsequently tested on insolvable puzzles. In Exp II, 72 undergraduates followed the same procedure as in Exp I but were subsequently tested on solvable anagrams. Results show that the performance of Ss with low resourcefulness (LR) in self-control skills on the insolvable puzzles was debilitated by the helplessness induction, while Ss with high resourcefulness (HR) and LR Ss showed equal helplessness-induced deficits on the anagrams. As predicted from the self-control model, HR Ss more frequently checked statements indicating positive self-evaluations and task-oriented thoughts and less frequently checked negative self-evaluations than did LR Ss during exposure to uncontrollability in both experiments. It is concluded that the self-control model best accounts for Ss' self-reactions during exposure to uncontrollability or failure, while the learned helplessness model accounts for the generalization of helplessness from uncontrollable situations to controllable ones. The list of self-referent statements used in the experiments is appended. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of conceptual complexity on assertive behavior.

Postulated that information-processing style is an important cognitive skill for effective assertive behavior and identified conceptual complexity (CC) as the variable that defined Ss' information-processing approach. In 2 studies, 146 undergraduates differing in CC were compared in their performance on various measures relevant to competent assertive behavior (e.g., Assertiveness Knowledge Inventory, the Hypothetical Behavior Role-Playing Assertion Test, and the Assertiveness Self-Statement Test). In Exp I, high CC Ss (e.g., those who possessed abstract schema for processing social information) demonstrated greater content knowledge, direct delivery skill, and fewer negative self-statements that inhibit assertiveness. Exp II involved the testing of various hypotheses about the specific role of CC in assertive encounters. High vs low CC females were more assertive in difficult situations (e.g., interaction with close friends) but did not differ in simple situations. High CC Ss were more assertive in extended interaction tests, expressed consideration of the needs of others, and were more flexible in sex-role orientation. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arousal and causal attribution.

Two experiments involving a total of 114 male undergraduates investigated whether arousal increased the impact of salient information on causal attributions and decreased the impact of nonsalient information. In Exp 1, salience was manipulated by instructions that directed Ss' attention to different types of information. Arousal was manipulated by the presence or absence of white noise. As expected, the impact of salient information on causal attributions increased with arousal. In Exp 2, emotional arousal (anger) decreased the perceived impact of a nonsalient person in a social interaction. Both effects were most pronounced for Ss with lower chronic levels of arousal. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of repeated testing on sexual behavior of the female rat.

Investigated effects of stimulation during repeated testing, using 24 female Sprague-Dawley rats in which intromission was prevented by a vaginal mask. Ss were ovariectomized and administered 1 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) daily for 10 days (Exp I) or 5 mg of EB for 2 days (Exp II). Behavioral indices included lordosis quotient (a measure of sexual receptivity) and rejection quotient (a measure of social rejection of the male). Intensity and duration of lordosis gave additional measures. In Exp I hourly testing increased lordosis quotient and duration, especially in Ss receiving EB for 5 days; no effects of daily testing were shown. Exp II compared the behavior of Ss that were either handled hourly and tested hourly with the male rat or only handled hourly to the behavior of Ss that were tested and handled only once. Repeated testing and/or handling facilitated sexual responsiveness, while Ss that received neither treatment were sluggish in their social response to the male rat when they were tested, and were not sexually receptive. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic differences in avoidance learning by Rattus norvegicus: Escape/avoidance responding, sensitivity to electric shock, discrimination learning, and open-field behavior.

Studied the behaviors of Long-Evans rats selectively bred for either good (SHA line) or poor (SLA line) shuttle box avoidance learning. The results of Exp I indicated that the phenotypic difference in avoidance learning was not associated with differences in speed of escape or avoidance responding. Differences between the lines in frequency of intertrial responses (ITRs), which appeared during training but not during pretest, suggest that ITRs in Ss of the low-avoidance SLA line were more suppressed by electric shock than in Ss of the high-avoidance SHA line. This result suggests that SLA Ss may be more emotionally responsive than SHA Ss. Exp II demonstrated that the Ss of the 2 lines did not differ in absolute sensitivity to electric shock, and Exp III showed that the poor performance of the SLA line was not due to an inability to learn. Ss also provided evidence that the poor avoidance learning by SLA Ss was due to their emotional reactivity. Observations of open-field behavior in Exp IV were consistent with this hypothesis. It is concluded that the major consistent correlate of the phenotypic difference in avoidance learning was greater emotionality or emotional reactivity in SLA than in SHA Ss. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characteristics of interactional behavior in a psychotherapy analogue.

Ss discussed topics with an interviewer (I) whose comments were controlled by a motor response made by S. In Exp. I, there was less increase in silence over trials, more negative attitude toward the I, and longer delay after I responses when these were interpretations rather than reflections. With a choice between interpretation and reflection, several personality differences were found between Ss preferring one rather than the other of the two classes of I response. Ss in Exp. 1 requested an I response less frequently when he disagreed with them, but only under conditions in which Ss were told the I would try to influence them. Under influence instructions there was a positive correlation between frequency of I responses and negative attitude toward him. In Exp. 3, frequency of I response was maintained over trials only for Ss high on the Social Desirability Scale. The attitude of high SD Ss was more negative when emotional, rather than neutral, topics were discussed. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential subjective and psychophysiological responses to socially and nonsocially generated emotional stimuli.

Sociality may determine the subjective experience and physiological response to emotional stimuli. Film segments induced socially and nonsocially generated emotions. Comedy (social positive), bereavement (social negative), pizza scenes (nonsocial positive), and wounded bodies (nonsocial negative) elicited four distinct emotional patterns. Per subjective report, joy, sadness, appetite, and disgust were elicited by the targeted stimulus condition. The social/nonsocial dimension influenced which emotional valence(s) elicited a skin conductance response, a finding that could not be explained by differences in subjective arousal. Heart rate deceleration was more responsive to nonsocially generated emotions. Taken together, these findings suggest that sociality affects the physiological profile of responses to emotional valence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voluntary expressive changes and emotion.

Examined the influence of changes in facial expression on physiological and self-report measures of emotion. In Exp I, 27 undergraduates portrayed facial expressions associated with being afraid, calm, and normal. Portraying fear produced increases in pulse rate and skin conductance relative to portraying either calm or normal, but posing had no effect on subjective reports of anxiety (Affect Adjective Check List). In Exp II, 38 Ss listened to loud or soft noise while changing their expressions to portray fear, happiness, or calmness. Portraying either fear or happiness produced greater arousal than remaining calm. Changes in facial expression failed to affect self-reports of noise loudness. Results suggest that changes in facial expression influence physiological responses through the movement involved in posing and may not influence self-reports of emotion at all. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)