Emotional responses to art: From collation and arousal to cognition and emotion.

The study of emotional responses to art has remained curiously detached from the psychology of emotions. Historically, the leading tradition has been Daniel Berlyne's psychobiological model, embodied by the "new experimental aesthetics" movement of the 1970s. That theory explained hedonic qualities of art by referring to arousal-modifying "collative properties" of art, such as complexity, novelty, uncertainty, and conflict. Berlyne's influence on the experimental study of aesthetics has been enormous, largely for the better but also for the worse. Berlyne's suspicion of cognitive psychology led to an unproductive perseveration on arousal as the mechanism of "aesthetic responses." This article describes how appraisal theories of emotion inform the study of aesthetics. Appraisal theories make new predictions about emotional responses to art, expand the domain of aesthetic emotions beyond positive emotions such as interest and enjoyment, inform other theories (e.g., prototypicality models), and reinterpret past findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beauty as an emotion: The exhilarating prospect of mastering a challenging world.

Beauty has received sparse attention from emotion theorists, some of whom have argued that aesthetic pleasure is cognitive in nature and too "disinterested" to be emotional. This view is supported by research suggesting that aesthetic pleasure is based on processing fluency. The authors review recent findings in the psychology of aesthetics and present two arguments. First, processing fluency explains the mild pleasure associated with simple or familiar objects, but it cannot account for the more intense pleasure associated with complex or novel objects. Immediately recognizing an object tends to be mildly pleasant, whereas sensing the prospect of successfully representing a complex object can be exhilarating. Second, to explain how these forms of aesthetic pleasures differ, a theory must go beyond cognitive dynamics. The authors' affect-based model of emotion differentiates aesthetic pleasures in terms of epistemic goals. Pretty, fluently processed stimuli implicate prevention goals that maintain and protect knowledge. Beautiful, novel stimuli implicate promotion goals that reshape and expand knowledge. The emotional nature of interest and awe are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fictions in formal analysis' conception of classical conditioning: A case of operantism.

Comments on W. W. Tryon's (see record 1977-04654-001) article classifying classical conditioning as a noncontingent type of operant conditioning and criticizes Tryon's omission of the influence of emotional responses on instrumental responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring the Brain's Interface Between Personality, Mood, and Emotion: Theoretical Comment on Canli et al. (2004).

T. Canli et al., 2004 (see record 2004-19432-002) use functional MRI to explore the neural interface between personality, mood, and emotional responses. Their finding of a double dissociation in brain response to emotional stimuli based on personality and mood state has significant implications for our understanding of the effects of personality traits and mood states on the neural bases of emotion and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Event-related potentials to stimuli with emotional impact in posttraumatic stress patients

BACKGROUND: Psychophysiological research has given conflicting results with respect to whether the abnormal physiologic responses observed in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reflect a general abnormality or are linked to trauma-related stimuli. We studied differences in the central nervous processing of words with emotional impact in survivors after a ship fire disaster. METHODS: Event-related potentials were studied in 11 survivors with posttraumatic stress pathology, and compared with 9 survivors without such pathology. Nonwords and words with negative or positive emotional valence were used as distractors in a P3 oddball paradigm. RESULTS: PTSD subjects had increased N1 latency to standard tones and increased positive amplitude to both words and nonwords compared with controls, occurring between 200 and 350 msec after stimulus onset. The amplitudes to emotionally meaningful words were significantly related to Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale-assessed PTSD dimensions, in particular avoidance and arousal. CONCLUSIONS: The abnormality in information processing observed in PTSD patients seems in part to be linked with increased attention, in part with emotional responses to the trauma. Intrusion was mainly related to the processing of nonwords, while arousal and avoidance were related to event-related potential amplitudes to emotionally meaningful words, suggesting that intrusion has a different neurobiological basis than arousal and avoidance.     

Flexible emotional responsiveness in trait resilience.

Field studies and laboratory experiments have documented that a key component of resilience is emotional flexibility—the ability to respond flexibly to changing emotional circumstances. In the present study we tested the hypotheses that resilient people exhibit emotional flexibility: (a) in response to frequently changing emotional stimuli and (b) across multiple modalities of emotional responding. As participants viewed a series of emotional pictures, we assessed their self-reported affect, facial muscle activity, and startle reflexes. Higher trait resilience predicted more divergent affective and facial responses (corrugator and zygomatic) to positive versus negative pictures. Thus, compared with their low-resilient counterparts, resilient people appear to be able to more flexibly match their emotional responses to the frequently changing emotional stimuli. Moreover, whereas high-trait-resilient participants exhibited divergent startle responses to positive versus negative pictures regardless of the valence of the preceding trial, low-trait-resilient participants did not exhibit divergent startle responses when the preceding picture was negative. High-trait-resilient individuals, therefore, appear to be better able than are their low-resilient counterparts to either switch or maintain their emotional responses depending on whether the emotional context changes. The present findings broaden our understanding of the mechanisms underlying resilience by demonstrating that resilient people are able to flexibly change their affective and physiological responses to match the demands of frequently changing environmental circumstances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does music induce emotion? A theoretical and methodological analysis.

Is music ubiquitous in part because it is causally linked to emotion? In this article, a comprehensive theoretical and methodological reevaluation is presented of a classical problem: The direct induction of emotion by music (M→E). The author's Prototypical Emotion-Episode Model (PEEM) is used in the conceptual critique. A close scrutiny of the major published studies, and the author's new data regarding some substantive and methodological issues in several of these, reveal weak support for the M→E model. The conclusion seems justified that music may induce low-grade basic emotions through mediators, such as dance and cognitive associations to real-world events. However, it is suggested--on the basis of the recently developed Aesthetic Trinity Theory (ATT; Kone?ni, 2005) and its further development in the present article--that being moved and aesthetic awe, often accompanied by thrills, may be the most genuine and profound music-related emotional states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with adults' angry behavior: Behavioral, physiological, and verbal responses in preschoolers.

This study replicated and extended a study of Cummings (1987) by examining 4- and 5-year-olds' behavioral and verbal responses to adults' angry behavior and collected data on physiological responses. We found behavioral and verbal responses of distress and that systolic blood pressure increased in response to anger. As in Cummings (1987), children's behavioral emotional responses to anger predicted other aspects of responding. Angry/ambivalent children showed a complex heart rate pattern, including a decrease with the onset of anger, whereas heart rate increased in response to anger for concerned/distressed children. Both groups reported more emotional distress (mostly anger) than unresponsive children, and angry–ambivalent children reported the most nonplay responses (e.g., leave, mediate). The results provide more support for discrete patterns of responding to adults' angry emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fuzzy picture processing: Effects of size reduction and blurring on emotional processing.

Previous studies have suggested that picture size reduction affects emotional reactions, possibly because scenes subtending a small visual angle are perceived as being more distant and less relevant compared to larger stimuli. However, pictures that subtend a small visual angle also contain few fine-grained details, which may determine less vivid representations and responses compared to larger and more detailed images. Critically, the present study compared two different types of manipulations, namely size reduction and low-pass spatial filtering, which determined similar detail loss but affected visual angles differently. Affective modulation was assessed using an evaluative task and a behavioral interference task. Results showed that the availability of fine-grained details, independently of visual angle, modulated emotional evaluation. Moreover, interference in an unrelated task was unaffected by either size reduction or low-pass spatial filtering. These findings suggest that high spatial frequencies affect subjective emotional response whereas attentional capture by affective stimuli seems to rely on information that is sufficient to allow a categorization of picture content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When room size matters: Acoustic influences on emotional responses to sounds.

When people hear a sound (a “sound object” or a “sound event”) the perceived auditory space around them might modulate their emotional responses to it. Spaces can affect both the acoustic properties of the sound event itself and may also impose boundaries to the actions one can take with respect to this event. Virtual acoustic rooms of different sizes were used in a subjective and psychophysiological experiment that evaluated the influence of the auditory space perception on emotional responses to various sound sources. Participants (N = 20) were exposed to acoustic spaces with sound source positions and room acoustic properties varying across the experimental conditions. The results suggest that, overall, small rooms were considered more pleasant, calmer, and safer than big rooms, although this effect of size seems to disappear when listening to threatening sound sources. Sounds heard behind the listeners tended to be more arousing, and elicited larger physiological changes than sources in front of the listeners. These effects were more pronounced for natural, compared to artificial, sound sources, as confirmed by subjective and physiological measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of aesthetic sensitivity in body dysmorphic disorder.

Individuals with a higher aesthetic sensitivity may be more vulnerable to developing body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Aesthetic sensitivity has 3 components: (a) perceptual, (b) emotional, and (c) evaluative. Individuals with BDD (n = 50) were compared with a control group of individuals with an education or employment in art and design related fields (n = 50) and a control group of individuals without aesthetic training (n = 50). A facial photograph of each participant was manipulated to create a 9-image symmetry continuum. Presented with the continuum on a computer, participants were required to select and rate the image representing their self-actual, self-ideal, idea of perfect, most physically attractive, most pleasure, and most disgust. Control symmetry continua examined the specificity of the disturbance. As predicted, BDD participants displayed no distortion in their perceptual processing but were disturbed in their negative emotional/evaluative processing of their self-image. A significant discrepancy between their self-actual and self-ideal, resulting from an absent self-serving bias in their self-actual (a bias exhibited by controls) appears to be the source of their disturbance. They also overvalued the importance of appearance and self-objectified. These aesthetic evaluations may predispose individuals to BDD and/or maintain the disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Self Verbalization and Emotional Arousal": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by David C. Rimm and Stuart B. Litvak (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1969[April],74[2],181-187). On page 187 of the article corrections need to be made in the first and second paragraphs. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1969-09037-001.) Investigated certain assumptions derived from A. Ellis' theory relating implicit verbalization to emotional arousal. Emotional responses (GSR and respiration changes) of 18 undergraduates instructed to silently read sequences of affectively loaded sentences were compared with those of 9 Ss who read neutral sentences. The relationship between relevance to S of the content of the sentences and level of emotional response was investigated, as was the effect of sentence type (observation, inference, or evaluative conclusion) on level of emotional response. Results were that Ss showed a significantly greater response to affectively loaded than to neutral sentences on 2 out of 3 responses measures. Neither relevance nor sentence type were found to have any significant effect. Results were interpreted as offering only partial support for the theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The amygdala and development of social cognition: Theoretical comment on Bauman, Toscano, Mason, Lavenex, and Amaral (2006).

Nonhuman primate studies, using selective amygdala lesions that spare cortical areas and fibers of passage, have helped to clarify the amygdala's specific contribution to social and emotional behavior. M. D. Bauman, J. E. Toscano, W. A. Mason, P. Lavenex, and D. G. Amaral (2006; see record 2006-09890-001) reported that macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with neonatal neurotoxic amygdala lesions displayed lower rank in social dominance status, reduced aggressive gestures, and enhanced fearful reactions to social cues compared with normal controls and those with neonatal hippocampal lesions when tested as juveniles in a group of peers. These results are discussed in light of a recent study (C. J. Machado & J. Bachevalier, 2006; see record 2006-09890-002) showing that the same selective amygdala damage in adolescent monkeys did not alter presurgical social dominance status. This variability in behavioral changes after selective amygdala lesions underscores the significant interplay between timing of the lesion, genetic traits, and environmental factors and suggests that the amygdala is not the generator of specific emotional responses, but acts as a modulator to ensure that emotional responses are appropriate to the external stimuli and social context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory and Emotions for the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease, Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Healthy Older Adults.

National traumatic events can produce extremely vivid memories. Using a questionnaire administered during telephone interviews, the authors investigated emotional responses to, and memory for. the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy older adults in the initial weeks following the event and again 3-4 months later. There were several notable findings. First, patients with AD showed less memory than patients with MCI and older adults. Second, patients with AD, but not patients with MCI or older adults, appeared to retain more memory for personal versus factual information. Third, patients with AD and older adults did not differ in the intensity of their reported emotional responses to the attacks, whereas patients with MCI reported relatively less intense emotional responses. Last, distortions of memory for personal information were frequent for all participants but were more common in patients with AD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional and behavioral responses to aversive interpersonal behaviors.

In a conceptual replication of A. Biglan et al (see record 1989-39898-001), 288 Ss rated their emotional and behavioral responses to aggressive, distressed, and neutral behaviors. The stimulus behaviors occurred in the context of casual relationships and were portrayed by male and female actors. Consistent with Biglan et al, it was found that aggressive behaviors evoked angry emotions and negative behavioral responses; distressed behaviors evoked both angry and concerned emotions and supportive behavioral responses. However, in contrast to the original results, evidence was also found of negative (primarily avoidant) behavioral responses to distressed behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective patterns of randomness and choice: Some consequences of collective responses.

Any individual's response intended to be random should be as probable as any other. However, 3 experiments show that many people's independent responses depart from the expected chance distribution. Participants responding to instructions of chance and related concepts favor the available options unequally in a similar way. Consequently, in hide-and-seek games, hiders converge on certain locations and are thereby detected beyond chance by seekers who share their preferences. People agree on salient and on nonsalient options, both of which are preferred under different instructions and even in the absence of instructions. Group responses strongly correlate under diverse, even opposing (e.g., competitive and cooperative) directions. Apparently, common default tendencies, combining random and aesthetic choices, are only somewhat modified under specific instructions. Maximal agreement with others is obtained through one's own aesthetic choices. Hence, implementing one's personal aesthetic preferences succeeds in matching others' choices even better than deliberate mutual coordination efforts. These results broadly replicate in 1- and 2-dimensional tasks. Implications of the findings, their possible roots, and their connection to constructs from, e.g., game theory and subjective-complexity research, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

White students reflecting on whiteness: Understanding emotional responses.

In the present investigation, we explored potential predictors of White students' general emotional responses after they reflected on their Whiteness in a semistructured interview (n = 88) or written reflection (n = 187). Specifically, we examined how color-blindness (i.e., awareness of White privilege) and racial affect (i.e., White empathy, White guilt, and White fear), assessed before the interview or written reflection, may predict positive and negative emotional responses, assessed immediately following the interview or written reflection. Furthermore, we considered whether affective costs of racism to Whites moderated the association between racial color-blindness and general positive and negative emotional responses of White students. Findings indicated that affective costs of racism moderated associations between racial color-blindness and general emotional responses. Specifically, White fear moderated associations for the written reflection group whereas White empathy moderated an association in the interview. White guilt did not moderate, but instead directly predicted a negative emotional response in the written reflection group. Findings suggest that the interaction between racial color-blindness and racial affect is important when predicting students' emotional responses to reflecting on their Whiteness. Implications for educators and administrators are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eli M. Bower (1917–1991): Obituary.

Reports the death of Eli M. Bower, whose research was focused on mental retardation, sensory defects, and emotional disturbance, with an emphasis on early detection. He did extensive research on children's play, paying particular attention to cross-cultural play. The mainstreaming of exceptional children in the classroom was one of Bower's primary interests. The guidelines for identifying children with emotional handicaps in federal law PL94-142 were based on the conceptual model developed in his book, The Early Identification of Children With Educational Handicaps. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On personality and piloerection: Individual differences in aesthetic chills and other unusual aesthetic experiences.

Relatively little is known about aesthetic chills, the experience of goose bumps and shivers in response to the arts. The present study explored how often people report such experiences and what people who often experience them are like. After noting which domain of the arts they encountered most often in daily life, young adults (n = 188) rated how often they experienced aesthetic chills and related states. Latent variable models suggested three latent factors—aesthetic chills, feeling touched, and absorption—that shared a higher-order factor. As expected, people high in openness to experience and expertise in the arts consistently reported experiencing aesthetic chills more often. The Big Five personality factors accounted for about half of the variance, whereas cognitive and demographic variables were relatively unimportant. The individual-differences approach thus seems like a promising complement to experimental work on aesthetic chills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)