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Valence‐dependent modulation of psychophysiological measures: Is there consistency across repeated testing?
Author(s) -
Manber Rachel,
Allen John J.B.,
Burton Keith,
Kaszniak Alfred W.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/1469-8986.3750683
Subject(s) - psychology , valence (chemistry) , moro reflex , arousal , startle response , facial electromyography , audiology , perception , emotional valence , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , electromyography , cognition , social psychology , neuroscience , reflex , chemistry , medicine , organic chemistry
The present study used the picture perception paradigm to examine the extent to which three well‐documented psychophysiological measures demonstrate consistency across time in response to emotional stimuli. The three measures were the eye‐blink startle response and the activation in two facial muscle regions (zygomatic and corrugator). Twenty‐seven young women were assessed on two occasions, 2 weeks apart. Whereas activation in the corrugator and zygomatic muscle regions demonstrated the predicted patterns at both assessments (with some attenuation in the zygomatic muscle regions), the startle response had limited consistency across the two assessments. The startle response revealed the predicted linear pattern of valence modulation during the first assessment. During the second assessment, startle magnitude response was a quadratic function of valence ratings and a linear function of arousal ratings. The unexpected pattern of startle response during the second session appeared to be related to the content of the pleasant slides, with action slides generating quadratic valence modulation and erotic slides continuing to exhibit the expected linear valence modulation.