scholarly journals How disappointing: Startle modulation reveals conditional stimuli presented after pleasant unconditional stimuli acquire negative valence

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. S. Green ◽  
Camilla C. Luck ◽  
Ottmar V. Lipp
Keyword(s):  
Negative Valence ◽  
Startle Modulation

The Influence of Emotionally Relevant Context on the Evoked Cardiac Response Triggered by an Irrelevant Stimulus

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Kuniecki ◽  
Robert Barry ◽  
Jan Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Irrelevant Stimulus ◽  
Cardiac Response ◽  
Mental Task ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Cardiac Deceleration ◽  
Relevant Context ◽  
Stimulus Valence ◽  
Affective Stimulus

Abstract The effect of stimulus valence was examined in the evoked cardiac response (ECR) elicited by the exposition of neutral and negative slides as well as by an innocuous auditory stimulus presented on the affective foregrounds generated by the slides. The exposition of the aversive slide produced prolonged cardiac deceleration in comparison with the neutral slide. Similar prolonged deceleration accompanied exposition of the neutral auditory stimulus on the negative visual foreground in comparison with the neutral foreground. We interpret these results as an autonomic correlate of extended stimulus processing associated with the affective stimulus. The initial deceleration response, covering two or three slower heart beats, may be prolonged for several seconds before HR reaches the baseline level again. In such a case the evoked cardiac deceleration can be functionally divided into two parts: the reflexive bradycardia (ECR1) elicited by neutral stimuli and a late decelerative component (LDC). We can speculate that the latter is associated with an additional voluntary continuation of processing of the stimulus. This must involve some cognitive aspect different from the mental task performance which leads to the accelerative ECR2, and we suggest that processing of a stimulus with negative valence is involved in generating the LDC.

Why Some Students Adjust Easily While Others Can Not? Stress and Adjustment to University: Personality as Moderator

2021 ◽  
pp. 152102512110021
Author(s):  
Ayşe I. Kural ◽  
Berrin Özyurt
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Predictive Utility ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Big Five Model ◽  
University Adjustment ◽  
Moderating Role

Research has demonstrated consistently that personality and perceived stress, independently, are essential factors for university adjustment among university freshmen; however, little is known about the associations between personality, perceived stress, and adjustment together. Our primary goal was to explore the predictive utility of perceived stress for explaining university adjustment among university freshmen ( N = 290). We also tested the moderating role of personality traits and this research was embedded within a Big Five model of personality including the sixth trait for Turkish context, ‘Negative Valence’. Results addressed that only conscientiousness and negative valence moderated the perceived stress and adjustment association. Students high on negative valence and/or conscientiousness tended to experience the detrimental effect of perceived stress on university adjustment more due to their personality. These results suggested that personality might be an important factor to include in adjustment fostering interventions for freshmen at universities.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: When Symmetric and Curved Visual Contour Meet Intentional Instructions: Hedonic Value and Preference

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110215
Author(s):  
Erick G. Chuquichambi Apaza ◽  
Guido B. Corradi ◽  
Enric Munar ◽  
Jaume Rosselló-Mir
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Experimental Session ◽  
Hedonic Tone ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Visual Contour ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Positive And Negative Valence ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Explicit Measures

Symmetry and contour take part in shaping visual preference. However, less is known about their combined contribution to preference. We examined the hedonic tone and preference triggered by the interaction of symmetry and contour. Symmetric/curved, symmetric/sharp-angled, asymmetric/curved, and asymmetric/sharp-angled stimuli were presented in an implicit and explicit task. The implicit task consisted of an affective stimulus-response compatibility task where participants matched the stimuli with positive and negative valence response cues. The explicit task recorded liking ratings from the same stimuli. We used instructed mindset to induce participants to focus on symmetry or contour in different parts of the experimental session. We found an implicit compatibility of symmetry and curvature with positive hedonic tone. Explicit results showed preference for symmetry and curvature. In both tasks, symmetry and curvature showed a cumulative interaction, with a larger contribution of symmetry to the overall effect. While symmetric and asymmetric stimuli contributed to the implicit positive valence of symmetry, the effect of curvature was mainly caused by inclination toward curved contours rather than rejection of sharp-angled contours. We did not find any correlation between implicit and explicit measures, suggesting that they may involve different cognitive processing.

scholarly journals No consistent startle modulation by reward

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Schutte ◽  
Johanna M. P. Baas ◽  
Ivo Heitland ◽  
J. Leon Kenemans
Keyword(s):  
Startle Reflex ◽  
Task Engagement ◽  
Future Experiment ◽  
Reflex Modulation ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Potential Gain ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Experimental Parameters ◽  
Startle Modulation ◽  
Aversive Motivation

AbstractPrevious studies have not clearly demonstrated whether motivational tendencies during reward feedback are mainly characterized by appetitive responses to a gain or mainly by aversive consequences of reward omission. In the current study this issue was addressed employing a passive head or tails game and using the startle reflex as an index of the appetitive-aversive continuum. A second aim of the current study was to use startle-reflex modulation as a means to compare the subjective value of monetary rewards of varying magnitude. Startle responses after receiving feedback that a potential reward was won or not won were compared with a baseline condition without a potential gain. Furthermore, startle responses during anticipation of no versus potential gain were compared. Consistent with previous studies, startle-reflex magnitudes were significantly potentiated when participants anticipated a reward compared to no reward, which may reflect anticipatory arousal. Specifically for the largest reward (20-cents) startle magnitudes were potentiated when a reward was at stake but not won, compared to a neutral baseline without potential gain. In contrast, startle was not inhibited relative to baseline when a reward was won. This suggests that startle modulation during feedback is better characterized in terms of potentiation when missing out on reward rather than in terms of inhibition as a result of winning. However, neither of these effects were replicated in a more targeted second experiment. The discrepancy between these experiments may be due to differences in motivation to obtain rewards or differences in task engagement. From these experiments it may be concluded that the nature of the processing of reward feedback and reward cues is very sensitive to experimental parameters and settings. These studies show how apparently modest changes in these parameters and settings may lead to quite different modulations of appetitive/aversive motivation. A future experiment may shed more light on the question whether startle-reflex modulation after feedback is indeed mainly characterized by the aversive consequences of reward omission for relatively large rewards.

Emotionality effects in ambiguous word recognition: The crucial role of the affective congruence between distinct meanings of ambiguous words

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182199000
Author(s):  
Pilar Ferré ◽  
Juan Haro ◽  
Daniel Huete-Pérez ◽  
Isabel Fraga
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Affective Meanings ◽  
Valence Effect ◽  
Affective Word

There is substantial evidence that affectively charged words (e.g., party or gun) are processed differently from neutral words (e.g., pen), although there are also inconsistent findings in the field. Some lexical or semantic variables might explain such inconsistencies, due to the possible modulation of affective word processing by these variables. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which affective word processing is modulated by semantic ambiguity. We conducted a large lexical decision study including semantically ambiguous words (e.g., cataract) and semantically unambiguous words (e.g., terrorism), analysing the extent to which reaction times (RTs) were influenced by their affective properties. The findings revealed a valence effect in which positive valence made RTs faster, whereas negative valence slowed them. The valence effect diminished as the semantic ambiguity of words increased. This decrease did not affect all ambiguous words, but was observed mainly in ambiguous words with incongruent affective meanings. These results highlight the need to consider the affective properties of the distinct meanings of ambiguous words in research on affective word processing.

The cross-modal affective priming effect: Effects of the valence and arousal of primes

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Cheng Kang ◽  
Nan Ye ◽  
Fangwen Zhang ◽  
Yanwen Wu ◽  
Guichun Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Affective Priming ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Priming Task ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Visual Targets ◽  
Positive And Negative Valence ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Affective Information

Although studies have investigated the influence of the emotionality of primes on the cross-modal affective priming effect, it is unclear whether this effect is due to the contribution of the arousal or the valence of primes. We explored how the valence and arousal of primes influenced the cross-modal affective priming effect. In Experiment 1 we manipulated the valence of primes (positive and negative) that were matched by arousal. In Experiments 2 and 3 we manipulated the arousal of primes under the conditions of positive and negative valence, respectively. Affective words were used as auditory primes and affective faces were used as visual targets in a priming task. The results suggest that the valence of primes modulated the cross-modal affective priming effect but that the arousal of primes did not influence the priming effect. Only when the priming stimuli were positive did the cross-modal affective priming effect occur, but negative primes did not produce a priming effect. In addition, for positive but not negative primes, the arousal of primes facilitated the processing of subsequent targets. Our findings have great significance for understanding the interaction of different modal affective information.

Maturation of Startle Modulation

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 624-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward M. Ornitz ◽  
Donald Guthrie ◽  
Andrea R. Kaplan ◽  
Shelly J. Lane ◽  
Robert J. Norman
Keyword(s):  
Startle Modulation

scholarly journals Dogs recognize dog and human emotions

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 20150883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Albuquerque ◽  
Kun Guo ◽  
Anna Wilkinson ◽  
Carine Savalli ◽  
Emma Otta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Auditory Cues ◽  
Cognitive Representations ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
High Level

The perception of emotional expressions allows animals to evaluate the social intentions and motivations of each other. This usually takes place within species; however, in the case of domestic dogs, it might be advantageous to recognize the emotions of humans as well as other dogs. In this sense, the combination of visual and auditory cues to categorize others' emotions facilitates the information processing and indicates high-level cognitive representations. Using a cross-modal preferential looking paradigm, we presented dogs with either human or dog faces with different emotional valences (happy/playful versus angry/aggressive) paired with a single vocalization from the same individual with either a positive or negative valence or Brownian noise. Dogs looked significantly longer at the face whose expression was congruent to the valence of vocalization, for both conspecifics and heterospecifics, an ability previously known only in humans. These results demonstrate that dogs can extract and integrate bimodal sensory emotional information, and discriminate between positive and negative emotions from both humans and dogs.

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