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Affective reactions to briefly presented pictures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2001

MAURIZIO CODISPOTI ,
MARGARET M. BRADLEY  and
PETER J. LANG
MAURIZIO CODISPOTI
Affiliation:
University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
MARGARET M. BRADLEY
Affiliation:
University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
PETER J. LANG
Affiliation:
University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
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Abstract

Affective reactions to briefly presented pictures were investigated to determine whether fleeting stimuli engage the motivational systems mediating emotional responses. Emotional and neutral pictures were presented for 500 ms; heart rate, skin conductance, corrugator EMG, and the evoked startle reflex were measured. The time course of reflex modulation was similar to that obtained with longer (6 s) presentations, suggesting that picture processing continues in the absence of a sensory stimulus. Affective reactions found with more sustained presentation were also obtained, with more corrugator EMG activity for unpleasant pictures, and greater skin conductance reactivity for emotional pictures. Heart rate modulation, however, appears to rely on the presence of a sensory stimulus. The data also suggest that brief presentations of unpleasant pictures may result in less defensive activation than sustained presentation.

Keywords

EmotionAttentionStartleReflex modulationPrepulse inhibitionAffect
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , May 2001 , pp. 474 - 478
Copyright
2001 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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