Arousal and exposure duration affect forward step initiation.

Daniëlle Bouman,John F Stins,Peter J Beek

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01667

Abstract

Emotion influences parameters of goal-directed whole-body movements in several ways. For instance, previous research has shown that approaching (moving toward) pleasant stimuli is easier compared to approaching unpleasant stimuli. However, some studies found that when emotional pictures are viewed for a longer time, approaching unpleasant stimuli may in fact be facilitated. The effect of viewing duration may have modulated whole-body approach movement in previous research but this has not been investigated to date. In the current study, participants initiated a step forward after viewing neutral, high-arousal pleasant and high-arousal unpleasant stimuli. The viewing duration of the stimuli was set to seven different durations, varying from 100 to 4000 ms. Valence and arousal scores were collected for all stimuli. The results indicate that both viewing duration and the arousal of the stimuli influence kinematic parameters in forward gait initiation. Specifically, longer viewing duration, compared to shorter viewing duration, (a) diminished the step length and peak velocity in both neutral and emotional stimuli, (b) increased reaction time in neutral stimuli and, (c) decreased reaction time in pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Strikingly, no differences were found between high-arousal pleasant and high-arousal unpleasant stimuli. In other words, the valence of the stimuli did not influence kinematic parameters of forward step initiation. Instead the arousal level (neutral: low; pleasant and unpleasant: high) explained the variance found in the results. The kinematics of forward gait initiation seemed to be reflected in the subjective arousal scores, but not the valence scores. So it seems arousal affects forward gait initiation parameters more strongly than valence. In addition, longer viewing duration seemed to cause diminished alertness, affecting GI parameters. These results shed new light on the prevailing theoretical interpretations regarding approach motivation in the literature, which warrants further examination in future research.

Highlights

Emotion and action are strongly intertwined, but exactly how they are coupled, is not yet fully understood
Visual stimuli have been used to induce emotional states. These stimuli are typically selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; Lang et al, 2005) and involve pictures varying in valence and arousal, based on the assumption that emotions can be classified along these two dimensions (Lang et al, 2005)
The scores for both the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) trait and state anxiety scores were comparable to those reported by Naugle et al (2011), indicating that our sample was similar in that regard

Summary

Introduction

Emotion and action are strongly intertwined, but exactly how they are coupled, is not yet fully understood. Evidence of the emotion-action link has been found in behavioral experiments that have attempted to operationalize approach/avoidance behaviors in a variety of ways. The results indicated that it is easier to organize an approach movement in response to a pleasant item, and Arousal and exposure duration easier to organize an avoidance movement in response to an unpleasant item, compared to alternate pairings. Visual stimuli have been used to induce emotional states. These stimuli are typically selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; Lang et al, 2005) and involve pictures varying in valence (pleasantness) and arousal, based on the assumption that emotions can be classified along these two dimensions (Lang et al, 2005). Other emotional stimuli can involve facial expressions (Stins et al, 2011) or sounds (Komeilipoor et al, 2013)

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Results

Conclusion