Self-assessment of emotional arousal in adolescents and young adults

Abstract

Introduction. The deep level of integration of cognitive and emotional processes must be taken into account in the modern education system and in the training of teaching staff. Adolescence is characterized by intense changes in the emotional sphere. At the same time, the data on emotional processes changes in adolescents are quite contradictory. In addition, most studies of emotions in this age period were carried out in Western culture and the problem of cross-cultural comparisons of emotional development patterns rarely attract the attention of researchers. To correctly measure a person’s emotional sphere, methods that have passed the validation procedure in the country where the work is planned are needed. One way to study emotional reactions is the IAPS database of emotionally evocative photographs. The aim of the study was to compare emotional performance at different stages of adolescence and early adulthood in as part of testing emotionally charged IAPS stimuli on a Russian adolescent sample. Materials and methods. The study involved 436 adolescents and young adults. Four groups were compared: 10-12 years old (49 boys and 51 girls), 13-14 years old (48 boys, 48 girls), 15-17 years old (45 boys, 75 girls) and 18-25 years old (24 men and 96 women). Participants in the study were required to evaluate the emotions that arose in response to the presentation of IAPS pictures on the screen on the scales of valence (feeling of pleasure - displeasure), arousal (strength of excitation) and dominance (feeling of control over the situation). Results. The valence, arousal and dominance scores were obtained for Russian samples 10-12 years old, 13-14 years old, 15-17 years old, 18-25 years old, with a high level of reliability. In addition, cross-cultural differences from American norms were demonstrated, emphasizing the necessity to use scores developed on representatives of the culture where the study is planned to be carry out. The study also showed that in adolescence there is a change in the affective space formed by the scale of valence and arousal, which indicates a crucial change in the emotional sphere during this period. The comparison showed significant differences on emotional scales for both positive and negative emotions between different age groups, indicating the dynamics of emotional development. The complex pattern of differences in valence, arousal and dominance scales between different age groups suggests non-linear changes. Conclusion. The standards for the valence, arousal and dominance scales of the IAPS database for Russian adolescents and young adults, which can be used to measure the emotional variables are presented in a study.