Unpleasant Arousal Research Articles

Sensory Processing Sensitivity as a Predictor of Proactive Work Behavior and a Moderator of the Job Complexity–Proactive Work Behavior Relationship

This study investigates the role of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) as a predictor of employees’ proactive work behavior. SPS is a multidimensional concept that depicts differences in people’s sensory awareness, processing, and reactivity to internal and external influences. Based on research on SPS as grounded in a heightened sensitivity of the behavioral inhibition and activation systems, it was argued that the relationships with task proactivity and personal initiative as indicators of proactive work behavior differ for the three SPS dimensions. Furthermore, based on the person–environment fit perspective, SPS was assumed to moderate the relationship between employees’ job complexity and proactivity. The hypotheses were tested in two two-wave studies (N = 215 and N = 126). Across both studies, ease of excitation (EOE; i.e., the tendency to be easily overwhelmed by changes) was unrelated to proactivity. Low sensory threshold (LST; i.e., unpleasant arousal from external stimuli) was negatively related to personal initiative, only in Study 2, but it did not predict task proactivity. Meanwhile, aesthetic sensitivity (i.e., AES; awareness of and openness to positive stimuli) was positively related to proactivity, but in Study 2, this relationship could only be established for personal initiative. Moreover, job complexity was positively related to proactivity for those employees high but not for those low in AES. EOE and LST did not act as moderators. This study offers evidence of positive behavioral implications among highly sensitive persons when dealing with job complexity. Overall, the study presents an interesting point of departure for the role of SPS in employee proactivity that calls for more research.

The effects of breathing at a frequency of 0.1 Hz on affective state, the cardiovascular system, and adequacy of ventilation.

The present study aimed to investigate changes induced by breathing at 0.1Hz in affective state, cardiovascular activity, and adequacy of ventilation as well as the relation between changes in peripheral physiological processes and alteration of affect. Eighty-three participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Two groups doing paced breathing at 0.1Hz, one with and the other without a cover story hiding the goal of the experiment, and, as a control, paced breathing at 0.28Hz. We measured the effects of breathing at 0.1Hz on affective state (unpleasant and pleasant arousals), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), sympathetic control of the heart (preejection period, PEP), and adequacy of ventilation as measured by partial pressure of end-tidal CO2 (PetCO2 ). The use of a cover story did not influence the effects of paced breathing on the study outcomes. In the 0.1Hz groups, unpleasant arousal decreased only among men. Changes in RSA were not related to changes in affect. Respiratory frequency did not influence PEP. However, changes in PEP were inversely related to changes in pleasant arousal. PetCO2 decreased in all conditions, and a larger drop in PetCO2 predicted a greater decrease in unpleasant arousal. The results obtained corroborate previous findings showing that slow paced breathing may lead to moderate hyperventilation among untrained participants and suggest that hyperventilation during breathing at 0.1Hz is not deep enough to produce an increase in affective arousal.

Freedom of choice as a critical success factor in destination marketing: Empirical evidence from a far-east gambling city

When people feel that their freedom of choice is eliminated or reduced, they may experience unpleasant arousal. Creative tourism and the quality of the tourism experience are more likely to occur when an individual has the opportunity and freedom to choose travel options and perceives control over the activity. While freedom of choice is an essential part of tourists’ enjoyment, less research attention has been given to freedom of choice in the context of tourism destinations. This study focused on mainland Chinese travelers at a recently emerging gambling capital of the world as a case for investigation and aims at filling this literature gap by proposing a “freedom of choice—satisfaction—destination loyalty” paradigm. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to evaluate a theoretical model by examining the relationship among freedom of choice, satisfaction, and destination loyalty and the mediating effect of satisfaction between freedom of choice and destination loyalty. The study also examines the potential moderating effects of gender on the aforementioned relationships. The structural model indicates that freedom of choice had a direct and positive impact on destination loyalty, but this relationship is partially mediated by satisfaction levels. However, the model did not discover a moderating effect of gender. Based on these findings, this study discusses conclusion and implications for research and practice in the context of tourism literature.

Measurement of Brain Activity Related to Unpleasant Emotion in the Prefrontal Cortex Region Using NIRS

Abstract We measured noninvasively a response of blood flow (hemoglobin concentration) in the prefrontal cortex area caused by emotional unpleasant arousal using the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). NIRS can be easily measured brain activity in comparison with other measurement methods. And it has the advantage of low load for subjects. In this study, auditory stimuli applied to subjects in order to arouse unpleasant emotions, changes in blood flow were measured at that time. As a result, we have confirmed a significant increase of the oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in the peripheral cortex (Brodmann area 9) caused by the emotional unpleasant associated. And, the effectiveness of NIRS in measuring the brain activity related to emotional was demonstrated.

Eating ghosts: The underlying mechanisms of mood repair via interactive and noninteractive media.

Mood repair is a well-established function of media usage implying distraction from negative mood and the modification of unpleasant arousal states. Recent studies have found interactive media, in particular computer games, to be more effective in repairing mood than noninteractive media. It has been suggested that this is due to the higher task demand of interactive media distracting the players from negative feelings. Yet interactive media have also been found to increase arousal, which can also be seen as a cause for successful mood repair. It remains an open question which mechanism or to which degree both mechanisms-distraction and arousal regulation-account for mood repair via interactive media. The current study was designed to examine this so far unanswered question. We analyzed how effectively negative moods were regulated after a computer game, after a gameplay video, and without media consumption (control group). Mood repair, physiological arousal (positive change in electrodermal activity), and subjective arousal were assessed. Results confirmed that computer games led to a higher degree of mood repair and that this repair was a function of task demand as well as arousal characteristics. Results are discussed in terms of arousal regulation and intervention potential in interactive media.

Neural Evidence That Human Emotions Share Core Affective Properties

Research on the “emotional brain” remains centered around the idea that emotions like fear, happiness, and sadness result from specialized and distinct neural circuitry. Accumulating behavioral and physiological evidence suggests, instead, that emotions are grounded in core affect—a person’s fluctuating level of pleasant or unpleasant arousal. A neuroimaging study revealed that participants’ subjective ratings of valence (i.e., pleasure/displeasure) and of arousal evoked by various fear, happiness, and sadness experiences correlated with neural activity in specific brain regions (orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala, respectively). We observed these correlations across diverse instances within each emotion category, as well as across instances from all three categories. Consistent with a psychological construction approach to emotion, the results suggest that neural circuitry realizes more basic processes across discrete emotions. The implicated brain regions regulate the body to deal with the world, producing the affective changes at the core of emotions and many other psychological phenomena.

The transferable placebo effect from pain to emotion: Changes in behavior and EEG activity

Past studies indicate that the placebo expectation established by analgesic treatment significantly relieves pain perception, while ataractic treatment significantly alleviates unpleasant arousal evoked by negative picture processing. But it is unclear whether the placebo effect can be transferred from one domain to the other, namely from pain to emotion. In this study we led participants to believe in the analgesic effect of magnetic treatment equipment (the placebo) by secretly reducing the intensity of pain stimulus. Then, we examined if this placebo could significantly alter participants' negative affect evoked by watching unpleasant pictures. Our results indicated a significant transferable placebo effect that alleviated negative feelings. EEG recordings showed the transferable placebo treatment induced decreased P2 amplitude and increased N2 amplitude, with source location near the posterior cingulate.

Marital satisfaction and psychophysiological responsiveness in spouses of patients with chronic pain

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between spouse marital satisfaction and spouse solicitousness to their physiological responsiveness during marital interactions about pain. Twenty-six couples engaged in a series of structured marital interactions about neutral and pain-related topics while monitored for skin conductance (SC) and heart rate (HR). There was strong support for the role of spouses’ marital satisfaction in predicting their physiological responsiveness. The more satisfied a spouse, the more physiologically reactive the spouses were when listening to the patient describe pain, and the less reactive when responding to it. Dissatisfied spouses demonstrated the opposite pattern. They autonomically deactivated when hearing about the pain and became reactive when responding to it. Solicitousness was not a significant predictor of the spouses’ physiological responsiveness. Block’s (1981) proposed physiological mechanism for the origin of solicitousness in spouses did not receive support. It appears that responding in any fashion may lessen the magnitude of arousal in maritally satisfied spouses, whereas dealing with pain-related topics produces unpleasant arousal in dissatisfied spouses.