Looking at pictures: Affective, facial, visceral, and behavioral reactions

TLDR

The study presented 6‑second colored photographs varying in valence and arousal while recording facial EMG (zygomatic, corrugator), heart rate, and skin conductance, and collected pleasure, arousal, interest, emotional state judgments and choice viewing time. Facial expression covaried with valence judgments, skin conductance with arousal ratings, and interest ratings and viewing time were linked to arousal, while gender and cognitive style had limited effects, supporting that specific affects elicit distinct reactivity patterns and that emotion is organized by motivational dimensions.

Abstract

Abstract Colored photographic pictures that varied widely across the affective dimensions of valence (pleasant‐unpleasant) and arousal (excited‐calm) were each viewed for a 6‐s period while facial electromyographic (zygomatic and corrugator muscle activity) and visceral (heart rate and skin conductance) reactions were measured. Judgments relating to pleasure, arousal, interest, and emotional state were measured, as was choice viewing time. Significant covariation was obtained between (a) facial expression and affective valence judgments and (b) skin conductance magnitude and arousal ratings. Interest ratings and viewing time were also associated with arousal. Although differences due to the subject's gender and cognitive style were obtained, affective responses were largely independent of the personality factors investigated. Response specificity, particularly facial expressiveness, supported the view that specific affects have unique patterns of reactivity. The consistency of the dimensional relationships between evaluative judgments (i.e., pleasure and arousal) and physiological response, however, emphasizes that emotion is fundamentally organized by these motivational parameters.