Constraints for emotion specificity in fear and anger: the context counts.
We investigated psychophysiological responses to fear and anger inductions during real-life and imagination. Female participants (N = 158) were assigned to a fear-treatment, fear-control, anger-treatment, or anger-control group. Context (real-life, imagination) was varied in two sessions of fixed order. Eleven self-report and 29 somatovisceral variables were registered. Results showed that (a) except during anger imagination, control groups were emotionless; (b) in control groups, contexts prompted diverging somatovisceral responses, but similar emotion self-reports; except during fear imagination, the emotion inductions (c) were successful and (d) produced specific emotion reports; (e) during real-life, somatovisceral fear and anger responses exhibited a marked cardiovascular defense reflex; (f) in addition, real-life fear showed an adrenaline-like specific response pattern, whereas real-life anger showed specific forehead temperature and EMG extensor increases, accompanied by an elevated DBP during imagination. A Component Model of Somatovisceral Response Organization is proposed.
Stemmler
G
G
University of Marburg, Germany. stemmler@mailer.uni-marburg.de
Heldmann
M
M
Pauls
C A
CA
Scherer
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004777:Environment; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged