Psychophysiological and subjective indices of emotion as a function of age and gender

Old, middle-aged and young persons of both genders were presented with slides containing pictorial stimuli that varied in emotional content. Each picture was rated on three dimensions: (1) valence; (2) arousal; and (3) dominance, using a 25-point scale. Heart rate, skin conductance, and forehead and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognition and emotion 2007-01, Vol.21 (1), p.182-210
Main Authors: Burriss, Louisa, Powell, D. A., White, Jeffrey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult. Elderly
Affectivity. Emotion
Age-Gender effects
Biological and medical sciences
Developmental psychology
Electromyography
Emotional imagery
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Galvanic skin response
Heart rate
Personality. Affectivity
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychophysiological aspects
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Summary:Old, middle-aged and young persons of both genders were presented with slides containing pictorial stimuli that varied in emotional content. Each picture was rated on three dimensions: (1) valence; (2) arousal; and (3) dominance, using a 25-point scale. Heart rate, skin conductance, and forehead and cheek EMG were recorded during each slide presentation. The old and middle-aged groups showed greatly attenuated psychophysiological responses, compared to the young group. However, the old and middle-aged subjects used more extreme ratings than the young subjects on both the valence and arousal dimensions. Females were more valence-sensitive than males, but males in general used more extreme ratings of arousal than females. These results suggest a tendency to report increased felt emotion but decreased physiological response to emotional stimuli across the life span.
ISSN:0269-9931
1464-0600
DOI:10.1080/02699930600562235