The psychophysiology of mixed emotional states: Internal and external replicability analysis of a direct replication study

The replicability of emotion‐related physiological changes constitutes a fundamental issue in affective science. We undertook a direct replication of the physiological differentiation of amusement, disgust, and a mixed emotional state as previously reported (Kreibig, Samson, & Gross, 2013). In the current study, 48 women watched 54 amusing, disgusting, and mixed emotional film clips while cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory measures were obtained. Primary analyses indicated physiological differentiation of the mixed emotional state from amusement and disgust. We evaluated (a) the probability that future replications of the current study would yield similar results using bootstrapped confidence intervals of effect sizes, and (b) the stability of results of physiological reactivity between actual replications using correlation and regression analyses. Findings suggest replicable differentiation of amusement, disgust, and a mixed emotional state.     

A systematic review of the clinical utility of the concept of self‐disgust

This systematic literature review examined the clinical utility of the construct of self‐disgust in understanding mental distress. Specifically, the review assessed whether there is a shared conceptual definition of self‐disgust, the face and construct validity of the quantitative assessment measures of self‐disgust, and the predictive validity of self‐disgust in formulating the development of a range of psychological difficulties. A systematic database search supplemented by manual searches of references and citations identified 31 relevant papers (27 quantitative, 3 qualitative, and 1 mixed). Analysis of qualitative papers indicated a number of shared features in the definition of self‐disgust, including a visceral sense of self‐elicited nausea accompanied by social withdrawal and attempts at cleansing or suppressing aspects of the self. Quantitative assessment measures appeared to capture these dimensions and evidenced good psychometric properties, although some measures may have only partially captured the full self‐disgust construct. Strong relationships were observed between self‐disgust and a range of mental health presentations, in particular, depression, body‐image difficulties, and trauma‐related difficulties. However, these relationships are smaller when the effects of other negative self‐referential emotions were controlled, and stronger conclusions about the predictive validity of self‐disgust are limited by the cross‐sectional nature of many of the studies.     

Emotion recognition from physiological signals

Emotion recognition is one of the great challenges in human-human and human-computer interaction. Accurate emotion recognition would allow computers to recognize human emotions and therefore react accordingly. In this paper, an approach for emotion recognition based on physiological signals is proposed. Six basic emotions: joy, sadness, fear, disgust, neutrality and amusement are analysed using physiological signals. These emotions are induced through the presentation of International Affecting Picture System (IAPS) pictures to the subjects. The physiological signals of interest in this analysis are: electromyogram signal (EMG), respiratory volume (RV), skin temperature (SKT), skin conductance (SKC), blood volume pulse (BVP) and heart rate (HR). These are selected to extract characteristic parameters, which will be used for classifying the emotions. The SVM (support vector machine) technique is used for classifying these parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology provides in general a recognition rate of 85% for different emotional states.     

Emotion recognition from physiological signals

Emotion recognition is one of the great challenges in human–human and human–computer interaction. Accurate emotion recognition would allow computers to recognize human emotions and therefore react accordingly. In this paper, an approach for emotion recognition based on physiological signals is proposed. Six basic emotions: joy, sadness, fear, disgust, neutrality and amusement are analysed using physiological signals. These emotions are induced through the presentation of International Affecting Picture System (IAPS) pictures to the subjects. The physiological signals of interest in this analysis are: electromyogram signal (EMG), respiratory volume (RV), skin temperature (SKT), skin conductance (SKC), blood volume pulse (BVP) and heart rate (HR). These are selected to extract characteristic parameters, which will be used for classifying the emotions. The SVM (support vector machine) technique is used for classifying these parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology provides in general a recognition rate of 85% for different emotional states.     

Derealization and self‐harm strategies are used to regulate disgust,fear, and sadness in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Emotion regulation (ER) difficulties have been identified as an important target for clinical intervention in the treatment of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). However, there is limited research regarding the use of specific strategies to regulate specific emotions following exposure to traumatic events. The aim of the current study was to investigate the indirect effects of four trauma‐related emotions (anger, sadness, disgust, and fear) on PTSD severity via two mediators: derealization and self‐harm. In particular, we tested that if the two hypothetical mediators operate sequentially, derealization precedes self‐harm and/or self‐harm precedes derealization. A predominate female clinical sample (N = 109) of CSA survivors completed measures of experience of emotions, ER, and post‐traumatic stress. Bivariate and serial mediation analyses were conducted to test the direct and indirect effects of trauma‐related emotions on PTSD severity. Serial mediation analyses indicated that there were significant total effects of all trauma‐related emotions on PTSD severity. Three trauma‐related emotions (sadness, disgust, and fear) were indirectly associated to PTSD severity via derealization and self‐harm and via self‐harm and derealization. Results indicate that difficulties in regulating the emotions of sadness, disgust, and fear may result in more severe derealization and self‐harm as coping strategies, which in turn lead to greater PTSD severity. The sequence of mediators does not hold great importance in these pathways. Overall, our findings suggest that therapeutically targeting derealization and self‐harm might enable the reduction of PTSD among CSA survivors.     

Intersection of Disgust and Fear: Normative and Pathological Views

The related emotions of disgust and fear are examined in their full range from normal to pathological. We propose that disgust plays a functional role in some anxiety disorders, specific phobias in particular. Basic research in disgust and fear is reviewed, and these emotions are contrasted in terms of their functional value, behavioral intentions, physiological processes, and acquisition mechanisms. Cognitive appraisals of danger and contamination are discussed as a mechanism for the role of disgust in some anxiety disorders. Finally, we evaluate competing explanations regarding the relationship between disgust and fear in these contexts, finding value in the concepts of imprecise emotional labeling and a synergistic model of a bidirectional association between disgust and fear. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

Basic and complex emotions in depression and anxiety

The current study was designed to assess the emotion states that occur across the clinical disorders of depression, anxiety and mixed anxiety depression. The emotion states were assessed using the Basic Emotions Scale, which includes a set of simple and complex emotions rationally derived from the basic emotions of sadness, anger, fear, disgust and happiness. The profiles of emotion states across the clinical disorders and across a matched healthy control group supported an analysis in which emotions related to sadness and disgust were elevated in the depressed and mixed disorders, whereas increased levels of anger and fear, and decreased levels of happiness did not distinguish between clinical groups but were found in all disorders in comparison to healthy controls. Further factor analyses gave support for the proposed basic emotions model and did not support alternative models such as the Positive Affect‐Negative Affect model. The findings demonstrate how a theoretically based emotion analysis can provide a useful foundation from which to explore the emotional disorders. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relation of anger to disgust: the potential role of coupled emotions within eating pathology

Objective: difficulties with anger and disgust have been highlighted within females with eating pathology (FEP). However, research has not investigated whether FEP experience greater levels of anger compared to controls or how these two emotions may interact in FEP. It was predicted that FEP would show significantly higher levels of state anger and this would also lead to a significant increase in disgust for FEP. Method: the experimental group (n = 25) had significant levels of eating pathology. Data from the State‐Trait Anger Expression Inventory‐2 and a disgust measure was collected before and after the induction of an angry state. Results: the bulimic group, in comparison to normal controls, demonstrated a significant increase in the state anger scores at time 2 and on the Disgust Sensitivity Scale. Conclusion: the findings demonstrate that the emotions of anger and disgust may be ‘coupled’, and disgust may be used to manage the ‘egodystonic’ emotion of anger in people with eating pathology. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Common and specific brain responses to scenic emotional stimuli

Processing of emotions has been an enduring topic of interest in neuroimaging research, but studies have mostly used facial emotional stimuli. The aim of this study was to determine neural networks involved in emotion processing using scenic emotional visual stimuli. One hundred and twenty photographs from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), including ecological scenes of disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness, were presented to 40 healthy participants while they underwent functional magnetic imaging resonance (fMRI). Afterwards they evaluated the emotional content of the pictures in an offline task. The occipito-temporal cortex and the amygdala–hippocampal complex showed a non-specific emotion-related activation, which was more marked in response to negative emotions than to happiness. The temporo-parietal cortex and the ventral anterior cingulate gyrus showed deactivation, with the former being marked for all emotions except fear and the latter being most marked for disgust. The fusiform gyrus showed activation in response to disgust and deactivation in response to happiness or sadness. Brain regions involved in processing of scenic emotion therefore resemble those reported for facial expressions of emotion in that they respond to a range of different emotions, although there appears to be specificity in the intensity and direction of the response.     

Vicarious pain responders and emotion: Evidence for distress rather than mimicry

Up to a third of the population experiences pain when seeing another in pain. The mechanisms underlying such vicarious sensory experiences are thought to reflect hyperactive mirror systems (threshold theory) or dysfunctional processing and representation of oneself versus others (self/other theory). This study investigated whether the tendency to experience vicarious pain corresponds to disinhibited physiological reactivity toward other's emotions, and/or greater empathic mimicry of other's physiological state (respiratory behavior) during fear, pain, and positive emotion. Fifty healthy individuals aged 18–55 years (23 vicarious pain responders) completed empathy‐ and anxiety‐related questionnaires, and a film task. Respiration was measured noninvasively with piezoelectric respiration belts while participants viewed emotional film clips depicting three emotions (fear/pain/positive) interspersed with neutral clips. The emotional stimuli depicted scenes in which the characters showed increases or decreases in respiration. The results suggest that vicarious pain responders do not mimic emotional respiratory behavior. Rather, vicarious pain responders had a significantly slower respiration rate for all emotional stimuli (M_Diff = 1.40 respiratory cycles, SE = .68), compared to nonresponders. However, this was associated with heightened trait anxiety. The findings suggest vicarious pain is associated with acute distress, rather than empathic mimicry of the emotional states of another.     

Development of an early memories of warmth and safeness scale and its relationship to psychopathology

Experiences of early childhood have a major impact on physiological, psychological, and social aspects of maturation and functioning. One avenue of work explores the recall and memory of positive or negative rearing experiences and their association with psychopathology measures. However, while many self‐report studies have focused on the recall of parental behaviours this study developed a new measure called the early memories of warmth and safeness scale (EMWSS), which focuses on recall of one's own inner positive feelings, emotions and experiences in childhood. Student participants (N=180) completed the new scale and a series of self‐report scales measuring different types of early recall, psychopathology, types of positive affect, and self‐criticism/reassurance. The EMWSS was found to have good psychometric properties and reliability. Recall of parental behaviour and recall of positive emotional memories were highly related, but recall of positive emotional memories was a better predictor of psychopathology, styles of self‐criticism/self‐reassurance and disposition to experience positive affect, than recall of parental behaviour.     

Neurophysiological Correlates of Induced Discrete Emotions in Humans: An Individually Oriented Analysis

Studies on 30 right-handed subjects addressed EEG characteristics (62 channels) in conditions of laboratory simulation of induced emotions of happiness, joy, anger, disgust, fear/anxiety, and sadness. Induced emotions were found to produce, along with common features, individual patterns in the distribution of amplitude-frequency EEG characteristics. Induced positive and negative discrete emotions were characterized by interhemisphere activatory asymmetry in the theta-2 (4–6 Hz), alpha-2 (10–12 Hz), and beta-1 (12–18 Hz) ranges. Experience of the emotions of joy, anger, and disgust occurred on the background of asymmetrical increases in activity in the anterior cortex of the left hemisphere in the theta-2 range, suggesting a leading role for the activity of these areas in realizing the cognitive components of emotional reacting. In addition, some high-ergicity negative emotions evoked combined alpha-2 and beta-1 desynchronization (disgust) or beta-1 desynchronization (fear/anxiety) in the right parietal-temporal cortex, suggesting its involvement in the mechanisms of non-specific emotional activation. These data provide evidence that each of these emotions is characterized by its own individual pattern in the distribution of the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the EEG and, on the other hand, that series of ranges and cortical areas show similar but different (in terms of intensity) effects in response to emotional activation for emotions of different flavor. __________ Translated from Rossiiskii Fiziologicheskii Zhurnal imeni I. M. Sechenova, Vol. 90, No. 12, pp. 1457–1471, December, 2004.     

Basic emotion profiles in healthy, chronic pain, depressed and PTSD individuals

Objectives: To compare self‐reports of five basic emotions across four samples: healthy, chronic pain, depressed and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and to investigate the extent to which basic emotion reports discriminate between individuals in healthy or clinical groups. Methods: In total, 439 participants took part in this study: healthy (n = 131), chronic pain (n = 220), depressed (n = 24) and PTSD (n = 64). The participants completed the trait version of the Basic Emotion Scale. Basic emotion profiles were compared both within each group and between the healthy group and each of the three other groups. Discriminant analysis was used to assess the extent to which basic emotions can be used to classify the participants as belonging to the healthy group or one of the clinical groups. Results: In the healthy group, happiness was experienced more than any other basic emotion. This was not found in the clinical groups. In comparison to the healthy participants, the chronic pain group experienced more fear, anger and sadness, the depressed group reported more sadness and the PTSD group experienced all of the negative emotions more frequently. Discriminant analysis revealed that happiness was the most important variable in determining whether an individual belonged to the healthy group or one of the clinical groups. Anger was found to further discriminate between depressed and chronic pain individuals. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that basic emotion profile analysis can provide a useful foundation for the exploration of emotional experience both within and between healthy and clinical groups. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: ? More frequent experiences of happiness relative to discrete negative emotions most clearly discriminate between individuals in healthy and clinical groups. More frequent anger experiences further discriminate between individuals with chronic pain and those with depression while disgust levels help discriminate between those with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. ? More frequent experiences of high arousal negative emotions—fear, anger and disgust—are characteristic of individuals with PTSD. ? Fear is the most frequently experienced negative emotion in both healthy and clinical groups. Higher levels of fear compared with other discrete negative emotions are not necessarily an indicator of psychopathology. Consideration of emotional profiles more generally and the relative frequency with which happiness is experienced relative to negative emotions may be more useful in delineating between healthy individuals and those with chronic pain, depression or PTSD.     

Emotions in everyday life: an ambulatory monitoring study with female students

Additional heart rate as an indicator of emotional arousal was monitored throughout the day with a special ambulatory device. Fifty female students received acoustic feedback every 10-20 min. The feedback was based either on events (additional heart rate present) or was random without additional heart rate. Following the feedback the subjects were asked to disclose their emotions. The following emotions were listed on the display of the monitoring device: no emotion, happiness, anger, anxiety/fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust. The frequency and quality of the emotions were not different between event-related and random feedbacks, indicating that the subjects were not able to discriminate between events with and without additional heart rate correctly. Accordingly, the physiological profiles of the differing emotions compared to conditions with "no emotion" were equivocal. The psychological ratings of excitement and enjoyment, however, came up to expectations. The results show that cognitive schemata and personality dimensions are more important in emotion perception than physiological activation.     

The psychophysiology of disgust: Differentiating negative emotional contexts with facial EMG

The goals of this study were (a) to examine differing views on the relationship between self-report of emotion and physiological expression of emotion, (b) to differentiate between negative emotional contexts during imagery using facial electromyogram (EMG), and (c) to describe the facial muscle patterning and autonomic physiology of situations that involve expelling or avoiding disgusting sensory stimulation. Fifty subjects imagined situations eliciting disgust, anger, pleasure, and joy in 8-s trials using a tone-cued imagery procedure. Heart rate, skin conductance level, and facial EMG at the corrugator, zygomatic, and levator labii superioris/alesque muscle regions were recorded during imagery, and self-reports of emotion were collected after imagery trials. Self-reports of emotion produced results consistent with the affective categorization of the images. Activity at the levator labii region was higher during disgust than during anger imagery. Corrugator region increase characterized the negative as compared with the positive emotional contents, and activity at the zygomatic region was higher during joy imagery than during the other three emotions. Heart rate acceleration was greater during disgust, anger, and joy imagery than during pleasant imagery. Disgust imagery could be discriminated from anger imagery using facial EMG, and the expressive physiology of disgust was occasioned by the action set of active avoidance or rejection of sensory stimulation.     

Autonomic specificity of discrete emotion and dimensions of affective space: a multivariate approach.

The present study addressed autonomic nervous system (ANS) patterning during experimentally manipulated emotion. Film clips previously shown to induce amusement, anger, contentment, disgust, fear and sadness, in addition to a neutral control film, were presented to 34 college-aged subjects while skin conductance, blood pressure and the electrocardiogram (ECG) were recorded, as was self-reported affect. Both mean of and mean successive difference of heart period were derived from the ECG. Pattern classification analyses revealed emotion-specific autonomic patterning for all emotion conditions except disgust; all emotion conditions exhibited significant patterning using self-report. Discriminant function analysis was used to describe the location of discrete emotions within dimensional affective space using both self-report and ANS variables. Findings suggest that the dimensions of valence and activation portray the structure of self-reported emotion, but that valence is more accurately described as approach-withdrawal when applied to autonomic responses during discrete emotions. The findings provide further support for the existence of emotion-specific ANS activity, and are consistent with a hybrid discrete-dimensional model of affective space.     

Comparing the validity of informant and self‐reports of personality using laboratory indices of emotional responding as criterion variables

Personality traits relate to risk for psychopathology and can inform predictions about treatment outcome. In an effort to obtain a comprehensive index of personality, informant reports of personality are sometimes obtained in addition to self‐reports of personality. However, there is limited research comparing the validity of self‐ and informant reports of personality, particularly among those with internalizing psychopathology. This is important given that informants may provide an additional (and perhaps different) perspective on individuals’ personality. The present study therefore compared how both reports of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) relate to psychophysiological and subjective measures of emotional responding to positive and negative stimuli. Given that our sample (n = 117) included individuals with no history of psychopathology, as well as individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD), we were also able to explore whether these internalizing diagnoses moderated the association between personality reports and measures of emotional responding. Informant‐reported PA predicted physiological responses to positive stimuli (but not negative). Informant‐reported NA predicted physiological responses to negative stimuli (but not positive). Self‐reported personality did not predict physiological responding, but did predict subjectively measured emotional responding (NA for negative responding, PA for positive responding). Diagnoses of internalizing psychopathology (PD or MDD) did not moderate these associations. Results suggest self‐ and informant reports of personality may each provide valid indices of an individual's emotional response tendencies, but predict different aspects of those tendencies.     

Self‐reported emotion regulation difficulties in people with psychosis compared with non‐clinical controls: A systematic literature review

Emotions play a key role in the development and experience of psychosis, yet there are important gaps in our understanding of how individuals with psychosis understand and respond to their emotions. This systematic review investigated self‐reported emotion regulation difficulties in individuals with psychosis compared with non‐clinical controls. An electronic database search was conducted in Medline, PsychINFO, and Embase and supplemented by searches of reference lists and citations. Seventeen studies were included. A narrative synthesis was conducted because contextual diversity was present across the studies and outcomes. Individuals with psychosis reported greater difficulties in (i) emotional clarity (specifically with identifying, describing, and understanding their emotions), (ii) emotional acceptance, (iii) engaging in goal‐directed behaviours when experiencing negative emotions, and (iv) willingness to experience emotional distress in the pursuit of meaningful activities in life. Evidence pertaining to other self‐reported emotion regulation difficulties was less clear. Effect sizes were generally large in magnitude but there were few studies on some self‐reported emotion regulation difficulties, and all studies were at moderate to high risk of bias. Further research is needed to clarify the nature of emotion regulation difficulties in individuals with psychosis to inform the provision of targeted clinical interventions.     

Studying the dynamics of autonomic activity during emotional experience

Recent theories emphasize the dynamic aspects of emotions. However, the physiological measures and the methodological approaches that can capture the dynamics of emotions are underdeveloped. In the current study, we investigated whether moment‐to‐moment changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity are reliably associated with the unfolding of emotional experience. We obtained cardiovascular and electrodermal signals from participants while they viewed emotional movies. We found that the ANS signals were temporally aligned across individuals, indicating a reliable stimulus‐driven response. The degree of response reliability was associated with the emotional time line of the movie. Finally, individual differences in ANS response reliability were strongly correlated with the subjective emotional responses. The current research offers a methodological approach for studying physiological responses during dynamic emotional situations.