Lecture 2 Picture source Amsterdam Centre for Cross Disciplinary Emotion and Sensory Studies Friendly note This lecture is important for your term paper Manipulating emotions Part 1 Emotions ID: 614608
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Slide1
Research methods in emotion
Lecture 2
Picture source: Amsterdam Centre for Cross Disciplinary Emotion and Sensory StudiesSlide2
Friendly noteThis lecture is important for your term paperSlide3
Manipulating emotionsPart 1: Emotions as IVSlide4
Why manipulate emotions?The best way to demonstrate causalityExample 1“Anger results when something bad happens to people and others are responsible for it.Something bad happens + other people are responsible + self not responsible
AngerWhat are the IVs and DVs?Slide5
Why manipulate emotions?Example 2“People who experience anger caused by one person will displace their anger towards another person”What are the IVs and DVs?Slide6
Common ways to manipulate emotions in the labRecall
Emotional film, passage, music, or picture
Vignette or
guided
imagery
False
feedback
Facial
poses
Giving/taking
Social interactions
Natural events
Unobtrusive
primesSlide7
Recall“Recall a time when you felt sad”The above won’t work; you need to give prompts“Think of a time when you felt sad. Picture this in your mind. Why did you feel sad? What happened? What did you do? How did you react? Try
to recall as many details of the incident as you can, as vividly as you can.” Slide8
RecallAdvantagesEasy
to implementGenerally effectiveDisadvantages
Memory biases
Hard to control for content differences between people
Some people will tell you they never experienced [Emotion X] before (if you have never been in love, how do you know what love feels like?)
Slide9
Film clips, songs, picturesAngerDonald TrumpSongs by Linkin ParkPictures of middle fingers, people shouting, etc.
A word about picturesThere are standardized picture sets (e.g., IAPS, RaFD, etc.) Slide10
Film clips, songs, picturesAdvantagesEasy to implement
Allows for well-controlled parameters (crucial for fMRI, EEG experiments)Generally effectiveDisadvantages
May need equipment (at least a laptop)
T
he
stimulus may not be involving
enough
Not all emotions can be manipulated this way (how can you manipulate embarrassment with pictures?!)Slide11
Vignettes or guided imagery“You were suppose to meet your professor at 9 am. You are not an early riser, but this was the only time he could make it. You woke up early, skipped breakfast, reached at 9 am, and waited outside his office. By 9:30 am, he came strolling into office. Your professor remarked that you should have emailed him last night to remind him of today’s meeting. How would you feel?”
This method is similar to recall, except that it is more directed (the content is generated by the experimenter)Slide12
Film clips, songs, picturesAdvantagesEasy to implement
DisadvantagesRequires participants to be
willing
and
able
to imagine events
Demand characteristics
Manipulated emotions may reflect cognitive scripts, not actual feelingsSlide13
False feedbackStep 1Participants fill in a series of personality questionnairesStep 2Experimenter “tabulates” the score
Step 3Experiment returns 5 mins later and tell participants one of the two scripts (next slide)Step 4 Measures participants’ aggressionSlide14
False feedbackSocial acceptance“You're the type who has rewarding relationships throughout life. You're likely to have a long and stable marriage and have friendships that will last into your later years. The odds are that you'll always have friends and people who care about you.”
Social rejection
“You're the type who will end up alone later in life. You may have friends and relationships now, but by your mid 20s most of these will have drifted away. You may even marry or have several marriages, but these are likely to be short-lived and not continue into your 30s. Relationships don't last, and when you're past the age where people are constantly forming new relationships, the odds are you'll end up being alone more and more.”
Twenge
et al.
(2001). If you can't join them, beat them:
Effects
of social exclusion on aggressive
behavior.
J Per
Soc
Psy
.Slide15
False feedbackAdvantagesRealistic
DisadvantagesEthically problematic
Requires well-trained research assistants (RA’s script needs to be standardized, their facial expression must not give them away, etc.)
More than one emotion may be induced (will people feel angry instead of sad?)Slide16
Social scenariosAnger: Pass sexist commentsHappiness: Give them $$$Disappointment: Make them lose $$$Embarrassment: Make them do public singingPride: Have them win against a worthy opponent
Love: Act flirtatiously towards the participantSlide17
Social scenariosAdvantagesVery realistic = effective
Can be simple to execute (e.g., passing sexist comments, making people wait 20 mins for experimenter)Disadvantages
May
be unethical
Good acting skills required
May
also
entail a complicated set-upSlide18
Natural eventsEarthquake, 911, rainy day, polluted days, terrorist attackStrictly speaking these are not manipulationSlide19
Social scenariosAdvantagesEffective
Realistic and involving
Disadvantages
Requires fortuitous events
Different
people may have different emotional responses to the same eventSlide20
PrimingSubliminalFlashing pictures (e.g., angry faces) or words; diffusing smellsSupraliminalScrambled sentence taskWord search
Fill-in-the-blanksSlide21
PrimingSupraliminalScrambled sentence task
the down was I dumps in
I
was down in the dumpsSlide22
PrimingAdvantagesRarely raises suspicion = low demand characteristics
Supraliminal priming is easy to administerDisadvantages
Subliminal priming requires special software
Effectiveness is sometimes doubted (yet it can be effective)
Not so involving
Possible ethical issues? Slide23
So, what’s the best way to manipulate emotions?There is an inevitable trade-off between achieving impact, and having control over the manipulationThere are also other constraints need to consider e.g., ethics, ability of experimenter, etc.
There is no “best way”.Slide24
Measuring emotionsPart 2: Emotions as DVSlide25
Why measure?The nature of scientific evidence means that phenomena needs to be observableObservable = quantifiable = measurableMeasures need to be reliable and valid (recall SRM II)Slide26
Common ways to measure emotionsDirect Self-ReportIndirect Self-ReportCodable
Behavioral ResponsesReaction TimesPhysiologyNeural ActivationSlide27
Two main classifications of measurement
Verbal Measures(Self-Report)
Non-Verbal Measures
Direct
Self-Report
Indirect
Self-Report
Behaviors
Reaction Times
Facial Expressions
Physiological Changes
Neural Activation
Vocal
Patterns
“Are you in
love with
her now?”
“Do you feel
like kissing
her now?”Slide28
Direct self-reports
Should you include a label for the questionnaire?
Should you use 1-7 or 1-9 scales instead?
Do you want participants to rate all emotions? Will they think they have to rate only one emotion?
Are your instructions clear?Slide29
Direct self-reportsAdvantages
…Disadvantages
…Slide30
Indirect self-reportsYou can ask other things indirectly related to the emotionsInstead of “Do you like him?”
You can askBehavior: “Would you agree to go out with him for coffee?”Motivation: “Would you ask for his number?”Slide31
Indirect self-reportsAdvantages
…Disadvantages
…Slide32
Behavioral codingLiking: How far did participant sit from target?Anger: How much hot sauce did they give target?Disgust: Gagging responseInterest: Eye gaze (especially for infants)
Note about validity: Beware of other behaviors from Rorsarch inkblots, TATs, etc. Note about reliability: Often behaviors need to be coded by multiple raters for inter-rater reliability (e.g., is it a flirtatious kiss or a friendly snog?)Slide33
Behavioral codingAdvantages
…Disadvantages
…Slide34
Cognitive activationsReaction time (e.g., shooter game)Knowledge activationA _ G _ RBoth assume that if an emotion is active, it speeds up the relevant cognitive processingSlide35
Cognitive activationsAdvantages
Gives insights about the cognitive processesLow demand characteristics – responses are almost impossible to be controlled (responses > 2000 ms
are usually eliminated)
Disadvantages
Requires programming, special software, controlled lab conditions
Sometimes there is ambiguity to what RTs meanSlide36
Physiological markersHeart rateSkin conductanceElectromyographyBlood pressureSkin temperature
Respiration rateBlood, saliva, urine contentMetabolic rateFacial expressions (Mona Lisa)
Special equipment needed
Sometimes very expensive
Time sensitive
Temperature sensitive (e.g., salivary cortisol)Slide37
Physiological markersAdvantages
Can be used in samples that are unable to give accurate self-report ratings (e.g. children, the mentally ill, animals)Gives the impression that such measures are more scientific
Disadvantages
(see previous slide)
+
Sometimes researchers assume that
each emotion is associated with a specific physiological
activation, which is false Slide38
Neurological markersPET, fMRI – excellent spatial resolution, poor temporal resolutionEEG – excellent temporal resolution, poor spatial resolutionCan give clues about the underlying neural mechanismsSlide39
Physiological markersAdvantages
Can be used in samples that are unable to give accurate self-report ratings (e.g. children, the mentally ill, animals)Gives the impression that such measures are more scientific
Disadvantages
(see previous slide)
+
Sometimes researchers assume that
each emotion is associated with a specific
neural activation, which is false Slide40
Valid measurementsValidity: Are you measuring what you claim you are measuring?Validity and demand characteristics are compromises an experimenter needs to decideThere is no “best” measurement; it often depends on the research question, commonsense, and experimenter’s judgment callSlide41
Design issuesPart 3Slide42
Within-subjects vs. between-subjectsAre you are concerned about carryover effects?Do you want to study behaviors?Do you want to study neural activations?Do you want to study emotion changes?Do you have a small sample size?
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Q: When do you use mixed designs?