Not always the same, sad. Psychophysiological correlates of low or high approach motivation sadness.
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1
University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Psychology, Poland
Aims
Sadness is widely considered as a negative emotion with low arousal. But results of studies psychophysiological and cognitive correlates of sadness exhibit inconclusive results. In this study we aimed to investigate sadness as a heterogenous affective state, which specifically can be characterized by either low or high approach motivation. Additionally, we wanted to examine the neuro-underpinnings of those two states based on the frontal alpha activation, which has been found to be related to a) valance or b) motivational direction of emotions.
Method
To verify this statement, we measured 41 participants using EEG. First, we recorded 4 minutes baseline EEG, next participants were exposed to neutral state induction (which composed of a story read by an actor or an actress, neutral music and photos related to the story). Afterwards depending on the randomly assigned condition, participants were exposed to 3 stories with either low or high approach motivation sadness (induction also composed of read story, music - either low or high approach motivation, and related picture). After each of the stories (neutral and each of the sad stories), one minute of EEG signal with eyes closed was recorded. For the analyses, we compared frontal alpha activation after neutral story and after the third sad story, across conditions. As the alpha frequency varies between individuals, for each person the individual alpha frequency was acquired.
Results
The comparison between high and low approach motivation sadness (the difference score between neutral and third sad story) for individual alpha frequency across frontal electrodes, revealed significant difference between conditions. For high approach motivation sadness condition frontal alpha power was elevated, while in low approach motivation sadness it was reduced.
Conclusions
Presented results suggest that based on the frontal alpha activation, sadness, due to its specific characteristics, can comprise different approach motivation intensity states.
Keywords:
sadness,
frontal alpha,
Approach Motivation,
Emotions,
EEG
Conference:
ASP2017: 27th Annual Meeting for the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Parramatta, Australia, 29 Nov - 1 Dec, 2017.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Abstract (Student Award)
Citation:
Kamińska
OK and
Magnuski
M
(2019). Not always the same, sad. Psychophysiological correlates of low or high approach motivation sadness..
Conference Abstract:
ASP2017: 27th Annual Meeting for the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2017.224.00025
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Received:
15 Oct 2017;
Published Online:
25 Jan 2019.
*
Correspondence:
MD. Olga K Kamińska, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Psychology, Warsaw, 03-815, Poland, olgakaminsk@gmail.com