scholarly journals Proactive vs. Reactive Aggression Within Two Modified Versions of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Boccadoro ◽  
Lisa Wagels ◽  
Alina Theresa Henn ◽  
Philippa Hüpen ◽  
Lia Graben ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Reactive Aggression ◽  
Physiological Arousal ◽  
Proactive Aggression ◽  
Competitive Interactions ◽  
High Positive Correlation ◽  
Taylor Aggression Paradigm ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Healthy Participants

The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) has been widely used to measure reactive aggression following provocation during competitive interactions. Besides being reactive, aggression can be goal-directed (proactive aggression). Our study presents a novel paradigm to investigate proactive aggression during competitive interactions. Sixty-seven healthy participants competed in two modified versions of the TAP against an ostensible opponent while skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded. During the proactive TAP (pTAP), only the participant could interfere with the ostensible opponent’s performance by blurring the screen. In the reactive TAP (rTAP), the opponent repeatedly provoked the participant by blurring the screen of the participant, impeding their chance to win. In both versions, the blurriness levels chosen by the participant served as a measure of aggression (unprovoked in the pTAP and provoked in the rTAP). In the pTAP, trial-by-trial mixed model analyses revealed higher aggression with higher self-reported selfishness. SCRs decreased with increasing proactive aggression. An interaction effect between gender and proactive aggression for the SCRs revealed increased SCRs at higher aggression levels in females, but lower SCRs at higher aggression levels in males. In the rTAP, SCRs were not associated with reactive aggression but aggression increased with increasing provocation and especially after losing against the opponent when provoked. While males showed higher aggression levels than females when unprovoked, reactive aggression increased more strongly in females with higher provocation. Mean levels of aggression in both tasks showed a high positive correlation. Our results highlight that, despite being intercorrelated and both motivated by selfishness, proactive and reactive aggression are differentially influenced by gender and physiological arousal. Proactive aggression is related to lower physiological arousal, especially in males, with females showing the opposite association. Reactive aggressive behavior is a result of individual responses to provocation, to which females seem to be more sensitive.

scholarly journals An Exploration of the Mechanism of Action of an Equine-Assisted Intervention

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Hemingway ◽  
Sid Carter ◽  
Andrew Callaway ◽  
Emma Kavanagh ◽  
Shelley Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Temporal Change ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Equine Assisted ◽  
Emotional Landscape ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Healthy Participants

Though long alluded to, there is now an accumulation of evidence of the vital contribution that emotion makes to learning. Within this broad advance in understanding is a growing body of research emphasising the embodied nature of this emotion-based learning. The study presented here is a pilot study using a mixed-method approach (combining both physiological and experiential methodologies) to give a picture of the “emotional landscape” of people’s learning through the intervention under study. This has allowed researchers to examine mediating pathways that may underlie any effects of an equine-assisted intervention. This study specifically focuses on examining the role of emotion. The intervention under study was used with young people with chronic mental health and behavioural problems for whom talk-based interventions were not working. Nine healthy participants aged 18–24 undertook the equine intervention, with an initial group having emotion-related psycho-physiological changes (skin conductance responses) measured while viewing their experience on video, and a further two participants experiencing a development of the methodology as their physiological responses were captured in real time during the intervention. The sessions were analysed by a group of five cross-disciplinary researchers to determine when significant learning episodes occurred, and the findings were that this learning was associated with powerful skin conductance responses. The qualitative element of the research entailed the participants watching themselves on video undertaking the equine intervention. They were asked to stop the video and share any changes in emotion at any point while watching. All participants experienced a positive temporal change in mood as the intervention progressed. All results supported the findings that emotional arousal occurred in relation to the participants asking the horse to perform a task. This paper will offer two novel contributions: (1) description of a new methodology for investigating the mechanism of action occurring in this type of intervention and (2) findings from the exploration of the intervention via psycho-physiological and experiential mechanisms.

scholarly journals The Roles of Shame and Guilt in the Development of Aggression in Adolescents With and Without Hearing Loss

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelien Broekhof ◽  
Marieke G. N. Bos ◽  
Carolien Rieffe
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Reactive Aggression ◽  
Proactive Aggression ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Adolescent Aggression ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Shame And Guilt ◽  
Reactive And Proactive Aggression ◽  
Longitudinal Associations

AbstractThis longitudinal study examined how shame and guilt contribute to the development of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescents with and without hearing loss. Adolescents between 9 and 16 years old (adolescents with hearing loss (n = 80; Mage = 11.91) and without hearing loss (n = 227; Mage = 11.63)) completed self-reports on three occasions with an interval of 9 months. Mixed model analyses revealed that both reactive aggression and proactive aggression decreased with age, whereas shame and guilt peaked in early adolescence. Adolescents with hearing loss reported higher levels of proactive aggression, lower levels of shame and guilt, and showed protracted development for guilt compared to their hearing peers. In both groups, shame contributed to an increase in reactive aggression, whereas guilt contributed to a decrease in proactive aggression. These longitudinal associations highlight the unique role that shame and guilt play in the development of adolescent aggression.

scholarly journals A syncing feeling: Reductions in physiological arousal in response to observed social synchrony

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley E Kragness ◽  
Laura K Cirelli
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Physiological State ◽  
Physiological Arousal ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Interpersonal Synchrony ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Skin Conductance Levels ◽  
Shared Goal ◽  
Post Hoc

Abstract Synchronized movements are often key elements in activities where social bonding and emotional connection are a shared goal, such as religious gatherings, sporting events, parties, and weddings. Previous studies have shown that synchronous movements enhance prosocial attitudes and affiliative behaviors. Similarly, observers attribute more social closeness to people moving synchronously together than people moving asynchronously. The mechanisms by which synchrony modulates these attributions are not well understood. In the present study, we ask whether viewing synchronous activities increases physiological arousal as measured by skin conductance, and whether group size impacts this effect. Undergraduates viewed a series of short videos depicting people moving either (1) in or out of synchrony with each other and (2) in a large or small group. Participants’ skin conductance was measured. Change in skin conductance levels and response counts were attenuated while watching synchronous movement, but only in the large-group condition. Post-hoc analyses suggest that viewer enjoyment/interest in the large-group synchronous videos mediated this association for phasic skin conductance responses, but no evidence of mediation was found for tonic skin conductance levels. Results extend previous research on affiliative effects of first-person interpersonal synchrony and demonstrate that watching others moving synchronously has an attenuating effect on observers’ physiological state.

Skin Conductance and Subjective Arousal in Anxiety, Depression, and Comorbidity

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laina E. Rosebrock ◽  
Denada Hoxha ◽  
Catherine Norris ◽  
John T. Cacioppo ◽  
Jackie K. Gollan
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Autonomic Arousal ◽  
Emotional Picture ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Picture Viewing ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
Subjective Arousal ◽  
Healthy Participants

Abstract. Skin conductance (SC), an autonomic arousal measure of the sympathetic nervous system, is a sensitive and useful index of physiological arousal. However, SC data does not always align with self-reports of arousal. SC, self-reported arousal, and their association, known as emotion coherence, may be altered with the presence of major psychiatric illness. This study investigated group differences on SC reactivity and self-reported arousal while viewing positive, negative, neutral, and threat images between participants diagnosed with major depression with and without anxiety disorders relative to a healthy comparison group. Additionally, the strength and direction of association between SC reactivity and arousal ratings (emotion coherence) was examined within groups. Unmedicated participants were recruited via online and paper advertisements around Chicago and categorized into one of four groups (Depressed: n = 35, Anxious: n = 44, Comorbid: n = 38, Healthy: n = 29). SC and affect ratings were collected during and after a standardized emotional picture viewing task. SC reactivity was significantly higher during threat images, regardless of group. During threat image presentation, increased SC reactivity occurred during the last few seconds before picture offset; for all other stimulus types, SC reactivity decreased significantly after picture offset. Anxious and comorbid participants rated emotional images as more arousing than healthy participants; there were no observed differences in arousal ratings between depressed and healthy participants. Heightened reactivity in anxiety may manifest in arousal ratings without corresponding increased SC reactivity to emotional images. Results do not suggest underlying altered psychophysiology in this sample of depressed or anxious participants.

Validation of a monetary Taylor Aggression Paradigm: Associations with trait aggression and role of provocation sequence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Konzok ◽  
L Kreuzpointner ◽  
GI Henze ◽  
L Wagels ◽  
C Kärgel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Sequence ◽  
Reactive Aggression ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Competitive Reaction ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Fixed Sequence ◽  
Taylor Aggression Paradigm ◽  
Trait Aggression ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
In Series

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. The Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP) is widely used to measure reactive aggression in laboratory settings. While modified versions (mTAPs) with various stimulus characteristics (shocks, noise, pressure, heat) have already been established, a modified version with monetary stimuli has only been introduced very recently. In this experiment, 209 young healthy participants (104 males, 105 females) completed a mock Competitive Reaction Time Task (CRTT) with a fictional opponent with preprogrammed 40 win and 60 lose trials. In lose trials, participants were provoked by subtracting a low (0–20 euro cents), medium (30–60 cents) or high (70–90 cents) amount of money from their fictitious account. Provocation stimuli were either presented randomly or in a fixed sequence (experimental conditions). In contrast to a random sequence, the fixed sequence was generated by repeating trials from the same provocation category in series of three. Linear mixed models (LMMs) considering aggression trajectories revealed significant effects of provocation (low, medium, high) and trait aggression (K-FAF) on reactive aggression. Men showed significantly higher reactive aggression levels than women. In regard to provocation sequence, we found no significant difference in reactive aggression between the random vs. fixed stimulus sequences. The findings provide new evidence supporting the view that the monetary mTAP is able to induce as well as capture reactive aggression in the laboratory. Additionally, we found no advantage of a fixed sequence as the level of reactive aggression in a given trial appeared to be mainly predicted by the preceding provocation trial.

Lying and perception of lies by bilingual speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (05) ◽  
pp. 1313-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Kreyßig ◽  
Agnieszka Ewa Krautz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Reading Aloud ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
English Second Language ◽  
Task Requirements

AbstractMultiple studies on bilingualism and emotions have demonstrated that a native language carries greater emotional valence than the second language. This distinction appears to have consequences for other types of behavior, including lying. As bilingual lying has not been explored extensively, the current study investigated the psychophysiological differences between German (native language) and English (second language) in the lying process as well as in the perception of lies. The skin conductance responses of 26 bilinguals were measured during reading aloud true and false statements and listening to recorded correct and wrong assertions. The analysis revealed a lie effect, that is, statistically significant differences between valid and fictitious sentences. In addition, the values in German were higher compared to those in English, in accordance with the blunted emotional response account (Caldwell-Harris & Aycicegi-Dinn, 2009). Finally, the skin conductance responses were lower in the listening condition in comparison to the reading aloud. The results, however, are treated with caution given the fact that skin conductance monitoring does not allow assigning heightened reactivity of the skin to one exclusive cause. The responses may have been equally induced by the content of the statements, which prompted positive or negative associations in the participants’ minds or by the specific task requirements.

scholarly journals Behavioral Triggers of Skin Conductance Responses and Their Neural Correlates in the Primate Amygdala

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 1749-1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Laine ◽  
Kevin M. Spitler ◽  
Clayton P. Mosher ◽  
Katalin M. Gothard
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Single Unit ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Neural Population ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
The Right ◽  
Sympathetic Arousal

The amygdala plays a crucial role in evaluating the emotional significance of stimuli and in transforming the results of this evaluation into appropriate autonomic responses. Lesion and stimulation studies suggest involvement of the amygdala in the generation of the skin conductance response (SCR), which is an indirect measure of autonomic activity that has been associated with both emotion and attention. It is unclear if this involvement marks an emotional reaction to an external stimulus or sympathetic arousal regardless of its origin. We recorded skin conductance in parallel with single-unit activity from the right amygdala of two rhesus monkeys during a rewarded image viewing task and while the monkeys sat alone in a dimly lit room, drifting in and out of sleep. In both experimental conditions, we found similar SCR-related modulation of activity at the single-unit and neural population level. This suggests that the amygdala contributes to the production or modulation of SCRs regardless of the source of sympathetic arousal.

Latency of skin conductance responses across stimulus modalities

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. e13307 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sjouwerman ◽  
T. B. Lonsdorf
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Stimulus Modalities
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