Article

Affective Context of Sadnessand Physiological Response Patterns

Dmitry M. Davydov,1 Emmanuelle Zech,2 and Olivier Luminet2,3

1P. K. Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology, Moscow, Russia, 2Research Institute for PsychologicalSciences, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 3Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research

(FRS-FNRS), Brussels, Belgium

Abstract. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that two films that induce a sad feeling would elicit different physiological responsesdepending on an additional context of the film contents related to either avoidance (disgust) or attachment (tenderness). Reactivity was evaluatedfor facial behavior, heart rate, pulse transit time, skin conductance, and subjective experience. Participants reported feeling less happy and showedincreased facial activity related to the sad content of both films. The sad film related to avoidance induced an increase in skin conductance leveland response rate. In contrast, the sad film related to attachment induced a decrease in amplitude of skin conductance responses and heart rate.The study showed that while the common sad content of both films disturbed mood or provoked negative feelings, additional affective contextsinduced either a decrease or an increase in physiological arousal.

Keywords: affective induction, film content appraisal, emotion, arousal, autonomic activity, facial activity

Emotion is defined as a complex response with subjective,cognitive, motor, and autonomic components. Experiential,behavioral, and physiological response systems have beenconsidered to showmore or less coupled reactions dependingon the duration and validity of themeasures of emotion and itsintensity (Mauss, Levenson, McCarter, Wilhelm, & Gross,2005). However, under long-lasting conditions such asstressful events in everyday life, the coexistence of differentemotions with either the same valence (e.g., two negativeemotions) or different valences (i.e., one negative with onepositive emotion) is common. In these conditions, simpleaffective stimuli (phrases, words, pictures, events, etc.) takeplace in different contexts that may obscure or transformperception of their emotional content (Medford et al., 2005;Uryvaev,Davydov,&Gavrilenko, 1988, 1991).Thismay fur-ther complicate the evaluation of the relationships betweendifferent response systems (Shapiro, Jamner, Goldstein, &Delfino, 2001). These complications have forced mostresearchers to restrict studies of emotional reactions toshort-term periods and to the analysis of responses related toseparate affective dimensions, for example, happiness, anger,or sadness (Bradley, Codispoti, Cuthbert, & Lang, 2001;Kreibig, Wilhelm, Roth, & Gross, 2007; Mauss et al., 2005;Stemmler, Aue, & Wacker, 2007; Stemmler, Heldmann,Pauls, & Scherer, 2001). However, emotional reactions arenot simply short-term responses disappearing within a fewseconds. Some response components can last longer, for min-utes or hours, and in pathological cases can be transformedinto long-lasting moods or affective disorders, such as obses-sive worry and ruminations. Mental rumination and social

sharing of emotion (the urge to talk about the affective expe-rience) are very frequent even after exposure to moderatelyarousing stimuli such as emotional films (Luminet, Bouts,Delie, Manstead, & Rime, 2000; Rime, Finkenauer, Luminet,Zech, & Philippot, 1998; Rime, Philippot, Boca, &Mesquita,1992). These long-lasting components may in turn modifyemotional reactions related to the emotional events (Zech &Rime, 2005).

Several studies have actually found that amixture of oppo-site-valenced emotions can be experienced at the same time.For example, some people have been found to smile duringor following negative emotional experiences (Ekman,1989). In support of this, Fredrickson and Levenson (1998)showed that 50 subjects out of a sample of 72 spontaneouslysmiled at least once while viewing a sad film. Compared tosubjectswhodid not smile, thosewho smiled exhibited amorerapid return to pre-film levels of cardiovascular activation.However, they proposed thatwhen a person smiles, especiallyin a negative emotional context, that person is not necessarilyexperiencing a positive emotion. Given the known connec-tions between facial action and autonomic nervous systemactivation, they proposed that facial configurations indicativeof positive emotions, namely smiles, might have the ability tospeed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of a negativeemotion,with orwithout accompanying changes in subjectiveexperience. In contrast, Shapiro et al. (2001) showed that itwas the subjective experience of positive affect, which com-pensated for the physiological changes associated with nega-tive affect. In their study,whenaffective subjective experiencewas analyzed for two affects (two of negative valence or two

Hogrefe Publishing Journal of Psychophysiology 2011; Vol. 25(2):67–80DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000031

� 2011 Federation of European Psychophysiology Societies

of opposite valence) at a time, physiological responses wereaffected.The authors indicated that any affectmayhavediffer-ent implications for blood pressure or heart rate, depending onconcurrent changes in the other affective dimensions. A posi-tive experience may undo the effects of a negative mood,whereaswhen two negative affects are at relatively high levelsof intensity, the physiological effects are augmented.

Recent data of Schaefer, Nils, Sanchez, and Philippot(2008) showed that emotional film clips of about 5–7 minof duration may elicit a mixture of two negative (e.g., sadnessand disgust) feelings or a mixture of two opposite: negative(e.g., sadness) and positive (e.g., tenderness) feelings at thesame time. The content of the sad film excerpts (‘‘TheChamp’’ and ‘‘Steel Magnolias’’) used in Fredrickson andLevenson’s study (1998) had a negative content (sadnessrelated to loss) presented in a positive (tenderness or friend-ship for a dead close relative) affective context (Lovell &Zeffirelli, 1979; Stark, Stone, White, & Ross, 1989). How-ever, Fredrickson and Levenson did not study responses tofilms with the negative content (e.g., sadness) presented in anegative (e.g., disgust) context. The current study was con-ducted to test the hypothesis that two affectivefilmswhich eli-cit a common negative emotion (e.g., sadness) would elicitdifferent physiological responses depending on an additionalaffective context, eithernegativeorpositive.Different compo-nents of the emotional reactionwere proposed tobeevaluated:behavioral, autonomic, subjective cognitive (appraisals), andexperiential (feelings and sensations) in order to compare theresponse systems synergy (cooperative action) in processingof different contexts of the same affect. The present study isa laboratory-based context in which we explored some ofthe ideas raised in Fredrickson and Levenson (1998) andShapiro et al. (2001), for example, to investigatewhether thereis an added physiological ‘‘cost’’ (increase in autonomic arou-sal) of experiencing multiple negative emotions simulta-neously and whether negative emotions can potentially bemitigatedbypositive ones.While Shapiro et al.’s (2001) studyproposed a parallel interaction of multiple feelings in their(mitigating or augmenting) effect on physiological arousalin everyday life, Fredrickson and Levenson’s (1998) studyproposed that these arousal-related effects ofmultiple feelingswould be in sequence, that is, with a delay from period of filmviewing to recoveryperiod.These two different (‘‘sequential’’and ‘‘parallel’’) concepts proposed two viewpoints on a con-tent appraisal mechanism during and after exposure to emo-tional films: A sequential appraisal of the several emotionalcomponents of complex stimuli or aparallel appraisal of theseemotional components of films at the same time. Similar par-allel or sequential patterningof objective indicators of feelings(facial expression) and mitigated or augmented physiologicalarousal (autonomic activity) in response to two different stim-uli was proposed to support one of the viewpoints.

Beside sadness, the additional affective contextualinformation of the film clips had to induce another strongemotion, either negative or positive. In the current study,sadness was chosen as the common negative emotion to rep-licate the study of Fredrickson and Levenson (1998). Twoadditional emotions, either disgust (negative) or tenderness(positive), were chosen, which demonstrate either avoidance(antipathy) or attachment (empathy) moral behavior. Disgust

is one of the basic negative emotions, and it plays a specialrole in moral judgment, moral conflict, and in a variety ofphobias, and is related to avoidance behavior in social rela-tionships (Ortony & Turner, 1990; Rozin, 1999). In manycases, disgust emotion is accompanied by fear of the objecteliciting disgust. In the present study, the sad film with dis-gust context was designated as ‘‘avoidance’’ based on rela-tionships between these two (i.e., fear and disgust) emotionsto common avoidance behavior. In contrast to disgust, ten-derness is a complex emotional state (related to attachment)which promotes positive subjective experiences such as soft,loving, friendship, warm, and joyful feelings directed towardsomeone else (Koelsch et al., 2007). Thus, the effects of an‘‘avoidance’’ film (a sad film involving an additional nega-tive experience of antipathy or disgust) were compared withthose of an ‘‘approach’’ film (a sad film involving an addi-tional positive experience related to empathy or tenderness).

In sum, one viewpoint suggests a sequential appraisal ofthe two (main and supplementary) emotional components offilms (Figure 1a). It proposes that the first physiologicalreaction to the two short film clips (i.e., during their presen-tation) will be similar and related to the main negative con-tent of films, that is, there will be no within-subjectdifference in reactivity to the films compared to the baselinelevel. However, there will be a within-subject contrast forrecovery periods after the two films: extension (i.e., prolon-gation) effects on physiological reactivity from the addi-tional negative context (‘‘avoidance’’ film) in contrast tomitigation effects on physiological reactivity from the addi-tional positive context (‘‘approach’’ film). The contrast willbe manifested by the difference from the baseline level tothe recovery period, when participants regulate their emo-tions through rumination (perseverative cognition, Luminetet al., 2000; Ottaviani, Shapiro, Davydov, & Goldstein,2008; Rime et al., 1992). A second viewpoint supposes aparallel appraisal of the two emotional components of filmsat the same time (Figure 1b). At the physiological level, itproposes that the first physiological reaction to the two films(i.e., already during their presentation) will be different anddetected by within-subject contrast compared to the baselinelevel in reactivity to the film viewing, when the appraisalsare made in parallel. The contrast will be related to arousalaugmentation effect of the additional negative context(‘‘avoidance’’ film) and arousal mitigation effects relatedto the additional positive context (‘‘approach’’ film). Ingeneral, arousal-modulation effects were mainly expectedon sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system(Kreibig et al., 2007), which could be assessed by skin con-ductance and cardiovascular reactivity.

Since the films could elicit more than two discrete emo-tions, different negative and positive feelings were evaluatedto assess effects against dimensional and discrete approachesin a study on affect (Stemmler et al., 2007; Watson, Clark, &Tellegen, 1988). Ratings of these feelings were aggregatedin scores related to separate negative and positive affectivedimensions. Objective variables of emotional responses(facial expression as indicator of smiling and frowningbehaviors) were considered together with subjective (experi-ential or feeling) ratings of the predicted emotions. In addi-tion to autonomic responses, subjects’ bodily sensations

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were scaled to compare affective induction effects on bothsubjective (sensations) and objective (physiology) measuresof somatic reactivity. Autonomic responses and changes inbodily sensations during film presentation were expectedto show arousal component of the emotional responses.Cognitive appraisals of film contents were used to accountfor the variance in cognitive load (mental effort) and attrib-uted to individual differences in perception of film content(typicality, clarity, importance, and valence of situations pre-sented in short clips). Thus, different groups of variableswere evaluated: motor or behavioral (facial expression),autonomic (electrodermal and cardiovascular), subjectivecognitive (appraisals), and experiential (feelings and sensa-tions) components of emotional reaction (domains of affec-tive response). Concordance between and within theseresponse domains would help to test the hypothesis of cor-respondence of a common sad experience assessed by sadfeeling and related facial expressions with either mitigatedor augmented arousal of autonomic activity assessedby somatic sensations, electrodermal (sympathetic) andcardiovascular (sympathetic/parasympathetic) activity intwo contexts validated by assessment of additional feelings,appraisals, and related facial expressions. The time-relatedpattern of these responses (see Figure 1) would help to testthe parallel and sequential mechanisms of complex affectivecontent processing.

Method

Participants

Twenty-six healthy female students at the Universite Catho-lique de Louvain, Belgium, took part in the experiment.

In Fredrickson and Levenson’s study (1998), women weremore reactive to the sad film than men. For this reason, inthe present study, only female participants were studied.Their mean age was 20 years (SD = 1.3). All participantswere French-speaking Belgian citizens. Written informedconsent was obtained after the procedures were fullyexplained. They received course credit for their participa-tion. The participants were treated according to ethical stan-dards and fully debriefed.

Materials, Apparatus, and Measures

Visual Materials

Films are holistic creative compositions, which contentcannot easily be composed from and decomposed to all con-textual elements and components for stimuli standardizationor selection procedure. However, more complex stimuliwere found to determine more accurate experience of pre-sented emotions and content-related arousal than their par-ticular components presented separately (Baumgartner,Esslen, & Jancke, 2006). Film effects cannot be determinedor explained by their component parts alone. Instead, thefilm as a whole determines in an important way how theparts (content and context) affect a subject. In the presentselection strategy common and different, primary and sec-ondary affective elements of film content were evaluatedby combination of two subjective variables – scores relatedto feelings elicited by film clip viewing as a whole: ‘‘discreteemotional ratings’’ and ‘‘discreteness of emotional states’’(see below).

The film clips were selected based on Schaefer et al.’sstudy (2008) (http://nemo.psp.ucl.ac.be/FilmStim/). Find-ings from this study have widely been used in recent studies

Figure 1. Schema of two pro-posed viewpoints on negativefilm perception with main nega-tive (sad) contents and supple-mentary negative (disgust, SNfilm) or positive (tenderness, SPfilm) emotional components(contexts) in relation to physio-logical arousal changes.

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(Gracanin, Kardum, & Hudek-Knezevic, 2007; Kreibig etal., 2007; Van Gucht et al., 2008) and provide data onself-reported emotional intensity scores, positive and nega-tive affect levels (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988), 16 discreteemotional ratings (Schaefer et al., 2003), and discreteness ofthe emotion scores for these film clips (see Table 1). Dis-crete emotional ratings are assessments of the intensity ofparticular feelings related to the 16 differential emotionsscales. Discreteness of emotional states is the degree towhich one emotional state is uniquely activated while otherpossible emotions are less activated: the mean score of thescale targeting one particular emotion (from the discreteemotional ratings) minus the averaged mean scores of thescales targeting the other emotions. For example, a higherscore on a sadness self-report item while other items likeanger or happiness yield lower scores suggests that a stateof sadness has been activated with higher degree of discrete-

ness. Level of emotional intensity of a film clip is related tohow efficient the stimulus is in determining not a particularemotion or an emotional dimension, but the global emo-tional state (from no emotion to very intense emotion).The clips were also evaluated on the PANAS global positiveand negative affect subscales. Three clips ‘‘Sadness withNegative context’’ (SN) and seven clips ‘‘Sadness with Posi-tive context’’ (SP) were first picked according to the globalaffect indicated by the PANAS (positive affect – negativeaffect). Then, the selected SN and SP clips were balancedon length, rating, discreteness of the common emotion (sad-ness), and global emotional intensity. The clips were alsoappraised for contrasts in ratings and discreteness of addi-tional emotions (disgust and tenderness). Two short clipsknown to elicit sadness plus an additional emotion (eithernegative – disgust, or positive – tenderness), high globalemotional intensity, and interest were used in this study.

Table 1. Attributes of two sad film clips with different additional ‘‘Positive’’ (SP) or ‘‘Negative’’ (SN) emotional contexts(from Schaefer et al., 2008)

Sad film with ‘‘Positive’’(‘‘attachment’’) context (SP)

Sad film with ‘‘Negative’’(‘‘avoidance’’) context (SN)

Variable ‘‘Philadelphia’’ ‘‘Dead man walking’’

Time 502800 604000

Global emotional intensity rating score 5.24 5.87General affect (positive – negativeaffects measured with PANAS)

0.47 (1.94–1.47) �0.63 (1.99–2.31)

A priori emotional category of the film excerpt Sadness SadnessSADness rating score 4.37 4.21Discreteness of SADness (score) 2.27 1.02Additional strong emotion (rating score) Tenderness (4.35) Disgust (5.30)Discreteness of additional emotion (score) 2.25 2.33

Ratings of feeling (7-point scales):

Interested 5.81 5.91Fearful 1.94 3.46Anxious 2.31 4.64Moved 4.35 2.23Angry 1.57 3.96Ashamed 1.28 1.84Warmhearted 1.33 1.14Joyful 1.22 1.02Sad 4.37 4.21Satisfied 1.35 1.29Surprised 1.48 2.18Loving 1.89 1.27Guilty 1.50 1.70Disgusted 1.41 5.30Disdainful 1.07 3.20Calm 3.93 2.36

Discreteness (highest [7] to lowest [�7]) ofJoy �1.51 �2.82Tenderness 2.25 �1.36Anger �1.09 0.72Sadness 2.27 1.02Fear �0.64 0.12Disgust �1.29 2.33

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Since high scores of some other negative emotional ratings(e.g., fear and anger) for the SN film were coupled with lowdiscreteness, this combination was attributed to their second-ary role in a general ‘‘avoidance’’ domain as in some sub-jects with spider phobia (de Jong, Peters, & Vanderhallen,2002) and autism (Buitelaar, 1995).

Sad films were chosen to address themes of unjust suffer-ing, loss, and grief. The SN (‘‘avoidance’’) film clip (drawnfrom the feature film ‘‘Dead Man Walking’’) shows the exe-cution by injection of Matthew (Sean Penn): He is tied on theexecution table, and the scene shows the lethal substancebeing progressively injected in his veins; the execution is car-ried out in the presence of a nun exchanging a caring gazewith him. The SP (‘‘approach’’) film clip (drawn from the fea-ture film ‘‘Philadelphia’’) shows Andrew (Tom Hanks) andJoe (Denzel Washington) listening to an opera aria. Andrewdescribes to Joe the pain and passion felt by the opera char-acter. Data fromSchaefer et al. (2008) assured that these filmswould elicit the targeted feelings. The film clips werebetween 5 and 7 min long and presented with sound. Thesmall difference in the length of the film clips was acceptedto make sure that the thematic content was understandableand involving. A neutral clip was not included in the designof the study because the main objective of the study was tocompare two sad conditions contrasted with an additionalemotional context. Two clips with the same target emotion(sadness) allowed to test whether reactions compared to base-line were specific to that emotional domain or to the addi-tional specific emotional contexts of the clips.

Self- and Film-Evaluation Rating Scales

Emotional Experience

To verify that the films elicited the targeted emotional states,participants’ responses to the film were assessed using acomprehensive questionnaire with various scales (Schaeferet al., 2003). The same scales were used to evaluate baselinestate at the start of experiment. Seven-point scales rangingfrom not at all (0) to very much (6) were used to evaluatesubjective responses for the following 12 emotions: interest,joy, sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, disgust, contempt, surprise,shame, guilt, and happiness. Two specifically moral or socialemotions (shame and guilt) were added for evaluation sinceboth films contained context related to violation of socialand/or internal values.

Bodily Sensations

Similar 7-point scales ranging from not at all (0) to verymuch (6) were used to evaluate the extent to which partici-pants were experiencing the following bodily sensationswhile watching the clips: lump in the throat, pounding heart,change of breath, heavy chest, stomach sensations, perspira-tion, hot head, cold shivers, tension in muscles, shivering,relaxation, impression of ‘‘blood boiling,’’ and blushing(see Wallbott & Scherer, 1986). The same scales were usedto evaluate baseline state at the start of experiment.

Film Content Appraisals

Participants rated the extent to which they assessed thesituation of the film on eight 7-point bipolar scales (Luminetet al., 2000) ranging from �3 to +3 for typicality (familiar/strange, banal/exceptional, usual/unusual), clarity (clear/confused, comprehensible/incomprehensible), importance(insignificant/serious, no consequence/full of consequences),and valence (enjoyable/unpleasant).

Emotional Upset (Rimé et al., 1992)

Participants rated on an 11-point scale ranging from not atall (0) to a great deal (10) how upset they felt while watch-ing the film excerpt.

Film Familiarity

Participants were asked whether they had ever seen the filmbefore (Yes-No).

Personality Questionnaires (Not Reportedin the Present Study)

Individual differences in alexithymia, social desirability,depression, and dispositional affect were assessed to exam-ine their moderating impact on the physiological responses(data not presented here).

Presentation Equipment

The film clips were presented on a 66-cm diagonal colortelevision monitor at a viewing distance of 2 m in a subjectroom with low ambient light. A remotely controlled videocamera positioned behind darkened glass was used tomonitor the participants’ behaviors and body movements(Roberts, Levenson, & Gross, 2008). The subject roomwas also equipped with a microphone for communicationbetween the participant and the experimenter. The correcttiming, sound, and quality of the film presentation duringthe experiment was controlled by a small television monitorand speakers.

Physiological Recording Equipment

Surface Electromyographic (EMG) Activity of FacialMuscles

This activity was recorded to verify successful induction ofand to assess the level of targeted emotions induced by thefilm excerpts. As an index of facial smiling and frowningbehaviors, activity of the Orbicularis Oculi (pars lateralis)and Corrugator Supercilii muscles was measured on the leftside of the face in a bipolar configuration as recommendedby Fridlund and Cacioppo (1986), using Ag/AgCl miniature

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electrodes (Biopac System, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, USA)filled with Biopac electrode gel and Biopac bioamplifiers.Interelectrode distance (center to center) was 1 cm for eachrecording site. Signals were band-pass filtered from 5 to5,000 Hz and sampled at 1,000 Hz. The action of theOrbicularis Oculi, pars lateralis (EMGorb), is proposed tobe a reliable sign of genuine enjoyment (sincere and invol-untary smile), and the action of the Corrugator Supercilii(EMGcor) is a reliable sign of genuine sadness (Ekman,2003).

Cardiovascular System

Continuous recordings of the electrocardiogram (ECG) weremade using two standard Ag/AgCl electrodes filled withBiopac electrode gel and placed on each of the participant’sforearms. The signal was amplified and filtered by a Biopacbioamplifier with high and low cutoffs set at 40 and 8 Hz,respectively, and sampled at 2,000 Hz controlled byAcqKnowledge software.

An infrared transducer was attached to the distal pha-lange of the middle finger of the right hand, and beat-to-beatpulse volume was measured using a peripheral pulse ampli-fier (Contact Precision Instruments, London, UK). The sig-nal was sampled at 2,000 Hz via Biopac A/D converter bycontrol of the AcqKnowledge software.

Skin Conductance Level and Responses

These parameters were recorded using two Ag/AgCl elec-trodes and 0.05-M NaCl electrolyte. Electrodes were placedon the distal phalanges of the index and third fingers of theleft hand. A constant voltage of 0.5 V was applied acrossthe electrodes, and skin conductance was measured usinga Biopac preamplifier and sampled at 125 Hz. The signalwas calibrated to detect activity in the range from 0 to 20microSiemens (lS).

Recommendations of Boucsein (1992) were used fortreatment of electrodes for skin conductance recording. Priorto application of the other electrodes, the designated siteswere cleaned with alcohol to reduce skin impedance.

Procedure

On arrival at the laboratory, participants signed a consentform informing them that the study would consist of psy-chological testing and presentation of unpleasant film mate-rial, as well as attachment of devices to record theirphysiological responses, and that they would be free to with-draw at any time. All procedures were conducted in a 6 ·3-m electrically and acoustically isolated chamber. Partici-pants were seated in a comfortable armchair, and their fore-arms rested on armrests at heart level. To get baselineself-evaluation, participants were asked to rate by paperand pencil the 12 emotions and 13 bodily sensations theywere experiencing. To avoid possible order effects, film

presentations were counterbalanced. Physiological channelswere continuously sampled during the film presentations,baseline, and recovery periods. Instructions were given froman adjacent room via an intercom. Following an orientationperiod and attachment of physiological sensors, participantswere asked to find a comfortable sitting position, to relax, toempty the mind of all thoughts, feelings, and memories, andreminded to avoid any unnecessary movements and speech.They were to stay alert and look at the white cross on thetelevision monitor.

After a short period (1–2 min) of monitoring to insureproper equipment functioning, the first baseline recordingof physiological activity was completed (6 min). Then, thefirst film presentation (5 min 28 s or 6 min 40 s) followedafter a short instruction to watch the whole scene attentively.After presentation of the film clip, physiological activity wasrecorded during the first recovery period (5 min). Then, thefilm familiarity, emotional upset, 12 emotions, 13 bodilysensations, and 8 film content appraisal scales were com-pleted. The same procedure was repeated for the secondfilm. During the baseline and post-film recovery periods,the television monitor was black. Following detachment ofelectrodes, the personality questionnaires were administeredand participants were fully debriefed. Total time for theexperiment was about 60–80 min.

Physiological and Subjective Data Reductionand Processing

Physiological Variables

The raw EMG signal was subjected to a 10–500-Hz digitalband-pass filter, rectified, and smoothed using a 1-s timeconstant and downsampled to 10 Hz. The interbeat intervals(IBI) were calculated as the time in milliseconds betweensuccessive R waves in the ECG and were edited for outliers(artifacts or ectopic myocardial activity). Successive differ-ences between IBIs were measured to assess IBI variability(IBIV; in ms). Respiration was derived from the recordedECG signals by the amplitude demodulation (R-wave ampli-tude time series) method related to mechanical cardiorespi-ratory coupling to chest and diaphragm motion, which hasa high correlation with the respiration derived by other tech-niques (see, e.g., Felblinger & Boesch, 1997). Respirationdata are not presented in the current report. Finger pulseamplitude (FPA), the trough-to-peak amplitude (in Volts)of each finger pulse, was measured. To obtain pulse transittime (PTT) to the finger, the interval was timed betweenthe peak of each R wave and the beginning of the upstrokeof the pulse wave at the finger. Skin conductance level(SCL) was measured in microSiemens (lS), rate of nonspe-cific skin conductance responses (SRR) in number per min-ute of short-term skin conductance increases (SCRs)exceeding 0.04 lS from preceding zero-slope baselines,and mean SCR amplitude (SRA) of nonspecific SCRs inlS as the average amplitude of the SCRs. Data processingof physiological signals for detection of level, interval,rate, amplitude and variability with artifact search and

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replacement was performed off-line with customized inter-active computer programs written in the Spike2 program-ming environment (Cambridge Electronic Design,Cambridge, UK; programs written by DMD, see Davydov,Shapiro, Cook, & Goldstein, 2007; Davydov, Shapiro, &Goldstein, 2010).

This set of measures was selected to allow for continu-ous measurement, to be as unobtrusive as possible, and tosample broadly from the autonomic system. Whereas heartperiod (IBI) is under both sympathetic and parasympatheticcontrol, FPA (an index of peripheral vasoconstriction), PTT(an inverse index of blood pressure changes, see, e.g., Pollak& Obrist, 1983), and skin conductance measures (SCL,SRR, SRA) track processes mediated by the sympatheticnervous system, and IBIV traces mainly changes incardiac vagal control (Friedman, Allen, Christie, & Santucci,2002).

Raw scores were defined as the arithmetic mean of thephysiological data within each experimental condition(two rest baselines, two film presentations, and two recoveryperiods). This approach likely leads to a conservative esti-mate of emotional response specificity, as subjects are unli-kely to manifest a strong emotional response at a consistentmagnitude at the very beginning and throughout the filmperiod. Reactivity for each variable (EMGcor and EMGorblevels, IBI, IBIV, FPA, PTT, SCL, SRR, SRA) was definedas difference scores calculated by subtracting the prior base-line mean score (i.e., the average of the quiet sitting periodimmediately preceding each film clip) from the film andrecovery raw mean scores. Finally, variables were assessedfor normality of distribution.

Emotional Experience

Composite scores for subjective data were computed foreach participant by averaging the ratings of joy and happi-ness (positive feeling domain, Cronbach’s a = .92) and sad-ness, anger, fear, anxiety, disgust, and contempt (negativefeeling domain, Cronbach’s a = .86). Though interest andsurprise seemed to be related to the same arousal domain,they were considered as separate uncorrelated vigilanceand orienting arousal processes (Cronbach’s a = .28) andwere evaluated independently. The two socially-orientingfeelings (shame and guilt) were also considered as twoweakly-correlated processes (Cronbach’s a = .57) and wereused as separate measures.

Bodily Sensations

Composite scores for subjective data were computed foreach participant by averaging the ratings for perspiration,hot head, and blushing (heat sensation domain, Cronbach’sa = .82), lump in the throat, pounding heart, change ofbreath, heavy chest, stomach sensations, and tension in theirmuscles (organ sensation domain, Cronbach’s a = .84).Other uncorrelated sensation terms were analyzed as uniquevariables: cold shivers (cold sensation domain), body

relaxation (in inverse scale as body tension domain), shiver-ing, and impression of ‘‘blood boiling.’’ General somaticarousal scores were computed by averaging subjectivebodily sensation terms for baseline and two post-filmperiods.

Film Content Appraisals

Composite scores for film content appraisals were computedfor each participant by averaging ratings of the terms famil-iar/strange, banal/exceptional, and usual/unusual (‘‘typical-ity’’ or ‘‘familiarity’’ content domain, Cronbach’s a = .79),clear/confused, comprehensible/incomprehensible (‘‘clarity’’content domain, Cronbach’s a = .78), enjoyable/unpleasant,no consequence/full of consequences, insignificant/serious(‘‘valence’’ content domain, Cronbach’s a = .86).

Statistical Analysis

Data analysis was performed with SPSS, Release 12.0(SPSS Science, Chicago, IL) using General Linear Models(GLM). Respective assumptions (e.g., normality and linear-ity) for regression models were tested. Differences atp < .05 were regarded as significant, and g2 > .15 wasdefined as the appropriate (medium or large) effect size, con-cerning the balance between Type I and Type II errors due tothe small sample size. Since some subjective measures didnot fit a normal distribution, the Friedman Test (v2) withSpearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient (q) were usedas the nonparametric alternatives to the one-way repeated-measures GLM analyses with a g2 measure of effect size(marked in the Tables).

Film familiarity (‘‘film already seen’’) and order of thefilm presentation were used as covariates in all analyses tocontrol for the effects of these factors on dependent behav-ioral, physiological, and subjective responses. For manipula-tion check, all measures of emotional experience and bodilysensations (scores of subjective scales), as well as of emo-tional expressive behavior (EMG levels) between baselineand film periods (period factor), were subjected torepeated-measures GLM analyses for each dependentvariable.

To test the hypothesis on the difference in physiologicalreactivity between the SN and SP films, two sets of testswere conducted. Each physiological variable was first testedfor significant differences between baseline and film andbetween baseline and recovery periods by GLM analyses.Additionally, difference scores of physiological reactivityadjusted to respective covariates (the ‘‘film order’’ and ‘‘filmalready seen’’) were tested for significant differencesbetween the two film conditions (Condition factor: SNand SP) by the t-tests. Since the ‘‘film already seen’’ factorvaried within each subject as a specific element related to aparticular film, repeated-measures GLM could not be uti-lized for these between-film contrast analyses. Since thestudy was conducted for a single inference related to twoalternative hypotheses no compensations for the numberof inferences (i.e., multiple testing correction) were made.

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To clarify the second viewpoint (if the first physiologicalreaction to the two films would be different), within-subjectvariations in physiological reactions, various feelings andsensations between films were evaluated for correspondenceby appropriate product-moment or rank correlation (e.g., forD body tension ratings and D SCLs as within-subject SN-SPdifference of these values between films) to explain the nat-ure of physiological reactivity difference between films asrelated to: (a) between-film variation in induction of sadfeeling associated with a common sad content; (b) the pres-ence of other between-film factors determining variation insubject’s attention (interest, significance, or orienting) asso-ciated with content contrast or in subject’s tension associatedwith physical (visual or acoustical) contrasts between stim-uli; or (c) between-film difference in induction of negativemoral feelings (shame avoidance vs. guilty attachment)associated with difference in moral disgust (avoidance)and tenderness (attachment) contexts.

Results

Experiential Responses (Subjective Ratings)

As predicted, the SN and SP films did not differ significantlyin eliciting sad emotion (Table 2). Moreover, SN and SPfilm contents significantly increased sad feeling and arousal

related to vigilance (i.e., ratings of interest, but not ratings ofsurprise related to orienting arousal), decreased subjects’positive feelings and ‘‘heat sensation’’ ratings compared tobaseline (Table 2). In addition, the SN film content increasednegative feelings, coldness and organ-related sensations,body tension (i.e., decreased relaxation), and generalsomatic arousal compared to baseline. The SP film contentdecreased social negative affect (shame) and impression of‘‘blood boiling’’ compared to baseline. The two films signif-icantly differed from each other in effects on positive feel-ings (less ratings during the SN film), on negativefeelings, vigilance ratings, coldness and organ-related sensa-tions, body tension, and general somatic arousal (all scoresare more during the SN film). Contents of the two filmswere differently appraised with the SP film content assessedas being less clear (more confused), but less unpleasant andevoking less emotional upset (Table 3).

Behavioral Responses (Facial Muscle Activity)

As predicted SN and SP film contents significantly increasedsubjects’ EMGcor activity compared to baseline (Table 4).The SN film content also increased EMGorb activity com-pared to baseline and the SP film condition. Though withless power, increased EMGorb activity after the SN filmcontent and higher EMGcor activity after both SN and SPfilms continued to be induced during the recovery periodcompared to baseline (Table 5). During the recovery period,

Table 2. Within-subject Paired Samples Testsa of subjective feelings and sensations for the Sad film with Negative context(SN) and the Sad film with Positive context (SP) compared to baseline, and between themselves

Film condition –baseline difference (D)

Baseline For SN film For SP filmDSN film – DSPfilm difference

Variables M (SD) M D (SD) F(1, 26) g2 M D (SD) F(1, 26) g2 F(1, 26) g2

Sad emotion 1.54 (1.58) 1.34 (1.87) 13.40** .35 1.00 (2.02) 6.37* .20 1.26 .05Interest (vigilance) 4.00 (0.89) 1.15 (1.35) 19.07* .43 0.62 (1.17) 7.21* .22 7.70* .24Surprise (orienting) 1.65 (1.38) �0.38 (1.75) 1.26 .05 �0.12 (1.99) < 1 .00 < 1 .02Positive feelings 3.04 (1.18) �2.81 (1.18) 146.2*** .85 �1.71 (1.28) 46.34*** .65 33.22*** .57Negative feelings 1.19 (0.94) 1.73 (1.50) 34.78*** .58 0.02 (1.03) < 1 .00 59.25*** .70Social affect (shame)b 0.35 (0.75) 0.12 (1.31) < 1 .09 �0.31 (0.74) 5.00* .33 3.57 .74Social affect (guilt)b 0.54 (0.95) �0.35 (1.02) 1.60 .08 �0.35 (1.16) 3.57 .33 1.80 .67Heat sensation 1.47 (1.26) �0.86 (1.29) 11.47** .31 �1.12 (1.35) 17.56*** .42 2.08 .08Cold sensationb 0.35 (0.63) 1.77 (1.92) 13.24*** .47 0.62 (1.53) 3.00 .20 10.89** .48Shiveringb 0.89 (1.70) 0.08 (1.60) < 1 .48 �0.35 (1.55) < 1 .41 3.60 .55Impression of‘‘blood boiling’’b

0.31 (0.47) 0.12 (0.95) < 1 .03 �0.19 (0.40) 5.00* .54 3.57 .72

Organ sensation 1.53 (1.22) 0.99 (1.36) 13.79** .36 �0.08 (0.89) < 1 .01 20.60*** .45Body tension 2.08 (1.44) 2.69 (2.45) 31.51*** .56 1.04 (2.97) 3.17 .11 23.43*** .48General somatic arousal 1.10 (0.65) 0.80 (0.89) 20.78*** .45 �0.01 (0.85) < 1 .00 35.26*** .59

Note. aSince the results of parametric tests (F) showed similar effects with and without controlling for film order and already seenfactors, the effects related to subjective ratings are presented here without adjustment for these factors to be comparable to nonpara-metric (v2) tests.bA nonparametric Friedman Test (v2) was used for repeated-measures analysis with Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient (q) asa measure of effect size instead of respective F and g2.*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

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the two films also significantly differed from each other intheir effects on EMGorb activity (more activity during theSN film).

A significant Film order · Period interaction wasobtained for EMGorb reactivity to the SP film, F(1,23) = 4.48, p < .05, g2 = .16. Less EMGorb activity com-pared to baseline was found during the SP film period whenthe SP film was presented before the SN film (mean D(SD) = �.42 (2.43) and g2 = .06). More EMGorb activitycompared to baseline period was found during the SP filmperiod when the SP film was presented after the SN film(mean D (SD) = .30 (1.30) and g2 = .11).

Physiological Responses(Autonomic Activity)

Compared to baseline, the two sad films induced differentautonomic responses (Table 4). The SN film content pro-voked an increase in SRR and in SCL, but the SP film con-tent induced a decrease in SRA and heart rate (increase inIBI). The two films also differed significantly from eachother in their effects on SCL (increase during the SN film)and on SRA (decrease during the SP film). During thepost-film recovery period, the SN film content producedaccelerated heart rate (lower IBI) compared to baselineand the SP post-film condition, while the SP film contentcontinued to induce a decelerated heart rate (increase inIBI) during the post-film recovery period compared to base-line (see Table 5).

In addition significant Film order · Period interactioneffects were also obtained for SRR and IBI recovery afterSP, Fs(1, 23) = 9.27 and 12.76, ps < .05, g2 = .29 and.36, respectively, and SN, Fs(1, 23) = 4.84 and 8.07,ps < .05, g2 = .17 and .26, respectively, films. Skin conduc-tance and heart rate activities were more overinhibited com-pared to baseline period (means D (SDs) = �1.37 (4.88)and 27.39 (57.22), and g2 = .15 and .34, respectively) afterthe SP film when the SP film was presented before the SNfilm. Skin conductance and heart rate activities were moreoveractivated compared to baseline period (means D(SDs) = 1.18 (2.67) and �22.06 (20.99), and g2 = .31,

and .72, respectively) after the SN film when the SN filmwas presented after the SP film.

Effects on PTT activity were masked by the familiaritywith film content. Significant Already seen · Period interac-tions were obtained for PTT activity related to the SN filmduring presentation and recovery periods, Fs(1, 23) = 6.60and 4.95, ps < .05, g2 = .22 and .18, respectively. ShorterPTT (physiologically corresponds to increase of blood pres-sure) compared to baseline was found during the SN filmpresentation and recovery periods in subjects who had notviewed this film previously (means D (SDs) = �3.80(6.51) and�2.41 (5.32), and g2 = .33 and .23, respectively).

Coupling of Subjective Ratings WithBehavioral and Physiological ResponsesDuring Film Viewing

Significant (p < .05) correlations were found for within-sub-jects differences in ratings of body tension and SCL(r = .42), in ratings of ‘‘organ sensation’’ and EMGorbactivity (r = .54), in ratings of film content appraisal of con-fusion and EMGcor activity (r = .53), and in ratings of anavoidance-related social feeling (shame) and somatic arousalindexed by objective measures (SRR, SCL, and IBI,rs = .48, .45, and �.44, respectively) and a subjective mea-sure (‘‘organ sensation’’, r = .46).

Discussion

Can a Common Sad Experience InduceDifferent Somatic Arousal?

As predicted, sad film clips induced coupled reactions ofexperiential and behavioral response systems in responseto the negative emotional content of the films. Participantsreported feeling less happy and joyful and showed increasedactivity of facial muscle related to sadness (CorrugatorSupercilii or ‘‘frowning’’). Response of the latter, objective

Table 3. Within-subject Paired Samples Testsa of content appraisals between the Sad film with Negative context (SN) andthe Sad film with Positive context (SP)

After SN film After SP film SN film – SP film difference

Variables Mc (SD) Mc (SD) F(1, 26) g2b

Film content unusual 5.30 (1.37) 5.06 (1.18) < 1 .04Film content confused 1.98 (1.07) 4.07 (1.70) 28.93* .58Film content unpleasant 6.00 (0.82) 4.16 (1.43) 29.04* .59Film already seenb 0.27 (0.45) 0.19 (0.40) < 1 .14Emotional upset 7.19 (1.36) 4.57 (2.42) 21.04* .51

Notes. a, bIdem (see Table 2).cHigher scores are always related to the variable label used, where score 4 corresponds to the middle or neutral level for Film contentunusual, confused, or unpleasant, score 0 corresponds to unfamiliarity with a film for the ‘‘Film already seen’’ question, and score 5corresponds to the middle or neutral level for the single ‘‘Emotional upset’’ question after watching the film.*p < .001.

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Table 4. Within-subject Paired Samples Testsa of physiological reactivity for the Sad film with Negative context (SN) and the Sad film with Positive context (SP)compared to baseline, and between themselves

For SN film For SP film

DSN film – DSP film differencebBaselineFilm condition –

baseline difference (D) BaselineFilm condition –

baseline difference (D)

Variables M (SD) M D (SD) F(1, 22) g2 M (SD) M D (SD) F(1, 22) g2 P (two-sided)

SRR (response per min) 2.10 (2.13) 0.85 (1.65) 6.60* .22 2.02 (2.49) 0.32 (1.57) 1.06 .04 .241SRA (microSiemens) 0.34 (0.26) 0.01 (0.17) < 1 .00 0.37 (0.32) �0.14 (0.27) 6.70* .23 .019SCL (microSiemens) 6.47 (3.03) 0.36 (0.76) 5.63* .20 6.30 (2.65) �0.18 (0.80) 1.28 .05 .016PTT (msec) 213.31 (21.27) �0.35 (6.61) < 1 .00 210.04 (19.32) 0.80 (3.82) 1.09 .05 .446FPA (V) 2.04 (1.53) �0.25 (.81) 2.33 .09 2.08 (1.72) �0.36 (1.03) 2.98� .12 .671IBIV (ms) 43.76 (20.70) 0.61 (8.19) < 1 .01 41.19 (21.61) 0.80 (6.95) < 1 .01 .929IBI (ms) 834.86 (103.37) 11.99 (30.23) 3.94� .15 820.08 (97.56) 15.99 (27.99) 8.17** .26 .623EMGorb (mV) 2.89 (1.34) 0.79 (1.12) 12.65** .36 2.96 (1.65) �0.08 (1.29) < 1 .00 .012EMGcor (mV) 9.75 (6.11) 10.76 (9.90) 29.57*** .56 10.29 (6.46) 6.77 (5.90) 32.87*** .59 .084

Notes. SCL, SRR, SRA – Skin Conductance level, Response Rate, and Response Amplitude; PTT – Pulse Transit Time; FPA – Finger Pulse Amplitude; IBI, IBIV – Interbeat IntervalMean and Variability; EMGorb, EMGcor – Orbicularis Oculi and Corrugator Supercilii muscle activities.aThe ‘‘film order’’ and ‘‘film already seen’’ variables were presented in the models as covariates to adjust effects. The results showed similar effects without controlling for these factorswith higher or lower effect sizes.bSince the ‘‘film already seen’’ factor varied within each subject as a specific element related to a particular film, repeated-measures GLM could not be utilized for these between-filmcontrast analyses. The t-tests of difference of means of adjusted reactivity scores were used instead.�p < .1. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

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measure of negative condition, coincided with increasedsubjective ratings of sad feeling in response to both filmsand was not significantly different between films.

However, as predicted, the ‘‘avoidance’’ film (a sad filminvolving an additional negative emotion of antipathy, dis-gust, or fear) and the ‘‘approach’’ film (a sad film involvingan additional positive emotion of empathy, tenderness, orfriendship) differed in their ability to induce both subjectiveexperiential and sensation measures of emotional arousal.On the one hand, the ‘‘avoidance’’ film induced more basicnegative emotions of anger, fear, anxiety, disgust, and con-tempt and more of some unpleasant somatic sensations(coldness and organ-related sensations: lump in the throat,pounding heart, change of breath, heavy chest, stomach sen-sations, and tension in the muscles). On the other hand, the‘‘approach’’ film induced a reduction in the social negativeemotion of shame and unpleasant somatic sensations of heatand impression of blood boiling, compared to baseline.Moreover, the ‘‘approach’’ film content was subjectivelyappraised as less unpleasant, but also less clear or moreambiguous (confused) compared to content of the ‘‘avoid-ance’’ film. It is thus possible that the ‘‘approach’’ film withemotions from different negative and positive dimensionshad a more complex content in comparison to the ‘‘avoid-ance’’ film, which content was clearly negative.

These results suggest that the combination of two differ-ent negative facets in a stimulus can accentuate the negativeimpact of an emotion-inducing stimulus on the subjectiveexperience and associated somatic arousal indexed bysomatic perceptions in general. In contrast, the combinationof positive and negative facets in a stimulus can reduce thenegative impact of a sad film in part as indicated by coupleddecreases of specific negative moral feeling (shame) andsomatic arousal (indexed by heat sensation). The results alsoshowed that the latter combination of positive and negativefacets complicated the cognitive processing of the contents

of a stimulus as indexed by its appraisal as being less clear(more confused). It appeared to support the value of a cog-nitive (appraisal) aspect in affective processes (Scherer,Schorr, & Johnstone, 2001).

The present study also showed that films that involvecomplex emotional contents can be used to induce the expe-rience of discrete emotions of the same negative affectdimension but in different directions. In the present study,while the main sad content of the film with an attachmentcontext induced an increase of sadness, an additional posi-tive (empathy) contextual information in the same clipreduced the negative social (moral) emotion of shame frombaseline without changing the general negative affect dimen-sion. Shame is distinct from empathy and involves a focuson the self, isolation, and avoidant-orienting coping strate-gies. Thus, all above subjective (appraisals, feelings, andsensations) and objective (behavioral) outcomes confirmedthe first hypothesis that the ‘‘approach’’ sad film differedqualitatively from the ‘‘avoidance’’ sad film according totheir secondary ‘‘moral’’ contexts. The second question,whether between-film differences in subjective responseswere supporting a parallel (holistic) or a sequential (serial)processing of complex contextual information, is addressedin the following discussion of changes in physiologicalactivity.

A Parallel (Holistic) or a Sequential (Serial)Processing of Complex ContextualInformation

In the present study, as predicted (see Kreibig et al., 2007),the films had no effects on the parasympathetic activity (asmeasured by heart rate variability) during film viewing andrecovery periods. This suggests that viewing sad film clips is

Table 5. Within-subject Paired Samples Testsa of physiological reactivity during recovery periods after the Sad film withNegative context (SN) and the Sad film with Positive context (SP) compared to baseline (for baseline variablessee Table 3), and between themselves

Recovery condition – baseline (D)

DSN film – DSP film differenceAfter SN film After SP film

Variables M D (SD) F(1, 23) g2 M D (SD) F(1, 23) g2 P (two-sided)

SRR (response per min) 0.41 (1.69) 1.51 .06 �0.18 (2.36) < 1 .01 .305SRA (microSiemens) �0.03 (0.36) < 1 .01 0.01 (0.34) < 1 .00 .682SCL (microSiemens) 0.30 (0.87) 3.02� .12 �0.10 (1.18) < 1 .01 .170PTT (msec) 0.07 (5.45) < 1 .00 1.21 (3.30) 3.40� .13 .366FPA (V) �0.16 (0.77) 1.05 .04 �0.28 (1.06) 1.69 .07 .643IBIV (ms) �0.50 (6.55) < 1 .01 2.18 (9.89) 1.21 .05 .255IBI (ms) �8.66 (20.71) 4.37* .16 13.11 (31.93) 4.22� .16 .005EMGorb (mV) 0.42 (1.03) 4.23� .16 �0.28 (1.28) 1.15 .05 .035EMGcor (mV) 2.61 (4.72) 7.66* .25 2.31 (5.35) 4.67* .17 .831

Notes. SCL, SRR, SRA – Skin Conductance level, Response Rate, and Response Amplitude; PTT – Pulse Transit Time; FPA – FingerPulse Amplitude; IBI, IBIV – Interbeat Interval Mean and Variability; EMGorb, EMGcor – Orbicularis Oculi and Corrugator Superciliimuscle activities.aIdem (see Table 4).�p < .1. *p < .05.

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a relatively passive task that cannot evoke an active engage-ment or that would need affect regulation in a healthy sam-ple (Mauss et al., 2005; Volokhov & Demaree, 2010).Indeed active engagement or affective regulation has beenassociated with vagus activity changes in active laboratorychallenges (Ottaviani et al., 2008). As a consequence, thephysiological changes found in the present study were attrib-uted to sympathetic arousal variations. Compared to the rest-ing (baseline) period, the ‘‘avoidance’’ film viewing inducedan increase in sympathetic arousal as indexed by an increasein SCL and response rate in all subjects and by lower PTT insubjects who had not previously seen this film. The condi-tion of an augmented sympathetic arousal was extended tothe recovery period after this film presentation. This wasthen indexed by a higher heart rate in all subjects and bya lower PTT in subjects who had not previously seen thisfilm. In contrast, compared to the resting (baseline) period,the ‘‘approach’’ film induced a decrease in sympatheticarousal as indexed during the film viewing by a decreasein amplitude of skin conductance responses and during bothperiods by lower heart rate.

Thus, the films induced a qualitative (bidirectional orbinary: 1/�1) contrast in physiological arousal responsessince responses went in different directions relative to base-line and this started already during film presentation. It con-firmed the somatic arousal differences between the‘‘approach’’ and the ‘‘avoidance’’ sad films indicated bysubjective sensations. This result answers the second ques-tion as to whether between-film differences in subjectiveresponses were supporting a parallel (holistic) or a sequen-tial (serial) processing of complex contextual information.It appeared to support the viewpoint of a parallel (holistic)rather than a serial processing of complex contextual infor-mation submitted by films. Indeed, the results of the presentstudy showed that, although two sad films were both asso-ciated with higher negative affective (subjective and behav-ioral) responses, they determined physiological arousal inopposite directions (up or down) from the baseline levels.The within-subject arousal variations were induced alreadyduring the films viewing by the cognitive appraisals of thesame common sad or depression-like content (unjust suffer-ing, loss, and grief) presenting in the two different contexts.This arousal-related contrast of autonomic and behavioralactivities continued to spread through the post-film ‘‘recov-ery’’ period and was not dependent on differences in otherarousal-related factors such as interest and tension. Theseresults thus appeared to support the viewpoint that the levelof physiological arousal would be simultaneously (Shapiroet al., 2001), but not serially (Fredrickson & Levenson,1998), modulated by an additional emotional context ofthe sad stimulus. Indeed, if it were serially modulated, onlythe post-film recovery period would have shown thedetected differences in physiological arousal (see Figure 1).

In addition, the results of the present study showed thatan additional affective context affected physiological arousalnot according to an ‘‘undo’’ mechanism. This mechanismwould have been found if the physiological ‘‘cost’’ of

experiencing a negative emotion was found to be mitigatedby the simultaneous living of a positive one (Fredrickson &Levenson, 1998; Shapiro et al., 2001). This was not thecase. Indeed, a temporal coupling of the negative affectsof sadness and disgust at relatively high levels of intensitywas related to augmented physiological arousal above base-line levels, thus indexing an arousal-increasing condition.On the contrary, an affect related to the positive experienceof tenderness did not just undo the effects of an intense neg-ative sad subjective experience, but the coupling of thesetwo emotions was associated with decreased physiologicalarousal below baseline levels, and thus indexing an arou-sal-over-decreasing condition. This overdecreased physio-logical arousal condition corresponds to the previouslydescribed hypoarousal affective conditions associated withattachment coping behavior suitable to the present‘‘approach’’ film’s context (Davydov, Shapiro, Goldstein,& Chicz-DeMet, 2005, 2007; Gold & Chrousos, 2002;Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991).

Thus, negative subjective experiences within a partici-pant induced by viewing of a sad film were accompaniedby either an up- or downshift in physiological and bodilysensation components of arousal from baseline coupledwith either avoidance or attachment context, respectively.The midarousal condition of the baseline resting periodwas associated with a less disturbed state of subjective expe-rience.

Some challenges related to behavioral responses shouldbe taken into account. Indeed, on the one hand, the viewingof the ‘‘approach’’ film was found to be associated with theexpected coupling of a decrease of positive feelings and adecrease in activity of the Orbicularis Oculi, pars lateralis,a facial muscle known to be related to enjoyment and invol-untary smile (Ekman, 2003). On the other hand, the ‘‘avoid-ance’’ film was found to be associated with the coupling of adecrease of positive feelings and an increase in activity of theOrbicularis Oculi muscle. Ekman (2003) proposed that, insome cases, activity over the Orbicularis Oculi muscle couldbe a sign of disgust and not of enjoyment. In the presentstudy, the sad ‘‘avoidance’’ film content induced the emotionof disgust. Also, the proposed association of the OrbicularisOculi muscle activity with disgust was supported by the find-ings of within-subject variations in this muscle activity cou-pled with variations in ‘‘organ sensation’’ ratings, whichcould be attributed to a somatic dimension of the disgustemotion. A moderate heart rate decrease during the ‘‘avoid-ance’’ film viewing was also attributed to the additional dis-gust context of its content (Rohrmann & Hopp, 2008). Theseresults suggest that activity over the Orbicularis Oculi muscleshould be controlled for this specific negative emotion effect,which could be considered as an objective sign of intensity ofthe positive emotional response. Finally, the study alsoshowed that part of the within-subject variation in facialactivity associated with negative emotions (CorrugatorSupercilii or ‘‘frowning’’ muscle) could be attributed to thevariations in subject’s efforts to process the complex filmcontent during film viewing (i.e., cognitive load).

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Limitations and Recommendationsfor Future Research

This initial study supported the feasibility of assessing com-plex emotions, but it is necessarily limited. Definitive inter-pretations may require well-focused further work. Theselection of films was based on previous literature ratings.However, the use of two different films might not have beenan optimal experimental strategy in that context, since thefilms may differ in other emotional and non-emotionaldomains affecting physiology and behavior and which couldnot be easily controlled for. In future studies, more attentionshould be applied to standardization of stimuli to diminish thepotential influence from other factors. For example, the samestimuli could be presented with different sound tracks withmore negative-related or more positive-related information.

The method of inducing mood states by means of thepresentation of films with a particular emotional (e.g., sad)content is widely used in experimental laboratory studiesexamining its effects on cognition, behavior, and physiolog-ical arousal (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998; Gracanin et al.,2007; Kreibig et al., 2007; Mauss et al., 2005; Van der Does,2002; Van Gucht et al., 2008; Volokhov & Demaree, 2010).This procedure relies on the ‘‘pureness’’ of the induced emo-tion based on the self-reported perception of a majority ofviewers. It should however be noted that previous findingshave shown inconsistencies in the effects of this inductionmethod of complex stimuli compared to induction proce-dures of less complex stimuli such as fixed pictures (e.g.,Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 1997). The present resultsshould thus be replicated with a larger sample includingboth genders. Also, future studies should ideally include a‘‘pure’’ emotion-induced condition as a control group towhich the mixed emotional states conditions could be com-pared to. The induction of a single emotional state in com-parison to emotional films inducing multiple primaryemotions (e.g., happiness, anger, fear, and sadness) wouldallow to test in a more controlled way the direction of theeffects (arousal increasing or decreasing from baseline andin comparison to a ‘‘pure’’ condition). The effects of the pre-sentation order and of the familiarity with films on facialexpressions and autonomic reactivity and recovery foundin the present study should also be taken into account infuture studies. The designs should be constructed accordingto potential emotional interference of thoughts related to thesecond film content with probable long-lasting ruminationsassociated with the previous film content.

Summary and Conclusion

The present study dealt with the complexity of emotionalstates induced by films with similar sad contents. The generalsubjective experience evaluations of sadness and the behav-ioral responses indexed by the ‘‘frowning’’ facial activitycorresponded to the common sad content in both films. Theiradditional negative (avoidance) or positive (attachment) con-texts were found to be distinguished by the measurement ofother discrete subjective experiential, sensation, and apprai-

sal evaluations, by behavioral responses and, in particular,by the autonomic responses.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Professor David Shapiro(UCLA, USA) for his comments and suggestions on a pre-vious version of this manuscript. This research was sup-ported by a postdoc position from the Research Fund ofthe Universite Catholique de Louvain (FSR), Belgiumgranted to Dmitry M. Davydov and by Grant 1.5.175.06from the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research(FRS-FNRS) granted to Olivier Luminet.

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Accepted for publication: June 15, 2010

Dmitry M. Davydov

P. K. Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology11-4 Mokhovaya ulitsaMoscow, 125009RussiaTel. +7 495 496-5234E-mail d.m.davydov@gmail.com

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