Affective Computer-Generated Stimulus Exposure: Psychophysiological Support for Increased Elicitation of Negative Emotions in High and Low Fear Subjects

  • Authors:

  • Christopher G. Courtney;Michael E. Dawson;Anne M. Schell;Thomas D. Parsons

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, and Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California,;Department of Psychology, University of Southern California,;Department of Psychology, Occidental College,;Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California,

  • Venue:
  • FAC '09 Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Foundations of Augmented Cognition. Neuroergonomics and Operational Neuroscience: Held as Part of HCI International 2009
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

The present study examined physiological measures of affect when viewing images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), computer-generated still images, and computer-generated videos of feared and non-feared stimuli. Twenty low fear (LF) and twelve high fear (HF) individuals viewed static and moving images of spiders and snakes. In both LF and HF subjects, computer-generated video images elicited more intense affective responses than the IAPS images and the computer-generated stills. Computer-generated still images were as effective in eliciting fear responses as the IAPS. These results suggest that computer-generated images can be as or more effective as the IAPS in eliciting fear. Regardless of modality, HF subjects showed stronger physiological responses to their specifically feared stimulus (snake or spider) than to a non-feared stimulus.