ANXIETY AND INITIAL VALUE DEPENDENCY IN STARTLE HABITUATION

Phasic measures of biological reactivity have proven useful in emotion research, but the correlation between change statistics and initial value makes interpretation complicated. The present studies explore how trait anxiety (TA) and contextual anxiety (CA) relate to habituation kinetics of the startle eyeblink response—initial value, linear slope, and the relationship between them (initial value dependency, or IVD). In study 1, participants (n=31; 15 control, 16 CA) were exposed to two blocks of acoustic startle stimuli, and CA participants were warned that they may receive an electrical shock during block 2. Study 2 (n=62; 31 control, 31 CA) was designed similarly to Study 1, except that startle stimuli were presented in one block, and a between-subjects dark room manipulation served as the CA condition. The relative effects of TA on IVD or linear habituation slope depended on the level of the analysis. In study 1, the effect of TA on IVD was significant and positive when IVD was estimated as a within-subject parameter. In both studies, TA moderated linear slope but not IVD when IVD was estimated as a between-subject parameter. The results highlight the complexity of the interrelationships between emotion regulation, raw physiological change, and initial value dependency in startle habituation research.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Faunce, Alex

• anxiety

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/90760

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/90760