University of Twente Student Theses
Effect of alexithymia on the relationship between affective arousal and additional heart rate
Westerhof, M.W. (2017) Effect of alexithymia on the relationship between affective arousal and additional heart rate.
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| Abstract: | Emotions can be categorized into two dimensions: valence and arousal. Valence varies from negative to positive, whereas arousal varies from low to high. Affective arousal indicates the intensity of emotions and varies over time between and within individuals, which can be measured by self-report, behavior or physiology. Individuals differ markedly in the variability of their reports on different emotional experiences. An example is the personality trait alexithymia, which is known as reduced capabilities in experiencing, recognizing, imagining and describing of own emotions and those of others. An interesting but not yet well tested physiological measure of arousal is additional heart rate. Additional heart rate is the weighted heart rate difference per minute divided by the mean vector of acceleration, in order to rule out the effect of physical activity on heart rate. Affective arousal activates the autonomic nervous system which increases additional heart rate. The current study was an experience sampling study on within-subject level, based on an intensive longitudinal method in daily life. During seven days, thirteen participants wore an E4 wristband which measured physiology and filled out a questionnaire about the intensity of experienced emotions every two hours. First, it was hypothesized that additional heart rate and self-reported arousal correlate positively. Second, it was hypothesized that alexithymia negatively moderates the relationship between additional heart rate and self-reported arousal. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/72757 |
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