The pupil's response to affective pictures: Role of image duration, habituation, and viewing mode

Snowden, Robert Jefferson; O'Farrell, Katherine R.; Burley, Daniel; Erichsen, Jonathan Thor; Newton, Naomi V.; Gray, Nicola S.

doi:10.1111/psyp.12668

Cited by 78 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Indeed, influential work by Bradley et al [63] demonstrated that the pupil is sensitive to emotion, showing greater pupil size in response to affective images of both negative and positive valence, a finding that has been replicated repeatedly [67–74]. Moreover, Bradley and colleagues [63] reported that increases in pupil diameter to emotional images is positively related to SCR, a sympathetically-mediated process [75], suggesting that affective modulation of pupil diameter indexes sympathetic excitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

As Far as the Eye Can See: Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Pupil Response to Affective Stimuli

2017

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Psychopathic individuals show a range of affective processing deficits, typically associated with the interpersonal/affective component of psychopathy. However, previous research has been inconsistent as to whether psychopathy, within both offender and community populations, is associated with deficient autonomic responses to the simple presentation of affective stimuli. Changes in pupil diameter occur in response to emotionally arousing stimuli and can be used as an objective indicator of physiological reactivity to emotion. This study used pupillometry to explore whether psychopathic traits within a community sample were associated with hypo-responsivity to the affective content of stimuli. Pupil activity was recorded for 102 adult (52 female) community participants in response to affective (both negative and positive affect) and affectively neutral stimuli, that included images of scenes, static facial expressions, dynamic facial expressions and sound-clips. Psychopathic traits were measured using the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Pupil diameter was larger in response to negative stimuli, but comparable pupil size was demonstrated across pleasant and neutral stimuli. A linear relationship between subjective arousal and pupil diameter was found in response to sound-clips, but was not evident in response to scenes. Contrary to predictions, psychopathy was unrelated to emotional modulation of pupil diameter across all stimuli. The findings were the same when participant gender was considered. This suggests that psychopathy within a community sample is not associated with autonomic hypo-responsivity to affective stimuli, and this effect is discussed in relation to later defensive/appetitive mobilisation deficits.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

As Far as the Eye Can See: Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Pupil Response to Affective Stimuli

2017

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“…Pupil diameter is modulated by emotional arousal in a number of different contexts, including picture viewing, in which larger changes in pupil diameter are found when viewing highly arousing pleasant or unpleasant, compared to neutral, scenes (Bradley, Miccoli, Escrig, & Lang, 2008; Ferrari et al, 2015; Henderson, Bradley & Lang, 2014, Snowden et al, 2016). Pupil dilation has also been reported when participants listen to pleasant or unpleasant, compared to neutral, sounds (Partala & Surakka, 2003), and when participants anticipate the upcoming presentation of an aversive event.…”

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confidence: 99%

Emotional imagery and pupil diameter

2017

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Pupil diameter is enhanced in a variety of emotional contexts, including viewing pictures, listening to sounds, and during threat of shock. In this study, we investigated pupil diameter changes during emotional imagery. Participants imagined scenes describing pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral events while pupil diameter was continuously recorded. Second by second changes in pupil diameter were analyzed to determine whether, and when, modulation of the pupil as a function of hedonic content is found. Results indicated a significant effect of hedonic content beginning shortly after script onset, with enhanced pupil diameter when imagining emotional (pleasant or unpleasant), compared to neutral, scenes. Pupil diameter during imagery covaried with rated emotional arousal, consistent with an interpretation that changes in pupil diameter during emotional imagery reflect sympathetic nervous system activity. Because emotional imagery is a key element in clinical assessment and treatment, pupil diameter could prove a useful index of emotional engagement in a variety of clinically pertinent contexts.

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“…This is pertinent to the present findings because pupillometry appears to be well suited to detecting changes in affective experience (see Chiesa, Liuzza, Acciarino, & Aglioti, 2015 for evidence that pupillometry is even sensitive to subliminally presented affect primes). For instance, it has been shown that pupil diameter increases more in response to negative stimuli compared with neutral stimuli (Snowden et al, 2016). In addition, pupil diameter has been shown to be larger following incorrect than correct responses during a flanker task, with the largest diameter following errors occurring on congruent stimuli, the least frequently committed error (Braem, Coenen, Bombeke, Van Bochove, & Notebaert, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive effort is modulated outside of the explicit awareness of conflict frequency: Evidence from pupillometry.

Diede¹,

Bugg²

2017

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cogni

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Classic theories of cognitive control conceptualized controlled processes as slow, strategic, and willful, with automatic processes being fast and effortless. The context-specific proportion compatibility (CSPC) effect, the reduction in the compatibility effect in a context (e.g., location) associated with a high relative to low likelihood of conflict, challenged classic theories by demonstrating fast and flexible control that appears to operate outside of conscious awareness. Two theoretical questions yet to be addressed are whether the CSPC effect is accompanied by context-dependent variation in effort, and whether the exertion of effort depends on explicit awareness of context-specific task demands. To address these questions, pupil diameter was measured during a CSPC paradigm. Stimuli were randomly presented in either a mostly compatible location or a mostly incompatible location. Replicating prior research, the CSPC effect was found. The novel finding was that pupil diameter was greater in the mostly incompatible location compared to the mostly compatible location, despite participants’ lack of awareness of context-specific task demands. Additionally, this difference occurred regardless of trial type or a preceding switch in location. These patterns support the view that context (location) dictates selection of optimal attentional settings in the CSPC paradigm, and varying levels of effort and performance accompany these settings. Theoretically, these patterns imply that cognitive control may operate fast, flexibly, and outside of awareness, but not effortlessly.

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The pupil's response to affective pictures: Role of image duration, habituation, and viewing mode

Cited by 78 publications

References 47 publications

As Far as the Eye Can See: Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Pupil Response to Affective Stimuli

As Far as the Eye Can See: Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Pupil Response to Affective Stimuli

Emotional imagery and pupil diameter

Cognitive effort is modulated outside of the explicit awareness of conflict frequency: Evidence from pupillometry.

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