The role of trait anxiety in habituation of arousal ratings to diverse negative stimuli

Habituation, the process of decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimuli, is a fundamental aspect of emotional processing. This study delves into the habituation of arousal ratings to diverse negative stimuli and investigates the role of trait anxiety. The primary aim is to examine whether habituation occurs during exposure to multiple negative stimuli and assess how trait anxiety impacts this habituation process of arousal ratings over time. The study also explores post hoc potential gender differences in arousal and anxiety. Participants (N = 54) aged 18 to 27 were exposed to 120 negative and neutral images while self-assessing arousal using the Self-Assessment Manikin. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A main effect of valence revealed higher arousal for negative images (p < .001). Contrary to expectations, no significant habituation effect was observed in subjective arousal ratings over time (p = .426). Trait anxiety did not interact...Show moreHabituation, the process of decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimuli, is a fundamental aspect of emotional processing. This study delves into the habituation of arousal ratings to diverse negative stimuli and investigates the role of trait anxiety. The primary aim is to examine whether habituation occurs during exposure to multiple negative stimuli and assess how trait anxiety impacts this habituation process of arousal ratings over time. The study also explores post hoc potential gender differences in arousal and anxiety. Participants (N = 54) aged 18 to 27 were exposed to 120 negative and neutral images while self-assessing arousal using the Self-Assessment Manikin. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A main effect of valence revealed higher arousal for negative images (p < .001). Contrary to expectations, no significant habituation effect was observed in subjective arousal ratings over time (p = .426). Trait anxiety did not interact significantly with time and valence in influencing arousal ratings (p = .468). However, participants with higher trait anxiety reported overall higher arousal (p = .005). Post hoc analysis did not show any significant difference between gender in arousal or anxiety ratings (p = 0.124 & p = 0.740). The study did not find a significant habituation in subjective arousal to novel images contrasting with prior physiological habituation research. This emphasizes the importance of comparing physiological and subjective arousal and considering social desirability in self-report. The impact of trait anxiety on arousal ratings suggests a generalization effect, contributing to heightened overall emotional responses to threat and safe stimuli. These findings indicate an impact of trait anxiety on emotional processing which should be investigated to enhance (exposure) therapeutic interventions.Show less

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The role of trait anxiety in habituation of arousal ratings to diverse negative stimuli