Effect of Affect Induction Method on Emotional Valence and Arousal

Josef N. Lazar, Shiri Pearlman-Avnion

The Department of Education, Tel-Hai College, Kiryat Shmona, Israel.
The Department of Psychology, Tel-Hai College, Kiryat Shmona, Israel.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2014.57070                

Abstract

Human functioning is influenced by the affective state. The literature contains several references to the possibility that valence and arousal have separable influences on attention. There are several methods of inducing affective state but the most popular are by music and video clips. The latter are more vivid and stimulate several sensory systems, leading to the hypothesis that a stronger effect will result when using video clips for the induction of affective state. Both methods have been used in many studies in the past but their different contributions have never really been tested. Thus the aim of the present study is to systematically establish or refute the assumption that video clips are the stronger tool for affect induction. In order to test this hypothesis a study was conducted in which 194 subjects participated in four groups. Positive and negative affect conditions were induced by validated music and video clips. The results established the validity of the hypothesis. The results should be applied in cognitive research testing the relations between induced affect and cognitive abilities in order to determine whether the effect is replicated when the cognitive abilities are tested.

Keywords

Affect, Mood, Positive Affect, Negative Affect, Music, Video Clips

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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