Physiological measurement of the process of perspective shift in the imagery of anger

Abstract

The effect of using a field vs. observer perspective on emotional experience when imagining an event has mostly relied on the subjective and retrospective self-reports of the participants. The present study aims to measure and justify the effects of the process of perspective shift on the experience of anger by using physiological responses. One hundred participants were asked to imagine themselves in a situation in which they have experienced high levels of anger. Once the original perspective they used during the imagery process was established, they were asked to shift to the other perspective and then back to the original one. Gender differences were found only in surface electromyography responses. Gender collapsed results indicated that heart rate decreased significantly when those starting with an observer perspective shifted to a field perspective. However, for fielders, heart rate responses were not influenced by perspective shift. Similar trends were observed in electromyography responses. This result may indicate that in anger as an emotion, holding an observer perspective has an increasing effect on level of emotional experience. The findings provide physiological evidence that perspective shift affects emotional experience. However, the effects of perspective shift in imagery of anger were quite different than the effects observed in test anxiety.