Affective arousal and energization properties of positive and negative stimuli.

Abstract

Affect-arousing and energizing properties of positive and negative reinforcing stimuli were investigated. The 5s received positive evaluations (PE), similar attitudes (SA), neutral statements (NS), dissimilar attitudes (DA), or negative evaluations (NE) presented on slides. Pre-and postslide semantic differentials were filled out by each 5 as a measure of affect. All 5s then learned a paired-associate (PA) list composed of both noncompetitional and competitional pairs as a measure of energization level. Taylor-Spence drive theory predictions for performance on noncompetitional and competitional tasks provided a sensitive measure of relative drive reenergization levels induced by the reinforcing stimuli. Consistent with past research, semantic differential scores showed NE more powerful than DA in arousing negative affect and PE more powerful than SA in arousing positive affect. Performance on the PA learning task showed a higher energization level for the NE condition than than for the DA condition. The PE and SA conditions were hypothesized to be energizing rather than drive reducing. In support of the hypothesis, the PE condition showed a higher energization level than the SA condition.