Changes in Perception of and Emotional Response to Stimuli as a Function of Pairing With Positive Affect

Abstract

This study was designed around McClelland 1 s description of the process of motive formation. A motive is formed by pairing an object (stimulus) with either the arousal of, or a stable state of positive affect. We attempted to arouse positive affect by (1) monetary reward, (2) relief from cold press, and (3) verbal reinforcement in a test of social perception. In each of these treatments the subject was brought into contact with some pictures of people during the arousal of positive affect. Our general hypothesis was that these pictures would come to redintegrate the positive affect in the subject when he veiwed them later. We also expected that this emotional response would affect the subject T s behavior toward the pictures. The specific hypotheses were (1) the subject would spend more tiflie looking at a treated picture (associated with positive affective-arousal) than an untreated picture, (2) in the stereoscope the subject would have a greater tendency to see a treated picture as "standing out" over an untreated picture in binocular rivalry with it, and (3) the subject would rate his emotional reaction to the pictures as being more positive than the baseline set by pre-treatment ratings. The results were equivocal despite one supporting finding. The failure to obtain the predicted results was attributed to underestimating the requirements for associating (attaching) positive affect to previously neutral stimuli. The study was interpreted as defining some of the limits to the conditions for learning within the framework of affective-arousal theory. CHAPTER I