Trait absorption is related to enhanced emotional picture processing and reduced processing of secondary acoustic probes

Abstract

Trait absorption reflects a propensity to have one's attention drawn to engaging sensory or imaginal experiences. It is related to self-reported levels of positive and negative emotionality, but little work has examined whether absorption is related to greater levels of basic emotional processing. We used the late positive potential (LPP) to pictures and P3 response to subsequent startle probes during those pictures to examine how absorption was related to initial emotional processing and reactivity to a second stimulus. Across genders, absorption was positively related to LPP amplitude to emotional versus neutral pictures at PZ, and it was negatively related to overall P3 amplitude to startle probes at FZ. Thus, absorption appears to index greater processing of emotional material at the cost of reduced processing of subsequent incoming stimuli.

Reduced positive emotion and underarousal are uniquely associated with subclinical depression symptoms: Evidence from psychophysiology, self‐report, and symptom clusters

“…Across all regressions, coefficients featured variance inflation factors (VIF) less than 3, which is substantially below the VIF value of 10 that typically indicates potentially problematic multicollinearity (Belsley, Kuh, & Welsch, 1980;see Table S1 for the full correlation matrix for all of these analyses). .13), indicating that the effects in this sample were independent of those reported in Benning et al (2015). Furthermore, the pattern of results was identical in zero-order correlations that did not control for absorption.…”

“… 2 In this sample, trait absorption correlated .05 with SDS total scores, −.05 with SDS anhedonia, and .16 with negative affect (all p s > .13), indicating that the effects in this sample were independent of those reported in Benning et al (2015). Furthermore, the pattern of results was identical in zero-order correlations that did not control for absorption.…”

“…We collected skin conductance responses and LPP amplitude, corrugator and zygomatic EMG, and startle blink and postauricular reflexes during each picture, along with self-reported valence and arousal ratings of each picture. Data from this sample have been reported previously (Aaron & Benning, 2016;Benning, Rozalski, & Klingspon, 2015). However, Aaron and Benning examined the time course of postauricular reflex modulation, and Benning et al focused on ERP measures of emotional picture and startle probe processing as they related to the personality trait of absorption.…”

Alcohol’s effects on emotionally motivated attention, defensive reactivity and subjective anxiety during uncertain threats

“…We selected the scoring window of 250–350 ms post probe to be consistent with previous research (e.g. Benning et al , 2015 ; see Supplementary Materials for further information). We scored the probe P3 as mean response in this window in each condition ( Figure 1 ).…”

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task

“…Tellegen and Atkinson (1974) defined absorption as a state of “total attention, involving a full commitment of available perceptual, motoric, imaginative and ideational resources” [ 32 ]. Recent evidence indicates that trait absorption is related to enhanced emotional picture processing [ 33 ]. Thus, a high absorption state during the processing of emotional information may potentiate more vigorously subsequent interpretation biases than a low absorption state.…”