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. 2013 Jun 5;8(7):e64959.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064959. Print 2013.

The effects of measuring emotion: physiological reactions to emotional situations depend on whether someone is asking

Karim S Kassam  1 , Wendy Berry Mendes
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Free PMC article

The effects of measuring emotion: physiological reactions to emotional situations depend on whether someone is asking

Karim S Kassam et al. PLoS One. .
Free PMC article

Abstract

Measurement effects exist throughout the sciences-the act of measuring often changes the properties of the observed. We suggest emotion research is no exception. The awareness and conscious assessment required by self-report of emotion may significantly alter emotional processes. In this study, participants engaged in a difficult math task designed to induce anger or shame while their cardiovascular responses were measured. Half of the participants were asked to report on their emotional states and appraise their feelings throughout the experiment, whereas the other half completed a control questionnaire. Among those in the anger condition, participants assigned to report on their emotions exhibited qualitatively different physiological responses from those who did not report. For participants in the shame condition, there were no significant differences in physiology based on the self-report manipulation. The study demonstrates that the simple act of reporting on an emotional state may have a substantial impact on the body's reaction to an emotional situation.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR), heart rate (HR), and pre-ejection period (PEP) reactivity vary by emotion induction and self-report.
Values represent changes from baseline; error bars indicate standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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