SYMPATHETIC AROUSAL DURING APPROACH-AVOIDANCE DECISION-MAKING A THESIS IN

58 Pages·2015·1.26 MB·English

SYMPATHETIC AROUSAL DURING APPROACH-AVOIDANCE DECISION-MAKING

A THESIS IN
Psychology

Presented to the Faculty of the University
of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree

MASTER OF ARTS

by
ALEX JOSEPH FRANCISCO

B.S., Truman State University, 2012

Kansas City, Missouri
2015
© 2015
ALEX JOSEPH FRANCISCO
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
SYMPATHETIC AROUSAL DURING
APPROACH-AVOIDANCE DECISION-MAKING
Alex Joseph Francisco, Candidate for the Master of Arts Degree
University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2015
ABSTRACT
In response to emotional stimuli, individuals exhibit increased sympathetic nervous
firings, which stimulate eccrine gland activation. This eccrine activity changes the electrical
properties of the skin, or electrodermal activity (EDA). EDA has been used widely to assess
autonomic arousal during various paradigms. Research has demonstrated how autonomic
arousal (1) occurs during the processing or anticipation of emotional stimuli and (2) may
inform the decision-making process. Our research focused on investigation of sympathetic
arousal during decisions involving conflicting emotional outcomes, using an approach-
avoidance processing paradigm. In these situations, individuals are faced with two
emotionally valenced outcomes, typically one positive and one negative. However, if the
negative outcome is chosen, the individual is given a reward; by this the individual
experiences emotional conflict – they can approach the conflict, and receive a reward while
experiencing a negative emotion, or they can avoid the conflict by choosing the positive
outcome, which is not associated with a reward. Results suggest that sympathetic arousal
during these decisions is influenced by potential reward, degree of choice certainty, and an
individuals aversion to negative experiences. Sympathetic arousal increased with larger
potential reward, and individuals who expressed more uncertainty in their desired outcome
exhibited larger emotional responses when making decisions.
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APPROVAL PAGE

The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences have
examined a thesis titled “Sympathetic Arousal During Approach-Avoidance Decision-
Making,” presented by Alex J. Francisco, candidate for the Master of Arts degree, and certify
that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance.
Supervisory Committee
Robin Aupperle, Ph.D., Committee Chair
Department of Psychology, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Amanda Bruce, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Diane Filion, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Seung-Lark Lim, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Missouri – Kansas City

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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ ix
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................................... 2
Neurophysiological Production of Electrodermal Activity ................................. 2
Measurement of Electrodermal Activity .............................................................. 5
Emotional Processing and Electrodermal Activity .............................................. 7
General Emotional Processing ................................................................. 7
Emotional Learning ................................................................................. 8
Trait Effects ............................................................................................. 9
Decision-Making and Electrodermal Activity ..................................................... 10
Approach-Avoidance Conflict ............................................................................. 13
Study Aims .......................................................................................................... 15
3. METHODS ................................................................................................................ 17
Procedure and Participants ................................................................................... 17
Self-Report Measures ........................................................................................... 17
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory .................................................................. 17
Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Scale .................................................... 18
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Approach-Avoidance Conflict Task .................................................................... 18
Physiological Measures ....................................................................................... 24
EDA Analysis ...................................................................................................... 24
General Linear Model for Evoked SCRs ................................................. 25
Statistical Analyses ........................................................................................ 27
4. RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 29
Demographics and Self-Report ...................................................................... 29
Behavioral Outcomes ..................................................................................... 29
Approach-Avoidance Behavioral Choices ......................................... 29
Behavioral Certainty .......................................................................... 30
Electrodermal Activity ................................................................................... 31
Analysis of Variance .......................................................................... 31
Correlational Analyses ................................................................................... 32
Behavior and Self-Report .................................................................. 32
Behavior and Decision SCR Magnitude ............................................ 33
Self-Report and Decision SCR Magnitude ........................................ 35
5. DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 36
Sympathetic Arousal and Conflict Decisions ...................................................... 36
Certainty of Outcome ........................................................................................... 38
Limitations and Future Directions ....................................................................... 39
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 43
VITA ................................................................................................................................ 48

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FIGURES
Figure Page
1. Sequence of Events During a Single-Trial of the AAC .................................. 19
2. Decision Scenarios Used During the AAC ..................................................... 21
3. Average SCR Magnitudes Per Decision Type ................................................ 32

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TABLES
Table Page
1. Summary of Demographics and Self-Report Data ......................................... 29
2. Post-hoc t-tests Comparing Approach-Avoidance Behavior .......................... 30
3. SCR Magnitude During Conflict Decisions with Differing Reward Points ... 31
4. Full Correlation Matrix ................................................................................... 34

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Approach-Avoidance Conflict = AAC
Autonomic Nervous System = ANS
Electrodermal Activity = EDA
Canonical Response Function = CRF
Heart Rate = HR
Iowa Gambling Task = IGT
Respiration Rate = RR
Skin Conductance = SC
Skin Conductance Response = SCR
Skin Conductance Level = SCL

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