Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Children's subjective emotional reactivity to affective pictures: gender differences and their antisocial correlates in an unselected sample of 7-11-year-olds

Sharp, Carla, Van Goozen, Stephanie Helena Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5983-4734 and Goodyer, Ian 2006. Children's subjective emotional reactivity to affective pictures: gender differences and their antisocial correlates in an unselected sample of 7-11-year-olds. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 47 (2) , pp. 143-150. 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01464.x

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Background:  Differential responses in terms of gender and antisocial behaviour in emotional reactivity to affective pictures using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) have been demonstrated in adult and adolescent samples. Moreover, a quadratic relationship between the arousal (intensity) and valence (degree of unpleasantness) has been suggested. The picture perception methodology has rarely been applied to middle school-aged children. We examined the subjective ratings of emotional reactivity in children for: i) the relationship between arousal and valence, ii) gender differences, and iii) its association with measures of antisocial behaviour. Method:  Twenty-seven IAPS pictures were selected to cover a wide range of affective content and were individually administered to a non-referred community sample of 659 7–11-year-old children using a paper-and-pencil version. Concurrent symptoms of conduct disorder, oppositional defiance and psychopathy were collected from multiple sources (teacher-, parent- and self-report). Results:  A quadratic relationship between arousal and valence, similar to that previously reported in adults, was demonstrated. A gender difference was found for valence ratings, with girls rating aversive pictures more unpleasant than boys. No gender differences for arousal ratings were found. A significant difference was found between groups scoring above and below cut-off scores on measures of antisocial behaviour. Children above cut-off reported lower arousal to unpleasant pictures, but higher arousal to pleasant pictures. Conclusions:  We confirmed that a paper-and-pencil version of the IAPS for evaluating emotion response to affectively valent and arousing stimuli can be used in school settings and that comparable gender differences in emotional reactivity can be found in children. The differential emotional reactivity of children above cut-off on measures of antisocial behaviour suggested these symptoms to be associated with a combination of increased reward and decreased punishment sensitivity.

Item Type: Article
Status: Published
Schools: Psychology
Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI)
Uncontrolled Keywords: IAPS; picture perception methodology; arousal; valence; antisocial behaviour
ISSN: 0021-9630
Last Modified: 20 Oct 2022 09:37
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/32627

Citation Data

Cited 82 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item