Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2017-09
Specific emotional schema of death-related images vs unpleasant images / Esquema emocional específico de imágenes relacionadas con la muerte frente a imágenes desagradables
Understanding the specific emotional responses elicited by death and how it differs from other unpleasant stimuli is essential for understanding people’s behaviour. In study I, 113 students viewed a set of unpleasant images or images of death. Death images rated lower arousal (p = .020, d = 0.31, CI [−.06 to .80]) and lower control (p = .015, d = 0.68, 95% CI [.23 to .93]) than unpleasant pictures. The results also indicated that viewing death-related images did not induce a state of anxiety; in study II, 84 students (42 participants with prior experience related to death) viewed pleasant, neutral, unpleasant and death images. The participants with prior experience reported lower arousal for death-related images (p = .004, d = 0.87, 95% CI [.45 to 1.36]). In both studies, images of death induced a specific emotional schema according to Izard’s theory that can be modulated by having previous experience.
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