TY - JOUR
T1 - Defining reactivity
T2 - How several methodological decisions can affect conclusions about emotional reactivity in psychopathology
AU - Nelson, Brady D.
AU - Shankman, Stewart A
AU - Olino, Thomas M.
AU - Klein, Daniel N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Correspondence should be addressed to: Stewart A. Shankman, Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison Street, M/C 285, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA. E-mail: [email protected] This research was supported by the American Psychological Foundation and Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology Clarence J. Rosecrans Scholarship as well as National Institute of Mental Health Grant F31 MH67309, both awarded to SAS. Additionally, we would like to thank Jonathan Rottenberg for his assistance and for allowing us to use his self-report emotions questionnaire and standardised movie clips.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - There are many important methodological decisions that need to be made when examining emotional reactivity in psychopathology. In the present study, we examined the effects of two such decisions in an investigation of emotional reactivity in depression: (1) which (if any) comparison condition to employ; and (2) how to define change. Depressed (N = 69) and control (N = 37) participants viewed emotion-inducing film clips while subjective and facial responses were measured. Emotional reactivity was defined using no comparison condition (i.e., raw scores), baseline comparison condition (i.e., no stimulus presented), and neutral comparison condition (i.e., neutral stimulus presented). Change in emotional reactivity was assessed using four analytic approaches: difference scores, percentage change, residualised change, and ANCOVA. Results differed among the three comparison conditions and among several of the analytic approaches. Overall, our investigation suggests that choosing a comparison condition and the definition of change can significantly influence the presence of group differences in emotional reactivity. Recommendations for studies of emotional reactivity in psychopathology are discussed.
AB - There are many important methodological decisions that need to be made when examining emotional reactivity in psychopathology. In the present study, we examined the effects of two such decisions in an investigation of emotional reactivity in depression: (1) which (if any) comparison condition to employ; and (2) how to define change. Depressed (N = 69) and control (N = 37) participants viewed emotion-inducing film clips while subjective and facial responses were measured. Emotional reactivity was defined using no comparison condition (i.e., raw scores), baseline comparison condition (i.e., no stimulus presented), and neutral comparison condition (i.e., neutral stimulus presented). Change in emotional reactivity was assessed using four analytic approaches: difference scores, percentage change, residualised change, and ANCOVA. Results differed among the three comparison conditions and among several of the analytic approaches. Overall, our investigation suggests that choosing a comparison condition and the definition of change can significantly influence the presence of group differences in emotional reactivity. Recommendations for studies of emotional reactivity in psychopathology are discussed.
KW - Depression
KW - Emotional reactivity
KW - Positive and negative emotions
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U2 - 10.1080/02699931.2010.551185
DO - 10.1080/02699931.2010.551185
M3 - Article
C2 - 21432644
AN - SCOPUS:79960389895
SN - 0269-9931
VL - 25
SP - 1439
EP - 1459
JO - Cognition and Emotion
JF - Cognition and Emotion
IS - 8
ER -