Psychophysiological approach in emotion study

Abstract

Until now, physiological psychology has contributed to the development of emotion research with the help of various biological measurement techniques. Certain methods, such as cardiovascular measurement, electrodermal activity, endocrine activity, electroencephalography (EEG), and neuroimaging, have been used to visualize biological reactions associated with emotions and to reveal the importance of physical reactions and their neural basis in emotional experience. Furthermore, psychophysiological indicators can reflect various mental processes. This study reviews the richness of knowledge obtained from psychophysiological methods by introducing concepts derived from psychophysiological indices, such as arousal, stimulus–response (S–R) specificity, the cardiac–somatic concept and internal receptive sensation, and emotion research using these indices. Finally, the study discusses the contribution of psychophysiology to the research on emotion and presents a few cautionary notes on the understanding and interpretation of psychophysiological data in emotion research.