Emotion Elicitation Using Text and Pictorial Stimuli

Research has shown pictorial stimuli to be successful in inducing emotions in laboratory based settings, whereas the use of narrative text has not been researched as thoroughly. This study will examine how pictorial stimuli and narrative text elicit sadness, happiness, and a neutral state as a control condition. We hypothesize stronger emotions elicited by the pictorial stimuli than narrative text. Further, we expect longer picture presentation times (8 s v. 4 s) will result in greater emotional intensity. Using an online survey, participants will rate their arousal, valence, and dominance on the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM; 1980) in response to pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS; Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2005) and standardized narrative texts (Gernsbacher, Goldsmith, & Robertson, 1992). Data collection is ongoing. Results could impact any future emotion research by refining understanding of most effective emotion elicitation procedures.