Successive negative contrast in emotional appraisal: A human replication with IAPS imaging
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33064/iycuaa2025968130Keywords:
Negative Successive Contrast, IAPS, Emotional appraisal, Incentive Relativity, Frustration, IncentiveAbstract
Successive Negative Contrast (SNC) involves a decrease in behavior following an abrupt reduction in the quality or quantity of a reward. This study replicated the work of Cuenya et al. (2013) in humans, using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Two experiments were conducted manipulating the transition from high-arousal positive images to neutral images. In Experiment 1, control groups viewed only positive or neutral images. In Experiment 2, one group was randomly exposed to both types. The results confirmed that the SNC arises from the contrast between stimuli and not from mere constant exposure to a single stimulus type. These findings support the use of IAPS to study the SNC in humans. Understanding this effect is key, as the results suggest that emotions respond similarly to behavior following changes in the valence of the presented images.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Hania Melany Silva-Mendoza, José Gudiño-Mejía, Juan Palomares-Hernández, Diego Ayala-Luna, Jocelin Castillo-Cruz, Mariana Ibáñez-Salamanca

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