Exner, Anna
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Publication Access status: Open Access , Psychophysiologische und subjektive Korrelate aversiver und appetitiver Reizverarbeitung im Menschen und die Rolle interindividueller Unterschiede(2024-10-15)This dissertation focuses on inter-individual differences in the processing of aversive and appetitive stimuli. Approaches for clinical interventions can be developed based on the associations between deviations in stimulus processing and mental health. In this dissertation, three central processes of stimulus processing were examined: the cognitive processing of emotional stimuli, biases of which are associated with the development of depression, affective learning, which is often used as a model for addictive disorders, and the reaction to acute stress stimuli as a relevant influencing factor for the development of many clinical conditions. Special consideration was given to the role of habitual anxiety coping, as a repressive coping style is associated with an increased prevalence of numerous stress-related illnesses. To investigate these factors, three elaborate studies were conducted in which various physiological measures such as electrodermal activity and cardiac activity, subjective ratings and implicit measures of cognitive biases were used. The results indicate that inter-individual differences play a role in all the stimulus processing steps considered. Study I showed that habitual anxiety coping can influence automatic action tendencies towards positive stimuli, with repressors showing an increased approach tendency. This suggests that cognitive biases may be maladaptive in principle and not only to negative stimuli. Study II showed that appetitive conditioning can lead to comparable cardiac CRs as aversive conditioning and thus provide a new peripheral physiological measure of CRs in appetitive conditioning paradigms. Furthermore, the study provided evidence for a relationship between appetitive and aversive CRs on a subjective, but not on a physiological level. In Study III, no altered stress response known from repressors in the form of a weakened subjective stress perception and an increased physiological stress response could be observed under non-social stress. This indicates that this reaction could possibly be triggered primarily by social stress. Overall, the results provide evidence that inter-individual differences may play a role in emotional stimulus processing. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.Source Type:Doctoral Thesis22 42 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Publication Access status: Open Access , Repressive and vigilant coping styles in stress and relaxation: evidence for physiological and subjective differences at baseline, but not for differential stress or relaxation responsesIntroduction: Previous research suggested differential stress reactivity depending on individuals’ coping style, e.g., as classified by the model of coping modes. Specifically, stronger physiological reactivity and weaker subjective stress ratings were found for repressors than for sensitizers. However, it remains to be investigated (i) whether these findings, which are largely based on social stress induction protocols, also generalize to other stressors, (ii) whether repressors vs. sensitizers also exhibit differential stress recovery following the application of a relaxation method, and (iii) which stress reactivity and recovery patterns are seen for the two remaining coping styles, i.e., fluctuating, and non-defensive copers. The current study thus examines stress reactivity in physiology and subjective ratings to a non-social stressor and the subsequent ability to relax for the four coping groups of repressors, sensitizers, fluctuating, and non-defensive copers. Methods: A total of 96 healthy participants took part in a stress induction (Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test) and a subsequent relaxation intervention. Subjective ratings of stress and relaxation, heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and blood pressure were assessed during the experiment. HR and blood pressure are markers of the sympathetic stress response that can be regulated by relaxation, while HRV should increase with relaxation. To investigate long-term relaxation effects, subjective ratings were also assessed on the evening of testing. Results: Despite successful stress induction, no differential responses (baseline to stress, stress to relaxation) were observed between the different coping groups on any of the measures. In contrast, a strong baseline effect was observed that persisted throughout the experiment: In general, fluctuating copers showed lower HR and higher HRV than non-defensive copers, whereas repressors reported lower subjective stress levels and higher levels of relaxation during all study phases. No differences in subjective ratings were observed in the evening of testing. Conclusion: Contrary to previous research, no differential stress reactivity pattern was observed between coping groups, which could be due to the non-social type of stressor employed in this study. The novel finding of physiological baseline differences between fluctuating and non-defensive individuals is of interest and should be further investigated in other stressor types in future research.Source Type:Article324 140