Research Seminar
Affective instability and heart rate variabilityBarbara OgrinzKU Leuven | |
| Abstract: | Previous research has shown that being affectively instable is an indicator of several forms of psychological maladjustment. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of affective instability. Our research aims at examining the possibility that being prone to extreme fluctuations in one’s feelings may indicate dysregulated emotional responding. We investigate this hypothesis by relating affective instability to parasympathetically mediated heart rate variability (HRV), a physiological indicator of emotion regulation capacity. Next to measuring their heart rate at rest, we asked participants to rate their current affect several times a day over a period of one week. Results show that HRV is negatively related to affective instability (as measured by mean square successive differences and probability of acute change), indicating that individuals with higher emotion regulation capacities are emotionally more stable. PS. Please note the change of room for this week. |
| Date: | Tue Nov 22, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm |
| Place: | room 02.96 (Department of Psychology, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven) |