Abstract
Subjects saw a film sequence that was abruptly terminated and followed by a letter matrix. One group saw a film of high emotionality (HE) while a second group saw one of low emotionality (LE). A control group was shown a blank white slide (B) followed by the same letter matrix as seen by the other subjects. ANOVA showed that control subjects had the highest sensitivity for the letter matrix and the HE group had the lowest sensitivity; the difference between HE and LE was not significant. When film subjects were divided into those who rated the films as high disgusting (HD) and those who rated the film as low disgusting (LD), ANOVA showed that control subjects had the highest sensitivity, LD subjects an intermediate level, and HD subjects the lowest, the difference between HD and LD in this case being significant. Results were interpreted as representing emotion induced rejection of input.
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This research was financed by grants from the Rutgers University Research Council to the first two authors. We are grateful to Mrs. Boston, Metuchen Chapter, American Cancer Society, for providing the film used in the study, and to S. Coren and L. M. Ward for their comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
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Suedfeld, P., Erdelyi, M.H. & Corcoran, C.R. Rejection of input in the processing of an emotional film. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 5, 30–32 (1975). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336691
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03336691