TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2017//
TI  - Attend or defend? Sex differences in behavioral, autonomic, and respiratory response patterns to emotion-eliciting films
JO  - Biological psychology
A1  - Wilhelm, Frank H.
A1  - Blechert, Jens
A1  - Kolodyazhniy, Vitaliy
A1  - Kreibig, Sylvia D.
A1  - Schweighofer, Simon
A1  - Liedlgruber, Michael
A1  - Wegerer, Melanie
A1  - Rattel, Julina A.
SP  - 30
EP  - 40
VL  - 130
IS  - 
N2  - Sex differences in emotional reactivity have been studied primarily for negative but less so for positive stimuli; likewise, sex differences in the psychophysiological response-patterning during such stimuli are poorly understood. Thus, the present study examined sex differences in response to negative/positive and high/low arousing films (classified as threat-, loss-, achievement-, and recreation-related, vs. neutral films), while measuring 18 muscular, autonomic, and respiratory parameters. Sex differences emerged for all films, but were most prominent for threat-related films: Despite equivalent valence and arousal ratings, women displayed more facial-muscular and respiratory responding than men and pronounced sympathetic activation (preejection period, other cardiovascular and electrodermal measures), while men showed coactivated sympathetic/parasympathetic responding (including increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia). This indicates a prototypical threat-related defense response in women, while men showed a pattern of sustained orienting, which can be understood as a shift toward less threat proximity in the defense cascade model.<br><br>Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0301-0511
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.10.006
ID  - ref1
ER  -