Relations Between Dispositional Expressivity and Physiological Changes During Acute Positive and Negative Affect

The aim of the present study is to examine the relations between emotional expressivity measured by Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire and physiological response in situations where positive and negative affects were induced. On 65 participants four physiological parameters, including finger pulse amplitude, heart rate, skin conductance level and amplitude of skin conductance response were measured. In situations in which negative affect was induced, individuals higher in negative expressivity showed higher skin conductance level, higher amplitude of skin conductance response and higher heart rate compared to individuals low on negative expressivity, whereas finger pulse amplitude did not differ between these two groups. The same results were obtained even when controlling for five factor personality traits and recorded participants’ facial expression. In situation where a positive affect was induced, no differences in sympathetic responses between participants high and low in positive expressivity have been found. The results are explained in the context of Coactivation theory and possible consequences of the results on health outcomes are discussed