Exprak (WiSe 24/25): Emotionality and Freezing Behaviour

In our experimental laboratory course, we investigated the effect of emotional stimuli on reaction times, focusing on the freezing effect—a general slowing of response times when exposed to emotionally negative stimuli. Specifically, we explored whether dynamic images, compared to static ones, elicit stronger freezing effects, building on prior research suggesting that motion and immersion enhance emotional and behavioral responses. Additionally, we examined the role of emotionality, hypothesizing that participants with higher emotional reactivity would exhibit more pronounced freezing effects. Emotionally charged images were selected from the Open Affective Standardized Image Set (OASIS) and transformed into dynamic sequences using generative video tools (Runway AI, Inc). Reaction times were measured using a probe task within a 3 (stimulus valence: negative, neutral, positive) × 2 (stimulus type: static, dynamic) × 2 (subject emotionality: high, low) factorial design. The experiment was conducted entirely online, utilizing PsychoPy and Pavlovia for stimulus presentation and LimeSurvey for questionnaire data collection. As part of the course, students were required to plan and code the experiment, collect and analyze the data, and present their findings in a poster presentation that served as the final exam. This comprehensive approach provided hands-on experience with all aspects of the research process.