Does semantic content influence differential ERP responding in males and females?
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1
University of Newcastle, School of Psychology, Australia
Images with emotive content are known to redirect attention orientation when compared to images without emotional valence. However, the role of the semantic meaning of valanced stimuli is as yet unknown. Research suggests that men and women experience differential patterns of emotive attention towards select semantic content. Women have been shown to experience larger ERP component amplitudes than men towards unpleasant images, and also to images with human content whereas larger ERP component amplitudes have been found in men in response to erotic stimuli. Han, Fan, and Mao (2008) reported larger P3 amplitudes in females than in males towards images featuring human injury. Human mutilation content is also commonly employed in unpleasant imagery for EEG studies of emotive attention. Twenty-six participants (14 female) viewed pleasant, neutral and unpleasant stimuli in semantic categories of guns, snakes, and human mutilation while EEG activity was recorded. The results indicated that overall, participants responded more to unpleasant stimuli than neutral or pleasant stimuli. Female participants exhibited significantly more negative N2 amplitudes than males to all semantic categories, but especially to images featuring human content. These results suggest that women are more attentive towards emotive human content than men.
Keywords:
emotion,
ERP/EEG,
Sex Differentiation,
semantic category,
valance
Conference:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Emotion and Social
Citation:
Miller
R and
Martin
F
(2012). Does semantic content influence differential ERP responding in males and females?.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00069
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Received:
25 Oct 2012;
Published Online:
07 Nov 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Frances Martin, University of Newcastle, School of Psychology, Ourimbah, Australia, Frances.Martin@newcastle.edu.au