Presenting new stimuli to study emotion: Development and validation of the Objects-on-Hands Picture Database

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Experimental Psychology

Background:

• Researchers often use line drawings as stimuli, which lack ecological validity.
• There is a need for standardized, high-quality visual stimuli in psychological research.
• Existing stimuli may not effectively induce varied emotional states while maintaining object consistency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a database of standardized object photographs.
• To assess the ecological validity and emotional impact of these stimuli.
• To provide researchers with versatile stimuli for diverse experimental designs.

Main Methods:

• Developed high-quality photographs of objects across six categories.
• Recorded stimuli from two camera viewpoints and five presentation conditions (e.g., held by hands with substances).
• Collected normative data on name agreement, familiarity, arousal, disgust, and valence from North American and Portuguese participants.

Main Results:

• Photographs demonstrated high name agreement and familiarity in both participant samples.
• Subjective ratings (arousal, disgust, valence) varied significantly based on presentation and context conditions.
• Confirmed that stimuli can effectively induce different emotional states.

Conclusions:

• The developed database offers ecologically valid stimuli for research.
• Researchers can select stimuli based on specific emotional or contextual requirements.
• This resource addresses challenges in comparing responses to neutral and emotional items.