Bodies in mind: using peripheral psychophysiology to probe emotional and social processes

ABSTRACT

The body and brain work together to ensure that we evaluate and respond to environmental challenges in adaptive ways. Psychophysiology is the discipline that unites body and mind, by describing the relationship between psychological and physiological domains. In this tutorial review, we consider the physiological systems and psychophysiological methods that are most useful in understanding human emotional and social processes. In Part 1 we provide an overview of the most relevant physiological systems, and in Part 2, we describe the uses of some common autonomic and somatic measures. In Part 3, we provide research examples drawn from our own labs to demonstrate how physiological measures can provide new insights into emotional and social processes. We conclude with our view on the future of psychophysiological research.

KEYWORDS:

• Psychophysiology
• emotion
• social psychology
• psychology
• autonomic nervous system
• EMG
• cardiac
• heart rate variability
• electrodermal activity
• interoception

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Andre Botes for assistance in manuscript preparation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.