THE AFFECTIVE AUDITORY VERBAL-LEARNING TEST - PERIPHERAL AROUSAL CORRELATES

The present study assessed the usefulness of the affective list altern atives to the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVL) in the inductio n of physiological arousal. It was anticipated that affective verbal l earning would lend to arousal patterns characteristic of different emo tions (Izard, 1977), with significant increases in blood pressure foll owing negative list learning and significant decreases following posit ive list learning. Since diastolic blood pressure increased significan tly following the learning of negatively valanced words and decreased significantly following the learning of positively valanced words, thi s was supported. Given the abundance of research on lateral asymmetrie s in emotional and verbal processing, the affective list alternatives to the RAVL may provide an objective means for evaluating individual d ifferences in affective verbal learning as well as the induction of em otion. The Affective Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AAVL) may potentia lly provide a tool for assessment of cerebral dysfunction in the clini c or in the assessment of affective disorders. (C) 1998 National Acade my of Neuropsychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.