Constraints for emotion specificity in fear and anger: The context counts

We investigated psychophysiological responses to fear and anger inductions during real-life and imagination. Female participants (N = 158) were assign ed to a fear-treatment, fear-control, anger-treatment, or anger-control gro up. Context (real-life, imagination) was varied in two sessions of fixed or der. Eleven self-report and 29 somatovisceral variables were registered. Re sults showed that (a) except during anger imagination, control groups were emotionless; (b) in control groups, contexts prompted diverging somatovisce ral responses, but similar emotion self-reports; except during fear imagina tion, the emotion inductions (c) were successful and (d) produced specific emotion reports; (e) during real-life, somatovisceral fear and anger respon ses exhibited a marked cardiovascular defense reflex: (f) in addition, real -life fear showed an adrenaline-like specific response pattern, whereas rea l-life anger showed specific forehead temperature and EMG extensor increase s, accompanied by an elevated DBP during imagination. A Component Model of Somatovisceral Response Organization is proposed.