Heartbeat detection and the experience of emotions

Although many theories of emotion hypothesise a crucial role for the selfperception of visceral activity, there has been little empirical investigation of the relationship between visceral self-perception and emotion. In this study, 52 undergraduates (19 males, 33 females) performed a heartbeat detection task and were classi® ed as good (n 5 9) or poor (n 5 43) heartbeat detectors. Subjectswere then presentedwith sets of two ® lm clips, each targeting one of three different emotional valences (amusement, anger, fear). Subjects reported their affective responses to the clips on 9-point scales indicating intensity and pleasantness. Good detectors reported more intense emotions than poor detectors across all three emotional valences, but no differences were found on pleasantness ratings between the groups. These results suggest that visceral perception plays a role in the experience of the intensity of emotions.