Valins effect

Psychologist Stuart Valins conducted an experiment in 1966 on the perception of one's own degree of activation. Valins thus modified the two-factor theory of emotion of Schachter and Singer. According to the Valins theory, the actual physiological arousal or the sensation of arousal is not necessary for the emergence of emotions, but the cognitive representation about one's own arousal is sufficient for the emergence of emotions.

Experiment

In the experiment, Valins showed ten pictures of attractive, half-naked women (then Playboy photos) in two passes to male subjects. The participants in the experimental group were connected before the start of the experiment to an apparatus which allegedly recorded their heartbeat. At the same time, the subjects received the feigned feedback of their heartbeat rate via headphones. However, the distorted heart rhythm recorded via headphones was not his own. The experimenter previously determined which photos showed a slowing or increasing heartbeat. The perception of a reduced or increasing state of excitation should thus be simulated.

In the control group, the subjects also heard the same sounds when viewing the photos through headphones. However, they were presented by the experimenter as meaningless or disturbing background noise. At the end of the experiment, the subjects should evaluate the individual photos in a questionnaire according to attractiveness (scale). In addition, the participants could again select some photos that they took home. The subsequent evaluation showed that there was a coupling between the change in heart rate and the attractiveness ratings. The perceived excitement of the subjects made an influence on the assessment.