Table 3. Inferential statistics for valence and arousal measures across participants and as related to self-reported mindfulness (FFMQ-NR).
| Affective Reactivity Measure | Hypothesis | df | F | P | ηp 2 | Mdiff | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower | Upper | |||||||
| Valence Effects | ||||||||
| Self-reported valence: Rating | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 98) | 418.2 | 0.001 | 0.895 | ||||
| Valence contrast | Ple > Unp | (1, 49) | 502.5 | 0.001 | 0.911 | 3.95 | 3.60 | 4.30 |
| FFMQ–NR x Valence contrast | High < Low | (1, 49) | 0.1 | 0.707 | 0.003 | -0.10 | -0.81 | 0.61 |
| Startle response: EMG | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 98) | 17.5 | 0.001 | 0.263 | ||||
| Main effect of interval | (2, 98) | 23.2 | 0.001 | 0.321 | ||||
| Valence contrast | Unp > Ple | (1, 49) | 26.6 | 0.001 | 0.352 | 2.09 | 1.29 | 2.90 |
| FFMQ–NR x Valence contrast | High < Low | (1, 49) | 0.1 | 0.943 | 0.001 | -0.02 | -1.65 | 1.61 |
| Arousal Effects | ||||||||
| Self-reported arousal: Ratings | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 98) | 86.2 | 0.001 | 0.637 | ||||
| Arousal contrast | Aro > Neu | (1, 49) | 140.4 | 0.001 | 0.741 | 1.90 | 1.58 | 2.22 |
| FFMQ–NR x Arousal contrast | High < Low | (1, 49) | 0.1 | 0.903 | 0.001 | -0.09 | -0.73 | 0.56 |
| Sympathetic arousal: SCR | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 94) | 13.6 | 0.001 | 0.225 | ||||
| Arousal contrast | Aro > Neu | (1, 47) | 23.2 | 0.001 | 0.330 | 0.54 | 0.31 | 0.77 |
| FFMQ–NR x Arousal contrast | High < Low | (1, 47) | 1.0 | 0.319 | 0.021 | 0.09 | -0.37 | 0.54 |
| Early posterior negativity: EPN | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 98) | 19.2 | 0.001 | 0.282 | ||||
| Arousal contrast | Neu > Aro | (1, 49) | 24.6 | 0.001 | 0.334 | 1.43 | 0.84 | 2.01 |
| FFMQ–NR x Arousal contrast | High < Low | (1, 49) | 2.4 | 0.128 | 0.047 | -0.72 | -1.89 | 0.44 |
| Motivated attention to pictures: LPP | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 98) | 19.9 | 0.001 | 0.288 | ||||
| Arousal contrast | Aro > Neu | (1, 49) | 40.4 | 0.001 | 0.452 | 1.11 | 0.77 | 1.46 |
| FFMQ–NR x Arousal contrast | High < Low | (1, 49) | 0.1 | 0.812 | 0.001 | -0.03 | -0.74 | 0.67 |
| Attention to startle probes: P3 | ||||||||
| Main effect of emotion | (2, 98) | 2.2 | 0.112 | 0.044 | ||||
| Main effect of interval | (2, 98) | 5.8 | 0.005 | 0.105 | ||||
| Arousal contrast | Neu > Aro | (1, 49) | 0.3 | 0.594 | 0.006 | 0.10 | -0.27 | 0.46 |
| FFMQ–NR x Arousal contrast | High < Low | (1, 49) | 1.84 | 0.181 | 0.036 | 0.19 | -0.54 | 0.92 |
N = 51 (except for SCR, N = 49). FFMQ-NR = Nonreactivity subscale of the FFMQ; Unp = unpleasant pictures; Ple = pleasant pictures; Neu = neutral pictures; Aro = unpleasant + pleasant pictures combined. Note that the inferential statistics (i.e., df, F, p, and η p 2) are taken from an ANCOVA with Emotion (i.e., picture category) as within-subjects factor (and also with Interval for EMG and P3) and FFMQ-NR as a continuous and centered covariate (to maximize power). “Mdiff” refers to the mean differences between conditions or groups specified under “Hypothesis.” Accordingly, valence and arousal contrasts refer to the hypothesized differences between picture categories across participants. For all measures, these Mdiff scores across participants were expected to be positive. To illustrate the moderating effects of FFMQ-NR, a median split was performed and difference scores for individuals with low scores (n = 26) were subtracted from difference scores for individuals with high scores (n = 25). Because for all measures, the main hypothesis was that high FFMQ-NR individuals would show lower affective reactivity than low FFMQ-NR individuals, only negative Mdiff scores were expected for the interactions between FFMQ-NR and the valence or arousal contrasts.