Abstract
M.A. (Psychology)
Research investigating the connection between Functional Hemispherical Asymmetry
(FHA) and perception of affect in clinical as well as normal populations, is characterised
by contradictory findings with regard to the role of the different hemispheres, especially
as regards the perception of various valencies of emotions. Although a majority of studies
indicates that the right hemisphere (RH) is superior in the perception of all valencies and
emotions - positive as well as negative - there are numerous studies indicating a
possible differential processing of positive and negative emotions by the hemispheres.
Although various researchers try to lay the above contradictory findings and the general
lack of consensus at the door of methodological problems/inequalities or error variances,
the literature is increasingly pointing to the existence of evidently reliable individual
differences between people as regards their hemispherical functioning.
The problem investigated in the current study, is to determine the possible role of the
organismic variables in FHA, i e variables seated in the individual who is making the
observation. In this study, the focus is specifically on the role of sex and the temperament
dimension of introversion-extraversion. The objectives of this study are to determine
whether there are significant differences in the direction of these hemispherical
differences, as well as the relative performance, of groups divided according to sex and
temperament characteristics, and whether the relevant organismic variables offer a
possible means of explaining the contradictions in research results on FHA and the
perception of emotion.
In this study, the measuring of FHA is operationalised in terms of the differential
performance, measured in terms of accuracy and speed of observation (response latency)
of the hemispheres in the perception of different valencies of emotional stimuli (positive
versus negative, and approach versus avoidance emotions)..
The subject population comprised a group of students selected in terms of sex and
temperament (introversion-extraversion). Selection in terms of introversion-extraversion
was done on the basis of subjects' performance in the Personality Questionnaire Form B
(Schepers, 1991): persons falling in the lower and upper three stanines of the scale
respectively were identified as introverts and extraverts. Only right-handed subjects with
no history of brain injury were used for the study.
Differential hemispherical performance in terms of response accuracy and latency was
determined by means of the Divided Visual Field Technique (DVFT). Although the
reliability data of this technique are generally not entirely satisfactory when measured in
terms of psychometric test standards, an effort was made to enhance the reliability of the
technique in this study by controlling specific stimulus and response variables (inter alia
the exposure time and the use of both hands for a response) during the experimental
design.