The Effects of Introducing Probe Stimuli on Background Psychophysiological States During Video Viewing
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1
Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Japan
The probe stimulus method has been used for assessing the level of engagement in a video clip. Event-related brain potentials (typically, the P3/P300 component) are recorded in response to stimuli that are irrelevant to the video clip. The higher the level of engagement in the video, the more attentional resources are allocated to it and the lower the amplitude of the probe-evoked P3. However, it is unclear whether introducing probe stimuli affects background psychophysiological states during video viewing. In this study, we conducted two experiments to address this issue. To manipulate the level of engagement, we selected two video clips with audio and asked the participants to view one of the clips four times before the experiment. They then viewed a new video clip and the repeated one while the electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart rate were recorded. The new video clip was rated as more engaging than the repeated one. In Experiment 1, 16 university students viewed the video clips without probe stimuli. The alpha-band EEG power and heart rate were significantly lower when the participants were viewing the new video clip than when viewing the repeated video clip. In Experiment 2, another 15 university students viewed the same video clips, but this time, a 2000-Hz probe stimulus was presented concurrently with a random interval of 5 to 7 s. A button-press response to the tone was required. The amplitude of the probe-evoked P3 was lower for the new clip than for the repeated clip, which is consistent with previous findings. However, the differences in alpha-band EEG power and heart rate between the video clips diminished. The results suggest that although the probe stimulus method is useful in assessing the level of engagement, it may obscure the differences in psychophysiological measures that are observed in natural settings without probe stimuli.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI 25540126.
Keywords:
Attention,
Electroencephalogram,
Heart Rate,
engagement,
probe stimulus,
P300
Conference:
ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Sydney, Australia, 2 Dec - 4 Dec, 2015.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Psychophysiology
Citation:
Nittono
H and
Miki
S
(2015). The Effects of Introducing Probe Stimuli on Background Psychophysiological States During Video Viewing.
Conference Abstract:
ASP2015 - 25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.219.00032
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Received:
01 Sep 2015;
Published Online:
30 Nov 2015.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Hiroshi Nittono, Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima, 739-8521, Japan, nittono@hus.osaka-u.ac.jp