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Dissociable Associations Between Stimulus Realism, Valence, and Arousal for Positive and Negative Stimuli

Poster Session E - Monday, March 9, 2026, 2:30 – 4:30 pm PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Stephanie L. Souliere¹ (), Abbey M.-Y. Young¹, Liam Xia¹, Derek G.V. Mitchell¹; ¹University of Western Ontario

Human research in affective cognitive neuroscience rests on the assumption that emotion-inducing stimuli used in the lab are ecologically valid. However, there is growing acknowledgment of the potential dissimilar nature of lab-based and real-life experiences of emotion. One emerging factor of interest is whether participants perceive the stimuli as real (e.g., of an actual event) or as fiction (a movie or simulation). Although some evidence suggests that real stimuli evoke stronger emotional responses, the results are equivocal. To address this question, we had participants (N = 101) watch short video clips sourced from YouTube, TikTok, etc., depicting positive, negative, and neutral content, and provided valence, arousal, realism, and amusement ratings for each. We observed dissociable associations between realism, subjective arousal, and valence ratings for positive versus negative stimuli. For positive stimuli, valence and realism were positively correlated, but arousal and realism were not. In contrast, for negative stimuli, arousal and realism were positively correlated, but valence and realism were not. Collectively, the results raise the possibility of a nonlinear relationship between perceived realism and subjective experiences of emotion, especially when considering positive and negative stimuli separately. They also highlight a need for further work addressing the factors that contribute to differences in emotional experiences in real life versus fictional contexts.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Emotional responding