Electrophysiological Correlates of Emotional See-Saw Effect on a Go/No-Go Task

Social influence studies show that manipulation of rapid affective changes, the so-called emotional see-saw, works effectively as it triggers a mindlessness state through cognitive deficits. This study aimed at investigating the neuronal mechanisms underlying mindlessness behavior evoked by the fear-then-relief technique. We hypothesized that rapid affective changes due to the fear-then-relief procedure impair top-down cognitive operations (monitoring) in the brain. To examine such a hypothesis, we conducted a go/no-go task along with ERP (event-related potential) measures where participants were required to inhibit their motor responses, and then we applied an emotional see-saw to disrupt participants’ expectancies regarding their performance. In the next stage, we inspected monitoring operations by analyzing no-go responses and their electrophysiological counterparts in the brain, such as No-Go N2 amplitudes. The electrophysiological measures revealed stronger monitoring impairments in the brain for participants exposed to the emotional see-saw. Contrary to expectations, participants from the emotional see-saw group showed an increase in inhibition as opposed to the group manipulated only with anxiety. One may therefore conclude that there is no clear empirical evidence concerning distinct behavioral-electrophysiological patterns under an emotional see-saw state.