Feeling of safety and perceived basic emotions: experimental eye tracking study

Abstract

Background. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to understand emotional aspects of safety and psychophysiological mechanisms underlying it, which are significant for the development of resources for its self-provision. 

Objective. To analyze the relationship between the feeling of safety and perceived basic emotions, taking into account different ways of presenting stimulus material, as well as individual and gender differences. 

Methods. The study implemented the oculography method (eye tracking), paired comparisons, the “EmIn” test measuring emotional intelligence, the TIPI-RU personality questionnaire, comparative and correlation analysis. 

Sample. The study involved students and staff of the Far Eastern Federal University (N = 13, mean age 26.5 years), the database included 819 measurement procedures. 

Results. Joy and anger are the most significant emotions for a person’s sense of safety and are associated with individual and gender differences established during the study depending on the ways of presenting stimulus material. The study revealed the predominance of gaze fixations in the subjects of both sexes on the female faces, on the emotional expressions of anger, fear (on women faces) and joy (on men faces). Correlation analysis established closer connections of the sense of safety with emotions of calmness, joy and disgust, less pronounced connections — with emotions of surprise and fear. Although when perceiving both photographs of faces and descriptions of emotions the largest number of choices were made in favor of positive emotions as the safest ones, analysis of physiological reactions revealed a predominance of gaze fixations on the negative emotions as well. 

Conclusion. A person can associate with a sense of safety not only positive and neutral emotions but also the negative ones. The most security-threatening emotions are disgust and anger, the safest ones are joy, calmness and surprise (for women — mostly joy, for men — calmness). Compared to men, women rate sadness and disgust as safer emotions, while anger and fear — as less safe. Attribution of emotions as associated with safety is correlated with high scores on the “openness”, “emotional stability” and “emotional intelligence”. 

The results obtained contribute to the study of the emotion recognition mechanism, taking into account the ways of stimulus presentation, to the study of the psychophysiological aspects of the safety perception, and can be used in the development of tools for training emotional intelligence.

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