Investigating postures and movements associated with psychological arousal and valence.

Introduction: Previous research has identified specific postures associated with different combinations of psychological arousal and valence. This study positioned psychological arousal and valence following different postures and movements within a two-dimensional affective space and exploratorily examined relative differences among conditions. Methods: Twenty university students (11 men and nine women) assumed six postures and performed six movements in random order for 1 min across two experimental days. Arousal and valence after each condition were assessed using the Two-Dimensional Mood Scale (TDMS). Participants also provided open-ended descriptions of the emotions experienced during each condition, and heart rate (HR) was measured as an index of physiological arousal. Linear mixed-effects models accounting for the within-participant repeated-measures structure were used for the primary analyses. Results: Differences among posture and movement conditions were observed in arousal, valence, and HR. In comparisons with the theoretical origin of the TDMS, skipping was located in the high-arousal positive quadrant, whereas the supine and meditation postures were located in the low-arousal positive quadrant. Multilevel correlation analysis showed a positive within-person association between subjective arousal and HR; however, this association was not significant in an additional linear mixed-effects model adjusting for posture and movement condition and other covariates. Open-ended responses included expressions corresponding to TDMS items as well as infrequent emotional expressions and bodily sensations not directly captured by the TDMS. Discussion: These findings provide exploratory evidence, based on a two-dimensional affective model, regarding emotional states following different postures and movements and their accompanying physiological arousal.