Aim
To investigate whether pulse rate differs when people experience positive and negative emotions.
Research method
The study will be conducted as a laboratory experiment in National Research Centre.
Variables
IV: Emotion of people (positive or negative)
DV: Pulse rate (mean heart beats per minute)
Operationalisation of variables
IV is manipulated by letting participants watch different types of movies, those who watched comedy will be assumed to have positive emotions, those watching melodrama will be assumed to have negative emotions
DV is measured by using a fitness app on a digital watch that would be worn throughout by the participants the movie
Experimental Design
The experimental design used will be independent measure design. Half of the participants will watch comedy movie and the other half will watch melodrama.
Controls and Standardisations
Both movies should be around 120 minutes long. All participants will be seated in a dark quiet room alone. They should eat normally prior arriving to the lab but refrain from consuming caffeine or alcohol. All participants should be non-smokers as nicotine will affect heart rate. They should also have no illness or medical condition.
Procedures
Participants are allocated randomly to watch either movie. Participants will arrive at the laboratory 15 minutes before the designated time. They will all be given a digital watch and guidance will be provided to teach them how to activate the fitness app to monitor their pulse rate once the movie starts. The app should be switched on during the entire movie period. Two groups of participants will be seated in two different rooms. When the movie is played, there will be a voice recording reminding the participants to start the fitness app. At the end of the two hours, participants leave the room and return the digital watch to the researcher.
Data Analysis
Quantitative data is collected. The average pulse rate will be calculated for each participant, and the mean bpm for each group will be determined. A bar chart will be plotted to represent the data for comparison (X-axis: happy/ sad emotions, Y-axis: mean pulse rate (bpm))