Emotionality and information concerning internal reactions.

It was hypothesized that emotional and unemotional individuals differ with respect to the utilization of internal sensations as cues. In comparison to unemotional Ss, emotional ones were expected to make more use of information concerning their internal reactions. Ss who were psychometrically classified as emotional or unemotional were shown 10 slides of seminude females while hearing a tape recording of sounds that were allegedly their heart beats. To 5 of the slides they heard a marked change in their "heart rates"; to the other 5 they heard no change. It was found that relatively emotional subjects labeled nudes as attractive or unattractive depending upon whether they thought their hearts had reacted. This effect was significantly less marked for unemotional subjects. These individual differences were still apparent 2 mo. later when subjects were allowed to choose photographs of the nudes as rewards.