The Psychophysiological Laboratory

398 Psychophysiological measures have come out of the closet. A half century ago, psychophysiological tools were used by a highly specialized a group of scientists with specialized training and esoteric laboratories that resembled an electronics parts emporium. Today, however, such measures are used widely by nonspecialists as just one of many tools, in much the way they would select an implicit attitudes test, a behavioral coding scheme, or even a hierarchical linear model to address their research questions. In emotion research, the range of psychophysiological measures available is vast, including, as examples, skin conductance responses as measures of arousal (e.g., Hare, 1965) or fear conditioning (e.g., Öhman & Soares, 1994); myriad cardiovascular correlates of emotion (e.g., Chambers & Allen, 2002; Shalev et al., 1998); facial muscle activity as subtle measures of emotional valence (e.g., Cacioppo, Petty, Losch, & Kim, 1986); emotion-modulated startle responses (e.g., Curtin, Lang, Patrick, & Stritzke, 1998; Vrana, Spence, & Lang, 1988); electroencephalographic activity as a moderator or mediator of emotional response (e.g., Coan & Allen, 2004; Harmon-Jones, Sigelman, Bohlig, & Harmon-Jones, 2003); and event-related brain potentials to index various aspects of emotional stimulus processing (e.g., Curtin, Patrick, Lang, Cacioppo, & Birbaumer, 2001; Schupp, Cuthbert, Bradley, Cacioppo, Ito, & Lang, 2000). Advances in electronics and computer technology have made psychophysiological tools far more accessible to nonspecialists, which is generally a very positive development. However, many potential users of psychophysiological measures still may find themselves wondering what equipment and expertise is required to become a competent user of these tools. The aim of this chapter is to provide a pragmatic overview of how to set up a psychophysiological laboratory and to provide references to aid in gaining competence and expertise in using psychophysiological measures.