Dutton and Aron 1974

Aim: To support the two factor theory of emotion.
Method:
1. Pps were unsuspecting males ages 18-35 who were visiting the Capilano Canyon in British Columbia, Canada.
  1. The man were visiting the extremely unstable suspension bridge 250ft above the canyon.
2. After coming off the bridge they were approached by an attractive female who said she was conductive a survey about peoples' reactions to scenic attractions. She asked them some questions. There were 18 men interviewed in this group.
3. 16 male pps were interviewed by the same female, but in a different location - a very stable wooden bridge upstream of the canyon.
4. The men were also shown an ambiguous picture of a woman and asked to invent a short story.
  1. Researchers later analysed the stories for the amount of sexually oriented content, which is taken to reflect the individuals level of attraction towards the female interviewer.
Results:
1. The study revealed that the pps interviewed on the suspension bridge (the high arousal condition) related stories with significantly more sexual imagery, than those who had been interviewed on the solid wooden bridge (low arousal condition).
2. 9 out of 18 called the interviewer from the high arousal condition.
3. 2 out of 16 called the interviewer from the low arousal condition.
Conclusion:
1. The study appeared to confirm that while the physiological arousal accompanying all emotions is similar.
  1. It is our interpretation of the arousal which is significant, even though we may sometimes wrongly identify our emotional state.
2. In this situation, pps seemed to have interpreted their fear of the unstable bridge as sexual attraction towards the female interviewer.

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Dutton and Aron 1974

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