Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties identifying, describing, and expressing emotions and is associated with mental health problems involving emotion dysregulation. To understand the relationship between alexithymia and health, researchers have predominately examined group differences in physiological arousal and self-reported experience. The present study extends this research by examining differences in physiological arousal, self-reported experience, and observed expression. In addition to this between-subjects approach the present study examined within-person difference scores to better understand individual differences in decoupling between all three emotional response domains. Participants (N = 106; M = 18.00 years), classified as alexithymic (males = 17, females = 34) or non-alexithymic (males = 23, females = 32), gave an impromptu 3-min speech while measures of heart rate and galvanic skin response were continuously recorded. Participants completed self-report measures of self-conscious affect and their behavior was later coded for self-conscious affect. Alexithymic participants: (1) had significantly higher heart rate during baseline however physiological responses were indistinguishable during arousal and recovery, (2) experienced greater self-consciousness collapsing across the tasks, and (3) expressed more self-consciousness as a result of the speech. In addition, findings support the decoupling hypothesis. Alexithymic males experienced and expressed greater self-consciousness compared to their physiological arousal. Results are discussed in terms of the underlying mechanisms of alexithymia.
Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties identifying, describing, and expressing emotions and is associated with psychological and physical health problems (Taylor, Bagby, & Parker, 1997). To understand the relationship between alexithymia and health, social stress and emotion-elicitation paradigms have revealed differences in emotional responding between alexithymic and non-alexithymic individuals. With some exceptions (Luminet et al., 2004, Pollatos et al., 2011 and Roedema and Simons, 1999), only two emotional response domains have been examined: physiological arousal and self-reported experience. Decoupling between these emotional response domains (e.g., high self-reported negative affect relative to autonomic responses) has been identified as a risk factor linking alexithymia to health problems (Stone & Nielson, 2001). When emotions arise, however, individuals experience change in observable expression as well as arousal and experience ( Mauss, Levenson, McCarter, Wilhelm, & Gross, 2005). Examining observed expressions may therefore be a critical part of the socioemotional deficits of alexithymia. For instance, difficulty expressing emotion could result in interpersonal problems (e.g., lack of social support), which could be related to health problems in alexithymic individuals ( Lumley, Stettner, & Wehmer, 1996). The current study therefore extends prior research by examining group differences in arousal, experience, and expression between alexithymic and non-alexithymic individuals. Furthermore, we calculated within-person difference scores to better understand individual differences in decoupling between all three emotional response domains. This within-person approach has been deemed a more accurate reflection of decoupling across an individual’s emotional response domains ( Mauss et al., 2005). As a more person-centered approach it allows for a better understanding of how decoupling between emotional responses relate to various individual difference factors ( Lanteigne, Flynn, Eastabrook, & Hollenstein, 2012). It is therefore an appealing method to employ within alexithymia research to aid in understanding the mechanisms underlying alexithymia and psychological well-being.
