In this study, we investigate how emotions are felt in the body. Many people describe emotions such as anxiety, sadness, or pride not only in words, but also as physical sensations, for example a tight chest, pressure in the throat, an open chest, or a light feeling in the upper body.
We are particularly interested in sensations of constriction, such as tightness, pressure, or “closing in”, and expansion, such as openness, relief, or “breathing space”.
If you agree to participate, you will complete a browser-based body-mapping task. On the screen, you will see two standardized human body silhouettes. For each emotion word, for example anxiety, sadness, joy, or pride, you will briefly recall or imagine that emotion and then mark on the silhouettes:
After the mapping task, you will answer a short questionnaire about yourself, such as age, gender, language background, and current emotional well-being.
The study takes approximately 15 minutes.
You can take part in this study if:
You should not take part if:
Your participation is voluntary. You can decide freely whether you want to participate. You can stop at any time without giving a reason and without disadvantage by closing the browser window. You can also leave any body silhouette blank if you do not wish to think about a specific emotion.
If you stop early, no new data will be collected. Already collected anonymous data may still be used for analysis if it cannot be linked back to you personally.
There are no physical risks. The study is purely online and involves no medical intervention, no physiological measurement, no audio or video recording, and no physical exertion.
The main possible risk is mild, temporary emotional discomfort because some prompts involve unpleasant emotional states such as anxiety, sadness, or shame. For most adults, this is comparable to briefly reflecting on an unpleasant memory. You remain in control throughout the study and may stop at any time.
We do not collect your name, postal address, phone number, exact date of birth, images, audio, video, or physiological data. Your markings are stored as pixel maps on a neutral body template. These maps are not photographs or scans of your real body.
The research team may use your pseudonymous Prolific participant ID, study ID, session ID, or completion code only to verify study completion and approve payment. Payment information is handled by Prolific and is not collected by the ETH Zurich research team.
Study data are stored on ETH Zurich infrastructure with restricted access for the research team. Results will be analysed and reported at group level.
Compensation is handled exclusively through Prolific. The ETH Zurich research team does not collect bank details or other payment information.