How did participants in the Canli study report their emotional experiences?

In the Canli study, participants reported their emotional experiences through verbal descriptions. This method allowed participants to articulate their feelings and reactions to the emotionally charged images presented to them. By using verbal descriptions, researchers could gain deeper insights into the emotional responses elicited by the stimuli, which was crucial for understanding the relationship between emotional arousal and memory retention. Other approaches, such as acting out emotions or using visual scales, would not have provided the same level of detail in personal emotional accounts, while a survey might have limited responses to predefined options rather than allowing for spontaneous expression.