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Abado E, Aue T, Okon-Singer H. Spider vs. guns: expectancy and attention biases to phylogenetic threat do not extend to ontogenetic threat. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1232985. [PMID: 37711323 PMCID: PMC10498540 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Attention bias plays an important role in specific fears and phobias. Previous studies revealed that a-priori expectancies affect attention toward neutral stimuli but not threatening stimuli. The aim of the current study was to test whether this selective influence of expectancies on attention is specific to phylogenetic threat (i.e., spiders) or whether it can be generalized to ontogenetic threat (i.e., guns). Correspondingly, we directly compared expectancy effects on attentional allocation to phylogenetically vs. ontogenetically threatening stimuli. Method Expectancies were manipulated by presenting a cue indicating the likelihood of the appearance of a deviant picture in a visual search array. The array included eight distractors and one neutral (phone/bird) or threatening (gun/spider) deviant picture. In a comprehensive design, we examined the effects of stimulus type (phylogenetic/ontogenetic) and visual background (white and sterile/complex and ecological). Individual differences such as intolerance of uncertainty and spider fear were also measured. Results Results showed that attention bias toward spiders does not extend to threatening ontogenetic stimuli (i.e., guns). Our previous findings on attention bias toward spiders were replicated and a small to medium positive correlation was found between reaction time to bird targets and pre-existing fear of spider levels. Cues were used to detect threatening as well as neutral targets on both background types, except for spider targets on a complex background, replicating previous results. A small to medium positive correlation was also found between fear of spiders and intolerance of uncertainty. Discussion Together, these results suggest that expectancy and attentional processes may differ between ontogenetic and phylogenetic threat. Importantly, the effects of expectancy on attentional allocation depend on an interaction between the type of threat (ontogenetic/phylogenetic), visual factors, and individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elinor Abado
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tatjana Aue
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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2
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Hu S, Yang T, Zhang H, Gao Y, Zhao J, Wang Y. Neutral animals matter: Animacy modulates object-based attentional allocation. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023; 76:583-595. [PMID: 35400222 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221095743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Animacy plays an essential role in survival and adaptive behaviour. Previous studies have found that dangerous or threatening animals can capture and hold attention. However, it is unclear whether and how neutral animate objects guide attentional allocation. It is also uncertain whether the modulation of animate objects on attentional allocation is based on the object itself (object-based attention) or its location (space-based attention). Therefore, the present study adopted the well-established two-rectangle paradigm and used animate and inanimate objects as stimuli to test the abovementioned problems. The results revealed that object-based effects were obtained for both animate and inanimate objects. However, the object-based effects were larger when the cue appeared on the animate objects than on the inanimate objects, due to faster response to invalid same-object trials and slower response to invalid different-object trials. Beyond that, we also further confirmed that animacy itself, not the low-level visual complexity, led to the differential object-based effects. These results suggest that neutral animals also mattered to our attentional allocation and animacy can modulate object-based attentional selection by capturing and holding visual attention on the animate objects. Ultimately, the present study not only enriches our understanding of how neutral animate objects guide attentional allocation and support the attentional prioritisation theory, but also further extends and amends the animate-monitoring hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saisai Hu
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior & Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Tingting Yang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior & Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Haiyang Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior & Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Yunfei Gao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior & Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingjing Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior & Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Yonghui Wang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior & Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
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3
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Na F, Hui Z, Nan W, Congcong Y, Qianru J. How preschoolers perceive danger – A study of inattentional bias. VISUAL COGNITION 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2022.2086332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Na
- Hangzhou College of Preschool Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhang Hui
- Hangzhou College of Preschool Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Wang Nan
- Hangzhou College of Preschool Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yan Congcong
- Hangzhou College of Preschool Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ji Qianru
- Hangzhou College of Preschool Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
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4
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Rádlová S, Polák J, Janovcová M, Sedláčková K, Peléšková Š, Landová E, Frynta D. Emotional Reaction to Fear- and Disgust-Evoking Snakes: Sensitivity and Propensity in Snake-Fearful Respondents. Front Psychol 2020; 11:31. [PMID: 32047463 PMCID: PMC6997343 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper continues our previous study in which we examined the respondents’ reaction to two morphologically different snake stimuli categories – one evoking exclusively fear and another evoking exclusively disgust. Here we acquired Likert-type scale scores of fear and disgust evoked by the same snake stimuli by a total of 330 respondents. Moreover, we collected data about the respondents’ age, gender, education, snake fear [Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ)], and disgust propensity [Disgust Scale-Revised (DS-R)], and we analyzed the effect of these variables on the emotional scores (with special focus on snake-fearful respondents). In addition, we collected the SNAQ and DS-R scores from the respondents tested in the previous study using the rank-ordering method to directly compare the results of these two approaches. The results showed that non-fearful respondents give high scores of fear to the fear-eliciting snakes and high scores of disgust to the disgust-eliciting snakes, but they give low scores of the other emotional dimension (disgust/fear) to each. In contrast, snake-fearful respondents not only give higher fear and disgust scores to the respective snake stimuli, but they also give high scores of fear to the disgust-eliciting snakes and high scores of disgust to the fear-eliciting snakes. Both Likert-scale scores and rank-ordering data show that the clear border dividing both snake stimuli categories dissolves when evaluated by the snake-fearful respondents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvie Rádlová
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Jakub Polák
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Eva Landová
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Programme, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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Masataka N, Koda H, Atsumi T, Satoh M, Lipp OV. Preferential attentional engagement drives attentional bias to snakes in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) and humans (Homo sapiens). Sci Rep 2018; 8:17773. [PMID: 30538271 PMCID: PMC6289998 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36108-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, attentional biases have been shown to negative (dangerous animals, physical threat) and positive (high caloric food, alcohol) stimuli. However, it is not clear whether these attentional biases reflect on stimulus driven, bottom up, or goal driven, top down, attentional processes. Here we show that, like humans, Japanese macaques show an attentional bias to snakes in a dot probe task (Experiment 1). Moreover, this attentional bias reflects on bottom up driven, preferential engagement of attention by snake images (Experiment 2a), a finding that was replicated in a study that used the same methodology in humans (Experiment 2b). These results are consistent with the notion that attentional bias to snakes reflects on an evolutionarily old, stimulus driven threat detection mechanism which is found in both species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuo Masataka
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Hiroki Koda
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Takeshi Atsumi
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan. .,Developmental Disorders Section, Department of Rehabilitation for Brain Functions, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. .,Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS), Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Madoka Satoh
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - Ottmar V Lipp
- School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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6
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Echeverri A, Callahan MM, Chan KMA, Satterfield T, Zhao J. Explicit Not Implicit Preferences Predict Conservation Intentions for Endangered Species and Biomes. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170973. [PMID: 28135298 PMCID: PMC5279788 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2016] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Conservation of biodiversity is determined in part by human preferences. Preferences relevant to conservation have been examined largely via explicit measures (e.g., a self-reported degree of liking), with implicit measures (e.g., preconscious, automatic evaluations) receiving relatively less attention. This is the case despite psychological evidence from other contexts that implicit preferences are more informative of behavior. Thus, the type of measure that predicts conservation intentions for biodiversity is unknown. We conducted three studies to examine conservation intentions in light of people’s explicit and implicit preferences toward four endangered species (sea otter, American badger, caribou, yellow-breasted chat) and four biomes (forest, ocean, grassland, tundra). In Study 1 (n = 55), we found that people implicitly preferred caribou most, but explicitly preferred sea otter most, with a significant multiple regression where participants’ explicit preferences dictated their stated intended donations for conservation of each species. In Study 2 (n = 57) we found that people implicitly and explicitly preferred forest and ocean over grassland and tundra. Explicit rather than implicit preferences predicted the intended donation for conservation of the ocean biome. Study 3 involved a broader online sample of participants (n = 463) and also found that explicit preferences dictated the intended donations for conservation of biomes and species. Our findings reveal discrepancies between implicit and explicit preferences toward species, but not toward biomes. Importantly, the results demonstrate that explicit rather than implicit preferences predict conservation intentions for biodiversity. The current findings have several implications for conservation and the communication of biodiversity initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Echeverri
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Megan M. Callahan
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kai M. A. Chan
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Terre Satterfield
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jiaying Zhao
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Carleton RN. Fear of the unknown: One fear to rule them all? J Anxiety Disord 2016; 41:5-21. [PMID: 27067453 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 260] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2016] [Revised: 03/26/2016] [Accepted: 03/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The current review and synthesis was designed to provocatively develop and evaluate the proposition that "fear of the unknown may be a, or possibly the, fundamental fear" (Carleton, 2016) underlying anxiety and therein neuroticism. Identifying fundamental transdiagnostic elements is a priority for clinical theory and practice. Historical criteria for identifying fundamental components of anxiety are described and revised criteria are offered. The revised criteria are based on logical rhetorical arguments using a constituent reductionist postpositivist approach supported by the available empirical data. The revised criteria are then used to assess several fears posited as fundamental, including fear of the unknown. The review and synthesis concludes with brief recommendations for future theoretical discourse as well as clinical and non-clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Nicholas Carleton
- Anxiety and Illness Behaviours Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada.
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8
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New JJ, German TC. Spiders at the cocktail party: an ancestral threat that surmounts inattentional blindness. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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9
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De Oca, Black. Bullets Versus Burgers: Is It Threat or Relevance That Captures Attention? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2013; 126:287-300. [DOI: 10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.3.0287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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