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Kaňková Š, Dlouhá D, Ullmann J, Velíková M, Včelák J, Hill M. Association between Disgust Sensitivity during Pregnancy and Endogenous Steroids: A Longitudinal Study. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6857. [PMID: 38999978 PMCID: PMC11241696 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25136857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The emotion of disgust protects individuals against pathogens, and it has been found to be elevated during pregnancy. Physiological mechanisms discussed in relation to these changes include immune markers and progesterone levels. This study aimed to assess the association between steroids and disgust sensitivity in pregnancy. Using a prospective longitudinal design, we analyzed blood serum steroid concentrations and measured disgust sensitivity via text-based questionnaires in a sample of 179 pregnant women during their first and third trimesters. We found positive correlations between disgust sensitivity and the levels of C19 steroids (including testosterone) and its precursors in the Δ5 pathway (androstenediol, DHEA, and their sulfates) and the Δ4 pathway (androstenedione). Additionally, positive correlations were observed with 5α/β-reduced C19 steroid metabolites in both trimesters. In the first trimester, disgust sensitivity was positively associated with 17-hydroxypregnanolone and with some estrogens. In the third trimester, positive associations were observed with cortisol and immunoprotective Δ5 C19 7α/β-hydroxy-steroids. Our findings show that disgust sensitivity is positively correlated with immunomodulatory steroids, and in the third trimester, with steroids which may be related to potential maternal-anxiety-related symptoms. This study highlights the complex relationship between hormonal changes and disgust sensitivity during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Šárka Kaňková
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic; (Š.K.); (D.D.); (J.U.)
| | - Daniela Dlouhá
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic; (Š.K.); (D.D.); (J.U.)
| | - Jana Ullmann
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic; (Š.K.); (D.D.); (J.U.)
| | - Marta Velíková
- Department of Steroids and Proteofactors, Institute of Endocrinology, Národní 8, 116 94 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Josef Včelák
- Department of Molecular Endocrinology, Institute of Endocrinology, Národní 8, 116 94 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Martin Hill
- Department of Steroids and Proteofactors, Institute of Endocrinology, Národní 8, 116 94 Prague, Czech Republic;
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Carretié L, Fernández-Folgueiras U, Kessel D, Alba G, Veiga-Zarza E, Tapia M, Álvarez F. An extremely fast neural mechanism to detect emotional visual stimuli: A two-experiment study. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299677. [PMID: 38905211 PMCID: PMC11192326 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Defining the brain mechanisms underlying initial emotional evaluation is a key but unexplored clue to understanding affective processing. Event-related potentials (ERPs), especially suited for investigating this issue, were recorded in two experiments (n = 36 and n = 35). We presented emotionally negative (spiders) and neutral (wheels) silhouettes homogenized regarding their visual parameters. In Experiment 1, stimuli appeared at fixation or in the periphery (200 trials per condition and location), the former eliciting a N40 (39 milliseconds) and a P80 (or C1: 80 milliseconds) component, and the latter only a P80. In Experiment 2, stimuli were presented only at fixation (500 trials per condition). Again, an N40 (45 milliseconds) was observed, followed by a P100 (or P1: 105 milliseconds). Analyses revealed significantly greater N40-C1P1 peak-to-peak amplitudes for spiders in both experiments, and ANCOVAs showed that these effects were not explained by C1P1 alone, but that processes underlying N40 significantly contributed. Source analyses pointed to V1 as an N40 focus (more clearly in Experiment 2). Sources for C1P1 included V1 (P80) and V2/LOC (P80 and P100). These results and their timing point to low-order structures (such as visual thalamic nuclei or superior colliculi) or the visual cortex itself, as candidates for initial evaluation structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Carretié
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Dominique Kessel
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Guzmán Alba
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Manuel Tapia
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fátima Álvarez
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Karner A, Zhang M, Lor CS, Steyrl D, Götzendorfer SJ, Weidt S, Melinscak F, Scharnowski F. The "SpiDa" dataset: self-report questionnaires and ratings of spider images from spider-fearful individuals. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1327367. [PMID: 38873522 PMCID: PMC11169805 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1327367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Karner
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mengfan Zhang
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Cindy Sumaly Lor
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - David Steyrl
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Steffi Weidt
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Filip Melinscak
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Frank Scharnowski
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Frumento S, Frumento P, Laurino M, Menicucci D, Gemignani A. The fear of spiders: perceptual features assessed in augmented reality. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1355879. [PMID: 38450021 PMCID: PMC10915047 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1355879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Persons with specific phobias typically generalize the dangerousness of the phobic animal to all members of its species, possibly as a result of malfunctioning brain circuitry normally providing quick and dirty identification of evolutionary-relevant stimuli. An objective assessment of which perceptual features make an animal more or less scary to phobic and non-phobic people would help overcome the limitations of the few studies available so far, based on self-reports. Objective To achieve this aim, we built an augmented reality setting where volunteers with different levels of fear of spiders were asked to make holographic spiders that look either dangerous or harmless. To reach this goal, a computerized interface allowed participants to modify the spider's perceptual features (hairiness, body/leg size, and locomotion) in real time. Results On average, the dangerous spiders were made hairy, thick, and moving according to spider-like locomotion; coherently, the harmless spiders were made hairless, slim, and moving according to a butterfly-like locomotion. However, these averaged preferences could not fully describe the complex relationship between perceptual preferences with each other and with arachnophobia symptoms. An example of a key finding revealed by cluster analysis is the similarity in perceptual preferences among participants with little or no fear of spiders, whereas participants with more arachnophobia symptoms expressed more varying preferences. Conclusion Perceptual preferences toward the spider's features were behaviorally assessed through an observational study, objectively confirming a generalization effect characterizing spider-fearful participants. These results advance our knowledge of phobic preferences and could be used to improve the acceptability of exposure therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Frumento
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Paolo Frumento
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Marco Laurino
- Pisa Research Area, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy
| | - Danilo Menicucci
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Angelo Gemignani
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Landová E, Štolhoferová I, Vobrubová B, Polák J, Sedláčková K, Janovcová M, Rádlová S, Frynta D. Attentional, emotional, and behavioral response toward spiders, scorpions, crabs, and snakes provides no evidence for generalized fear between spiders and scorpions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20972. [PMID: 38017048 PMCID: PMC10684562 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48229-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Spiders are among the animals evoking the highest fear and disgust and such a complex response might have been formed throughout human evolution. Ironically, most spiders do not present a serious threat, so the evolutionary explanation remains questionable. We suggest that other chelicerates, such as scorpions, have been potentially important in the formation and fixation of the spider-like category. In this eye-tracking study, we focused on the attentional, behavioral, and emotional response to images of spiders, scorpions, snakes, and crabs used as task-irrelevant distractors. Results show that spider-fearful subjects were selectively distracted by images of spiders and crabs. Interestingly, these stimuli were not rated as eliciting high fear contrary to the other animals. We hypothesize that spider-fearful participants might have mistaken crabs for spiders based on their shared physical characteristics. In contrast, subjects with no fear of spiders were the most distracted by snakes and scorpions which supports the view that scorpions as well as snakes are prioritized evolutionary relevant stimuli. We also found that the reaction time increased systematically with increasing subjective fear of spiders only when using spiders (and crabs to some extent) but not snakes and scorpions as distractors. The maximal pupil response covered not only the attentional and cognitive response but was also tightly correlated with the fear ratings of the picture stimuli. However, participants' fear of spiders did not affect individual reactions to scorpions measured by the maximal pupil response. We conclude that scorpions are evolutionary fear-relevant stimuli, however, the generalization between scorpions and spiders was not supported in spider-fearful participants. This result might be important for a better understanding of the evolution of spider phobia.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
| | - I Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - B Vobrubová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - J Polák
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - K Sedláčková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - M Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - S Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - D Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Schöpper LM, Jerusalem A, Lötzke L, Frings C. Bound to a spider without its web: Task-type modulates the retrieval of affective information in subsequent responses. Atten Percept Psychophys 2023; 85:2655-2672. [PMID: 37853167 PMCID: PMC10600052 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-023-02791-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Action control theories assume that upon responding to a stimulus response and stimulus features are integrated into a short episodic memory trace; repeating any component spurs on retrieval, affecting subsequent performance. The resulting so-called "binding effects" are reliably observed in discrimination tasks. In contrast, in localization performance, these effects are absent and only inhibition of return (IOR) emerges - a location change benefit. Affective information has been found to modulate binding effects; yet a modulation of IOR has led to mixed results, with many finding no influence at all. In the current study, participants discriminated letters (Experiment 1) or localized dots (Experiment 2) on a touchpad in prime-probe sequences. During the prime display two images - one with fruits and one with a spider - appeared, one of which spatially congruent with the to-be-touched area. In the discrimination task, previously touching a spider compared to a fruit slowed down response repetitions. In contrast, the localization task only showed IOR. This suggests that task-irrelevant valence is integrated with the response and affects subsequent responses due to retrieval. However, this is not ubiquitous but depends on task type. The results shed further light on the impact of affective information on actions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alicia Jerusalem
- Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Lisann Lötzke
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Christian Frings
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (ICAN), University of Trier, Trier, Germany
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7
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Landová E, Rádlová S, Pidnebesna A, Tomeček D, Janovcová M, Peléšková Š, Sedláčková K, Štolhoferová I, Polák J, Hlinka J, Frynta D. Toward a reliable detection of arachnophobia: subjective, behavioral, and neurophysiological measures of fear response. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1196785. [PMID: 37363175 PMCID: PMC10285442 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1196785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The administration of questionnaires presents an easy way of obtaining important knowledge about phobic patients. However, it is not well known how these subjective measurements correspond to the patient's objective condition. Our study aimed to compare scores on questionnaires and image evaluation to the objective measurements of the behavioral approach test (BAT) and the neurophysiological effect of spiders extracted from fMRI measurements. The objective was to explore how reliably subjective statements about spiders and physiological and behavioral parameters discriminate between phobics and non-phobics, and what are the best predictors of overall brain activation. Methods Based on a clinical interview, 165 subjects were assigned to either a "phobic" or low-fear "control" group. Finally, 30 arachnophobic and 32 healthy control subjects (with low fear of spiders) participated in this study. They completed several questionnaires (SPQ, SNAQ, DS-R) and underwent a behavioral approach test (BAT) with a live tarantula. Then, they were measured in fMRI while watching blocks of pictures including spiders and snakes. Finally, the respondents rated all the visual stimuli according to perceived fear. We proposed the Spider Fear Index (SFI) as a value characterizing the level of spider fear, computed based on the fMRI measurements. We then treated this variable as the "neurophysiological effect of spiders" and examined its contribution to the respondents' fear ratings of the stimuli seen during the fMRI using the redundancy analysis (RDA). Results The results for fear ranks revealed that the SFI, SNAQ, DS-R, and SPQ scores had a significant effect, while BAT and SPQ scores loaded in the same direction of the first multivariate axis. The SFI was strongly correlated with both SPQ and BAT scores in the pooled sample of arachnophobic and healthy control subjects. Discussion Both SPQ and BAT scores have a high informative value about the subject's fear of spiders and together with subjective emotional evaluation of picture stimuli can be reliable predictors of spider phobia. These parameters provide easy and non-expensive but reliable measurement wherever more expensive devices such as magnetic resonance are not available. However, SFI still reflects individual variability within the phobic group, identifying individuals with higher brain activation, which may relate to more severe phobic reactions or other sources of fMRI signal variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | | | - Anna Pidnebesna
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
- Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - David Tomeček
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
- Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jakub Polák
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Department of Economy and Management, Ambis University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jaroslav Hlinka
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
- Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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8
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Prokop P, Fančovičová J. Enhancing Attention and Interest in Plants to Mitigate Plant Awareness Disparity. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12112201. [PMID: 37299180 DOI: 10.3390/plants12112201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Plant awareness disparity (PAD, formerly plant blindness) is the human inability to notice plants in everyday life. It is suggested that the main underlying factors of PAD are: 1. the inability to recognize individual plants and 2. stronger preferences for animals, which prevents building positive attitudes toward them. The presentation of individual plants should trigger more positive responses toward them than the presentation of groups of plants. Strong preferences for animals predict that the presence of an animal on a plant might enhance positive perceptions of the plant by people. We experimentally investigated the perceived attractiveness and willingness to protect (WTP) plants presented individually and in groups and with or without various pollinators in a sample of Slovak people (N = 238). In contrast to the first prediction, only one of four plants (dog rose, but not saffron, spruce, or beech tree) received higher attractiveness scores when presented individually than in a group. None of these species received higher WTP scores when presented individually, rather than in a group. The effect of the presence of pollinators on flower attractiveness and WTP was distinguished between vertebrates and invertebrates; only flowers with birds and bats increased their attractiveness scores, while flowers with invertebrates, including a butterfly, honeybee, beetle, and the syrphid fly, received similar or lower scores than the same plant species without pollinators. WTP plants significantly increased only when the scarlet honeycreeper and the cave nectar bat were present on flowers as pollinators. People showed significantly stronger preferences for items that associate 1. plants with pollinators and 2. plants with animals that distribute animal seed than for items focused solely on plants. Connecting animals and plants should help reduce PAD. This aim cannot be achieved, however, by presenting individual plants and/or plants with randomly chosen pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavol Prokop
- Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia
- Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 06 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Jana Fančovičová
- Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Priemyselná 4, 918 43 Trnava, Slovakia
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9
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Coelho CM, Araújo AS, Suttiwan P, Zsido AN. An ethologically based view into human fear. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 145:105017. [PMID: 36566802 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The quality of the defensive response to a threat depends on the elements that trigger the fear response. The current classification system of phobias does not account for this. Here, we analyze the fear-eliciting elements and discern the different types of fears that originate from them. We propose Pain, Disgust, Vasovagal response, Visual-vestibular and postural interactions, Movement and Speed, Distance and Size, Low and mid-level visual features, Smell, and Territory and social status. We subdivide phobias according to the fear-eliciting elements most frequently triggered by them and their impact on behavior. We discuss the implications of a clinical conceptualization of phobias in humans by reconsidering the current nosology. This conceptualization will facilitate finding etiological factors in defensive behavior expression, fine-tuning exposure techniques, and challenging preconceived notions of preparedness. This approach to phobias leads to surprising discoveries and shows how specific responses bear little relation to the interpretation we might later give to them. Dividing fears into their potentially fear-eliciting elements can also help in applying the research principles formulated by the Research Domain Criteria initiative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos M Coelho
- University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal; Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana S Araújo
- Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; University of Maia, Maia, Portugal
| | - Panrapee Suttiwan
- Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; Life Di Center, Faculty of Psychology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
| | - Andras N Zsido
- Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs, Pécs 7624, Hungary; Szentágothai Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs 7622, Hungary
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10
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Schmidt F, Schürmann L, Haberkamp A. Animal eMotion, or the emotional evaluation of moving animals. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:1132-1148. [PMID: 35749075 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2087600] [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: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Responding adequately to the behaviour of human and non-human animals in our environment has been crucial for our survival. This is also reflected in our exceptional capacity to detect and interpret biological motion signals. However, even though our emotions have specifically emerged as automatic adaptive responses to such vital stimuli, few studies investigated the influence of biological motion on emotional evaluations. Here, we test how the motion of animals affects emotional judgements by contrasting static animal images and videos. We investigated this question (1) in non-fearful observers across many different animals, and (2) in observers afraid of particular animals across four types of animals, including the feared ones. In line with previous studies, we find an idiosyncratic pattern of evoked emotions across different types of animals. These emotions can be explained to different extents by regression models based on relevant predictor variables (e.g. familiarity, dangerousness). Additionally, our findings show a boosting effect of motion on emotional evaluations across all animals, with an additional increase in (negative) emotions for moving feared animals (except snakes). We discuss implications of our results for experimental and clinical research and applications, highlighting the importance of experiments with dynamic and ecologically valid stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipp Schmidt
- Experimental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Lisa Schürmann
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Anke Haberkamp
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
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11
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Fraunfelter L, Gerdes ABM, Alpers GW. Fear one, fear them all: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fear generalization in pathological anxiety. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104707. [PMID: 35643120 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
It is a defining feature of anxiety disorders that fear is elicited by a circumscribed class of stimuli rather than by only one specific exemplar of that class. Therefore, fear generalization, a mechanism by which associative fear extends from one conditioned stimulus to similar cues, has been central to theories on anxiety. Yet, experimental evidence for the link between generalization and pathological anxiety, as well as its moderators, has not been formally integrated. This systematic review and meta-analysis of empirical findings clarifies the relationship between fear generalization and pathological anxiety. In conclusion, enhanced fear generalization is associated with several anxiety disorders and stress-related disorders, which is supported statistically by a small, but robust effect size of g = 0.44 for risk ratings as an index of fear generalization. However, empirical results are inconsistent across disorders and they rarely allow for conclusions on their causality in the disorders' etiology. Therefore, based on theoretical considerations, we recommend directions for intensified research, especially on the causal relationship between overgeneralization and pathological fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Fraunfelter
- University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, L13, 17, 68131 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - A B M Gerdes
- University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, L13, 17, 68131 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - G W Alpers
- University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, L13, 17, 68131 Mannheim, Germany.
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12
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An expert-curated global database of online newspaper articles on spiders and spider bites. Sci Data 2022; 9:109. [PMID: 35347145 PMCID: PMC8960780 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01197-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mass media plays an important role in the construction and circulation of risk perception associated with animals. Widely feared groups such as spiders frequently end up in the spotlight of traditional and social media. We compiled an expert-curated global database on the online newspaper coverage of human-spider encounters over the past ten years (2010–2020). This database includes information about the location of each human-spider encounter reported in the news article and a quantitative characterisation of the content—location, presence of photographs of spiders and bites, number and type of errors, consultation of experts, and a subjective assessment of sensationalism. In total, we collected 5348 unique news articles from 81 countries in 40 languages. The database refers to 211 identified and unidentified spider species and 2644 unique human-spider encounters (1121 bites and 147 as deadly bites). To facilitate data reuse, we explain the main caveats that need to be made when analysing this database and discuss research ideas and questions that can be explored with it. Measurement(s) | Newspaper articles on human-spider encounters | Technology Type(s) | Manual extraction | Sample Characteristic - Organism | Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) | Sample Characteristic - Environment | Online | Sample Characteristic - Location | Global |
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13
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You see what you avoid: Fear of spiders and avoidance are associated with predominance of spiders in binocular rivalry. J Anxiety Disord 2022; 86:102513. [PMID: 34942504 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
What we see is the result of an efficient selection of cues in the visual stream. In addition to physical characteristics this process is also influenced by emotional salience of the cues. Previously, we showed in spider phobic patients that fear-related pictures gain preferential access to consciousness in binocular rivalry. We set out to replicate this in an independent unselected sample and examine the relationship of this perceptual bias with a range of symptom clusters. To this end, we recruited 79 participants with variable degrees of fear of spiders. To induce binocular rivalry, a picture of either a spider or a flower was projected to one eye, and a neutral geometric pattern to the other eye. Participants continuously reported what they saw. We correlated indices of perceptual dominance (first percept, dominance duration) with individual fear of spiders and with scores on specific symptom clusters of fear of spiders (i.e., vigilance, fixation, and avoidance coping). Overall, higher fear of spiders correlates with more predominace of spider pictures. In addition, this perceptual bias is uniquely associated with avoidance coping. Interestingly, this demonstrates that a perceptual bias, which is not intentionally controlled, is linked with an instrumental coping behavior, that has been implicated in the maintenance of pathological fear.
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A Randomized and Controlled Research Study Assessing the Emotions and Beliefs of Future Middle School Science Teachers toward Terrestrial Isopods. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13030233. [PMID: 35323531 PMCID: PMC8951326 DOI: 10.3390/insects13030233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Terrestrial isopods are small land-dwelling animals and can be an effective curriculum tool when used in a science classroom. A study was performed where future middle school science teachers participated in activities with living terrestrial isopods. We found that terrestrial isopods are the ideal “model” living arthropod to initially use in middle school science teacher preparation programs and middle school science teacher professional development. Abstract Terrestrial isopods, a diverse group of small crustaceans, are a beneficial component of a healthy ecosystem. Terrestrial isopods are also excellent living animals to have in a middle school science classroom. The current study evaluated if future middle school science teachers would utilize living terrestrial isopods in their classroom, and if they would not, to what extent fear and disgust towards arthropods was a factor that influenced their decision to avoid them. Before the terrestrial isopod activities, the teachers had moderate fear and moderate disgust toward terrestrial isopods and had no desire to teacher their students about terrestrial isopods. After participating in the terrestrial isopod activities, the teachers had no fear and no disgust toward terrestrial isopods and had a strong desire to teach their students about terrestrial isopods. Based on the findings of this study, new discoveries and powerful recommendations are presented that are relevant to those that are involved in the preparation of future middle school science teachers and those that provide professional development for current middle school science teachers.
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SAD but True: Species Awareness Disparity in Bees Is a Result of Bee-Less Biology Lessons in Germany. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14052604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Bee and insect mortality has recently moved to the forefront of current nature conservation debates and experiences intensive media coverage worldwide. In order to understand the complexity, it is necessary to raise awareness of the diversity of bees. This study investigated whether students are aware of the species diversity of bees. We are guided by the concept of ‘plant blindness’ and show that it cannot be assumed that people are only ’plant-blind’. Therefore, we introduce the concept of Species Awareness Disparity (SAD) in bees to describe a phenomenon which can be defined as the failure to appreciate the significance of wild bee species and the inability to distinguish between individual species of the Apidae family. A total of 421 German students in grades 5–7 participated. The majority of students did not associate a diversity of species with the term ‘wild bee’ but rather consider the honeybee as the bee. Only 2.7% (N = 421) of the students were able to correctly identify pictures of wild bees and the honeybee. This highlights the importance of educating students about the identity and nature of bees in their environment so that they become aware of their meaning from both a personal and an ecological perspective.
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Carretié L, Fernández-Folgueiras U, Álvarez F, Cipriani GA, Tapia M, Kessel D. Fast Unconscious Processing of Emotional Stimuli in Early Stages of the Visual Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:4331-4344. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Several cortical and subcortical brain areas have been reported to be sensitive to the emotional content of subliminal stimuli. However, the timing of these activations remains unclear. Our scope was to detect the earliest cortical traces of emotional unconscious processing of visual stimuli by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from 43 participants. Subliminal spiders (emotional) and wheels (neutral), sharing similar low-level visual parameters, were presented at two different locations (fixation and periphery). The differential (peak-to-peak) amplitude from CP1 (77 ms from stimulus onset) to C2 (100 ms), two early visual ERP components originated in V1/V2 according to source localization analyses, was analyzed via Bayesian and traditional frequentist analyses. Spiders elicited greater CP1–C2 amplitudes than wheels when presented at fixation. This fast effect of subliminal stimulation—not reported previously to the best of our knowledge—has implications in several debates: 1) The amygdala cannot be mediating these effects, 2) latency of other evaluative structures recently proposed, such as the visual thalamus, is compatible with these results, 3) the absence of peripheral stimuli effects points to a relevant role of the parvocellular visual system in unconscious processing.
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17
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Polák J, Sedláčková K, Janovcová M, Peléšková Š, Flegr J, Vobrubová B, Frynta D, Landová E. Measuring fear evoked by the scariest animal: Czech versions of the Spider Questionnaire and Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire. BMC Psychiatry 2022; 22:18. [PMID: 34991495 PMCID: PMC8740501 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03672-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although tiny in size and mostly harmless, spiders evoke exceptional fear in a significant part of the population and arachnophobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders with prevalence 2.7-6.1%. Two standard measures have been widely used to reliably assess the emotional and cognitive component of spider fear, the Spider Questionnaire (SPQ) and Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire (SBQ). We aimed to develop and validate their Czech translations, describe distribution of spider fear in the Czech population, and analyse its association with disgust propensity and other sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS In Phase 1, we developed Czech translations of both questionnaires using a back-translation procedure and then tested their psychometric properties against their English versions in a counterbalanced experimental design using the Mann-Whitney U test and two-sided t-test. In Phase 2, we analysed scores on the Czech SPQ and SBQ on a larger sample. We evaluated the effects of age, gender, level of education, biology background, and association with the assessments of snake fear (i.e. the Snake Questionnaire, SNAQ) and disgust propensity (i.e. the Disgust Scale-Revised, DS-R) using a Spearman correlation, redundancy analysis, and general linear models. RESULTS We have demonstrated that the Czech SPQ and SBQ are equivalent to their originals and show excellent test-retest reliability (SPQ: 0.93; SBQ: 0.87-0.90). In total, 398 (10.3%) out of 3863 subjects reached the cut-off point for potential spider phobia. In addition, SPQ and SBQ scores were highly correlated (0.73-0.79), significantly more than with the SNAQ (0.21-0.32) or the DS-R (0.36-0.40). Two multivariate statistical methods revealed a significant association between the gender, age, level of education, biology background, or disgust propensity and the SPQ scores. CONCLUSION The Czech SPQ and SBQ may produce reliable and valid assessments of spider fear, but they must be further psychometrically tested considering the limitation of this study before wider use. We corroborate previous findings that fear of spiders is significantly associated with sociodemographic variables, such as gender, age, or education, as well as with the individual level of disgust propensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Polák
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Flegr
- Department of Philosophy and History of Sciences, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Vobrubová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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18
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Nairne JS. Adaptive Education: Learning and Remembering with a Stone-Age Brain. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022; 34:2275-2296. [PMID: 35966455 PMCID: PMC9362505 DOI: 10.1007/s10648-022-09696-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Educators generally accept that basic learning and memory processes are a product of evolution, guided by natural selection. Less well accepted is the idea that ancestral selection pressures continue to shape modern memory functioning. In this article, I review evidence suggesting that attention to nature's criterion-the enhancement of fitness-is needed to explain fully how and why people remember. Thinking functionally about memory, and adopting an evolutionary perspective in the laboratory, has led to recent discoveries with clear implications for learning in the classroom. For example, our memory systems appear to be tuned to animacy (the distinction between living and nonliving things) which, in turn, can play a role in enhancing foreign language acquisition. Effective learning management systems need to align with students' prior knowledge, skill, and interest levels, but also with the inherent content biases or "tunings" that are representative of all people.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S. Nairne
- grid.169077.e0000 0004 1937 2197Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
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19
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Frynta D, Janovcová M, Štolhoferová I, Peléšková Š, Vobrubová B, Frýdlová P, Skalíková H, Šípek P, Landová E. Emotions triggered by live arthropods shed light on spider phobia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22268. [PMID: 34782659 PMCID: PMC8593055 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01325-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Spiders are mostly harmless, yet they often trigger high levels of both fear and disgust, and arachnophobia (the phobia of spiders) ranks among the most common specific animal phobias. To investigate this apparent paradox, we turned to the only close relatives of spiders that pose a real danger to humans: scorpions. We adopted a unique methodology in order to assess authentic emotions elicited by arthropods. Over 300 respondents were asked to rate live specimens of 62 arthropod species (including spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, and other insects) based on perceived fear, disgust, and beauty. We found that species' scores on all three scales depended on the higher taxon as well as on body size. Spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids scored the highest in fear and disgust, while beetles and crabs scored the highest in beauty. Moreover, all chelicerates were perceived as one cohesive group, distinct from other arthropods, such as insects or crabs. Based on these results, we hypothesize that the fear of spiders might be triggered by a generalized fear of chelicerates, with scorpions being the original stimulus that signals danger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Vobrubová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Skalíková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Šípek
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67, Klecany, Czech Republic.
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20
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Landová E, Janovcová M, Štolhoferová I, Rádlová S, Frýdlová P, Sedláčková K, Frynta D. Specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods: Spiders are special, but phobics not so much. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257726. [PMID: 34555103 PMCID: PMC8460016 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate a specificity of spiders as a prototypical fear- and disgust-eliciting stimuli, we conducted an online experiment. The respondents rated images of 25 spiders, 12 non-spider chelicerates, and 10 other arthropods on a fear and disgust 7-point scale. The evaluation of 968 Central European respondents confirmed the specificity of spiders among fear- and disgust-eliciting arthropods and supported the notion of spiders as a cognitive category. We delineated this category as covering extant spider species as well as some other chelicerates bearing a physical resemblance to spiders, mainly whip spiders and camel spiders. We suggested calling this category the spider-like cognitive category. We discussed evolutionary roots of the spider-like category and concluded that its roots should be sought in fear, with disgust being secondary of the two emotions. We suggested other chelicerates, e.g., scorpions, might have been important in formation and fixation of the spider-like category. Further, we investigated an effect of respondent's sensitivity to a specific fear of spiders on evaluation of the stimuli. We found that suspected phobic respondents were in their rating nearly identical to those with only high fear of spiders and similar to those with only moderate fear of spiders. We concluded that results based on healthy respondents with elevated fear should also be considered relevant for arachnophobia research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
| | - Silvie Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
| | | | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, the Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic
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21
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Kupfer TR, Fessler DMT, Wu B, Hwang T, Sparks AM, Alas S, Samore T, Lal V, Sakhamuru TP, Holbrook C. The skin crawls, the stomach turns: ectoparasites and pathogens elicit distinct defensive responses in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210376. [PMID: 34315263 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Disgust has long been viewed as a primary motivator of defensive responses to threats posed by both microscopic pathogens and macroscopic ectoparasites. Although disgust can defend effectively against pathogens encountered through ingestion or incidental contact, it offers limited protection against ectoparasites, which actively pursue a host and attach to its surface. Humans might, therefore, possess a distinct ectoparasite defence system-including cutaneous sensory mechanisms and grooming behaviours-functionally suited to guard the body's surface. In two US studies and one in China, participants (N = 1079) viewed a range of ectoparasite- and pathogen-relevant video stimuli and reported their feelings, physiological sensations, and behavioural motivations. Participants reported more surface-guarding responses towards ectoparasite stimuli than towards pathogen stimuli, and more ingestion/contamination-reduction responses towards pathogen stimuli than towards ectoparasite stimuli. Like other species, humans appear to possess evolved psychobehavioural ectoparasite defence mechanisms that are distinct from pathogen defence mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom R Kupfer
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK.,Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel M T Fessler
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA.,UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Bozhi Wu
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Tiffany Hwang
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,Center for Data Sciences, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Adam Maxwell Sparks
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Sonia Alas
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Theodore Samore
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
| | - Vedika Lal
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tanvi P Sakhamuru
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,University of California, Davis School of Law
| | - Colin Holbrook
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
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22
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Zvaríková M, Prokop P, Zvarík M, Ježová Z, Medina-Jerez W, Fedor P. What Makes Spiders Frightening and Disgusting to People? Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.694569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The quality of human-animal interactions may crucially influence conservation efforts. Unfortunately, and despite their important roles in the functioning of the ecosystem, some animals are considered notoriously unpopular. Using the forced-choice paradigm, we investigated which cues humans perceive as frightening and disgusting in spiders, one of the most unpleasant animals in the world. The research was carried out with a representative sample of N = 1,015 Slovak adults. We found that perceived fear and disgust of spiders were triggered predominantly by enlarged chelicerae, enlarged abdomen, and the presence of body hair. Longer legs were associated with perceived fear as well; however, the presence of two eyes did not produce any statistical significance in terms of fear. We hope that further research in this field, where additional cues can be manipulated (e.g., color and number of legs), will improve conservation efforts by using an improved reputation of spiders in the eyes of the general public.
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23
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Promoting Pro-Environmental BEEhavior in School. Factors Leading to Eco-Friendly Student Action. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13126598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Many insects, including numerous species of wild bees, are currently threatened with extinction. Environmental education in schools is a suitable starting point to draw attention to this problem, to raise awareness of biodiversity, and to highlight potential actions to protect wild bees and other insects. This study examined the relationship between pro-environmental behavior intentions and knowledge, attitude, fear, interest, and enjoyment of learning in a school intervention involving hands-on activities with living bumblebees. In total, 188 German 10- to 14-year-old high-school students participated in the project and took care of bumblebee colonies. Environmentally friendly behavioral intentions increased significantly between the pretest and posttest; however, no significant increase was found between the pretest and follow-up test. Bumblebee-friendly, pro-environmental behavior intentions correlated highly with attitude and interest, and correlated with knowledge and learning enjoyment with a medium effect size.
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24
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Cockroaches are scarier than snakes and spiders: Validation of an affective standardized set of animal images (ASSAI). Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:2338-2350. [PMID: 33826093 PMCID: PMC8025455 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01577-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Research on emotional processes has been closely related to the use of emotional stimuli, promoting the development of different standardized sets of images. However, some kinds of images that would be relevant in clinical psychology research are not available, especially for small animal phobias. The aim of the present study is to validate a set of animal images that includes images of cockroaches, which are not present in the current sets of images. Two hundred and forty images depicting five types of animals (cockroaches, spiders, snakes, cats, and butterflies) were collected from online public domains. Four hundred and twenty-four participants (72.9% women) took part in the study rating the images in two affective dimensions (i.e., valence and arousal). Cockroach pictures were rated as significantly more unpleasant than pictures of spiders, snakes, butterflies, and cats. Moreover, results revealed that women rated cockroach, spider, and snake pictures as more negative than men did. Also, women in comparison with men rated cockroach images as more arousing. The results highlight the importance of using images of cockroaches, due to their high negative valence, which even exceeds that of snakes and spiders, the unpleasant animals typically used in phobic research. This set of images can be useful in research on small-animal phobias.
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25
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Hengen KM, Alpers GW. Better safe than wealthy: Dysfunctional risk avoidance in spider-fearful individuals. J Anxiety Disord 2021; 79:102383. [PMID: 33799142 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has documented that fearful individuals avoid fear-relevant cues even if they incur costs in doing so. Paradigms that were previously used to study avoidance in the lab, manipulated reward contingencies in favor of selecting either fear-relevant or neutral cues, e.g., spiders versus butterflies. We, thus, developed a paradigm where the chance of monetary gains was linked with increasing probability of a fear-relevant or a neutral outcome. To this end, we modified the well-established Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) to include fear-relevant outcomes. Individuals with and without fear of spiders (N = 35) were offered the chance to inflate balloons, with more pumps resulting in larger gains. However, if the balloon exploded, this resulted in a loss of money - and at the same time in the presentation of a picture, either a fear-relevant spider or a neutral butterfly (emotional Balloon Analogue Risk Task; eBART). We operationalized risk aversion as the number of pumps and dysfunctionality of decision strategy as the amount of money that participants earned. In addition, decisional conflict was measured by response times for each decision. The data indicate, that spider-fearful individuals were generally more risk-averse and much more so in trials with fear-relevant stimuli as part of the negative outcome. Overall, this resulted in smaller amount of money that spider-fearful individuals earned compared to spider non-fearful individuals. Interestingly, spider-fearful compared to spider non-fearful individuals generally responded more hesitantly on all trials, and more so when they feared to encounter a spider. This research introduces a new paradigm and provides ecologically valid evidence for costly avoidance behavior in spider-fearful individuals. The eBART may be a promising new research tool to examine risk avoidance with emotionally relevant stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina M Hengen
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Germany
| | - Georg W Alpers
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Germany.
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26
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Staňková H, Janovcová M, Peléšková Š, Sedláčková K, Landová E, Frynta D. The Ultimate List of the Most Frightening and Disgusting Animals: Negative Emotions Elicited by Animals in Central European Respondents. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11030747. [PMID: 33803132 PMCID: PMC7999229 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals have always played an important role in our everyday life. They are given more attention than inanimate objects, which have been adaptive during the evolution of mankind, with some animal species still presenting a real threat to us. In this study, we focused on the species usually evaluated as the scariest and most disgusting in the animal kingdom. We analyzed which characteristics (e.g., weight, potential threat for humans) influence their evaluation in a nonclinical Central European WEIRD population (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic). The tested animals were divided into two separated sets containing 34 standardized photos evoking predominantly one negative emotion, fear or disgust. The pictures were ranked according to their emotional intensity by 160 adult respondents with high inter-rater agreement. The most fear-eliciting species are mostly large vertebrates (e.g., carnivorans, ungulates, sharks, crocodiles), whereas smaller fear-evoking vertebrates are represented by snakes and invertebrates are represented by arachnids. The most disgust-evoking animals are human endo- and ectoparasites or animals visually resembling them. Humans emotionally react to fear-evoking animals that represent a real threat; however, identifying truly dangerous disgust-evoking animals might be harder. The results also support a somewhat special position of snakes and spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Staňková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
| | - Šárka Peléšková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
| | - Kristýna Sedláčková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (H.S.); (Š.P.); (K.S.)
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +420-723-409-406
| | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, 250 67 Klecany, Czech Republic; (M.J.); (D.F.)
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Le A, Cole GG, Wilkins A. Trypophobia: Heart rate, heart rate variability and cortical haemodynamic response. J Affect Disord 2020; 274:1147-1151. [PMID: 32663944 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trypophobia is a common condition in which sufferers are averse to images of small holes arranged in clusters. METHODS We used photo-plethysmography to examine cardiovascular correlates and near infrared spectroscopy to examine cortical correlates of the phenomenon in order to validate the Trypophobia Questionnaire and explore the several interlinked explanations of the disorder. RESULTS Trypophobic images were found to increase both heart rate and heart rate variability, but only in individuals with high scores on the Trypophobia Questionnaire. Trypophobic images were also found to elicit larger haemodynamic responses in posterior cortical areas, but again only in individuals with high scores. LIMITATIONS The results are consistent with a contribution from both parasympathetic and sympathetic systems. CONCLUSION The data demonstrate the validity of the Trypophobia Questionnaire and show an involvement not only of the autonomic system but cortical mechanisms including cortical hyperexcitability.
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Affiliation(s)
- An Le
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Geoff G Cole
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Arnold Wilkins
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
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28
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Mammola S, Nanni V, Pantini P, Isaia M. Media framing of spiders may exacerbate arachnophobic sentiments. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Mammola
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG) Water Research InstituteNational Research Council of Italy (CNR‐IRSA) Verbania Pallanza Italy
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe) Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS) University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Veronica Nanni
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Science (DISTAV) University of Genoa Genova Italy
| | - Paolo Pantini
- Museo civico di Scienze Naturali “E. Caffi” Bergamo Italy
| | - Marco Isaia
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Turin Torino Italy
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Carretié L, Méndez‐Bértolo C, Bódalo C, Hernández‐Lorca M, Fernández‐Folgueiras U, Fondevila S, Giménez‐Fernández T. Retinotopy of emotion: Perception of negatively valenced stimuli presented at different spatial locations as revealed by event-related potentials. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:1711-1724. [PMID: 31860166 PMCID: PMC7267989 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Revised: 11/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Scarce previous data on how the location where an emotional stimulus appears in the visual scene modulates its perception suggest that, for functional reasons, a perceptual advantage may exist, vertically, for stimuli presented at the lower visual field (LoVF) and, horizontally, for stimuli presented at the left visual field (LeVF). However, this issue has been explored through a limited number of spatial locations, usually in a single spatial dimension (e.g., horizontal) and invariant eccentricities. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 39 participants perceiving brief neutral (wheels) and emotional stimuli (spiders) presented at 17 different locations, one foveal and 16 at different peripheral coordinates. As a secondary scope, we explored the role of the magnocellular (M) and the parvocellular (P) visual pathways by presenting an isoluminant/heterochromatic (P-biased) and a heteroluminant/isochromatic version (M-biased) of each stimulus. Emo > Neu effects were observed in PN1 (120 ms) for stimuli located at fovea, and in PN2 (215 ms) for stimuli located both at fovea and diverse peripheral regions. A factorial approach to these effects further revealed that: (a) emotional stimuli presented in the periphery are efficiently perceived, without evident decrease from para- to perifovea; (b) peripheral Emo > Neu effects are reflected 95 ms later than foveal Emo > Neu effects in ERPs; (c) LoVF is more involved than UVF in these effects; (d) our data fail to support the LeVF advantage previously reported, and (e) Emo > Neu effects were significant for both M and P stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Carretié
- Facultad de PsicologíaUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | | | - Cristina Bódalo
- Facultad de PsicologíaUniversidad Autónoma de MadridMadridSpain
| | | | | | - Sabela Fondevila
- Facultad de PsicologíaUniversidad Complutense de MadridMadridSpain
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30
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Polák J, Rádlová S, Janovcová M, Flegr J, Landová E, Frynta D. Scary and nasty beasts: Self‐reported fear and disgust of common phobic animals. Br J Psychol 2020; 111:297-321. [DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Polák
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts Charles University Prague Czech Republic
| | - Silvie Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic
| | - Jaroslav Flegr
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic
| | - Eva Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic
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31
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Porras-Villamil JF, Olivera MJ, Hinestroza-Ruiz ÁC, López-Moreno GA. Envenomation by an arachnid (Latrodectus or Steatoda): Case report involving a woman and her female dog. CASE REPORTS 2020. [DOI: 10.15446/cr.v6n1.79718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Accidents involving spiders bites usually cause mild medical reactions that lead to local symptoms and, less commonly, systemic effects. The most medically significant spiders belong to the genera Latrodectus and Loxosceles. This paper presents a posible case of steatodism in a young woman and her pet.Case description: 26-year-old female patient, who reports a clinical history characterized by paresthesia, malaise, fever, diarrea and a painful papule in the left cheek after being bitten by a spider. Immediately after being bit, the patient hit the spider with the back of her hand and it fell to the ground, where her dog swallowed it. The dog presented with vomiting and general discomfort after ingestion. Symptomatic therapy was given for comfort, and neither the patient nor the dog required antivenin therapy. Both evolved favorably.Discussion: The relevance of this case is the involvement of two mammals (a human and her dog) due to the accidental contact with a spider, possibly of the genus Latrodectus or Steatoda.Conclusion: Two possible cases of steatodism are described. Since spider bites are a relatively frequent reason for medical consultation in Colombia, it is important to diagnose and manage them properly.
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32
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Martin GN. (Why) Do You Like Scary Movies? A Review of the Empirical Research on Psychological Responses to Horror Films. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2298. [PMID: 31681095 PMCID: PMC6813198 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Why do we watch and like horror films? Despite a century of horror film making and entertainment, little research has examined the human motivation to watch fictional horror and how horror film influences individuals’ behavioral, cognitive, and emotional responses. This review provides the first synthesis of the empirical literature on the psychology of horror film using multi-disciplinary research from psychology, psychotherapy, communication studies, development studies, clinical psychology, and media studies. The paper considers the motivations for people’s decision to watch horror, why people enjoy horror, how individual differences influence responses to, and preference for, horror film, how exposure to horror film changes behavior, how horror film is designed to achieve its effects, why we fear and why we fear specific classes of stimuli, and how liking for horror develops during childhood and adolescence. The literature suggests that (1) low empathy and fearfulness are associated with more enjoyment and desire to watch horror film but that specific dimensions of empathy are better predictors of people’s responses than are others; (2) there is a positive relationship between sensation-seeking and horror enjoyment/preference, but this relationship is not consistent; (3) men and boys prefer to watch, enjoy, and seek our horror more than do women and girls; (4) women are more prone to disgust sensitivity or anxiety than are men, and this may mediate the sex difference in the enjoyment of horror; (5) younger children are afraid of symbolic stimuli, whereas older children become afraid of concrete or realistic stimuli; and (6) in terms of coping with horror, physical coping strategies are more successful in younger children; priming with information about the feared object reduces fear and increases children’s enjoyment of frightening television and film. A number of limitations in the literature is identified, including the multifarious range of horror stimuli used in studies, disparities in methods, small sample sizes, and a lack of research on cross-cultural differences and similarities. Ideas for future research are explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Neil Martin
- Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, School of Psychotherapy and Psychology, Regent's University London, London, United Kingdom
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33
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Hengen KM, Alpers GW. What's the Risk? Fearful Individuals Generally Overestimate Negative Outcomes and They Dread Outcomes of Specific Events. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1676. [PMID: 31417450 PMCID: PMC6682660 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is an adaptive mechanism that danger usually elicits fear, it seems that fearful individuals overestimate the danger associated with their feared objects or situations. Previous research has not systematically distinguished between the estimated risk of an encounter with fear-relevant stimuli and the expected unpleasant outcomes of such encounters. Furthermore, it is not clear if biased risk perception is specific to an individual's fear or generalized to all negative events. In an online-survey (N = 630) we assessed the estimated risk to encounter fear-relevant stimuli and the expectations of negative outcomes of such encounters. Items contained three domains (spiders, snakes, and everyday fear triggers). In regression analyses we examined the specific associations between fear and risk estimations. In addition, we compared subgroups with specific fears and low fearful individuals. While an individual's fear score was not related to the estimated risk of an encounter with fear-specific stimuli, it was related to an overestimation of negative outcomes in all domains. The perceived risk of aversive outcomes was most pronounced for an individual's specific fear. Furthermore, an individual's specific fear was most predictive of the estimated risk of a negative fear-relevant outcome. Highly fearful individuals overestimate the risk of negative outcomes of fear-relevant encounters. Specifically, they dread outcomes of encounters with their feared object. Differentiating fear-relevant components of risk perception provides insights into the cognitions which may motivate maladaptive avoidance behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina M. Hengen
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Georg W. Alpers
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
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34
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Müller UWD, Witteman CLM, Spijker J, Alpers GW. All's Bad That Ends Bad: There Is a Peak-End Memory Bias in Anxiety. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1272. [PMID: 31249540 PMCID: PMC6582762 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The peak-end memory bias has been well documented for the retrospective evaluation of pain. It describes that the retrospective evaluation of pain is largely based on the discomfort experienced at the most intense point (peak) and at the end of the episode. This is notable because it means that longer episodes with a better ending can be remembered as less aversive than shorter ones; this is even if the former had the same peak in painfulness and an overall longer duration of pain. Until now, this bias has not been studied in the domain of anxiety despite the high relevance of variable levels of anxiety in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Therefore, we set out to replicate the original studies but with an induction of variable levels of anxiety. Of 64 women, half watched a clip from a horror movie which ended at the most frightening moment. The other half watched an extended version of this clip with a moderately frightening ending. Afterward, all participants were asked to rate the global anxiety which was elicited by the video. When the film ended at the most frightening moment, participants retrospectively reported more anxiety than participants who watched the extended version. This is the first study to document that the peak-end bias can be found in the domain of anxiety. These findings require replication and extension to a treatment context to evaluate its implications for exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich W D Müller
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Cilia L M Witteman
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Jan Spijker
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Georg W Alpers
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
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35
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Kupfer TR, Fessler DMT. Ectoparasite defence in humans: relationships to pathogen avoidance and clinical implications. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0207. [PMID: 29866920 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Currently, disgust is regarded as the main adaptation for defence against pathogens and parasites in humans. Disgust's motivational and behavioural features, including withdrawal, nausea, appetite suppression and the urge to vomit, defend effectively against ingesting or touching sources of pathogens. However, ectoparasites do not attack their hosts via ingestion, but rather actively attach themselves to the body surface. Accordingly, by itself, disgust offers limited defence against ectoparasites. We propose that, like non-human animals, humans have a distinct ectoparasite defence system that includes cutaneous sensory mechanisms, itch-generation mechanisms and grooming behaviours. The existence of adaptations for ectoparasite defence is supported by abundant evidence from non-human animals, as well as more recent evidence concerning human responses to ectoparasite cues. Several clinical disorders may be dysfunctions of the ectoparasite defence system, including some that are pathologies of grooming, such as skin picking and trichotillomania, and others, such as delusory parasitosis and trypophobia, which are pathologies of ectoparasite detection. We conclude that future research should explore both distinctions between, and overlap across, ectoparasite defence systems and pathogen avoidance systems, as doing so will not only illuminate proximate motivational systems, including disgust, but may also reveal important clinical and social consequences.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom R Kupfer
- School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP, UK
| | - Daniel M T Fessler
- Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
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36
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Jensen NH, Lieberoth A. We will eat disgusting foods together – Evidence of the normative basis of Western entomophagy-disgust from an insect tasting. Food Qual Prefer 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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37
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Lindner P, Miloff A, Reuterskiöld L, Andersson G, Carlbring P. What is so frightening about spiders? Self-rated and self-disclosed impact of different characteristics and associations with phobia symptoms. Scand J Psychol 2018; 60:1-6. [PMID: 30556593 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Spider phobia is a common and impairing mental disorder, yet little is known about what characteristics of spiders that spider phobic individuals find frightening. Using screening data from a clinical trial, we explored which characteristics that spider-fearful individuals (n = 194) rated as having the greatest impact on fear, used factor analysis to group specific characteristics, and explored linear associations with self-reported phobia symptoms. Second, a guided text-mining approach was used to extract the most common words in free-text responses to the question: "What is it about spiders that you find frightening?" Both analysis types suggested that movement-related characteristics of spiders were the most important, followed by appearance characteristics. There were, however, no linear associations with degree of phobia symptoms. Our findings reveal the importance of targeting movement-related fears in in-vivo exposure therapy for spider phobia and using realistically animated spider stimuli in computer-based experimental paradigms and clinical interventions such as Virtual Reality exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Lindner
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Miloff
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Gerhard Andersson
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Per Carlbring
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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38
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Memory (Mis)Matches: Accurate and Biased Recall of Terror Suspects. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-018-0160-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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39
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Berdica E, Gerdes ABM, Bublatzky F, White AJ, Alpers GW. Threat vs. Threat: Attention to Fear-Related Animals and Threatening Faces. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1154. [PMID: 30083115 PMCID: PMC6064822 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
It is generally thought to be adaptive that fear relevant stimuli in the environment can capture and hold our attention; and in psychopathology attentional allocation is thought to be cue-specific. Such hypervigilance toward threatening cues or difficulty to disengage attention from threat has been demonstrated for a variety of stimuli, for example, toward evolutionary prepared animals or toward socially relevant facial expressions. Usually, specific stimuli have been examined in individuals with particular fears (e.g., animals in animal fearful and faces in socially fearful participants). However, different kinds of stimuli are rarely examined in one study. Thus, it is unknown how different categories of threatening stimuli compete for attention and how specific kinds of fears modulate these attentional processes. In this study, we used a free viewing paradigm: pairs of pictures with threat-related content (spiders or angry faces) or neutral content (butterflies or neutral faces) were presented side by side (i.e., spiders and angry faces, angry and neutral faces, spiders and butterflies, butterflies and neutral faces). Eye-movements were recorded while spider fearful, socially anxious, or non-anxious participants viewed the picture pairs. Results generally replicate the finding that unpleasant pictures more effectively capture attention in the beginning of a trial compared to neutral pictures. This effect was more pronounced in spider fearful participants: the higher the fear the quicker they were in looking at spiders. This was not the case for high socially anxious participants and pictures of angry faces. Interestingly, when presented next to each other, there was no preference in initial orientation for either spiders or angry faces. However, neutral faces were looked at more quickly than butterflies. Regarding sustained attention, we found no general preference for unpleasant pictures compared to neutral pictures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Georg W. Alpers
- Clinical and Biological Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
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40
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Ovanessian MM, Fairbrother N, Vorstenbosch V, McCabe RE, Rowa K, Antony MM. Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of the Specific Phobia Questionnaire in an Anxiety Disorders Sample. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-018-9687-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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41
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Sieg AK, Teibtner R, Dreesmann D. Don't Know Much about Bumblebees?-A Study about Secondary School Students' Knowledge and Attitude Shows Educational Demand. INSECTS 2018; 9:E40. [PMID: 29642610 PMCID: PMC6023494 DOI: 10.3390/insects9020040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Many insects are threatened with extinction, which in the case of pollinating insects could lead to declining pollination services and reduced ecosystem biodiversity. This necessitates rethinking how we deal with nature in general. Schools are ideal places in which to instill a willingness to behave in an environmentally-friendly way. Whereas scientific studies and school textbooks stress the importance of honeybees as pollinators, the role of bumblebees is either underestimated or neglected. The aim of this study was to provide information concerning student knowledge and attitudes, which are important factors of an individual's environmental awareness. A questionnaire with closed and open questions was developed, which also included drawing and species identification tasks. We surveyed 870 German secondary school students between 9 and 20 years of age. Our results indicate limited knowledge of bumblebees by students of all grades. Knowledge increased with higher grades but only with a small effect size. The attitude of students towards bumblebees was generally positive; however, this positivity declined with increasing grade of the participants. This correlation also had a small effect size. Our results are discussed, with a particular focus on future educational demand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Kathrin Sieg
- Department of Biology Education, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Rudolf Teibtner
- Department of Biology Education, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Daniel Dreesmann
- Department of Biology Education, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
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Fear and Disgust of Spiders: Factors that Limit University Preservice Middle School Science Teachers. INSECTS 2018; 9:insects9010012. [PMID: 29382186 PMCID: PMC5872277 DOI: 10.3390/insects9010012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Spiders perform many essential ecological services, yet humans often experience negative emotions toward spiders. These emotions can lead to the avoidance of beneficial events. These emotions may affect beliefs about what should or should not be included in a science curriculum. This study investigated how activities with living spiders affected preservice middle school science teachers' emotions and beliefs. Prior to the activities both groups (i.e., treatment and control) had moderate to extreme fear and disgust toward the spider. The teachers that participated in the spider activities (i.e., treatment group) had much lower levels of fear and disgust after performing the spider activities than the control group that did not participate in the spider activities. The control group continued to have elevated levels of fear and disgust toward the spider throughout the study. Before the spider activities neither group planned to incorporate information about spiders or information about the essential ecological services of spiders into their science classroom. After the treatment group participated in the spider activities, the teachers had definitive plans to teach their students about spiders and the essential ecological services that they provide. The control group remained unchanged and had no plans to teach this information to their students.
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43
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Individual perception of bees: Between perceived danger and willingness to protect. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0180168. [PMID: 28662124 PMCID: PMC5491143 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The current loss of biodiversity has found its way into the media. Especially the loss of bees as pollinators has recently received much attention aiming to increase public awareness about the consequence of pollinator loss and strategies for protection. However, pollinating insects like bees often prompt considerable anxiety. Negative emotions such as fear and disgust often lead to lack of support for conservation and appropriate initiatives for protection. Our study monitored perceptions of bees in the contexts of conservation and danger bees possibly represent by applying a semantic differential using contrasting adjectives under the heading "I think bees are…". Additionally, open questions were applied to examine individual perceptions of danger and conservation of bees. Respondents were students from primary school, secondary school and university. We compared these novices (n = 499) to experts (beekeepers, n = 153). An exploratory factor analysis of the semantic differential responses yielded three major oblique factors: Interest, Danger and Conservation & Usefulness. The inter-correlations of these factors were significant. Although all subgroups showed an overall high willingness to protect bees, the perception of danger scored medium. The individual experience of bee stings was the most prevalent reason for expressing fear. Educational programs focusing on pollinator conservation may reduce the perceived danger through removing misinformation, and supporting interest in the species. Based on the overall positive attitude toward bees, we suggest introducing bees (e.g., Apis mellifera) as a flagship species for pollinator conservation.
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44
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The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a Measure of Spider Fear. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/bf03395801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Core, social and moral disgust are bounded: A review on behavioral and neural bases of repugnance in clinical disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 80:185-200. [PMID: 28506923 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Disgust is a multifaceted experience that might affect several aspects of life. Here, we reviewed research on neurological and psychiatric disorders that are characterized by abnormal disgust processing to test the hypothesis of a shared neurocognitive architecture in the representation of three disgust domains: i) personal experience of 'core disgust'; ii) social disgust, i.e., sensitivity to others' expressions of disgust; iii) moral disgust, i.e., sensitivity to ethical violations. Our review provides some support to the shared neurocognitive hypothesis and suggests that the insula might be the "hub" structure linking the three domains of disgust sensitivity, while other brain regions may subserve specific facets of the multidimensional experience. Our review also suggests a role of serotonin core and moral disgust, supporting "neo-sentimentalist" theories of morality, which posit a causal role of affect in moral judgment.
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Gomes N, Silva S, Silva CF, Soares SC. Beware the serpent: the advantage of ecologically-relevant stimuli in accessing visual awareness. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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A comprehensive look at phobic fear in inhibition of return: Phobia-related spiders as cues and targets. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2017; 54:158-164. [PMID: 27517673 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Revised: 07/22/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The so called inhibition of return (IOR) effect refers to a bias against returning attention to a location which was previously investigated. Because emotionally salient material has the capacity to capture and hold attention it has been suggested that this material may disrupt this otherwise impressively stable phenomenon. METHODS 40 students participated in the experiment. Black and white schematic drawings of a spider, a butterfly or a cross were used as cues. A black dot, a spider, a butterfly or a cross were used as targets. Participants were required to press a key whenever the target picture appeared. Subsequently, they rated the pictures on valence and arousal. RESULTS Results showed that the IOR effect remained stable and did not diminish with either fear-related cues or fear-related targets. This data adds strong arguments for the stability of IOR. LIMITATIONS The spider fearful participants were not diagnosed patients. They still meet the criteria for spider fear but follow-up studies should pursue the same question with a specific focus on participants' levels of anxiety. CONCLUSIONS This study is a contribution to the debate on how emotions affect or do not affect attentional processes such as the IOR. IOR appears to be a robust phenomenon and the emotional valence of neither the cue nor the emotional valence of the target can override it.
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Blake KR, Yih J, Zhao K, Sung B, Harmon-Jones C. Skin-transmitted pathogens and the heebie jeebies: evidence for a subclass of disgust stimuli that evoke a qualitatively unique emotional response. Cogn Emot 2016; 31:1153-1168. [PMID: 27380127 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2016.1202199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Skin-transmitted pathogens have threatened humans since ancient times. We investigated whether skin-transmitted pathogens were a subclass of disgust stimuli that evoked an emotional response that was related to, but distinct from, disgust and fear. We labelled this response "the heebie jeebies". In Study 1, coding of 76 participants' experiences of disgust, fear, and the heebie jeebies showed that the heebie jeebies was elicited by unique stimuli which produced skin-crawling sensations and an urge to protect the skin. In Experiment 2,350 participants' responses to skin-transmitted pathogen, fear-inducing, and disgust-inducing vignettes showed that the vignettes elicited sensations and urges which loaded onto heebie jeebies, fear, and disgust factors, respectively. Experiment 3 largely replicated findings from Experiment 2 using video stimuli (178 participants). Results are consistent with the notion that skin-transmitted pathogens are a subclass of disgust stimuli which motivate behaviours that are functionally consistent with disgust yet qualitatively distinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khandis R Blake
- a School of Psychology , University of New South Wales , Sydney , NSW , Australia
| | - Jennifer Yih
- b Psychological Sciences , Vanderbilt University , Nashville , TN , USA
| | - Kun Zhao
- c School of Psychological Sciences , The University of Melbourne , Melbourne , VIC , Australia
| | - Billy Sung
- d School of Psychology , University of Queensland , Brisbane , QLD , Australia
| | - Cindy Harmon-Jones
- a School of Psychology , University of New South Wales , Sydney , NSW , Australia
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Wilson KM, de Joux NR, Finkbeiner KM, Russell PN, Helton WS. The effect of task-relevant and irrelevant anxiety-provoking stimuli on response inhibition. Conscious Cogn 2016; 42:358-365. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2016.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Revised: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Peperkorn HM, Diemer JE, Alpers GW, Mühlberger A. Representation of Patients' Hand Modulates Fear Reactions of Patients with Spider Phobia in Virtual Reality. Front Psychol 2016; 7:268. [PMID: 26973566 PMCID: PMC4770191 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodiment (i.e., the involvement of a bodily representation) is thought to be relevant in emotional experiences. Virtual reality (VR) is a capable means of activating phobic fear in patients. The representation of the patient's body (e.g., the right hand) in VR enhances immersion and increases presence, but its effect on phobic fear is still unknown. We analyzed the influence of the presentation of the participant's hand in VR on presence and fear responses in 32 women with spider phobia and 32 matched controls. Participants sat in front of a table with an acrylic glass container within reaching distance. During the experiment this setup was concealed by a head-mounted display (HMD). The VR scenario presented via HMD showed the same setup, i.e., a table with an acrylic glass container. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. In one group, fear responses were triggered by fear-relevant visual input in VR (virtual spider in the virtual acrylic glass container), while information about a real but unseen neutral control animal (living snake in the acrylic glass container) was given. The second group received fear-relevant information of the real but unseen situation (living spider in the acrylic glass container), but visual input was kept neutral VR (virtual snake in the virtual acrylic glass container). Participants were instructed to touch the acrylic glass container with their right hand in 20 consecutive trials. Visibility of the hand was varied randomly in a within-subjects design. We found for all participants that visibility of the participant's hand increased presence independently of the fear trigger. However, in patients, the influence of the virtual hand on fear depended on the fear trigger. When fear was triggered perceptually, i.e., by a virtual spider, the virtual hand increased fear. When fear was triggered by information about a real spider, the virtual hand had no effect on fear. Our results shed light on the significance of different fear triggers (visual, conceptual) in interaction with body representations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Julia E. Diemer
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of RegensburgRegensburg, Germany
| | - Georg W. Alpers
- Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology and Psychotherapy, Mannheim School of Social Sciences, University of MannheimMannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Mühlberger
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of RegensburgRegensburg, Germany
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