社交焦虑大学生情绪调节灵活性：情绪内容对策略选择和使用的影响

尽管社交焦虑个体被认为存在情绪调节灵活性的不足,但至今尚不清楚这种不足究竟在于难以灵活选择策略,还是难以灵活使用策略,抑或二者兼有？对此,本研究采用情绪调节策略选择任务考察了37名高社交焦虑大学生和29名低社交焦虑大学生在面对社交-非社交情绪图片时对认知重评-回避策略的选择模式和使用效果。结果发现：在面对社交情绪图片时,高社交焦虑被试比低社交焦虑被试更少选择认知重评,而更多选择回避;在面对非社交情绪图片时,两组被试对两种策略的选择模式无显著差异。同时,无论面对社交还是非社交情绪图片,两组被试对两种策略的使用效果也无显著差异。以上结果表明,相比低社交焦虑个体,高社交焦虑个体只有在面对社交情绪刺激时才存在情绪调节灵活性的不足,且这种不足主要在于难以灵活选择策略,而非难以灵活使用策略。     

高社交焦虑者识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制

近年来, 大量的研究对高社交焦虑者的情绪面孔加工和社交焦虑的干预进行了考察, 取得了丰富成果, 但仍存在以下不足: (1) 在以往的中国动态情绪面孔库存中, 刺激材料的情绪类别、视频维度以及视频持续时间的种类偏少; (2) 高社交焦虑者识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制未被系统探讨; (3) 注意偏向训练的效果存在争议, 即一些研究者发现注意偏向训练对社交焦虑有明显的缓解作用, 而其他研究者却未发现注意偏向训练的效果。针对这些不足, 当前项目建设的中国人动态情绪面孔库拟增加刺激材料的情绪类别、视频维度以及视频持续时间的类型, 此外运用神经科学的技术系统探究高社交焦虑者对动态情绪面孔的识别机制, 最后采用工作记忆训练改善高社交焦虑者对动态生气面孔识别的注意偏向。本研究团队提出了高社交焦虑个体识别动态情绪面孔的神经机制模型, 该模型主要包括机制和干预两个部分。本项目的开展不仅为动态情绪面孔加工和社交焦虑研究提供了新视角, 还突破原有单一的研究方法, 拟从行为、电生理和脑成像三个层次进行研究。研究成果将促进社交焦虑干预工作的开展, 从而缓解社交焦虑个体的心理健康问题, 对于提高他们的幸福感和生命质量有重要价值。     

高社交焦虑个体对正性面孔的解释偏差

本研究采用情绪启动范式考察社交焦虑个体对正性刺激解释偏差。研究以正性和打碎的面孔为启动项,正性或负性非社交词为目标项,要求高社交焦虑组被试和控制组被试判断目标项的情感色彩,并记录其反应时与准确率。结果发现,两组被试具有不同的情绪启动模式：高焦虑组被试未表现出显著地相容性效应;他们在正性-正性条件下的反应时显著慢于控制组被试。研究结果提示高社交焦虑个体具有对正性社交刺激的解释偏差,他们不能充分理解正性社交刺激的积极含义。     

青少年依恋环境的情绪启动和注意恢复功能

以往研究发现自然环境能激发个体积极情绪,恢复集中注意。当个体对自然环境的依恋程度不同时,环境的情绪启动和注意恢复功能是否存在差异?研究以96名初一学生为被试考察地方依恋对环境的情绪和注意恢复作用是否产生影响。根据被试对某自然环境的依恋水平将其分为高依恋和低依恋组,并在被试参加情绪启动实验(实验1)和集中注意实验(实验2)时将其分为实验组和控制组以考察对环境依恋水平不同的被试观看该环境图片后情绪启动和注意恢复状况是否存在差异。实验1显示低依恋实验组对厌恶的反应时显著短于其他三组;实验2结果表明高依恋实验组被试在观看自然环境图片后在注意后测任务上的反应时显著短于低依恋实验组和控制组。     

社交焦虑个体对于不同威胁信息的注意偏向

目的:研究社交焦虑个体对不同类型词语的注意偏向。方法:被试41名,采用情绪Stroop范式,研究词与非词不同比例条件下高低社交焦虑个体对不同类型词(被关注词、被评价词、躯体威胁性词、中性词和非词)的注意偏向。结果:在词和非词比例高的条件下,高社交焦虑组在负性评价词和受他人关注词上的Stroop效应显著大于低社交焦虑组。结论:高社交焦虑个体对负性评价和他人关注的词语存在注意偏向。     

孤独症谱系障碍者情绪躯体语言的注意偏向

情绪躯体语言是在社交场合中传递情绪信息的典型非字面语言形式,包含重要社交信息。本研究从注意偏向角度考察孤独症个体的情绪躯体语言加工特点和认知机制。实验1采用点探测范式向被试呈现高兴、愤怒、恐惧、悲伤情绪躯体语言图片,考察孤独症个体的注意偏向特点。结果显示孤独症组未表现出对某类情绪躯体语言的注意偏向。实验2进一步采用生态效度更高的自由浏览范式考察孤独症组对情绪躯体语言图片的眼动特点。结果显示孤独症组对悲伤躯体语言注意回避,对高兴躯体语言注意增强和注意解离困难。结果表明,孤独症个体对不同类型的情绪躯体语言的注意偏向特征不同。自由浏览范式对于识别孤独症情绪躯体语言的注意偏向特点具有较高的灵敏性。     

抑郁情绪大学生反应抑制的眼动特点

本研究采用反眼动实验范式,通过BDI和 SDS量表筛选11名抑郁情绪组和12名正常对照组被试,以高兴、中性和悲伤面孔图片作为实验材料,旨在探讨抑郁情绪大学生对情绪刺激的眼动抑制能力。结果发现：抑郁情绪组的正确眼跳反应时慢于正常组;反朝向眼跳任务中,抑郁情绪组在情绪面孔图片,尤其是悲伤面孔图片上的错误率比正常组高。研究表明,抑郁情绪个体的认知加工速度慢于正常个体,且对情绪面孔,尤其对悲伤面孔存在抑制缺陷。     

高、低自尊个体对负性情绪注意偏向的眼动研究

采用"点探测任务"实验范式,选取29名大学生被试,用眼动仪记录被试观察情绪图片的眼动轨迹,考察高、低自尊个体注意偏向的内部加工机制。结果表明:低自尊个体对正性情绪图片的总注视时间显著短于高自尊个体,即低自尊个体缺乏对正性情绪图片的注意偏向,对负性情绪图片不存在注意警觉和注意维持,存在注意回避;高自尊个体对负性情绪图片的总注视时间显著长于正性情绪图片,即对负性情绪图片存在注意偏向。     

自我肯定缓冲新冠疫情引发的焦虑反应：一项随机对照研究

当个体知觉到环境中存在威胁时, 就会自动地引发个体的应激反应。而长期的应激会使个体产生一系列严重的心理和身体健康问题。大量的研究发现肯定自我价值可以缓冲由应激引发的负面情绪和身体反应。本研究通过实验的方法考察了肯定自我价值是否可以降低新冠肺炎(COVID-19)疫情引发的焦虑和抑郁情绪反应。220名被试被随机分配到自我价值肯定任务组或控制任务组, 被试在干预前(2月2日)和一个星期后(2月9日)完成焦虑和抑郁测量。研究结果发现相对于控制组在一周后比前测时表现出更严重的焦虑情绪, 自我价值肯定组在前测和一周后在焦虑情绪上没有显著的变化, 这一效应在控制了性别、年龄、受教育水平和家庭年收入后仍然存在。这些结果表明简短的(约10分钟)对自我价值的反思可以帮助个体缓冲疫情引发的焦虑情绪反应。这一发现对于从社会心理的视角进行疫情防护提供了重要的科学证据。     

负性情绪刺激对大学生多目标追踪能力的影响

探讨了负性情绪对大学生多目标追踪能力的影响以及其影响机制。实验要求被试在观看国际情绪图库中的负性或中性图片后,完成多目标追踪和点探测任务,同时设置基线条件作为对照。采用状态-特质焦虑量表和贝克抑郁自评量表考察不同情绪图片条件下被试的诱发情绪状态。研究结果发现：（1）被试观看负性情绪图片后状态焦虑程度和抑郁量表评分显著提高,观看情绪图片有效诱发了被试的负性情绪;（2）基线条件下的被试追踪正确率显著低于中性条件,基线条件和负性图片条件下的追踪正确率无差异,说明训练可以提高被试的多目标追踪能力,但负性情绪抑制了被试在基线追踪任务中的训练效果;（3）负性图片条件下的点探测觉察率显著低于中性图片条件,说明负性情绪影响了被试的注意资源分配。研究结果表明：负性情绪可能干扰了被试目标导向的注意系统,使得个体更易受刺激驱动的注意系统影响,并且在追踪过程中影响被试中央执行系统的抑制和转移功能。     

Conserved evolutionary history for quick detection of threatening faces

Humans quickly recognize threats such as snakes and threatening faces, suggesting that human ancestors evolved specialized visual systems to detect biologically relevant threat stimuli. Although non-human primates also detect snakes quickly, it is unclear whether primates share the efficient visual systems to process the threatening faces of their conspecifics. Primates may not necessarily process conspecific threats by facial expressions, because threats from conspecifics in natural situations are often accompanied by other cues such as threatening actions (or attacks) and vocal calls. Here, we show a similar threat superiority effect in both humans and macaque Japanese monkeys. In visual search tasks, monkeys and humans both responded to pictures of a threatening face of an unfamiliar adult male monkey among neutral faces faster than to pictures of a neutral face among threatening faces. However, the monkeys’ response times to detect deviant pictures of a non-face stimulus were not slower when it was shown among threat faces than when it was shown among neutral faces. These results provide the first evidence that monkeys have an attentional bias toward the threatening faces of conspecifics and suggest that threatening faces are evolutionarily relevant fear stimuli. The subcortical visual systems in primates likely process not only snakes, but also more general biological threat-relevant stimuli, including threatening conspecific faces.     

The presence of threat affects saccade trajectories

In everyday life, fast identification and processing of threat-related stimuli is of critical importance for survival. Previous studies suggested that spatial attention is automatically allocated to threatening stimuli, such as angry faces. However, in the previous studies the threatening stimuli were not completely irrelevant for the task. In the present study we used saccadic curvature to investigate whether attention is automatically allocated to threatening emotional information. Participants had to make an endogenous saccade up or down while an irrelevant face paired with an object was present in the periphery. The eyes curved away more from the angry faces than from either neutral or happy faces. This effect was not observed when the faces were inverted, excluding the possible role of low-level differences. Since the angry faces were completely irrelevant to the task, the results suggest that attention is automatically allocated to the threatening stimuli, which generates activity in the oculomotor system, and biases behaviour.     

高焦虑特质的注意偏向特点

采用“同中选异任务”范式,通过两个实验,检测了高、低焦虑特质在平静和焦虑状态下的注意敏感性和锁定特点。发现高焦虑特质对威胁信息并非特别敏感,而是一旦注意了,则锁定其中,难以摆脱。低焦虑特质则对快乐信息更敏感,而且更容易锁定其中,给予了更多的关注。研究推测,较高的状态焦虑,较容易产生紧张和焦虑,与高焦虑特质对威胁信息较强的注意锁定特点有密切关系     

The facilitated processing of threatening faces: an ERP analysis

Threatening, friendly, and neutral faces were presented to test the hypothesis of the facilitated perceptual processing of threatening faces. Dense sensor event-related brain potentials were measured while subjects viewed facial stimuli. Subjects had no explicit task for emotional categorization of the faces. Assessing early perceptual stimulus processing, threatening faces elicited an early posterior negativity compared with nonthreatening neutral or friendly expressions. Moreover, at later stages of stimulus processing, facial threat also elicited augmented late positive potentials relative to the other facial expressions, indicating the more elaborate perceptual analysis of these stimuli. Taken together, these data demonstrate the facilitated perceptual processing of threatening faces. Results are discussed within the context of an evolved module of fear (A. Ohman & S. Mineka, 2001).     

Of snakes and faces: An evolutionary perspective on the psychology of fear

Snakes and faces are unique stimuli because they are deeply grounded in evolutionarily shaped behavior systems. Snakes are the prototypical stimulus in a predatory defense system promoting escape from predators, which prepares primates for efficient processing, attentional priority, and rapid fear acquisition to snakes and other stimuli related to predation. The social submissiveness system plays a similar role on the social arena by promoting yielding to dominant individuals without jeopardizing the protection of the group. Supporting these theoretical propositions, empirical data from a research program spanning four decades demonstrate enhanced fear conditioning to snakes and threatening faces compared to neutral stimuli, as well as fast nonconscious processing of, and prioritized attention to, snakes and threatening faces. Human brain‐imaging data show that these effects are mediated by an extensive fear‐network centering on the amygdala.     

刷微博，让焦虑的人更焦虑——特质焦虑对青少年注意情绪刺激的影响

采用自由观看眼动追踪范式,考察特质焦虑青少年在观看情绪面孔图片过程中的眼动轨迹。结果发现,高特质焦虑组对愤怒和恐惧面孔的首次注视到达时间（TFF）较快,首次注视持续时间（TFD）较短;低特质焦虑组对愤怒和恐惧面孔的TFF虽然稍早于平静面孔,但差异不显著。在刺激呈现1000ms之后,高特质焦虑组对愤怒和恐惧面孔的注视次数（FC）较多,平均注视持续时间（AFD）较短。低特质焦虑组对愤怒和恐惧面孔的FC较少,AFD较长;这就表明,高特质焦虑青少年在认知加工早期对威胁性刺激注意定向加速,没有注意解除困难,呈现“浅尝辄止”现象。而在认知加工晚期,他们则对威胁性刺激存在“反刍”现象。     

More than just another face in the crowd: superior detection of threatening facial expressions in children and adults

Threatening facial expressions can signal the approach of someone or something potentially dangerous. Past research has established that adults have an attentional bias for angry faces, visually detecting their presence more quickly than happy or neutral faces. Two new findings are reported here. First, evidence is presented that young children share this attentional bias. In five experiments, young children and adults were asked to find a picture of a target face among an array of eight distracter faces. Both age groups detected threat‐relevant faces – angry and frightened – more rapidly than non‐threat‐relevant faces (happy and sad). Second, evidence is presented that both adults and children have an attentional bias for negative stimuli overall. All negative faces were detected more quickly than positive ones in both age groups. As the first evidence that young children exhibit the same superior detection of threatening facial expressions as adults, this research provides important support for the existence of an evolved attentional bias for threatening stimuli.     

Context learning for threat detection

It is hypothesised that threatening stimuli are detected better due to their salience or physical properties. However, these stimuli are typically embedded in a rich context, motivating the question whether threat detection is facilitated via learning of contexts in which threat stimuli appear. To address this question, we presented threatening face targets in new or old spatial configurations consisting of schematic faces and found that detection of threatening targets was faster in old configurations. This indicates that individuals are able to learn regularities within visual contexts and use this contextual information to guide detection of threatening targets. Next, we presented threatening and non-threatening face targets embedded in new or old spatial configurations. Detection of threatening targets was facilitated in old configurations, and this effect was reversed for non-threatening targets. Present findings show that detection of threatening targets is driven not only by stimulus properties as theorised traditionally but also by learning of contexts in which threatening stimuli appear. Further, results show that context learning for threatening targets obstructs context learning for non-threatening targets. Overall, in addition to typically emphasised bottom-up factors, our findings highlight the importance of top-down factors such as context and learning in detection of salient, threatening stimuli.     

When a face type is perceived as threatening: Using general recognition theory to understand biased categorization of Afrocentric faces

Prior research indicates that stereotypical Black faces (e.g., wide nose, full lips: Afrocentric) are often associated with crime and violence. The current study investigated whether stereotypical faces may bias the interpretation of facial expression to seem threatening. Stimuli were prerated by face type (stereotypical, nonstereotypical) and expression (neutral, threatening). Later in a forced-choice task, different participants categorized face stimuli as stereotypical or not and threatening or not. Regardless of prerated expression, stereotypical faces were judged as more threatening than were nonstereotypical faces. These findings were supported using computational models based on general recognition theory (GRT), indicating that decision boundaries were more biased toward the threatening response for stereotypical faces than for nonstereotypical faces. GRT analysis also indicated that perception of face stereotypicality and emotional expression are dependent, both across categories and within individual categories. Higher perceived stereotypicality predicts higher perception of threat, and, conversely, higher ratings of threat predict higher perception of stereotypicality. Implications for racial face-type bias influencing perception and decision-making in a variety of social and professional contexts are discussed.     

对威胁刺激的碰撞时间估计

对靠近运动刺激的碰撞时间(time-to-collision, TTC)估计具有重要的进化意义。为了解释个体如何进行TTC估计, 研究者提出了结构主义理论、生态光学理论和tau理论等, 也考察了影响TTC估计的部分因素。近年的研究通过比较个体对威胁刺激和非威胁刺激的TTC估计, 考察了刺激的情绪相关属性对TTC估计的影响。结果表明, 相比于自然非威胁刺激(如兔子等图片), 个体会低估自然威胁刺激(如蛇等图片)的TTC, 但这种TTC的低估在社会威胁刺激(如愤怒面孔图片)上有时很小甚至不显著。个体低估TTC可能存在三种原因：(1)个体对威胁刺激具有特异性反应; (2)威胁刺激具有较高的情绪唤醒度; (3)个体对威胁刺激具有心理距离更近和运动速度更快的知觉偏差。未来研究可以进一步考察在社会威胁刺激上表现出的TTC低估效应不稳定的原因; 探索威胁刺激TTC估计中的自主生理反应和神经机制; 采用虚拟现实技术进行威胁刺激TTC估计的研究; 在实验设计中考虑性别和人格特质等个体因素的影响。