Kaviani H, Gray J A, Checkley S A, Kumari V, Wilson G D
Department of Psychology, University of London, UK.
Int J Psychophysiol. 1999 Apr;32(1):47-54. doi: 10.1016/s0167-8760(98)00063-4.
It has been widely reported that the eyeblink component of the acoustic startle reflex can be modulated by emotionally-toned slide stimuli; pleasant slides reduce eyeblink amplitudes whereas unpleasant slides enhance them. The present study examines the modulation of the acoustic startle reflex by short (2-min) film-clips classified as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, on the basis of subjective ratings. These film-clips were also evaluated with respect to their test-retest reliability in producing affective states as well as modulating startle reflexes. Overall, results showed significant reduction of startle during pleasant clips and augmentation during unpleasant clips. However, on first showing, one of the two unpleasant clips (a medical demonstration film depicting details of toe surgery) actually inhibited the startle reflex rather than augmented it. This is discussed in terms of the proposition that only stimuli which arouse fear can be guaranteed to augment startle; stimuli that are repulsive may produce perceptual and emotional 'blunting' that reduces startle amplitude.
已有广泛报道称，听觉惊吓反射的眨眼成分可被带有情感色彩的幻灯片刺激所调节；令人愉悦的幻灯片会降低眨眼幅度，而令人不快的幻灯片则会增强眨眼幅度。本研究基于主观评分，考察了分为愉悦、不快或中性的短（2分钟）电影片段对听觉惊吓反射的调节作用。这些电影片段还在产生情感状态以及调节惊吓反射方面，就其重测信度进行了评估。总体而言，结果显示在观看愉悦片段时惊吓反应显著降低，而在观看不快片段时则增强。然而，在首次播放时，两个不快片段之一（一部展示脚趾手术细节的医学示范影片）实际上抑制了惊吓反射而非增强了它。这是根据这样一种观点来讨论的，即只有引起恐惧的刺激才能保证增强惊吓反应；令人厌恶的刺激可能会产生感知和情感上的“迟钝”，从而降低惊吓幅度。
