Costa Vincent D, Bradley Margaret M, Lang Peter J
Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Psychophysiology. 2015 Mar;52(3):325-32. doi: 10.1111/psyp.12359. Epub 2014 Sep 24.
Cues that signal the possibility of receiving an electric shock reliably induce defensive activation. To determine whether cues can also easily reverse defensive reactions, a threat reversal paradigm was developed in which a cue signaling threat of shock reversed its meaning across the course of the study. This allowed us to contrast defensive reactions to threat cues that became safe cues, with responses to cues that continued to signal threat or safety. Results showed that, when participants were instructed that a previously threatening cue now signaled safety, there was an immediate and complete attenuation of defensive reactions compared to threat cues that maintained their meaning. These findings highlight the role that language can play both in instantiating and attenuating defensive reactions, with implications for understanding emotion regulation, social communication, and clinical phenomena.
可靠地预示着可能会受到电击的线索会引发防御性激活。为了确定线索是否也能轻易逆转防御反应，研究人员开发了一种威胁逆转范式，在该范式中，一个预示电击威胁的线索在研究过程中改变了其含义。这使我们能够将对变成安全线索的威胁线索的防御反应，与对继续预示威胁或安全的线索的反应进行对比。结果表明，当参与者被告知一个先前具有威胁性的线索现在预示着安全时，与保持其含义的威胁线索相比，防御反应会立即完全减弱。这些发现凸显了语言在引发和减弱防御反应中所起的作用，对理解情绪调节、社会交流和临床现象具有启示意义。
