Vandenbroucke S, Crombez G, Loeys T, Goubert L
Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan, 2, Ghent, 9000, Belgium,
Atten Percept Psychophys. 2015 Jul;77(5):1781-93. doi: 10.3758/s13414-015-0889-2.
In this study, we investigated the effects of observing pain and touch in others on vicarious somatosensory experiences and the detection of subtle somatosensory stimuli. Furthermore, the effect of taking a first- versus a third-person perspective was investigated. Undergraduates (N = 57) viewed videos depicting hands being pricked (pain), hands being touched by a cotton swab (touch), and control scenes (same approaching movement of a hand as in the other video categories, but without the painful/touching object) while experiencing vibrotactile stimuli themselves on the left, on the right, or on both hands. Participants reported the location at which they felt a somatosensory stimulus. The vibrotactile stimuli and visual scenes were applied in a spatially congruent or incongruent way, and other trials were presented without vibrotactile stimuli. The videos were depicted in first-person perspective and third-person perspective (i.e., the videos were shown upside down). We calculated the proportions of correct responses and false alarms (i.e., numbers of trials on which a vicarious somatosensory experience was reported congruent or incongruent to the site of the visual information). Pain-related scenes facilitated the detection of tactile stimuli and augmented the number of vicarious somatosensory experiences, as compared with observing the touch or control videos. Detection accuracy was higher for videos depicted in first-person perspective than for those in third-person perspective. Perspective had no effect on the number of vicarious somatosensory experiences. This study indicates that somatosensory detection is particularly enhanced during the observation of pain-related scenes, as compared to the observation of touch or control videos. These research findings further demonstrate that perspective taking impacts somatosensory detection, but not the report of vicarious experiences.
在本研究中，我们调查了观察他人的疼痛和触觉对替代性体感体验以及细微体感刺激检测的影响。此外，还研究了采用第一人称视角与第三人称视角的效果。57名本科生在自身左手、右手或双手同时体验振动触觉刺激的情况下，观看了描绘手部被针刺（疼痛）、被棉签触摸（触觉）以及对照场景（手部的接近动作与其他视频类别相同，但没有疼痛/触摸物体）的视频。参与者报告他们感觉到体感刺激的位置。振动触觉刺激和视觉场景以空间一致或不一致的方式呈现，其他试验则不呈现振动触觉刺激。视频以第一人称视角和第三人称视角呈现（即视频倒置显示）。我们计算了正确反应和误报的比例（即报告的替代性体感体验与视觉信息部位一致或不一致的试验次数）。与观看触觉或对照视频相比，疼痛相关场景促进了触觉刺激的检测，并增加了替代性体感体验的次数。第一人称视角呈现的视频的检测准确率高于第三人称视角呈现的视频。视角对替代性体感体验的次数没有影响。本研究表明，与观看触觉或对照视频相比，在观察疼痛相关场景时，体感检测尤其增强。这些研究结果进一步证明，视角采择会影响体感检测，但不会影响替代性体验的报告。
