Hunley Samuel B, Marker Arwen M, Lourenco Stella F
1 Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
2 Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, KS, USA.
Exp Psychol. 2017 Jan;64(1):49-55. doi: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000350.
The current study investigated individual differences in the flexibility of peripersonal space (i.e., representational space near the body), specifically in relation to trait claustrophobic fear (i.e., fear of suffocating or being physically restricted). Participants completed a line bisection task with either a laser pointer (Laser condition), allowing for a baseline measure of the size of one's peripersonal space, or a stick (Stick condition), which produces expansion of one's peripersonal space. Our results revealed that individuals high in claustrophobic fear had larger peripersonal spaces than those lower in claustrophobic fear, replicating previous research. We also found that, whereas individuals low in claustrophobic fear demonstrated the expected expansion of peripersonal space in the Stick condition, individuals high in claustrophobic fear showed less expansion, suggesting decreased flexibility. We discuss these findings in relation to the defensive function of peripersonal space and reduced attentional flexibility associated with trait anxieties.
当前的研究调查了个人空间（即身体附近的表征空间）灵活性的个体差异，特别是与特质幽闭恐惧症（即害怕窒息或受到身体限制）的关系。参与者完成了一项线平分任务，要么使用激光笔（激光条件），以获得个人空间大小的基线测量，要么使用棍子（棍子条件），这会使个人空间扩大。我们的结果显示，幽闭恐惧症程度高的个体比幽闭恐惧症程度低的个体拥有更大的个人空间，这重复了之前的研究。我们还发现，虽然幽闭恐惧症程度低的个体在棍子条件下表现出预期的个人空间扩大，但幽闭恐惧症程度高的个体表现出的扩大较少，表明灵活性降低。我们结合个人空间的防御功能以及与特质焦虑相关的注意力灵活性降低来讨论这些发现。
