School of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
J Pers. 2024 Aug;92(4):957-967. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12861. Epub 2023 Jul 9.
To assess whether there are individual differences in emotional reactions to bistable images, and if so, to identify some of the psychological factors that predict them.
Bistable images - which have two competing perceptual interpretations - have long been used in the scientific study of consciousness. Here we applied a different lens and investigated emotional reactions to them. Method Participants were adult humans in a cross-sectional study. Participants were presented with three bistable images and rated their emotional reactions to experiencing bistability. They also completed measures of intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and negative affect. Results There were marked individual differences in these reactions, ranging from feeling highly negative to highly positive. These individual differences in emotional response to bistability were linked to a number of psychological processes: intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive empathy, and negative affect, but not affective empathy. Conclusions These finding have important implications because: (a) these emotional reactions could distort scientific investigations that use these stimuli to study non-emotional perceptual and cognitive processes; and (b) they highlight that this approach offers a useful window into how individuals react to these stimuli that demonstrate that there is not always a single viable interpretation of the world around us.
评估个体对双稳态图像的情绪反应是否存在差异，如果存在，那么识别出一些可以预测这些差异的心理因素。
双稳态图像——有两种相互竞争的知觉解释——长期以来一直被用于意识的科学研究。在这里，我们采用了不同的视角来研究对它们的情绪反应。
参与者为横断面研究中的成年人类。参与者被呈现三张双稳态图像，并对体验双稳态时的情绪反应进行评分。他们还完成了不确定性容忍度、认知同理心、情感同理心和负性情绪的测量。
这些反应存在明显的个体差异，从感觉非常消极到非常积极。对双稳态的情绪反应的个体差异与许多心理过程有关：不确定性容忍度、认知同理心和负性情绪，但与情感同理心无关。
这些发现具有重要意义，因为：（a）这些情绪反应可能会扭曲使用这些刺激来研究非情绪知觉和认知过程的科学研究；（b）它们强调这种方法提供了一个有用的窗口，可以了解个体对这些展示我们周围的世界并非总是只有一种可行解释的刺激的反应。
