Recently, we demonstrated that the peak-end memory bias, which is well established in the context of pain, can also be observed in anxiety: Retrospective evaluations of a frightening experience are ...worse when peak anxiety is experienced at the end of an episode. Here, we set out to conceptually replicate and extend this finding with rigorous experimental control in a threat of shock paradigm. We induced two intensity levels of anxiety by presenting visual cues that indicated different strengths of electric stimuli. Each of the 59 participants went through one of two conditions that only differed in the order of moderate and high threat phases. As a manipulation check, orbicularis-EMG to auditory startle probes, electrodermal activity, and state anxiety confirmed the effects of the specific threat exposure. Critically, after some time had passed, participants for whom exposure had ended with high threat reported more anxiety for the entire episode than those for whom it ended with moderate threat. Moreover, they ranked their experience as more aversive when compared to other unpleasant everyday experiences. This study overcomes several previous limitations and speaks to the generalizability of the peak-end bias. Most notably, the findings bear implications for exposure therapy in clinical anxiety.
•This research convincingly consolidates evidence for the peak-end bias in anxiety.•The ending of a frightening episode determines how it is evaluated retrospectively.•Inducing anxiety with threat of shock provided us with rigorous experimental control.•Physiological and self-report indices corroborate the graded induction of anxiety.•The findings bear relevant implications for exposure therapy in clinical anxiety.
What we see is the result of an efficient selection of cues in the visual stream. In addition to physical characteristics this process is also influenced by emotional salience of the cues. ...Previously, we showed in spider phobic patients that fear-related pictures gain preferential access to consciousness in binocular rivalry. We set out to replicate this in an independent unselected sample and examine the relationship of this perceptual bias with a range of symptom clusters. To this end, we recruited 79 participants with variable degrees of fear of spiders. To induce binocular rivalry, a picture of either a spider or a flower was projected to one eye, and a neutral geometric pattern to the other eye. Participants continuously reported what they saw. We correlated indices of perceptual dominance (first percept, dominance duration) with individual fear of spiders and with scores on specific symptom clusters of fear of spiders (i.e., vigilance, fixation, and avoidance coping). Overall, higher fear of spiders correlates with more predominace of spider pictures. In addition, this perceptual bias is uniquely associated with avoidance coping. Interestingly, this demonstrates that a perceptual bias, which is not intentionally controlled, is linked with an instrumental coping behavior, that has been implicated in the maintenance of pathological fear.
•Individuals who are afraid of specific objects, have cognitive and perceptual biases.•This research replicates evidence that pictures of spiders gain preferential access to consciousness in binocular rivalry.•This perceptual bias also correlates with the level of the fear.•avoidance coping, relevant in the etiology of anxiety disorders, is uniquely associated with this perceptual bias.
Detection of Diatomic Carbon in 2I/Borisov Lin, Hsing Wen; Lee, Chien-Hsiu; Gerdes, D. W. ...
Astrophysical journal. Letters,
02/2020, Letnik:
889, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
2I/Borisov is the first-ever observed interstellar comet (and the second detected interstellar object (ISO)). It was discovered on 2019 August 30 and has a heliocentric orbital eccentricity of ∼3.35, ...corresponding to a hyperbolic orbit that is unbound to the Sun. Given that it is an ISO, it is of interest to compare its properties-such as composition and activity-with the comets in our solar system. This study reports low-resolution optical spectra of 2I/Borisov. The spectra were obtained by the MDM Observatory Hiltner 2.4 m telescope/Ohio State Multi-Object Spectrograph (on 2019 October 31.5 and November 4.5, UT). The wavelength coverage spanned from 3700 to 9200 . The dust continuum reflectance spectra of 2I/Borisov show that the spectral slope is steeper in the blue end of the spectrum (compared to the red). The spectra of 2I/Borisov clearly show CN emission at 3880 , as well as C2 emission at both 4750 and 5150 . Using a Haser model to covert the observed fluxes into estimates for the molecular production rates, we find Q(CN) = 2.4 0.2 × 1024 s−1, and Q(C2) = (5.5 0.4) × 1023 s−1 at the heliocentric distance of 2.145 au. Our Q(CN) estimate is consistent with contemporaneous observations, and the Q(C2) estimate is generally below the upper limits of previous studies. We derived the ratio Q(C2)/Q(CN) = 0.2 0.1, which indicates that 2I/Borisov is depleted in carbon-chain species, but is not empty. This feature is not rare for the comets in our solar system, especially in the class of Jupiter-family comets.
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