Scared stiff: The influence of anxiety on the perception of action capabilities

Graydon, Meagan M. and Linkenauger, Sally A. and Teachman, Bethany A. and Proffitt, Dennis R. (2012) Scared stiff: The influence of anxiety on the perception of action capabilities. Cognition and Emotion, 26 (7). pp. 1301-1315. ISSN 0269-9931

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Abstract

Influences on the perception of affordances (i.e., opportunities for actions) have been primarily studied by manipulating the functional morphology of the body. However, affordances are not just determined by the functional morphology of the perceiver, but also by the physiological state of the perceiver. States of anxiety have been shown to lead to marked changes in individuals' physiological state and their behaviour. To assess the influence of emotional state on affordance perception, the perception of action capabilities in near space was examined after participants completed an anxiety-provoking task. Anxiety was induced immediately prior to tasks that assessed participants' perceived reaching ability in Experiment 1, grasping ability in Experiment 2, and the ability to pass their hands through apertures in Experiment 3. Results indicated that those participants who experienced changes in anxiety underestimated their reaching, grasping, and passing ability compared to non-anxious participants. In other words, anxious participants were more conservative in their estimations of their action capabilities. These results suggest that anxiety influences the perception for affordances in near space and are consistent with the notion that anxiety induces withdrawal behaviours.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Cognition and Emotion
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200/3205
Subjects:
?? DISTANCEAROUSALMOTOR-PERFORMANCEPANIC DISORDERHEIGHTPERSPECTIVESAFFORDANCE PERCEPTIONAFFECTIVE STYLEFEARVISUAL PERCEPTIONANXIOUS AROUSALPERCEIVED REACHABILITYAFFORDANCESEXPERIMENTAL AND COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ??
ID Code:
64214
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
25 Apr 2013 08:48
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
18 Sep 2023 00:41