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Impairment of cognitive flexibility and its assessment in obsessive-compulsive disorder
Janíková, Martina ; Hocko Fajnerová, Iveta (advisor) ; Krámská, Lenka (referee)
Cognitive flexibility can be described as adaptive ability to change one's behavior in response to the environment. Psychological tests measure cognitive flexibility mainly as an ability to switch between different cues, tasks or objects. This thesis is focused on cognitive flexibility in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). To assess it, participants were tested in two different virtual tests of cognitive flexibility in spatial navigation task: Active allothetic place preference and Active allothetic place avoidance. In one of the tests participants have to navigate in rotating arena towads invisble goal (AAPP). In the other one they have to avoid invisible sector where time is counted upon entering (AAPA). As the sector and goal are visually imperceptible, participants have to use only cues inside and outside the arena and are also informed about entering the sector by sound signal. The sector changes its position from stable position in room frame to stable position in arena frame between conditions. Therefore, participants have to learn to switch between room and arena frame to sucessfully solve the task. Results of this study suggest that OCD patients are significantly worse in estimating position of the goal in AAPP, especially after change of condition. Further comparsion of...
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Experimental evaluation of prioritization of animal stimuli by human
Kočková-Amortová, Eliška ; Landová, Eva (advisor) ; Hocko Fajnerová, Iveta (referee)
In some previous studies, felines were evaluated as one of the most beautiful groups of mammals, but at the same time, they were rated as dangerous. Some studies suggest that felines may be among those dangerous animals that are prioritized by humans in terms of faster neural response and preferential processing of visual information. This thesis tests the prioritization of potentially dangerous animals with each other while trying to identify the factors that influence the positive evaluation of felines. It has been found that felines are prioritized among potentially dangerous animals, but the experimental design is very important. Prioritization has not been proven when respondents have followed a different task and the animals have only acted as distractors. Big cats were evaluated as the most beautiful and most feared felines, with morphology, especially the weight of the animal, influencing both of these ratings. The ranking of beauty was also influenced by the presence of the pattern and saturation and lightness of the colors. Compared to viverrids, felines were rated both as more beautiful and more feared. Felines would be more likely protected and treated as pets than viverrids. Furthermore, large felines are relatively well-known among humans, while respondents basically did not know any...
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Animal phobia: fear or disgust?
Peléšková, Šárka ; Landová, Eva (advisor) ; Hocko Fajnerová, Iveta (referee)
Animal phobias are among the most common specific phobias. It is traditionally assumed that two basic emotions are involved - fear and anxiety, although recent studies suggest that disgust may also be important. Phobias and involved emotions are defined mostly by psychologists and psychiatrists. Their manifestations could be identified mainly on physiological level and are being researched using advanced medical methods (e.g. functional neuroimaging). The eliciting stimuli of arachnophobia, ophidiophobia etc. are specific animal, spiders or snakes. However the category of elicitors for disgust sensu lato is fairly extended. The etiology of these phenomena is explained from the perspective of evolutionary biology and presumes biologicaly significant selective pressures and common coevolution. The aim of this paper is to summarize information gathered so far, verify proposed evolutionary hypothesis about the involvement of disgust in the etiology of animal phobia and to evaluate biological relevancy of fear of animal stimuli.
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