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Subjective and psychophysiological parametres of emotions elicited by various animal taxa
Peterková, Šárka
SUBJEKTIVNÍ A PSYCHOFYZIOLOGICKÉ PARAMETRY EMOCÍ, KTERÉ VZBUZUJÍ RŮZNÉ SKUPINY ZVÍŘAT Mgr. Šárka Peterková Abstract The central theme of this dissertation is human evaluation of animals from the perspective of subjectively experienced emotions and their psychophysiological correlates. It deals mainly with the emotion of disgust and its connection with aesthetic evaluation and perception of animal beauty, and, on the other hand, with another negative emotion, fear. It also aims to assess the findings from an evolutionary perspective and to understand the role of emotions evoked by animals in present times. It contains a total of six papers that were part of broader scientific projects, each of which addresses the subject from a slightly different angle. The first paper is a review dealing with negative emotions evoked by animals and is thus part of the theoretical introduction to this dissertation. It provides an overview of the subjective evaluation of animals according to fear and disgust, places the role of negative emotions in an evolutionary context, and finally analyses specific morphological features of representatives of different taxa that influence human perception. The second article details the assessment of emotions evoked by amphibians. In this case, the degree of perceived disgust is so...
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The effect of a first aid course on the disgust level
Váňová, Barbora ; Kuba, Radim (advisor) ; Dlouhá, Daniela (referee)
Disgust is an affective component of the behavioral immune system. The behavioral immune system is a set of psychological mechanisms that help the body to protect itself against pathogens and other potential risk factors, thus influences the life of an individual in a wide range of situations. An example of such a situation might be the provision of first aid. First aid is an important part of the process of saving a person's life and, if provided correctly and in a timely manner, can significantly improve the course of treatment in hospital care. Disgust is one of the factors that can reduce or inhibit the willingness to provide first aid. However, there is a lack of research evidence on whether and how first aid courses specifically modify perceptions of disgust. Therefore, we decided to focus on this fact in the present study. The study was conducted through questionnaire survey before, after and one month after the first aid course. The respondents were in the experimental group participants of first aid courses organized at the Faculty of Science of Charles University and in the control group participants of other, non-first aid related courses. Purpose-designed questionnaires focused on previous experience with first aid, evaluation of the distastefulness of the tasks performed on the course,...
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Subjective and psychophysiological parametres of emotions elicited by various animal taxa
Peterková, Šárka ; Landová, Eva (advisor) ; Čmejla, Roman (referee) ; Španiel, Filip (referee)
SUBJEKTIVNÍ A PSYCHOFYZIOLOGICKÉ PARAMETRY EMOCÍ, KTERÉ VZBUZUJÍ RŮZNÉ SKUPINY ZVÍŘAT Mgr. Šárka Peterková Abstract The central theme of this dissertation is human evaluation of animals from the perspective of subjectively experienced emotions and their psychophysiological correlates. It deals mainly with the emotion of disgust and its connection with aesthetic evaluation and perception of animal beauty, and, on the other hand, with another negative emotion, fear. It also aims to assess the findings from an evolutionary perspective and to understand the role of emotions evoked by animals in present times. It contains a total of six papers that were part of broader scientific projects, each of which addresses the subject from a slightly different angle. The first paper is a review dealing with negative emotions evoked by animals and is thus part of the theoretical introduction to this dissertation. It provides an overview of the subjective evaluation of animals according to fear and disgust, places the role of negative emotions in an evolutionary context, and finally analyses specific morphological features of representatives of different taxa that influence human perception. The second article details the assessment of emotions evoked by amphibians. In this case, the degree of perceived disgust is so...
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Factors influencing the willingness to provide first aid among the general population and teachers in the Czech Republic
Sekerášová, Iveta ; Kuba, Radim (advisor) ; Nodžáková, Kateřina (referee)
In the Czech Republic, citizens are legally obligated to provide first aid according to current regulations. Therefore, first aid education is incorporated into educational programs at various levels of schooling. Despite people learning how to provide first aid, it has been observed that it is often not adequately provided in real-life situations. There are several factors that can influence human responses and reduce the willingness to provide first aid. According to studies, the most common inhibiting factors include the presence of danger, fear of infection, panic and stress, insufficient knowledge of first aid procedures, and general concerns. However, most of this information has been obtained through studies conducted outside the Czech Republic. Therefore, we conducted two questionnaire studies focused on the Czech population. The respondents included representatives from the general public (N=1594) and the teaching profession (N=1876). The aim was to identify the factors that most significantly limit individuals when providing first aid. The results showed that the most important factors were related to safety aspects, emotional influences (such as panic, anxiety, feelings of disgust or nausea), and insufficient knowledge of first aid. Based on the results, didactic recommendations were...
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Aesthetic and emotional evaluation of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) and its implications
Končická, Anna ; Frynta, Daniel (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Animals play a significant role in human societies. As significant psychological stimuli, they evoke not only positive but also negative emotions. Human efforts on animal conservation are directly linked to the way in which those animals are aesthetically percieved. This master's thesis is focused on the aesthetic and emotional evaluation of butterflies and moths, using a method of ranking visual stimuli and scoring on a point scale. The aim of this thesis is both to compare various methods of beauty evaluation among a group Lepidoptera and to analyze the influence of butterflies' position on presented stimuli on the resulting beauty evaluations. Furthermore, this thesis focuses on negative emotions (disgust) evoked by butterflies and moths. Last but not least, the influence of morphological and color characteristics of butterflies and moths on beauty evaluations is analyzed. The characteristics and attitudes of respondents are also analyzed as a possible influential factor of the evaluation. It was found that all investigated testing methods could be used to evaluate the beauty of butterflies and moths and that they produced similar results. It was also found that wing positions of butterflies and moths have a particularly notable effect on their beauty evaluations, especially for certain species....
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Behavioural immune system in humans: perceptual and affective component
Slavíčková, Kateřina ; Schwambergová, Dagmar (advisor) ; Dlouhá, Daniela (referee)
This bachelor's thesis aims to summarize the available literature on the human behavioral immune system. In addition to the physical immune system, the behavioral immune system represents another defense mechanism against pathogens. It consists of a variety of psychological mechanisms that enable timely avoidance reactions to potentially risky stimuli, thereby reducing the energetic costs that would otherwise be expended in a metabolically demanding immune response. The thesis introduces the functioning of the behavioral immune system, starting with the detection of risk cues followed by an emotional response - disgust, which is considered a key mechanism leading to an avoidance reaction. Furthermore the Development of the feeling of disgust is described. The work also includes an outline of inter- individual differences in disgust.
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The origin of specific phobia from spiders: Neurophysiological mechanisms vs. testing the assumptions of evolutionary theories explaining the origin of specific phobia from spiders
Hladíková, Tereza ; Landová, Eva (advisor) ; Telenský, Petr (referee)
Spider phobia is one of the most frequent specific animal phobias in the population. There are two key emotions in the origin of spider phobia: fear and disgust. Several theories of spider phobia origin were proposed and so the results and interpretations of these studies, which test prerequisites of these particular theories often vary. Studies focusing on psychophysiological measurements such as changes in heart activity or skin resistance, show differences in emotion intensity in phobics compared to non-phobics. The second group of studies concerning the analysis of proximate mechanisms attempts to uncover the brain activity during phobic stimulation. These studies mostly agree on the coordination of the cognitive control network and the fear-network with the key role of the amygdala and insula in the phobic reaction. Other studies which test prerequisites of evolutionary theories examine e.g. heritability of specific phobias, speed of spider detection or easier learning and extinction of fear of spiders. The aim of this bachelor thesis is focused on the results of studies uncovering the proximate neurophysiological and psychophysiological mechanisms of specific spider phobia and to discuss these results in relation to the paradigm of evolutionary theories about the origin of this phobia. It is...
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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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Disgust sensitivity during pregnancy: testing the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis
Dlouhá, Daniela ; Kaňková, Šárka (advisor) ; Třebická Fialová, Jitka (referee)
Disgust is an important adaptive mechanism in protection against disease. Disgust sensitivity is very variable between individuals and, according to the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis (CPH), should be adjusted to individual's vulnerability to disease. The beginning of pregnancy is associated with a number of changes in the immune system and thus disgust sensitivity is expected to be increased. The aim of this thesis was to test the CPH in relation to longitudinal changes in disgust during pregnancy and after birth, as well as in comparison with non-pregnant control sample of women. Another aim was to observe the maladaptive role of disgust, specifically the relationship between trait anxiety and disgust. Against the set expectations, disgust was observed to increase during pregnancy in the animal reminder domain of disgust. However, the function of this domain in protection against disease has been criticized. These changes were only observed in pregnancies with a male fetus. In line with the CPH predictions, it was shown that women who reported having recent health problems also had higher disgust. Similarly, the results showed a possible protective role of mothers' increased disgust in the beginning of pregnancy, which was related to new-borns having a higher 10 minute APGAR score. When...
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The phenomenon of disgust and its relationship to first aid
Váňová, Barbora ; Kuba, Radim (advisor) ; Schwambergová, Dagmar (referee)
The bachelor thesis investigates the phenomenon of disgust and its relationship to first aid. The main aim of this thesis is to review empirical research regarding the given topic and to outline possible connection between disgust and first aid. Disgust is the affective component of the behavioral immune system and, together with the help of the perceptual and cognitive components, is responsible for recognizing and evaluating the potential risk of stimuli. Subsequently influences an individual's behaviour, in order to avoid contact with a potentially infectious object or person. Behavioral immune system and disgust have evolved as a primary defence against fitness reduction due to infection by pathogen or parasite. Other dimensions of disgust (sexual, moral disgust) focus on another person as a risky stimulus. The following chapters summarize essential information about the function of the behavioral immune system, the evolutionary significance of disgust, important models of disgust and factors that affect sensitivity to disgust. The second part of the thesis focuses on fundamental information about first aid and aspects that positively and negatively affect the willingness to deliver first aid. Disgust reaction can be revealed as a part of some first aid factors and could affect the willingness...
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