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

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.

Figure 1

A diagram of the experimental set-up for Experiment 1. The dashed lines represent 5 different directions of the trajectories. Note that the participant is prohibited from leaning forward by clipping their shirt to the back of the chair.

Figure 2

The ratio of estimated to actual reachability in both the anxiety and control conditions for each reaching direction. Error bars represent +/− 1 SE from the mean.

Figure 3

The relationship between mean reachability and the difference in self-reported anxiety between baseline and test. Greater change in self-reported anxiety was associated with smaller mean reachability estimates.

Figure 4

A diagram of the experimental set-up for Experiment 2. The black lines on the block are where participants were told to estimate placing their fingers during the grasping ability estimates.

Figure 5

Grasping ratios in the anxiety and control conditions. Error bars represent +/− 1 SE of the mean.

Figure 6

Apparatus used in the aperture fitting task.

Figure 7

Relation between change in anxiety from baseline to test and overestimations in the size of the aperture through which individuals could pass their hand.