在20世纪50年代,Stanley Schachter开始进行了一系列重要的实验,试图理解增强人们与他人在一起的欲望的。Stanley Schachter(1959)开始假设人们寻求关系以消除恐惧感,.这样,如果成年人被随机分配到高恐惧体验组和低恐惧体验组的话,我们应该观察到这两组被试在寻求他人陪伴上有显著差异。
为检验这个假设, Schachter以女大学生为被试。当被试到达实验室后,首先接待她们的是身穿白色外套的实验员,她身边是各种各样的电子仪器。实验员介绍自己是神经与精神病系的Gregor Zilstein 博士,他解释说将要进行的实验是为了考察电击的效果。为了使被试感到更强的恐惧感,他准备了两种对电击的形容。
在恐惧的情境中,Zilstein博士以一种不详的语气形容电击:他告诉被试:“这些电击会令你感觉疼痛……在这个研究中,如果我们真的了解一些东西,以对人性有所帮助,就必须使用高强度的电击……这些电击会十分疼痛,不过,它们不会造成任何永久性的伤害。”通过采用这种方式对被试解释,使被试接受这样的一个暗示:她们将有一次非常惊恐和痛苦的体验。
而在低恐惧的情境中,所给的指示语尽量淡化电击的严重性,试图使被试感到放松。Zilstein博士这样说:“我保证你决不会感到任何痛苦。那不会比感到痒一下或麻一下更令人不快。”就这样,虽然两族被试都被告知实验是关于电击的,但一组等待的是疼痛的令人惊恐的体验,另一组等待的则是温和的,并不危险的体验。当被问及她们的感受时,处于高恐惧情境的女生表达了更强烈的害怕。
在唤起和测量恐惧后, 博士告诉被试,在准备好仪器之前有10分钟的间歇。他说被试可以在几间屋子里等候,那里有舒服的座椅和杂志。然后,Zilstein 博士说,有的人可能愿意自己等候,有的人愿意和其他参加实验的人一起等候。他要求每明被试指出自己是愿意一个人等,和他人一起等还是无所谓。正如研究者所假设的,在高恐惧的情况下,有63%的被试愿意和其他人一起等候,而在低恐惧的情况下,只有33%的被试愿意和其他人一起等。后来的许多研究证实在不同的情境下这个结论都成立。譬如,在一个研究中,比较了对于自己的婚姻感到不愉快和不确定的女性与感到愉快和自信的女性。如研究者假设的那样,那些感到不确定的女性显著地期望寻求与他人地关系。(Buunk ,Van Yperen, Taylor ,&Collins, 1991)
心怀恐惧的人希望和他人的陪伴,那么他们究竟想从这种陪伴中获得什么?这其中涉及怎样的心理过程呢?目前有两种假设得到研究。第一种是分散假设:感到恐惧的人们寻求关系以便忘掉自己的问题。在这种情况下,与谁在一起并不重要。第二种假设是从社会比较理论推出的,人们希望与和自己处于相同境地的人比较个人的感受和反应。当我们在一个新奇的和不平常的境地中时,可能不知道如何反应,这时他人成为我们的信息来源。与第一种假设不同的是,社会比较理论提出感到恐惧的人只想与面对类似情境的他人建立关系。
参考链接http://cyfair3.schoolwires.net/195120511192812997/lib/195120511192812997/_files/Chap18.pdf
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Does affiliation desires increase with anxiety?
In the late 1950s, Stanley Schachter attempted to answer this question by bringing female college students into the laboratory and creating a stressful event. In his initial study, Schachter (1959) introduced himself to the women as "Dr. Gregor Zilstein" of the Neurology and Psychiatry Department. He told them that they would receive a series of electrical shocks as part of an experiment on their physiological effects. In the "high-anxiety" condition, participants were told that the shocks would be quite painful but would cause no permanent damage. In the "low-anxiety" condition, they were led to believe that the shocks were virtually painless, no worse than a little tickle. In actuality, no shocks were ever delivered--the intent was merely to cause participants to believe that they soon would be receiving these shocks.
After hearing this information, the women were told there would be a ten-minute delay while the equipment was set up. They could spend this time waiting either in a room alone or in a, room with another participant in the study. Their stated preference was the dependent variable.
The results showed that the high anxiety people wanted to stay with others while waiting. Even when people were not allowed to talk with each other, even then others presence was preferred. Perhaps others serve as asocial distractionto anxious individuals, temporarily taking their minds off their anxiety. Schachter believed that the high- anxiety partcicipants wanted to wait with similarly threatened others not necessarily to talk to them, but rather, to compare the others' emotional reactions to the stressful event with their own.
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