An Examination of Social Support Figures as Prepared Safety Stimuli

作为准备好的安全刺激的社会支持数字的检验

• 批准号: 1626477
• 负责人: Naomi Eisenberger
• 金额: $ 56.32万
• 依托单位: University of California-Los Angeles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-08-01 至 2023-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1626477&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Examination; Social; Support; Figures; Prepared

It is crucial that people develop the ability to identify and respond to threats as they navigate the world. Yet, the process by which people learn about threatening cues is inexact, often producing excessive fears, disruptive fear responses, and anxiety. Based on the importance that close social ties have for survival, this research examines social support figures as stimuli that promote survival. Such 'prepared safety stimuli' promote feelings of safety and may reduce threat responses. This is in contrast to 'prepared fear stimuli' that have historically threatened human survival (e.g., snakes, spiders). Considerable research has focused on prepared fear stimuli, but little prior work has examined prepared safety stimuli. This research will develop an understanding of these unique safety signals and the beneficial role they might play in both preventing people from learning new fears and aiding people in extinguishing old ones. This research will also help to develop a deeper understanding of the role of social support figures as prepared safety stimuli. In addition, this research may illuminate avenues for improving current interventions targeted at reducing maladaptive fears and anxiety, thereby improving well-being. The proposed research will bridge the social support and fear learning literatures, employing a combination of fear conditioning, social buffering, and neuroimaging methods. In a series of studies, Dr. Naomi Eisenberger at the University of California, Los Angeles, will define prepared safety stimuli and test whether social support figures fulfill those parameters. The proposed studies will further the examination of social support figures as prepared safety stimuli by examining: 1) whether social support figures, but not other familiar or rewarding stimuli (which are not turned to for social support), serve as prepared safety stimuli, 2) whether ambivalent support figures, who are sources of both positivity (support) and negativity (stress/negative affect), can serve as prepared safety stimuli, 3) whether stimuli historically associated with the presence of social support (warmth, softness) act as prepared safety stimuli, 4) the neural regions that underlie the safety effects of social support figures, and 5) whether support figures inhibit fear learning and enhance fear extinction to other stimuli. Given the prevalence of anxiety and fear-related disorders in the United States, understanding the unique functions of prepared safety stimuli and the role they might play in preventing fear learning or extinguishing learned fears has the potential to pave the way for new interventions targeted at reducing maladaptive fear and anxiety.

至关重要的是，人们在世界各地航行时，必须培养识别和应对威胁的能力。然而，人们学习威胁线索的过程是不准确的，经常会产生过度的恐惧，破坏性的恐惧反应和焦虑。基于密切的社会关系对生存的重要性，本研究探讨了社会支持数字作为促进生存的刺激。 这种“准备好的安全刺激”促进了安全感，并可能减少威胁反应。 这与历史上威胁人类生存的“准备好的恐惧刺激”形成对比（例如，蛇、蜘蛛）。相当多的研究都集中在准备好的恐惧刺激，但很少有以前的工作已经检查了准备好的安全刺激。这项研究将加深对这些独特的安全信号的理解，以及它们在防止人们学习新的恐惧和帮助人们消除旧恐惧方面可能发挥的有益作用。这项研究还将有助于更深入地了解社会支持人物作为准备好的安全刺激的作用。此外，这项研究可能会照亮改善目前针对减少适应不良的恐惧和焦虑的干预措施，从而改善福祉的途径。建议的研究将桥接社会支持和恐惧学习的文献，采用恐惧条件反射，社会缓冲和神经影像学方法的组合。在一系列研究中，加州大学洛杉矶分校的娜奥米·艾森伯格博士将定义准备好的安全刺激，并测试社会支持数字是否满足这些参数。拟议的研究将进一步审查社会支持数字作为准备好的安全刺激因素，方法是审查：1）是否有社会支持数字，但没有其他熟悉或奖励的刺激（这是不转向社会支持），作为准备的安全刺激，2）是否矛盾的支持数字，谁是来源的积极（支持）和消极（压力/负面影响），可以作为准备的安全刺激，3）刺激是否历史上与社会支持的存在相关（温暖，柔软）作为准备的安全刺激，4）神经区域的基础上的安全效应的社会支持数字，（5）支持图形是否抑制恐惧学习，增强对其他刺激的恐惧消退。鉴于焦虑和恐惧相关疾病在美国的流行，了解准备好的安全刺激的独特功能以及它们在防止恐惧学习或消除学习恐惧中可能发挥的作用，有可能为针对减少适应不良的恐惧和焦虑的新干预措施铺平道路。