Are coarse scales sufficient for fast detection of visual threat?
(2010) Psychological Science — Vol. 21, n° 10, p. 1429-1437 (2010)
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- It has recently been suggested that low-spatial-frequency information would provide rapid visual cues to the amygdala for basic but ultrarapid behavioral responses to dangerous stimuli. The present behavioral study investigated the role of different spatial-frequency channels in visually detecting dangerous stimuli belonging to living or nonliving categories. Subjects were engaged in a visual detection task involving dangerous stimuli, and subjects' behavioral responses were assessed in association with their fear expectations (induced by an aversive 90-dB white noise). Our results showed that, despite its crudeness, low-spatial-frequency information could constitute a sufficient signal for fast recognition of visual danger in a context of fear expectation. In addition, we found that this effect tended to be specific for living entities. These results were obtained despite a strong perceptual bias toward faster recognition of high-spatial-frequency stimuli under supraliminal perception durations. © 2010 The Author(s).
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Mermillod, M., Droit-Volet, S., Devaux, D., Schaefer, A., & Vermeulen, N. (2010). Are coarse scales sufficient for fast detection of visual threat? Psychological Science, 21(10), 1429-1437. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610381503 (Original work published 2010)