Mar 15, 2021 19:00:00

New findings of people called 'Aphantasia' who do not feel scared by ghost stories

It is impossible to think of mental imagery, it is not possible to visualize the image in my head

A Fantasia is said to be present about 2-5% of the population. Previous studies have shown that Aphantasia has different cognitive processes such as recollection, imagination, and dreaming, but in a new experiment, 'reading a sentence depicting fear makes me feel completely scared. No 'was shown.

The critical role of mental imagery in human emotion: insights from fear-based imagery and aphantasia | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0267

I ain't afraid of no ghosts: People with mind-blindness not so easily spooked: The link between mental imagery and emotions may be closer than we thought --ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210310122434.htm

A new study by a research team at the University of New South Wales is to tell Aphantasians and non-Aphantasians 'scary stories' and observe how their bodies react. In the experiment, a total of 46 subjects, 22 with aphantasia and 24 without aphantasia, were taken to a darkened room and electrodes were attached to the skin. It is said that the electric current flowing through human skin changes when a person has strong emotions such as fear. Most of the past studies have conducted questionnaire surveys of subjects about their behavior, but in this study, we tried to measure changes more objectively by looking at changes in skin response.

Scientists leave the subject with the electrodes attached, leaving them in a dark room. The subject then read the story displayed as text on the screen in front of him.

The story began with a peaceful introduction, such as 'You are on the beach' and 'You are sitting by the window of an airplane', and the horror gradually evolved. According to the researchers, the control group, 'people who can visualize the story,' saw a rapid increase in the level of current flowing through the skin as the fear of the story unfolded, while the current in the Aphantasian people changed. It wasn't there.

However, when a 'fearful photo' such as a corpse was displayed on the screen instead of the text, the current level of the skin increased in all subjects.

From the results of this experiment, researchers conclude that Aphantasians are less likely to be scared only in 'text only' and, like many, when they see the image.

The research team said that they conducted this experiment after it was discussed on the online bulletin board that 'Aphantasia cannot enjoy fiction novels.' 'This study may help provide objective tools for diagnosing and confirming aphantasia in the future,' said Dr. Rebecca Keough, who conducted the study.

On the other hand, this study investigated the emotion of 'fear,' and researchers believe that different emotions may result in different experimental results. Researchers also say that even if you say aphantasia in a word, there are various forms such as those who can not have a visual image, those who have no connection with other senses such as hearing, and those who do not dream. Said.