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Trypophobic Discomfort is Spatial-Frequency Dependent
Kyoshiro Sasaki1, Yuki Yamada2, Daiichiro Kuroki3
1Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Advances in Cognitive Psychology
|October 18, 2017
Summary
Trypophobic discomfort, triggered by hole patterns, is linked to low and middle spatial frequencies in images, not just high ones. This challenges previous assumptions about visual discomfort triggers.
Area of Science:
- Visual perception
- Psychology
- Image processing
Background:
- Clusters of holes can induce trypophobic discomfort.
- Previous research linked this discomfort to high-contrast energy at midrange spatial frequencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the specific contribution of different spatial frequency components to trypophobic discomfort.
- To determine which spatial frequencies are most critical for inducing trypophobic reactions.
Main Methods:
- Experiments involved manipulating images of hole clusters by removing specific spatial frequency components.
- Participants rated their discomfort levels when viewing these modified images.
- The study correlated discomfort levels with the spatial frequency content of the images and individual trypophobic trait levels.
Main Results:
- Eliminating midrange spatial frequencies did not reduce discomfort.
- Images composed solely of high spatial frequencies evoked less discomfort.
- Images containing only low or midrange spatial frequencies induced discomfort comparable to original images.
- Individuals with higher trypophobic traits reported greater discomfort from low and midrange spatial frequency images.
Conclusions:
- Trypophobic discomfort is associated with both middle and low spatial frequencies, not exclusively high or midrange frequencies.
- The findings suggest a broader range of spatial frequencies contribute to trypophobia than previously understood.
- Individual differences in trypophobic traits modulate the response to specific spatial frequencies.
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