高所回避傾向尺度（HAT）の妥当性についての検討

抄録

This study examined the validity of the newly devised inventory for testing a height avoidance tendency (HAT). The inventory tested two aspects of avoidance: approaching a height, and looking down from a height. The participants were divided into high and low avoidance groups on the basis of their HAT scores, and their skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during exposure to video clips of heights. The total, and some componential, HAT scores were positively correlated with self-rated intensities of the fear of heights, whilst there was no significant correlation with the trait scores of the STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Significantly more SCRs were obtained for the high avoidance group than for the low avoidance group in responses to the videos. These results successfully demonstrated that the HAT was valid for selecting participants with a high tendency to avoid heights, and suggested that the test would be a useful tool for investigating the development and mode of spatial emotions evoked through perceptual and cognitive processes.