Chapter 11 - Cognitive biases across development: A detailed examination of research in fear learning

Abstract

The following chapter begins by briefly outlining considerations related to conducting research on cognitive biases in youth populations. An in-depth overview of cognitive biases related to different phases and aspects of fear learning in youth is then provided. These include fear acquisition and fear extinction, processes related to the retrieval of extinction memory, and adaptive and maladaptive fear generalization. Findings from behavioral and psychophysiological research in both typically developing and clinically anxious children and adolescents are reviewed. In addition, neural structural and functional development differences in each of the outlined fear learning processes are reviewed. The chapter concludes with an example of attempts to integrate findings from multiple domains of scientific inquiry examining cognitive and learning biases so as to better understand normative and pathological developmental trajectories.