Abstract
Previous research showed that instructions about CS-US pairings can lead to fear of the CS even when the pairings are never presented. In the present study, we examined whether the experience of CS-US pairings adds to the effect of instructions by comparing instructed conditioning with and without actual CS-US pairings in a within-subject design. Thirty-two participants saw three fractals as CSs (CS+1, CS+2, CS−) and received electric shocks as USs. Before the start of a so-called training phase, participants were instructed that both CS+1 and CS+2 would be followed by the US, but only CS+1 was actually paired with the US. The absence of the US after CS+2 was explained in such a way that participants would not doubt the instructions about the CS+2-US relation. After the training phase, a test phase was carried out. In this phase, participants expected the US after both CS+s but none of the CS+s was actually paired with the US. During test, self-reported fear was initially higher for CS+1 than for CS+2, which indicates that the experience of actual CS-US pairings adds to instructions about these pairings. On the other hand, the CS+s elicited similar skin conductance responses and US expectancies. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
Highlights
The publication of Rachman’s three-pathway theory on the etiology of anxiety disorders [1] greatly stimulated research on the acquisition of fear
If we find a strong effect of instructions without evidence for the added value of experiencing CS-US pairings, this would speak to the importance of the verbal pathway and of prevention measures that are directed at this pathway, such as alerting the parents of vulnerable children to the adverse consequences of providing threatening information with stimuli such as small animals, water, or heights [7]
Still, when the estimated difference in mean skin conductance responses (SCRs) between CS+1 and CS+2 was examined separately for training and test, we found a significant difference in SCR for CS+1 and CS+2 during training, x2(1) = 13.46, p,.001, but not during test, x2(1),1, p =
Summary
The publication of Rachman’s three-pathway theory on the etiology of anxiety disorders [1] greatly stimulated research on the acquisition of fear. Propositional models can be instantiated in such a way that they would predict an added effect of actual CS-US pairings They could argue that direct experience of a CS-US contingency enhances the truth value of a proposition relative to conditioning trials. A short self-made questionnaire that assessed clarity and face validity of the instructions and demand awareness was administered, but only to the second half of our sample These sixteen participants were asked to indicate to what extent they thought the instructions had been clear and credible on a scale ranging from 0. If experience of actual CS-US pairings matters, self-reported fear, US expectancy, and SRC in response to CS+1 should still be enhanced relative to CS+2 during the test phase
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