Abstract
Studies on the etiology of small animal phobias have focused primarily on snake fears. In order to examine etiological factors in the development of dog fears, a structured interview which obtained information on frightening and painful experiences (conditioning events) with dogs, and Ss' expectations about the consequences of contact with dogs, was administered to 14 dog-fearful and 21 non-fearful college students. Conditioning events were common in both the fearful group (56%) and the non-fearful group (66%), and in over half of these cases, the animal inflicted pain. All fearful Ss believed that fear and physical harm were likely consequences of an encounter with a dog, while very few non-fearful Ss had such expectations. In contrast with snake fears, painful experiences are common among dog-fearful Ss, and an exaggerated expectation of harm appears to be a factor in the maintenance of the fear. The implications of these results for current models of fear acquisition are discussed.
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