Fear-relevant illusory correlations: What types of associations promote judgmental bias?

A. J. Tomarken, S. Mineka, and M. Cook (see record 1990-11527-001) found that high-fear individuals markedly overestimated the covariation between fear-relevant stimuli and aversive outcomes. The authors assessed what features of stimulus–outcome associations promote illusory correlations. In Experiment 1, participants with high snake fear exhibited significant covariation bias for slides of snakes and shocks, but not for slides of damaged electric outlets (DEOs) and shocks. In Experiment 2, individuals with high and low snake fear rated DEOs and shocks as belonging together better than snakes and shocks. However, the shapes of high-fear individuals' affective response profiles to snakes and shocks were more similar than their profile shapes involving other pairings. In addition, their affective responses to snakes and snake–shock profile similarity predicted snake–shock belongingness ratings. These results suggest the importance of emotional responses and emotional profile similarity in mediating illusory correlations involving fear-relevant stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Covariation bias in panic-prone individuals.

Covariation estimates between fear-relevant (FR; emergency situations) or fear-irrelevant (FI; mushrooms and nudes) stimuli and an aversive outcome (electrical shock) were examined in 10 high-fear (panic-prone) and 10 low-fear respondents. When the relation between slide category and outcome was random (illusory correlation), only high-fear participants markedly overestimated the contingency between FR slides and shocks. However, when there was a high contingency of shocks following FR stimuli (83%) and a low contingency of shocks following FI stimuli (17%), the group difference vanished. Reversal of contingencies back to random induced a covariation bias for FR slides in high and low-fear respondents. Results indicate that panic-prone respondents show a covariation bias for FR stimuli and that the experience of a high contingency between FR slides and aversive outcomes may foster such a covariation bias even in low-fear respondents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Covariation bias in flight phobics

Covariation estimates (CEs) between fear-relevant (FR) stimuli (slides of airplane crash sites) or fear-irrelevant (FI) stimuli (slides of airplanes in flight or mushrooms) and an aversive outcome (electrical shock) were examined in 15 flight phobics (high-fear participants) and 15 non-flight-phobic individuals (low-fear participants) by means of an illusory correlation experiment. In spite of a random relationship between all slide categories and outcome (illusory correlation), flight phobics exhibited a covariation bias and showed higher CEs for the contingency between FR slides and shocks than for the contingency between FI slides and shocks in a first experimental block. The CEs of flight phobics for FR slides and shocks was significantly higher than that of non-flight-phobic individuals, while high- and low-fear participants did not differ in their CEs for the other slide-shock combinations. However, even high-fear individuals were able to correct their initial covariation bias in subsequent illusory correlation blocks, presumably based on disconfirming situational information.     

Contextual fear discrimination is impaired by damage to the postrhinal or perirhinal cortex.

Postrhinal (POR) or perirhinal (PER) cortex damage impairs acquisition and expression of contextual fear, but the nature of the impairment remains unclear. This study used a contextual fear discrimination paradigm that biased subjects toward using a configural, rather than an elemental, strategy to distinguish between 2 contexts, 1 of which was paired with a mild footshock. Control rats discriminated between 2 contexts when a combination of several cues could be used (Exp 1), but not when individual sensory cues were manipulated (Exp 2). Rats with POR or PER lesions could not discriminate between the shock and no-shock contexts when multiple cues differentiated the contexts (Exp 3). The results indicate that both the POR and PER have a role in configural learning of contextual fear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of conditioned fear on responsiveness to pain: Long-term retention and reversibility by naloxone.

The effect of a fear CS on responsiveness to pain was examined in 3 experiments with 146 Long-Evans hooded rats. In Exp I, a CS that signaled shock attenuated freezing in response to shock, with the attenuation occurring several minutes after the shock. Naloxone blocked the effect of the CS. The effect of the CS, including its reversibility by naloxone, was retained over a 90-day interval. Exp II showed that this effect on freezing was due to associative fear conditioning rather than blocking of conditioning to context by a novel cue. In Exp III, presenting a fear CS just prior to administering a tailflick (radiant heat) test of nociception increased the tailflick latencies (i.e., the fear CS apparently induced hyperalgesia rather than analgesia). Because this result makes it difficult to interpret the change in freezing observed in Exp I as reflecting antinociception, it raises questions about how pain might differentially affect different measures of pain responsiveness. A memory hypothesis is advanced to resolve the different effects obtained with the freezing and tailflick tests. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of preoperative fear, type of coping, and information recevied about surgery to recovery from surgery

This study investigated the relationship of preoperative level of fear, extent of information seeking (coping), and amount of information received about surgery to recovery from surgery. It was hypothesized that a curvilinear relationship would be found between level of preoperative fear and recovery and between extent of information seeking and recovery; it was also hypothesized that amount of preoperative information obtained would interact with extent of information seeking. The subjects were 57 female patients between the ages of 18 and 68 who were schedule for abdominal surgery. The recovery measures consisted of a self-rating of postoperative negative affect (fear, depression, and anger), number of postoperative analgesics and sedatives received, and total number of days to discharge. No curvilinear relationships were found between preoperative level of fear or type of coping and recovery from surgery. Results showed a linear relationship between level of preoperative fear and recovery, with the least favorable recovery associated with high levels of preoperative fear. A significant interaction was found between level of preoperative fear and amount of preoperative information, with high-fear subjects who reported little preoperative information experiencing the least favorable recovery period. The findings are discussed in terms of the parallel response model proposed by Leventhal.     

The Role of Fear-Relevant Stimuli in Visual Search: A Comparison of Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Stimuli.

It has been argued that phylogenetic fear-relevant stimuli elicit preattentive capture of attention. To distinguish between fear relevance and time of appearance in evolutionary history, the authors compare phylogenetic and ontogenetic fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli in a visual search task. The authors found no evidence for a special role of phylogenetic fear-relevant stimuli; it seems that fear relevance in general is more important than is the evolutionary age. The pattern of results indicates that attention toward threatening stimuli is mainly affected by a late component that prolongs the disengagement of attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Observational conditioning of fear to fear-relevant versus fear-irrelevant stimuli in rhesus monkeys.

Two experiments examined whether superior observational conditioning of fear occurs in observer rhesus monkeys that watch model monkeys exhibit an intense fear of fear-relevant, as compared with fear-irrelevant, stimuli. In both experiments, videotapes of model monkeys behaving fearfully were spliced so that it appeared that the models were reacting fearfully either to fear-relevant stimuli (toy snakes or a toy crocodile), or to fear-irrelevant stimuli (flowers or a toy rabbit). Observer groups watched one of four kinds of videotapes for 12 sessions. Results indicated that observers acquired a fear of fear-relevant stimuli (toy snakes and toy crocodile), but not of fear-irrelevant stimuli (flowers and toy rabbit). Implications of the present results for the preparedness theory of phobias are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rats prefer signaled over unsignaled shock-free periods.

Three experiments with 48 female rats investigated Ss' preference for a schedule of shock containing signaled shock-free periods (SSF schedule) or the same shock schedule without signals (unsignaled schedule). Exp I was a replication of the shuttle-box experiment reported by M. S. Fanselow (see record 1981-00807-001), in which rats preferred unsignaled shock over the SSF schedule. Contrary to Fanselow's results, Ss in Exp I failed to develop a preference. In Exp II, forced-exposure training was added, testing was extended from 2 165-min sessions to 8, and a reversal phase was added. Results show that 3 of 4 Ss preferred the SSF schedule, and 2 of these continued to prefer it after reversal. In Exp III, forced-exposure training was eliminated, but signals were lengthened from 30 to 60 sec, and the test was extended to 12 sessions. Results show that Ss choosing between the unsignaled and SSF schedules chose the SSF schedule, whereas a random control group chose the unsignaled schedule. Findings indicate that choice between active schedules is determined by the relative aversiveness of all stimuli presented and not, as implied by contextual fear analysis, by that of contextual stimuli alone. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

State-dependent fear extinction with two benzodiazepine tranquilizers.

Investigated whether fear extinction conducted under the influence of a benzodiazepine transfers to the undrugged state in rats. Fear was conditioned by pairing an experimental chamber with footshock and was assessed by observing freezing, a characteristic response of the rat to stimuli associated with shock. In Exp 1, both chlordiazepoxide (librium) and diazepam (valium) interfered wih extinction in a dose-dependent manner as indicated by freezing during an undrugged test. Further results with chlordiazepoxide suggested that the effect depended on the drug's specific combination with extinction and that it occurred even though the extinction procedure otherwise eliminated fear completely (Exp 2). Repeated preexposure to the drug, and the development of partial tolerance to its sedative effects, did not weaken the interference effect (Exp 3). Other evidence suggested that the drug signaled or retrieved extinction instead of disrupting learning or consolidation (Exp 4). The results are consistent with research suggesting that extinguished fear can be "renewed" if the exteroceptive contextual stimuli are changed after extinction. Extinction combined with either unique exteroceptive or interoceptive cues may be specific to its context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Excitatory strength of expressive faces: Effects of happy and fear expressions and context on the extinction of a conditioned fear response.

The present authors (see record 1985-08584-001) showed that the excitatory properties of fear facial expressions previously described by them (see PA, Vols 65:7371 and 68:2978) did not depend on associative mechanisms. Even in the absence of reinforcement, fear faces intensified the emotional reaction to a previously conditioned stimulus and disrupted extinction of an acquired fear response. In conjunction with the findings on acquisition, the failure to obtain extinction suggests that fear faces have some of the functional properties of "prepared" (fear-relevant) stimuli. The present study, with 60 undergraduates, compared the magnitude of conditioned fear responses to happy and fear faces when a potent danger signal, the shock electrodes, are attached or unattached. If fear faces are functionally analogous to prepared stimuli, then, even in the absence of veridical support for an expectation of shock, they should retain excitatory strength, whereas happy faces should not. Results are consistent with this view of fear expressions. In the absence of reinforcement, and with shock electrodes removed, conditioned fear responses and basal levels of arousal were greater for the fear-face condition than for the happy-face condition. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of shock on pain reactivity: II. Evidence for enhanced pain.

Shocked rats (Rattus norvegicus) often exhibit longer tail withdrawal latencies to radiant heat, which suggests that exposure to shock reduces pain. But at the same time, rats appear hyperreactive to shock, suggesting that pain is enhanced. Exp 1 replicated these findings and showed that when tail movement was monitored, shocked rats were less responsive to heat and hyperreactive to shock even when the same behavioral criteria were used. When latency to vocalize was measured, shocked rats appeared hyperreactive to both test stimuli (Exps 2 and 3). Prior exposure to shock also enhanced the acquisition of conditioned fear in a different context (Exp 4) and the speed with which rats learned a response to avoid a thermal stimulus (Exp 5). The results suggest that exposure to shock enhances pain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parallel augmentation of hippocampal long-term potentiation, theta rhythm, and contextual fear conditioning in water-deprived rats.

The influence of water deprivation on hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), theta rhythm, and contextual fear conditioning in 56 adult male rats was examined. In Exp 1, hippocampal EEG activity and perforant path LTP were assessed in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. Water deprivation did not affect baseline cell excitability or low-frequency synaptic transmission in the dentate gyrus, but it increased the magnitude of perforant path LTP and elevated the proportion of theta rhythm in the EEG. In Exp 2, rats were classically conditioned to fear a novel context through the use of aversive footshocks. Water deprivation facilitated the rate of contextual fear conditioning but did not alter the asymptote of learning. Exp 3 demonstrated that the facilitation of contextual fear conditioning was not due to a change in unconditional shock sensitivity. These results suggest that water deprivation exerts an influence on contextual fear conditioning by modulating hippocampal LTP and theta rhythm and that these processes serve to encode contextual information during learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional bias to pictures of fear-relevant animals in a dot probe task.

Attentional bias to fear-relevant animals was assessed in 69 participants not preselected on self-reported anxiety with the use of a dot probe task showing pictures of snakes, spiders, mushrooms, and flowers. Probes that replaced the fear-relevant stimuli (snakes and spiders) were found faster than probes that replaced the non-fear-relevant stimuli, indicating an attentional bias in the entire sample. The bias was not correlated with self-reported state or trait anxiety or with general fearfulness. Participants reporting higher levels of spider fear showed an enhanced bias to spiders, but the bias remained significant in low scorers. The bias to snake pictures was not related to snake fear and was significant in high and low scorers. These results indicate preferential processing of fear-relevant stimuli in an unselected sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relaxation versus cognitive therapies for dental fear--A psychophysiological approach.

By separating 127 adult dental-phobic patients according to fear etiology and psychophysiologic response style, the authors investigated the outcome of 2 dental fear treatments. Before and after either relaxation or cognitively oriented treatment, subjects were exposed to neutral and fear-relevant video sequences while the subjects' forehead muscle tension, heart rate, and skin conductance were recorded. Pre- to postintervention differences in self-reported dental fear, general fear, and trait anxiety were analyzed together with psychophysiological data. Both treatments resulted in a significant reduction of dental fear. Despite significant interaction effects of Treatment Modality × Psychophysiological Response Style, it could not be concluded that patients with different fear etiologies or response styles benefit differentially from the 2 treatments given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fear and attitude change.

To explore attitude change under high-fear conditions, an experimental group of student nurses was tested 3 times during a 6-wk. TB affiliation. This group showed significantly greater attitude change than a control group. In the experimental group, anticipatory-fear and fear-decrease scores were positively correlated with favorable attitude-change scores. High fear apparently facilitated attitude change in this group. The relationship between fear and attitude change in the high fear experimental group was monotonic with no decrease in attitude change at the highest fear levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Escape deficits following inescapable shock: The role of contextual odor.

Three experiments, with 192 male albino rats, examined the role of contextual odor in mediating deficits in escape performance produced by pretreatment with inescapable shock. Impaired leverpress performance (Exp I) and shuttle-escape performance (Exp II) were observed when the pretreatment and test chambers were odorized by previously shocked conspecifics. These deficits were eliminated in both experiments when the test chambers were thoroughly cleaned. Exp III determined whether the same odor must be present during pretreatment and testing, or whether mere exposure to a fear pheromone is sufficient to impair test performance. Shuttle escape was impaired only when the same odor was present in the pretreatment and test chambers. Results indicate that an odor common to the pretreatment and test chambers mediates impaired escape performance and suggests that other types of deficits observed following inescapable shock may also be mediated by such contextual cues. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When danger lurks in the background: Attentional capture by animal fear-relevant distractors is specific and selectively enhanced by animal fear.

Across 2 experiments, a new experimental procedure was used to investigate attentional capture by animal fear-relevant stimuli. In Experiment 1 (N = 34), unselected participants were slower to detect a neutral target animal in the presence of a spider than a cockroach distractor and in the presence of a snake than a large lizard distractor. This result confirms that phylogenetically fear-relevant animals capture attention specifically and to a larger extent than do non-fear-relevant animals. In Experiment 2 (N = 86), detection of a neutral target animal was slowed more in the presence of a feared fear-relevant distractor (e.g., a snake for snake-fearful participants) than in presence of a not-feared fear-relevant distractor (e.g., a spider for snake-fearful participants). These results indicate preferential attentional capture that is specific to phylogenetically fear-relevant stimuli and is selectively enhanced in individuals who fear these animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextual control of the extinction of conditioned fear: Tests for the associative value of the context.

When male Wistar rats received pairings of a CS with shock in one context and then extinction of the CS in another, fear of the CS was renewed when the CS was returned to and tested in the original context (Exps I and III; 40 Ss). No such renewal was obtained when the CS was tested in a 2nd context after extinction had occurred in the conditioning context (Exp IV; 24 Ss). In Exp II, shocks presented following extinction reinstated fear of the CS, but only if they were presented in the context in which the CS was tested. In each experiment, the associative properties of the contexts were independently assessed. Contextual excitation was assessed primarily with context-preference tests in which Ss chose to sit in either the target context or an adjoining side compartment. Contextual inhibition was assessed with summation tests. Although reinstatement was correlated with demonstrable contextual excitation present during testing, the renewal effect was not. There was no evidence that contextual inhibition developed during extinction. Results suggest that fear of an extinguished CS can be affected by the excitatory strength of the context but that independently demonstrable contextual excitation or inhibition is not necessary for contexts to control that fear. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditioned inhibition and tonic immobility: Stimulus control of an innate fear response in the chicken.

Investigated the role of Pavlovian contingencies in modifying the tonic immobility reaction (IR) of Production Red chickens (N = 62) in 2 experiments. In Exp. I, Ss which received a stimulus associated with shock onset (CS1) showed facilitated duration of and increased susceptibility to IR compared with Ss which received a cue paired with shock offset (CS2). However, the lack of difference between Ss receiving CS1 and Ss receiving no stimulation, and the relatively low duration of IR, implied that CS2 training could mask the effects of conditioned fear. Exp. II provided an independent assessment of the relative strengths of CS1 and CS2. The former stimulus was shown to potentiate and the latter to actively inhibit IR. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)