| Abstract: | The preparedness theory of phobia holds that humans are biologically prepared to learn to fear objects and situations that threatened the survival of the species throughout its evolutionary history (Seligman, 1971). Biological preparedness is postulated to be responsible for the rapid acquisition, irrationality, belongingness, and high resistance to extinction considered characteristic of phobias. Psychophysiological experiments testing this theory have involved comparisons between fear-relevant stimuli (e.g., slides of snakes) and fear-irrelevant stimuli (e.g., slides of flowers) as conditioned stimuli in Pavlovian aversive conditioning paradigms. Researchers have predicted that autonomic responses conditioned to fear-relevant stimuli should mimic the aforementioned characteristics of phobias. The evidence most consistent with the theory is the enhanced resistance to extinction of electrodermal responses established to fear-relevant stimuli. Hypotheses regarding ease of acquisition, irrationality, and belongingness have received either only minimal or equivocal support. Alternative explanations are discussed for the resistance to extinction effect, the conceptual basis of preparedness theory, and its clinical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
