From bad to worse: Symbolic equivalence and opposition in fear generalisation

The present study compared the impact of symbolic equivalence and opposition relations on fear generalisation. In a procedure using nonsense words, some stimuli became symbolically equivalent to an aversively conditioned stimulus while others were symbolically opposite. The generalisation of fear to...

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Published inCognition and emotion Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 1137 - 1145
Main Authors Bennett, Marc, Hermans, Dirk, Dymond, Simon, Vervoort, Ellen, Baeyens, Frank
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Routledge 18.08.2015
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Adolescent
Avoidance
Avoidance behavior
Avoidance Learning
Conditioned stimulus
Conditioning, Classical
Equivalence
Equivalence classes
Expectancy
Fear
Fear & phobias
Female
Generalization (Psychology)
Humans
Male
Stimulus
Symbolic generalisation
Symbols
Unconditioned stimulus
Young Adult
Fear
Symbolic generalisation
Avoidance
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Summary:The present study compared the impact of symbolic equivalence and opposition relations on fear generalisation. In a procedure using nonsense words, some stimuli became symbolically equivalent to an aversively conditioned stimulus while others were symbolically opposite. The generalisation of fear to symbolically related stimuli was then measured using behavioural avoidance, retrospective unconditioned stimulus expectancy and stimulus valence ratings. Equivalence relations facilitated fear generalisation while opposition relations constrained generalisation. The potential clinical implications of symbolic generalisation are discussed.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0269-9931
1464-0600
DOI:10.1080/02699931.2014.973833