Dental phobias and anxieties: evidence for conditioning processes in the acquisition and modulation of a learned fear

The present study investigated some of the factors which differentiate individuals with dental anxieties and phobias from those without such fears. In particular, two questions were addressed: (i) What differentiates subjects who have never been anxious about dental treatment from subjects who at some time have been anxious? and (ii) What factors lead to subjects changing their attitudes either from anxious to relaxed or from relaxed to anxious? The results suggest that the factors which influence the acquisition and modulation of dental anxieties are consistent with the associative and representational processes portrayed in contemporary models of human conditioning. Subjects who reported never having had anxieties about dental treatment were less likely to have had a painful dental treatment than subjects who did report an anxiety. Subjects who did report a painful dental experience but did not acquire anxiety reported a history of dental treatment favourable to the operation of latent inhibition. Subjects who reported that they were good at enduring pain were more likely to report a longer interval between their very first dental treatment and their first painful dental treatment. Under some conditions in which latent inhibition should have precluded the acquisition of a dental fear, an anxiety appeared to be acquired because a very painful experience had attenuated the latent inhibition process. Subjects whose dental anxiety did not remit reported significantly more painful and traumatic dental experiences than subjects whose anxiety did remit.     

The contribution of short-term memory for serial order to early reading acquisition: evidence from a longitudinal study

Early reading acquisition skills have been linked to verbal short-term memory (STM) capacity. However, the nature of this relationship remains controversial because verbal STM, like reading acquisition, depends on the complexity of underlying phonological processing skills. This longitudinal study addressed the relation between STM and reading decoding acquisition by distinguishing between STM for item information and STM for order information based on recent studies showing that STM for item information, but not STM for order information, recruits underlying phonological representations. If there is a specific link between STM and reading decoding acquisition, STM for order information should be an independent predictor of reading decoding acquisition. Tasks maximizing STM for serial order or item information, measures of phonological abilities, and reading tests were administered to children followed from kindergarten through first grade. We observed that order STM capacity, but not item STM capacity, predicted independent variance in reading decoding abilities 1 year later. These results highlight the specific role of STM for order in reading decoding acquisition and argue for a causal role of order STM capacity in reading acquisition. Mechanisms relating STM for order information and reading acquisition are discussed.     

Sixty years of fear appeal research: Current state of the evidence

Fear arousal is widely used in persuasive campaigns and behavioral change interventions. Yet, experimental evidence argues against the use of threatening health information. The authors reviewed the current state of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of fear appeals. Following a brief overview of the use of fear arousal in health education practice and the structure of effective fear appeals according to two main theoretical frameworks—protection motivation theory and the extended parallel process model—the findings of six meta‐analytic studies in the effectiveness of fear appeals are summarized. It is concluded that coping information aimed at increasing perceptions of response effectiveness and especially self‐efficacy is more important in promoting protective action than presenting threatening health information aimed at increasing risk perceptions and fear arousal. Alternative behavior change methods than fear appeals should be considered.     

Failure to overcome 'innate' fear: a developmental test of the non-associative model of fear acquisition

The non-associative, Darwinian theory of fear acquisition proposes that some individuals fail to overcome biologically-relevant fears (e.g. height) because they (1) do not have sufficient safe exposure to the relevant stimuli early in life or (2) are poor habituators who have difficulty 'learning not to fear'. These two hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Study 1 found evidence for reduced exposure to height stimuli in childhood for individuals with a fear of heights compared to study members without fear. Study 2 found evidence for higher levels of stress reactivity (a proxy for habituation) in childhood and adolescence among 18-year-old height phobics compared to study members with dental phobia and those with no fear. The results were discussed in relation to recent findings suggesting that some evolutionary-relevant fears may appear in the absence of traumatic 'learning' experiences. The merits of adding a fourth, non-associative pathway to Rachman's [Rachman, S. (1977)]. The conditioning theory of fear acquisition: a critical examination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 15, 375-387) three pathways model of fear acquisition were briefly considered.     

Counselling in primary care: a systematic review of the research evidence

Counselling in primary care in the UK is expanding rapidly, and its evidence base needs to be established. We present the rationale for conducting controlled trials of counselling in primary care, and suggest that a systematic review of controlled trials of counselling in primary care is timely. We describe the process of conducting the review in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. The review aimed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of counselling in primary care, by systematically reviewing cost and outcome data from randomised controlled trials and controlled patient preference trials of counselling interventions, for patients with psychological and psychosocial problems considered suitable for counselling. The search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data collection and data analysis are described. The results of the review are presented. The review included only controlled trials of counselling in which counsellors accredited by the British Association for Counselling (or equivalent) provided non-directive counselling in primary care. Four trials met the inclusion criteria. Results indicated that patients who receive counselling show a modest but significant improvement in symptom levels compared with those who receive GP care. Levels of satisfaction with counselling are high. There is very tentative evidence to suggest that counselled patients are more likely to be considered recovered than usual GP care patients. There is limited information about the cost-effectiveness of counselling. We conclude by reflecting upon the results of the review and their implications for counselling research.     

Dissociation and the parent-infant dialogue: a longitudinal perspective from attachment research

Two longitudinal attachment studies of families at social risk have now followed their cohorts of infants to late adolescence. Several key findings have emerged related to outcomes of interest to psychoanalysts. First, data from both studies indicate that disorganized attachment behaviors in infancy are important precursors of later dissociative symptomatology. Second, this early vulnerability is related to patterns of parent-infant affective communication, particularly quieter behaviors like emotional unavailability or role reversal, and does not appear to reside in the infant alone. Finally, the results suggest that the quality of the attachment relationship may in part account for why some people exposed to later trauma develop dissociative symptoms and others do not. To paraphrase Dori Laub (1993), the mother's seeing and not knowing in infancy may be a precondition of her child's knowing and not knowing in late adolescence. It remains unclear, however, whether the early relationship is predictive due primarily to the onset of an internal defensive process in infancy or whether its predictive power resides primarily in enduring patterns of parent-child dialogue that continually reinforce the child's segregated and contradictory mental contents.     

Dishabituation processes in height fear and dental fear: an indirect test of the non-associative model of fear acquisition

The fear dishabituation hypothesis described in the non-associative model of fear acquisition was tested in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Results were consistent with height fear and phobia dishabituation. That is, 're-emergence' of a fear of heights occurred between age 11 and 18 years among individuals who reported higher levels of non-specific stress at age 15. Interestingly, there was no evidence for dental fear dishabituation--a finding consistent with the non-associative model of fear acquisition. Strengths and weaknesses of the study were considered and the results discussed in relation to laboratory-based findings on (dis)habituation.     

Relationships between exploratory behaviour and fear: a review

Two main theories of the relationship between exploratory behaviour and anxiety or fearfulness are: (a) ‘Two-factor theory’, according to which novel stimuli evoke both curiosity and fear/anxiety, with exploration as the outcome of competing tendencies to approach and avoid, and (b) the ‘Halliday-Lester theory’, where the fear aroused by novelty results in either approach (low fear) or avoidance (high fear). Relevant evidence comes from animal studies varying fear by manipulating either environmental or intrinsic factors. This evidence is largely compatible with the two-factor theory and some results which have been presented as critical support for the Halliday-Lester theory are actually equivocal.     

Fears born and bred: toward a more inclusive theory of fear acquisition

Alleged differences between associative and non-associative perspectives are sometimes more apparent than real. The non-associative model describes a pathway to fear that is complementary to associative pathways. It does not seek to usurp conditioning models as applied to evolutionary-neutral fear. We discuss vexing definitional issues surrounding what qualifies as a conditioning event and what characterises the non-associative pathway. Genetic findings are shown to be consistent with the non-associative model of fear. Following discussion of the relation between stress-diathesis models and the non-associative position we conclude by urging a developmental, life-course approach to the understanding of fear acquisition.     

The acquisition of morphemes: Some evidence from Spanish

A research on the acquisition of morphemes of plural, diminutive, augmentative, gerund, imperfect, and preterite with 109 Spanish children from 3 to 6 is reported. The results, obtained using a technique similar to that of Berko (1958), are compared with existing data in other studies that permit us to analyze several processes. These confirm any of the operating principles proposed by Slobin (1973, 1985) and seem to explain certain errors that children commit in the ages studied. Data are viewed in a developmental pattern of reorganization of linguistic knowledge.     

Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: evidence from a longitudinal structural model

This study examined code-related and oral language precursors to reading in a longitudinal study of 626 children from preschool through 4th grade. Code-related precursors, including print concepts and phonological awareness, and oral language were assessed in preschool and kindergarten. Reading accuracy and reading comprehension skills were examined in 1st through 4th grades. Results demonstrated that (a) the relationship between code-related precursors and oral language is strong during preschool; (b) there is a high degree of continuity over time of both code-related and oral language abilities; (c) during early elementary school, reading ability is predominantly determined by the level of print knowledge and phonological awareness a child brings from kindergarten; and (d) in later elementary school, reading accuracy and reading comprehension appear to be 2 separate abilities that are influenced by different sets of skills.     

Managing organizational commitment: Insights from longitudinal research

This article summarizes what is known about the active management of affective organizational commitment (AOC) through a review of 58 studies employing longitudinal research designs. The review yields six broad categories of antecedents that have empirically demonstrated effects on AOC: socialization practices, organizational changes, human resource practices, interpersonal relations, employee–organizational relations, and a residual “other” category. Insights from the review include (a) that perceptions of personal attachment to the organization are among the most substantiated (but tenuous) strategies for enhancing AOC, (b) that theorizing and research efforts have focused almost exclusively on achieving high levels of AOC, and (c) organizations have been reticent to address situations when AOC is low. Implications and recommendations for the theoretical, research and practical advancement of AOC are offered.     

Speeded detection and increased distraction in fear of spiders: evidence from eye movements

Anxiety patients exhibit attentional biases toward threat, which have often been demonstrated as increased distractibility by threatening stimuli. In contrast, speeded detection of threat has rarely been shown. Therefore, the authors studied both phenomena in 3 versions of a visual search task while eye movements were recorded continuously. Spider-fearful individuals and nonanxious control participants participated in a target search task, an odd-one-out search task, and a category search task. Evidence for disorder-specific increased distraction by threat was found in all tasks, whereas speeded threat detection did not occur in the target search task. The implications of these findings for cognitive theories of anxiety are discussed, particularly in relation to the concept of disengagement from threat.     

The longitudinal relationship between fear of positive evaluation and fear of negative evaluation

Available research suggests that fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation are related but distinct constructs that each contribute to social anxiety, implying a need to focus on these fears in treatment. Yet, this research is almost entirely based on cross-sectional data. We examined the longitudinal relationship between fears of positive and negative evaluation over three time points in a sample of undergraduate students. We tested competing models consistent with two basic positions regarding these fears: (1) that fear of positive evaluation only appears to affect social anxiety because it arises from the same, single underlying trait as fear of negative evaluation, and (2) fears of positive and negative evaluation are correlated, but clearly distinct, constructs. The best-fitting model was an autoregressive latent-trajectory model in which each type of fear had a separate trait-like component. The correlation between these trait-like components appeared to fully account for the relationships between these constructs over time. This investigation adds to the evidence in support of the second position described above: fear of positive evaluation is best interpreted as a separate construct from fear of negative evaluation.     

Opioid receptors mediate direct predictive fear learning: evidence from one-trial blocking

Pavlovian fear learning depends on predictive error, so that fear learning occurs when the actual outcome of a conditioning trial exceeds the expected outcome. Previous research has shown that opioid receptors, including μ-opioid receptors in the ventrolateral quadrant of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), mediate such predictive fear learning. Four experiments reported here used a within-subject one-trial blocking design to study whether opioid receptors mediate a direct or indirect action of predictive error on Pavlovian association formation. In Stage I, rats were trained to fear conditioned stimulus (CS) A by pairing it with shock. In Stage II, CSA and CSB were co-presented once and co-terminated with shock. Two novel stimuli, CSC and CSD, were also co-presented once and co-terminated with shock in Stage II. The results showed one-trial blocking of fear learning (Experiment 1) as well as one-trial unblocking of fear learning when Stage II training employed a higher intensity footshock than was used in Stage I (Experiment 2). Systemic administrations of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (Experiment 3) or intra-vlPAG administrations of the selective μ-opioid receptor antagonist CTAP (Experiment 4) prior to Stage II training prevented one-trial blocking. These results show that opioid receptors mediate the direct actions of predictive error on Pavlovian association formation.