Safety behaviours preserve threat beliefs: Protection from extinction of human fear conditioning by an avoidance response |
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| Authors: | Peter F. Lovibond Christopher J. Mitchell Erin Minard Alison Brady Ross G. Menzies |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia;2. Discipline of Behavioural and Social Sciences in Health, University of Sydney, Australia;1. Department of Neuroscience, Psychology & Behaviour, University of Leicester, United Kingdom;2. Laboratoire SCALab, UMR 9193, Université de Lille Nord de France Campus de Lille 3, France;1. Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Park Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom;2. Swansea University Medical School, Park Campus, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom;3. Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th St, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA;4. Center for Excellence on Generalization, Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium;5. Department of Psychology, Reykjavík University, Menntavegur 1, Nauthólsvík, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland;1. University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA;2. Pennsylvania State University, USA;3. University of Pittsburgh, USA |
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| Abstract: | A laboratory autonomic conditioning procedure was used to establish fear conditioning in human participants by pairing neutral stimuli with electric shock. Participants were also trained to make a button-press response to avoid shock. A target fear stimulus was then extinguished by presenting it without shock. The experimental group was given the opportunity to make the avoidance response during extinction whereas the control group was not. When the fear stimulus was tested without the response available, the control group showed normal extinction of both shock expectancy ratings and skin conductance responses, but the experimental group showed “protection from extinction”: they continued to give high expectancy ratings and strong skin conductance responses. We interpret this effect as analogous to the role of within-situation safety behaviours in preserving threat beliefs during exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. The results support a cognitive account of learning and anxiety. The procedure provides a potential laboratory model for further examination of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying anxiety and its reduction. |
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