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In 2 experiments, the effect of anxiety on the cued-unconditioned stimulus (UCS) rehearsal phenomenon was investigated (T. Jones & G. C. L. Davey, 1990). In Experiment 1, postconditioning rehearsal of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) resulted in an increase in conditioned response (CR) strength during extinction, but only in subjects with high levels of trait anxiety. An induced mood procedure was used in Experiment 2, and a postrehearsal increase in CR strength was found in subjects who had undergone induced somatic anxiety but not in subjects who had undergone induced worrying or who underwent a neutral induction procedure. In both experiments, the increase in CR strength following UCS rehearsal was associated with inflated ratings of the aversiveness of rehearsing the UCS. These results are discussed in terms of the ways in which anxiety might influence UCS rehearsal and facilitate physiological CRs to the conditioned stimulus.

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This study investigated the effect of levels of prior fear to a fear-relevant stimulus on UCS expectancy ratings in a threat conditioning procedure. The results suggested that UCS-expectancy ratings are independently influenced by both the nature of the stimulus (whether it is fear-relevant or fear-irrelevant) and the level of prior fear to the stimulus. Furthermore, significantly higher UCS-expectancy levels caused by prior fear and stimulus type were accompanied in some stages of the experiment by greater magnitudes of skin conductance responses during the stimulus.

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