Preparedness and phobia: Effects of stimulus content on human visceral conditioning.

Abstract

Seligman's preparedness theory of phobia is tested in human classical conditioning of skin conductance and heart rate responses. Conditioned stimuli (CSs) were photographs of plants, human artifacts, and phobia-relevant animals. Both aversive tactile and auditory unconditioned stimuli (UCSs) were assessed. Consistent with Ohman's results, electrodermal extinction was slower to phobia-relevant stimuli than to other stimuli (and here, was shown to depend on a tactile UCS); however, unlike Ohman's findings, when subjects were told "no more shocks," phobic CSs extinguished as readily as unprepared CSs. New evidence was obtained for a preparedness effect during acquisition trials: Only subjects receiving phobia-relevant stimuli developed an acceleratory cardiac conditioned response. This acquisition eifect was more reliable across experiments than the electrodermal extinction findings and showed less influence of CS-UCS "belongingness." These experiments suggest that the preparedness eifect is complexly determined; they also provide clear evidence that phobic stimuli occasion a unique pattern of conditioned visceral response.Despite practical advances in the behavioral treatment of phobias, no consensus has emerged in understanding their origin and maintenance. The classical conditioning model (Watson & Raynor, 1920) and its two-stage revision (Mowrer, 1939) have been challenged in recent years on the basis of differences between the clinical phenomenon and laboratory-conditioned fear (Rachman, 1976). These differences underscore the nonrandom selection of phobic objects (conditioned stimuli), the rapid acquisition based on little experience, the failure of extinction, and the refractoriness to instructions observed for clinical phobias vis-a-vis laboratory conditioning.The construct of evolutionary preparedness was originally used to explain such phenomena in the acquisition of food-related aversions among nonhuman species (Garcia, McGowan,

Fear Extinction to an Out-Group Face

“…Consistent with Olsson et al (2005), we found no evidence that the explicit endorsement or implicit internalization of racial stereotypes is related to male-targeted race bias in fear extinction. Taken together with previous findings demonstrating that such prepared learning does not extend to other culturally defined fear-relevant stimuli, such as visual images of broken electrical outlets and firearms (e.g., Cook, Hodes, & Lang, 1986), this suggests that our results are not likely to be due solely to the salience of socially transmitted, semantic information reinforcing negative associations with the prepared stimuli. However, our replication of the finding that a reduction in the prepared effect is penetrable via close, intimate contact (Olsson et al, 2005) suggests that developmental triggers or dispositional factors that emerge early in life may facilitate the reduction of out-group fear, thereby increasing out-group contact.…”

Maternal Modeling and the Acquisition of Fear and Avoidance in Toddlers: Influence of Stimulus Preparedness and Child Temperament

“…Furthermore, the choice of the fear-relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli needs to be investigated more closely. As described, the vast majority of studies exploring vicarious conditioning of fear reactions used similar or identical objects or pictures of these stimuli (Cook et al 1986;Dimberg 1986;Egliston and Rapee 2007;Gerull and Rapee 2002;McNally and Reiss 1982;Thunberg and Dimberg 2000;reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001). Nevertheless, it is possible that the stimuli may not have been completely comparable in terms of familiarity, even to the young toddlers in our study.…”

“…Two of the objects were fear-relevant stimuli, one was a curled black and red rubber snake (22 cm diameter) with open jaws, and the other was a black, white, and red rubber spider (13 cm diameter). Spiders and snakes are commonly feared animals and are theoretically held to be biologically prepared for fear conditioning (Cook et al 1986;Seligman 1971; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001). The other two objects were fearirrelevant stimuli (Cook et al 1986; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001), a brown and white mushroom (15 cm height) and a white and green flower (20 cm height).…”

“…Spiders and snakes are commonly feared animals and are theoretically held to be biologically prepared for fear conditioning (Cook et al 1986;Seligman 1971; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001). The other two objects were fearirrelevant stimuli (Cook et al 1986; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001), a brown and white mushroom (15 cm height) and a white and green flower (20 cm height). The choice of the stimuli used for the present study was influenced by earlier studies using similar or identical objects or pictures of these stimuli (Cook et al 1986;Dimberg 1986;Egliston and Rapee 2007;Gerull and Rapee 2002; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001).…”

“…The other two objects were fearirrelevant stimuli (Cook et al 1986; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001), a brown and white mushroom (15 cm height) and a white and green flower (20 cm height). The choice of the stimuli used for the present study was influenced by earlier studies using similar or identical objects or pictures of these stimuli (Cook et al 1986;Dimberg 1986;Egliston and Rapee 2007;Gerull and Rapee 2002; reviews by Öhman 1979Öhman and Mineka 2001). According to mothers' reports, none of the children had previously seen the toys used in the study and none of them had displayed fear responses towards any of the stimuli.…”