Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance
Excessive avoidance behavior, in which an instrumental action prevents an upcoming aversive event, is a defining feature of anxiety disorders. Left unchecked, both fear and avoidance of potentially threatening stimuli may generalize to perceptually related stimuli and situations. The behavioral cons...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00159/full |
| _version_ | 1818034907287388160 |
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| author | Gemma eCameron Gemma eCameron Michael W Schlund Simon eDymond |
| author_facet | Gemma eCameron Gemma eCameron Michael W Schlund Simon eDymond |
| author_sort | Gemma eCameron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Excessive avoidance behavior, in which an instrumental action prevents an upcoming aversive event, is a defining feature of anxiety disorders. Left unchecked, both fear and avoidance of potentially threatening stimuli may generalize to perceptually related stimuli and situations. The behavioral consequences of generalization mean that aversive learning experiences with specific threats may lead people to infer that classes of related stimuli are threatening, potentially dangerous, and need to be avoided, despite differences in physical form. Little is known about avoidance generalization in humans and the learning pathways by which it may be transmitted. In the present study, we compared two pathways to avoidance, instructions and social observation, on subsequent generalization of avoidance behavior, fear expectancy and physiological arousal. Participants first learned that one cue was a danger cue (conditioned stimulus, CS+) and another was a safety cue (CS-). Groups then were either instructed that a simple avoidance response in the presence of the CS+ cancelled upcoming shock presentations (instructed-learning group) or observed a short movie showing a demonstrator performing the avoidance response to prevent shock (observational-learning group). During generalization testing, danger and safety cues were presented along with generalization stimuli that parametrically varied in perceptual similarity to the CS+. Reinstatement of fear and avoidance was also tested. Findings demonstrate, for the first time, generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance: both groups showed comparable generalization gradients in fear expectancy, avoidance behavior and arousal. Return of fear was evident, suggesting that generalized avoidance remains persistent following extinction testing. The utility of the present paradigm for research on avoidance generalization is discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:46:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a27fa776e0df44ef90dfeec4a832ba57 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:46:37Z |
| publishDate | 2015-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-a27fa776e0df44ef90dfeec4a832ba572022-12-22T01:58:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532015-06-01910.3389/fnbeh.2015.00159146547Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidanceGemma eCameron0Gemma eCameron1Michael W Schlund2Simon eDymond3Swansea UniversitySwansea UniversityUniversity of North TexasSwansea UniversityExcessive avoidance behavior, in which an instrumental action prevents an upcoming aversive event, is a defining feature of anxiety disorders. Left unchecked, both fear and avoidance of potentially threatening stimuli may generalize to perceptually related stimuli and situations. The behavioral consequences of generalization mean that aversive learning experiences with specific threats may lead people to infer that classes of related stimuli are threatening, potentially dangerous, and need to be avoided, despite differences in physical form. Little is known about avoidance generalization in humans and the learning pathways by which it may be transmitted. In the present study, we compared two pathways to avoidance, instructions and social observation, on subsequent generalization of avoidance behavior, fear expectancy and physiological arousal. Participants first learned that one cue was a danger cue (conditioned stimulus, CS+) and another was a safety cue (CS-). Groups then were either instructed that a simple avoidance response in the presence of the CS+ cancelled upcoming shock presentations (instructed-learning group) or observed a short movie showing a demonstrator performing the avoidance response to prevent shock (observational-learning group). During generalization testing, danger and safety cues were presented along with generalization stimuli that parametrically varied in perceptual similarity to the CS+. Reinstatement of fear and avoidance was also tested. Findings demonstrate, for the first time, generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance: both groups showed comparable generalization gradients in fear expectancy, avoidance behavior and arousal. Return of fear was evident, suggesting that generalized avoidance remains persistent following extinction testing. The utility of the present paradigm for research on avoidance generalization is discussed.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00159/fullgeneralizationavoidancefear-conditioninganxiety disorders.observational-learninginstructed-learning |
| spellingShingle | Gemma eCameron Gemma eCameron Michael W Schlund Simon eDymond Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience generalization avoidance fear-conditioning anxiety disorders. observational-learning instructed-learning |
| title | Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance |
| title_full | Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance |
| title_fullStr | Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance |
| title_short | Generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance |
| title_sort | generalization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance |
| topic | generalization avoidance fear-conditioning anxiety disorders. observational-learning instructed-learning |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00159/full |
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