Pathways to spider phobia

Using a revised version of the Phobic Origin Questionnaire (POQ; Ost, L. G. & Hugdahl, K. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 19, 439-477; 1981), the present study examined whether conditioning experiences, modeling experiences, and/or informational learning experiences were more often reported by spider phobics (n = 41) than by non-fearful controls (n = 30). The two groups did not differ with regard to the overall frequency of conditioning or modeling events. Remarkably, the frequency of informational learning was higher among non-fearful Ss than among phobics. Although the limitations inherent to the retrospective nature of the present study should be borne in mind, the data suggest that, at least in spider phobics, conditioning events, modeling experiences, and/or informational learning do not necessarily give rise to phobic fears.