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Generalisation of fear and avoidance along a semantic continuum
Sean Boyle1, Bryan Roche1, Simon Dymond2
1a Department of Psychology , Maynooth University , Maynooth , Co. Kildare , Ireland.
Cognition & Emotion
|February 5, 2015
Summary
Fear and avoidance learned for one word generalized to its synonyms. This semantic generalization of conditioned fear and avoidance demonstrates how concepts shape learned threat responses.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Conditioned fear and avoidance responses often generalize to new stimuli.
- Previous research has primarily focused on generalization to perceptually similar stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the semantic generalization of fear and avoidance using real words.
- To determine if conditioned fear and avoidance extend to synonyms of conditioned stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Differential fear conditioning with a word (CS+) paired with electric shock (US) and another word (CS-) unpaired.
- Instrumental conditioning to establish avoidance behavior.
- Generalization testing using synonyms of CS+ and CS- in the absence of shock.
Main Results:
- Conditioned fear and avoidance generalized to semantically related synonyms of the CS+.
- Generalization was specific to semantic relatedness, not observed for unrelated synonyms.
- Skin conductance responses, behavioral avoidance, and expectancy ratings indicated generalization.
Conclusions:
- Semantic relationships between words can mediate the generalization of fear and avoidance.
- Conceptual generalization plays a role in the expansion of learned threat responses.
- Findings have implications for understanding fear generalization in clinical settings, such as phobias and PTSD.
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