Mental threat rehearsal increases fear generalization

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Fear generalization to harmless stimuli is a hallmark of anxiety disorders.
• Mental imagery of threat is known to amplify conditioned fear responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if mental imagery of threat facilitates fear generalization.
• To determine if threat inflation moderates the effect of imagery on fear generalization.

Main Methods:

• A fear conditioning paradigm with 120 participants.
• Inclusion of a threat inflation manipulation (increasing sound volume).
• Inclusion of a threat rehearsal manipulation (mental imagery of threat).

Main Results:

• Imagery-based threat rehearsal significantly increased generalization of threat expectancy.
• The combination of threat inflation and threat rehearsal led to heightened generalized distress.

Conclusions:

• Mental imagery of threat may increase an individual's vulnerability to fear generalization.
• Future research should explore modulating mental imagery as a strategy to prevent clinical anxiety.