Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness01:14

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

1.9K
Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
1.9K
Behavior Therapy01:22

Behavior Therapy

106
Behavior therapy incorporates diverse techniques rooted in classical conditioning principles to address maladaptive behaviors and anxiety disorders. These methods aim to reduce avoidance behaviors, foster adaptive coping mechanisms, and alter associations between stimuli and responses, making them effective in a wide range of therapeutic contexts.
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
106
Preparedness and Phobias01:09

Preparedness and Phobias

148
Human fear responses to certain stimuli, such as darkness, heights, deep water, and blood, can often arise despite the absence of direct negative experiences. This phenomenon is rooted in evolutionary psychology, which posits that humans have developed a predisposition to fear stimuli that historically posed significant survival threats. This predisposition, known as preparedness, suggests that early humans who developed a fear of potentially dangerous entities, such as venomous snakes and...
148
Social Anxiety Disorder01:28

Social Anxiety Disorder

78
Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is characterized by an intense fear of social situations where one might face humiliation, rejection, embarrassment, or negative evaluation. This disorder leads individuals to avoid activities like casual conversations, public speaking, or seemingly simple tasks such as eating, signing documents, or swimming, in public settings. Its impact extends beyond discomfort, often significantly interfering with daily functioning and quality of life.
78
Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction01:24

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

784
Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning that influence how behaviors are learned and maintained.
Generalization occurs when a behavior reinforced in one context is performed in similar situations. For instance, a student who studies diligently for calculus and receives excellent grades might apply the same study habits to psychology and history, expecting similar results. Generalization shows how learning in one setting can influence behavior in...
784
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

44.4K
Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships. 
44.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Erythritol, sucrose, and sucralose elicit similar reward responses after flavor preference learning in healthy humans.

Physiology & behavior·2026
Same author

The impact of a loss of control over threat on stress reactivity.

Biological psychology·2026
Same author

Behavioral and Emotional Responding During Instrumental Learning in Children With ADHD: Reinforcement Schedule Effects.

Journal of attention disorders·2026
Same author

Do laboratory fear extinction, avoidance and generalization predict exposure outcomes for fear of spiders?

Journal of anxiety disorders·2026
Same author

Effects of 12-week mindfulness-based intervention on executive functioning skills, brain oxygenation, and biomarkers of cognitive function in baseball players: a randomized controlled trial.

Psychology of sport and exercise·2026
Same author

Forgetting as an active process: Attentional withdrawal following a forget instruction.

Memory & cognition·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.3K

Extinction, avoidance, and generalization: Fear learning processes and their relations with anxious and depressive

Lu Leng1, Tom Beckers1, Bram Vervliet2

  • 1Center for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, KU Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium.

Behaviour Research and Therapy
|August 29, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Extinction, avoidance, and generalization are independent processes in fear conditioning, not clustering into distinct profiles. Their deficits may have separate drivers, but trial-by-trial analysis reveals stronger links to anxiety and depression.

Keywords:
AnxietyAvoidanceDepressionExtinctionGeneralization

More Related Videos

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

23.0K
A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior
09:26

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior

Published on: January 5, 2021

6.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.3K
Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

23.0K
A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior
09:26

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior

Published on: January 5, 2021

6.9K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Anxious individuals show deficits in fear extinction, avoidance, and generalization.
  • Previous research often studied these processes in isolation, leaving their interrelations and distinct contributions to maladaptive anxiety unclear.
  • The role of depressive traits in these fear-related processes is understudied despite high comorbidity with anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether deficits in extinction (EXT), avoidance (AVO), and generalization (GEN) reflect shared or separate vulnerability factors.
  • To determine if these processes cluster into distinct profiles associated with anxiety and depression.
  • To examine the relationship between anxiety and depressive traits and EXT-AVO-GEN processes using multiple operationalizations.

Main Methods:

  • Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigms were used to assess extinction, avoidance, and generalization.
  • Multiple indices were employed to operationalize EXT-AVO-GEN processes to ensure robust findings.
  • Cluster analysis was used to identify potential distinct profiles, and linear mixed-effects models analyzed trial-by-trial dynamics.

Main Results:

  • Small to no correlations were found among EXT-AVO-GEN processes and with personality characteristics.
  • Cluster analysis did not reveal distinct profiles of EXT-AVO-GEN deficits.
  • Linear mixed-effects models showed stronger correlations between EXT-AVO-GEN trial-by-trial dynamics and anxiety/depression traits compared to traditional indices.

Conclusions:

  • Extinction, avoidance, and generalization appear to be independent processes with potentially different underlying drivers.
  • Combined study of these processes may not enhance understanding of pathological fear development.
  • Trial-by-trial analysis of EXT-AVO-GEN processes is more sensitive for detecting individual differences related to anxiety and depression.