The role of relief in persistent avoidance of learnt fear

Avoiding an imminent threat evokes a feeling of relief, a pleasant feeling that is believed to positively reinforce behavioral avoidance. Preliminary evidence suggests that a strong level of relief is associated with persistent behavioral avoidance, even when there is no realistic threat. The present study examined whether this association extends to avoidance of learnt fear, a behavioral response that avoids a threat-predicting signal. Using a sensory preconditioning procedure, two neutral preconditioning stimuli (PSs) were first paired with two neutral to-be conditioned stimuli (CSs). One CS (CS+) was then paired with an aversive outcome, whereas another CS (CS-) was paired with the absence of the aversive outcome (i.e., safety). In test, participants showed stronger avoidance of learnt fear to the threat-related PS that was associated with the CS+ compared to the safety-related PS that was associated with the CS-. Participants showed higher subjective relief ratings to the threat-related PS than the safety-related PS, presumably due to the omission of the CS+ and the aversive outcome. Of note, participants who reported higher relief ratings also showed more persistent avoidance of learnt fear. Exploratory analyses showed that anxiety severity and intolerance of uncertainty were associated with persistent avoidance of learnt fear, however, these risk factors were not associated with relief. In sum, stronger relief ratings are associated with persistent avoidance of learnt fear.