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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Published on: July 19, 2017

Increased generalisation in trait anxiety is driven by aversive value transfer.

Luianta Verra^1,2, Bernhard Spitzer^1,3, Nicolas W Schuck^4,5,6

¹Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.

Communications Psychology

|February 10, 2026

Summary

People with higher trait anxiety show greater generalization of threat expectations. This is linked to a stronger reliance on transferring learned values, rather than perceptual differences.

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Last Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

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Published on: July 19, 2017

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Published on: August 11, 2021

Hyponeophagia: A Measure of Anxiety in the Mouse

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Published on: May 17, 2011

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology
Computational Psychiatry

Background:

Anxiety is associated with generalized threat expectations.
Generalization may stem from perceptual or value-based mechanisms.
The precise contribution of each mechanism to generalization is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how individuals generalize outcome expectancies to similar stimuli.
To differentiate between perceptual and value-based mechanisms in generalization.
To link trait anxiety levels to specific generalization mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Recruited 140 participants for a generalization task.
Utilized personalized stimulus spaces for stimuli presentation.
Applied computational modeling to analyze generalization patterns and value functions.

Main Results:

Individual differences in value generalization and value function were identified.
Higher trait anxiety correlated with increased reliance on value transfer.
Perceptual generalization did not significantly differ based on trait anxiety.

Conclusions:

Trait anxiety is associated with a greater tendency to transfer learned values.
Value transfer, not perceptual mechanisms, primarily drives generalization in higher anxiety.
Understanding these mechanisms can inform anxiety treatment strategies.