Beyond Fear Learning in Isolation: Integration of Social Dimensions into Aversive Learning

Aversive learning paradigms in laboratory settings have led to valuable decades of research on the acquisition and expression of memories that produce fear and avoidance. However, the majority of these studies have focused on situations in which animals undergo aversive learning while they are in isolation. Although these studies have provided critical insights into the behavioral and neural processes guiding aversive learning, as well as translational insights into neuropsychiatric disorders, how social dimensions that are embedded in naturalistic aversive experiences influence these processes remains greatly understudied. This overview covers some of the aversive learning paradigms that have incorporated social dimensions to help us to understand how social information affects the learning of fear and avoidance. Key considerations and future directions for this line of research are also discussed. © 2026 Wiley Periodicals LLC.