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Hornstein E, Lazar L, Eisenberger N. Loneliness and the persistence of fear: Perceived social isolation reduces evaluative fear extinction. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303895. [PMID: 39159214 PMCID: PMC11333009 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Loneliness has been linked to a host of harmful physical and mental health outcomes, detrimental effects that may stem from increases in threat-responding caused by altered fear learning in lonely individuals. In particular, the heightened threat-vigilance that is a hallmark of loneliness may augment the processes by which fear learning occurs, ultimately resulting in a greater number of perceived threatening cues in the environment. However, almost no research has examined how loneliness alters fear learning processes in humans. Here, we investigated the effect of loneliness on fear learning during an evaluative learning procedure in which participants (n = 782) were taught to associate fearful, positive, or neutral control stimuli with neutral images. Results showed that reduced extinction of evaluative fear associations occurred in high (vs. low) lonely individuals, but there was no difference in extinction of evaluative appetitive (also known as positive or reward) associations, suggesting this effect is specific to fear learning. In addition to shedding light on the link between loneliness and poor health, these results represent an important step forward in the growing understanding of the powerful impact of social bonds on fear learning processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Hornstein
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Lee Lazar
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Naomi Eisenberger
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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2
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Chua J, Sündermann O. Attenuating experimentally acquired disgust: Comparing counterconditioning, exposure and unconditioned stimulus revaluation. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2023; 79:101813. [PMID: 36496272 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2022.101813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Disgust is implicated in the aetiology and maintenance of various psychopathologies such as anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Despite its prominent role in psychopathology, little is known about how to effectively attenuate disgust. The study examined strategies to modify an experimentally acquired disgust response in a sample of undergraduate students. METHODS A conditioning paradigm was used where participants (N = 175) first underwent acquisition of disgust via repeated presentations of a neutral picture (functioning as conditioned stimulus + [CS+]) paired with a disgusting picture (functioning as unconditioned stimulus [US]). Participants were then randomly assigned to either an exposure (repeated presentation of CS-only trials), counterconditioning (pairing CS+ with pleasant pictures), US revaluation (pairing disgusting US with pleasant pictures) or a control (filler task) condition. We hypothesised that counterconditioning would attenuate evaluative learned disgust to the greatest extent, relative to exposure and US revaluation. Participants' evaluations of the pictures were attained with a disgust-pleasantness visual analogue scale. RESULTS Exposure, counterconditioning and US revaluation reduced disgusting US expectancies. However, experimental and control conditions did not differ in terms of attenuating disgust towards CS+. LIMITATIONS Measures of psychopathology and implicit evaluations of disgust were not collected. Modest power might have limited significance of the results. CONCLUSIONS No statistical support for the effectiveness of disgust attenuation following exposure nor counterconditioning were found. Findings for US revaluation are inconclusive. Implications for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajie Chua
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Oliver Sündermann
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
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3
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Abstract
Evaluative conditioning (EC) research investigates changes in the evaluation of a stimulus after co-occurrence with an affective stimulus. To explain the motivation behind this research, this review begins with an overview of the history of EC research, followed by a summary of the state of the art with respect to three key questions. First, how should EC procedures be used to influence evaluation? We provide a guide based on evidence concerning the functional properties of EC effects. Second, how does the EC effect occur? We discuss the possible mediating cognitive processes and their automaticity. Third, are EC effects ubiquitous outside the lab? We discuss the evidence for the external validity of EC research. We conclude that the most important open questions pertain to the relevance of EC to everyday life and to the level of control that characterizes the processes that mediate the EC effect after people notice the stimulus co-occurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tal Moran
- Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Ra'anana, Israel; .,Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Yahel Nudler
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel: ,
| | - Yoav Bar-Anan
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel: ,
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4
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Leeuwis N, van Bommel T, Alimardani M. A framework for application of consumer neuroscience in pro-environmental behavior change interventions. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:886600. [PMID: 36188183 PMCID: PMC9520489 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.886600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Most consumers are aware that climate change is a growing problem and admit that action is needed. However, research shows that consumers' behavior often does not conform to their value and orientations. This value-behavior gap is due to contextual factors such as price, product design, and social norms as well as individual factors such as personal and hedonic values, environmental beliefs, and the workload capacity an individual can handle. Because of this conflict of interest, consumers have a hard time identifying the true drivers of their behavior, as they are either unaware of or unwilling to acknowledge the processes at play. Therefore, consumer neuroscience methods might provide a valuable tool to uncover the implicit measurements of pro-environmental behavior (PEB). Several studies have already defined neurophysiological differences between green and non-green individuals; however, a behavior change intervention must be developed to motivate PEB among consumers. Motivating behavior with reward or punishment will most likely get users engaged in climate change action via brain structures related to the reward system, such as the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and (pre)frontal cortex, where the reward information and subsequent affective responses are encoded. The intensity of the reward experience can be increased when the consumer is consciously considering the action to achieve it. This makes goal-directed behavior the potential aim of behavior change interventions. This article provides an extensive review of the neuroscientific evidence for consumer attitude, behavior, and decision-making processes in the light of sustainability incentives for behavior change interventions. Based on this review, we aim to unite the current theories and provide future research directions to exploit the power of affective conditioning and neuroscience methods for promoting PEB engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikki Leeuwis
- Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
- Unravel Research, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | | | - Maryam Alimardani
- Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
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5
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Wong AH, Wirth FM, Pittig A. Avoidance of learnt fear: Models, potential mechanisms, and future directions. Behav Res Ther 2022; 151:104056. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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6
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Thomaidou MA, Peerdeman KJ, Koppeschaar MI, Evers AWM, Veldhuijzen DS. How Negative Experience Influences the Brain: A Comprehensive Review of the Neurobiological Underpinnings of Nocebo Hyperalgesia. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:652552. [PMID: 33841092 PMCID: PMC8024470 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.652552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
This comprehensive review summarizes and interprets the neurobiological correlates of nocebo hyperalgesia in healthy humans. Nocebo hyperalgesia refers to increased pain sensitivity resulting from negative experiences and is thought to be an important variable influencing the experience of pain in healthy and patient populations. The young nocebo field has employed various methods to unravel the complex neurobiology of this phenomenon and has yielded diverse results. To comprehend and utilize current knowledge, an up-to-date, complete review of this literature is necessary. PubMed and PsychInfo databases were searched to identify studies examining nocebo hyperalgesia while utilizing neurobiological measures. The final selection included 22 articles. Electrophysiological findings pointed toward the involvement of cognitive-affective processes, e.g., modulation of alpha and gamma oscillatory activity and P2 component. Findings were not consistent on whether anxiety-related biochemicals such as cortisol plays a role in nocebo hyperalgesia but showed an involvement of the cyclooxygenase-prostaglandin pathway, endogenous opioids, and dopamine. Structural and functional neuroimaging findings demonstrated that nocebo hyperalgesia amplified pain signals in the spinal cord and brain regions involved in sensory and cognitive-affective processing including the prefrontal cortex, insula, amygdala, and hippocampus. These findings are an important step toward identifying the neurobiological mechanisms through which nocebo effects may exacerbate pain. Results from the studies reviewed are discussed in relation to cognitive-affective and physiological processes involved in nocebo and pain. One major limitation arising from this review is the inconsistency in methods and results in the nocebo field. Yet, while current findings are diverse and lack replication, methodological differences are able to inform our understanding of the results. We provide insights into the complexities and involvement of neurobiological processes in nocebo hyperalgesia and call for more consistency and replication studies. By summarizing and interpreting the challenging and complex neurobiological nocebo studies this review contributes, not only to our understanding of the mechanisms through which nocebo effects exacerbate pain, but also to our understanding of current shortcomings in this field of neurobiological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia A. Thomaidou
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Kaya J. Peerdeman
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
| | | | - Andrea W. M. Evers
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
- Medical Delta Healthy Society, Leiden University, Technical University Delft, & Erasmus UniversityRotterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Dieuwke S. Veldhuijzen
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
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7
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Novara C, Vivet B, Raffard S. Le dégoût dans le trouble obsessionnel compulsif, mécanismes, évaluation, implications pour des pistes thérapeutiques. PRAT PSYCHOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.prps.2019.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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8
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Both S, Brom M, Laan E, Everaerd W, Spinhoven P. Evidence for Persistence of Sexual Evaluative Learning Effects. J Sex Med 2020; 17:505-517. [PMID: 31937516 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Several studies demonstrated that genital arousal and enhanced positive affect toward neutral stimuli due to sexual conditioning did not extinguish during a brief extinction phase, but other studies showed contrasting results. Possible resistance to extinction of conditioned human sexual response has, however, not been studied using extensive extinction trials. AIM To study resistance to extinction of conditioned sexual response in men and women. METHODS Healthy sexually functional men (N = 34) and women (N = 32) participated in a differential conditioning experiment, with neutral pictures as conditioned stimuli (CSs) and genital vibrostimulation as unconditioned stimulus. Only one CS (the CS+) was followed by the unconditioned stimulus during the acquisition phase. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Penile circumference and vaginal pulse amplitude were assessed, and ratings of affective value and subjective sexual arousal were obtained. In addition, a stimulus response compatibility task was included to assess automatic approach and avoidance tendencies. RESULTS Men and women rated the CS+ as more positive than the CS- during all 24 extinction trials and demonstrated a slight tendency to approach the CS+ directly after the extinction procedure. Participants rated the CS+ as more sexually arousing than the CS- during 20 extinction trials. No evidence was found for conditioned genital sexual response. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Learned sexual evaluations may be difficult to modify through an extinction procedure; therefore, unwanted but persistent subjective sexual evaluations may be better targeted by interventions such as the deployment of emotion regulation strategies. STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS Extensive extinction trials were used; however, only relatively short-term effects within one experimental session were studied and there was no (unpaired) control condition. CONCLUSION The results provide evidence that conditioned sexual likes are relatively persistent, also at the behavioral level. Both S, Brom M, Laan E, et al. Evidence for Persistence of Sexual Evaluative Learning Effects. J Sex Med 2020;17:505-517.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Both
- Department of Psychosomatic Gynecology and Sexology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Mirte Brom
- Department of Psychosomatic Gynecology and Sexology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen Laan
- Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Walter Everaerd
- Department Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Spinhoven
- Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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9
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Unkelbach C, Högden F. Why Does George Clooney Make Coffee Sexy? The Case for Attribute Conditioning. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/0963721419859354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
When a celebrity (e.g., George Clooney) endorses a brand (e.g., a coffee type), people’s assessment of this brand typically changes. We suggest that the mere repeated pairing of celebrities with brands imbues brands with the celebrities’ attributes. We call this effect attribute conditioning, which is, more generally, the phenomenon that people assess a stimulus’s attributes differently as a results of its pairing with another stimulus possessing that attribute. We review evidence showing that this effect goes beyond evaluative-conditioning effects, that it is not a demand effect, and that it is easily shown with many attributes (e.g., sexy, athletic, healthy) and many different stimuli (e.g., faces, shapes, brand logos). In addition, we review process evidence supporting the hypothesis that the effect is based on a memory structure that links the mental representations of the paired stimuli. We conclude with a brief outline of possible applied (e.g., marketing) and theoretical avenues for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabia Högden
- Social Cognition Center Cologne, Universität zu Köln
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10
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Kukken N, Hütter M, Holland RW. Are there two independent evaluative conditioning effects in relational paradigms? Dissociating the effects of CS-US pairings and their meaning. Cogn Emot 2019; 34:170-187. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1617112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Niels Kukken
- Psychology Department, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mandy Hütter
- Psychology Department, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rob W. Holland
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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11
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De Houwer J, Mattavelli S, Van Dessel P. Dissociations between Learning Phenomena do Not Necessitate Multiple Learning Processes: Mere Instructions about Upcoming Stimulus Presentations Differentially Influence Liking and Expectancy. J Cogn 2019; 2:7. [PMID: 31517229 PMCID: PMC6634332 DOI: 10.5334/joc.59] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 02/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior research showed that the degree of statistical contingency between the presence of stimuli moderates changes in expectancies about the presence of those stimuli (i.e., expectancy learning) but not changes in the liking of those stimuli (i.e., evaluative conditioning). This dissociation is typically interpreted as evidence for dual process models of associative learning. We tested an alternative account according to which both types of learning rely on a single process propositional learning mechanism but reflect different kinds of propositional beliefs. In line with the idea that changes in liking reflect beliefs about stimulus co-occurrences whereas changes in expectancy reflect beliefs about stimulus contingency, we found that evaluative ratings depended only on instructions about whether a stimulus would co-occur with a positive or negative stimulus whereas expectancy ratings were influenced also by instructions about individual stimulus presentations.
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12
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Abstract
People sometimes report both pleasant and unpleasant feelings when presented with affective stimuli. However, what is reported as "mixed emotions" might reflect semantic knowledge about the stimulus (Russell, J. A. (2017). Mixed emotions viewed from the psychological constructionist perspective. Emotion Review, 9(2), 111-117). The following research examines to what degree self-reported mixed emotions represent actual feelings compared to knowledge about the stimulus. In a series of three experiments, participants reported either their feelings or their knowledge in response to affective stimuli. In Experiment 1, we sampled the entire IAPS pictorial space and examined the proportion of mixed emotion ratings using feelings-focused and knowledge-focused self-reports. We found a higher degree of mixed emotions under knowledge-focused than feelings-focused self-reports. In Experiment 2, we used a priori selected pictures to elicit mixed emotions. The proportion of mixed emotions was again higher under knowledge-focused instructions. In Experiment 3, we used movie clips that were previously used to elicit mixed emotions. In contrast to Experiments 1 and 2, there was no difference between feelings-focused and knowledge-focused self-reports. The results suggest a strong semantic component and a weak experiential component of self-reports in the case of pictorial stimuli. However, ambivalent movie clips elicited a stronger experiential component, thus supporting the existence of mixed emotions at the level of feelings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Itkes
- a Department of Psychology, University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel
| | - Zohar Eviatar
- a Department of Psychology, University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.,b The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel
| | - Assaf Kron
- a Department of Psychology, University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel.,b The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa , Haifa , Israel
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13
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Abstract
The article proposes a view of evaluative conditioning (EC) as resulting from judgments based on learning instances stored in memory. It is based on the formal episodic memory model MINERVA 2. Additional assumptions specify how the information retrieved from memory is used to inform specific evaluative dependent measures. The present approach goes beyond previous accounts in that it uses a well-specified formal model of episodic memory; it is however more limited in scope as it aims to explain EC phenomena that do not involve reasoning processes. The article illustrates how the memory-based-judgment view accounts for several empirical findings in the EC literature that are often discussed as evidence for dual-process models of attitude learning. It sketches novel predictions, discusses limitations of the present approach, and identifies challenges and opportunities for its future development.
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14
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Boddez Y. The presence of your absence: A conditioning theory of grief. Behav Res Ther 2018; 106:18-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2017] [Revised: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Corneille O, Stahl C. Associative Attitude Learning: A Closer Look at Evidence and How It Relates to Attitude Models. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2018; 23:161-189. [DOI: 10.1177/1088868318763261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Associative attitude learning is typically viewed as a low-level process that automatically registers mere co-occurrences between stimuli, independent of their validity and relational meaning. This view invites to critically examine how attitude formation conforms to four operating conditions (i.e., unawareness, efficiency, goal independence, and uncontrollability) and two operating principles (i.e., unqualified registration of mere co-occurrences between stimuli and formation of direct stimulus–response links), which is the main purpose of the present contribution. The general discussion examines how contemporary attitude models endorse these conditions and principles. Overall, this contribution calls for (a) a nuanced understanding of the nature and scope of associative attitude learning, (b) a fine-grained understanding of how contemporary attitude models endorse conditions and principles reviewed here and find them relevant to their theorization of attitude formation, (c) a clarification of how direct and indirect evaluative measures relate to these conditions and principles, and (d) enhanced efforts in specifying contemporary attitude formation models.
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16
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Jensen-Fielding H, Luck CC, Lipp OV. Is the devil in the detail? Evidence for S-S learning after unconditional stimulus revaluation in human evaluative conditioning under a broader set of experimental conditions. Cogn Emot 2017; 32:1275-1290. [PMID: 29183247 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1408573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Whether valence change during evaluative conditioning is mediated by a link between the conditional stimulus (CS) and the unconditional stimulus (US; S-S learning) or between the CS and the unconditional response (S-R learning) is a matter of continued debate. Changing the valence of the US after conditioning, known as US revaluation, can be used to dissociate these accounts. Changes in CS valence after US revaluation provide evidence for S-S learning but if CS valence does not change, evidence for S-R learning is found. Support for S-S learning has been provided by most past revaluation studies, but typically the CS and US have been from the same stimulus category, the task instructions have suggested that judgements of the CS should be based on the US, and USs have been mildly valenced stimuli. These factors may bias the results in favour of S-S learning. We examined whether S-R learning would be evident when CSs and USs were taken from different categories, the task instructions were removed, and more salient USs were used. US revaluation was found to influence explicit US evaluations and explicit and implicit CS evaluations, supporting an S-S learning account and suggesting that past results are stable across procedural changes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Camilla C Luck
- b School of Psychology and Speech Pathology , Curtin University , Bentley , WA , Australia.,c ARC-SRI: Science of Learning Research Centre , University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD , Australia
| | - Ottmar V Lipp
- b School of Psychology and Speech Pathology , Curtin University , Bentley , WA , Australia.,c ARC-SRI: Science of Learning Research Centre , University of Queensland , St Lucia , QLD , Australia
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17
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Olatunji BO, Berg H, Cox RC, Billingsley A. The effects of cognitive reappraisal on conditioned disgust in contamination-based OCD: An analogue study. J Anxiety Disord 2017; 51:86-93. [PMID: 28705679 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Experimental research has shown that conditioned disgust is resistant to extinction, which may account for the slower habituation to disgust relative to fear in contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, few studies have examined the efficacy of interventions that may attenuate conditioned disgust responses. Studies of cognitive reappraisal have demonstrated that reinterpreting a stimulus can alter emotional responding. This technique is based on cognitive theories which suggest that anxiety disorders arise from biased cognitions; therefore, changing a person's thoughts will elicit durable changes in emotional responses. Given the demonstrated effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal, the present study examined whether cognitive reappraisal would attenuate conditioned disgust responses. We conditioned participants high in contamination fear (n=55) using images of neutral food items (conditioned stimuli; CS) paired with videos of individuals vomiting (unconditioned stimuli; US) while we obtained subjective disgust reports. After conditioning, half of the participants were randomly assigned to cognitive reappraisal training aimed at decreasing their emotional response to the US and CS, while the other half received no such training. The findings showed that cognitive reappraisal participants demonstrated a reduction in learned disgust across sessions and further benefited from extinction. These findings suggest that cognitive reappraisal may be an effective strategy for attenuating learned disgust.
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18
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Luck CC, Lipp OV. Verbal instructions targeting valence alter negative conditional stimulus evaluations (but do not affect reinstatement rates). Cogn Emot 2017; 32:61-80. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1280449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Camilla C. Luck
- School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
- ARC-SRI: Science of Learning Research Centre, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Ottmar V. Lipp
- School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
- ARC-SRI: Science of Learning Research Centre, Brisbane, Australia
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19
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Training motor responses to food: A novel treatment for obesity targeting implicit processes. Clin Psychol Rev 2016; 49:16-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2016.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2015] [Revised: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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20
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Unkelbach C, Fiedler K. Contrastive CS-US Relations Reverse Evaluative Conditioning Effects. SOCIAL COGNITION 2016. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2016.34.5.413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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21
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Moran T, Bar-Anan Y, Nosek BA. The Assimilative Effect of Co-Occurrence on Evaluation Above and Beyond the Effect of Relational Qualifiers. SOCIAL COGNITION 2016. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2016.34.5.435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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22
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Pain in context: Cues predicting a reward decrease fear of movement related pain and avoidance behavior. Behav Res Ther 2016; 84:35-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2016.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2016] [Revised: 06/13/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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23
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Reducing Child-Related Negative Attitudes, Attributions of Hostile Intent, Anger, Harsh Parenting Behaviors, and Punishment Through Evaluative Conditioning. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-016-9800-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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24
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Eder AB, Pfister R, Dignath D, Hommel B. Anticipatory affect during action preparation: evidence from backward compatibility in dual-task performance. Cogn Emot 2016; 31:1211-1224. [PMID: 27414187 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2016.1208151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Upcoming responses in the second of two subsequently performed tasks can speed up compatible responses in the temporally preceding first task. Two experiments extend previous demonstration of such backward compatibility to affective features: responses to affective stimuli were faster in Task 1 when an affectively compatible response effect was anticipated for Task 2. This emotional backward-compatibility effect demonstrates that representations of the affective consequences of the Task 2 response were activated before the selection of a response in Task 1 was completed. This finding is problematic for the assumption of a serial stimulus-response translation stage. It also shows that the affective consequence of a response is anticipated during, and has an impact on stimulus-response translation, which implies that action planning considers codes representing and predicting the emotional consequences of actions. Implications for the control of emotional actions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas B Eder
- a Department of Psychology , University of Würzburg , Würzburg , Germany
| | - Roland Pfister
- a Department of Psychology , University of Würzburg , Würzburg , Germany
| | - David Dignath
- b Department of Psychology , University of Freiburg i.Br. , Freiburg im Breisgau , Germany
| | - Bernhard Hommel
- c Cognitive Psychology Unit & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition , Leiden University , Leiden , The Netherlands
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Violation of eating expectancies does not reduce conditioned desires for chocolate. Appetite 2016; 100:10-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2015] [Revised: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Claes N, Crombez G, Meulders A, Vlaeyen JW. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Avoidance-Avoidance Competition Increases Pain-Related Fear and Slows Decision-Making. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2016; 17:424-35. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Revised: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/10/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Förderer S, Unkelbach C. Changing US Attributes After CS-US Pairings Changes CS-Attribute-Assessments. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2016; 42:350-65. [DOI: 10.1177/0146167215626705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Attribute Conditioning (AC) refers to people’s changed assessments of stimuli’s (CSs) attributes due to repeated pairing with stimuli (USs) possessing these attributes; for example, when an athletic person (US) is paired with a neutral person (CS), the neutral person is judged to be more athletic after the pairing. We hypothesize that this AC effect is due to CSs’ associations with USs rather than direct associations with attributes. Three experiments test this hypothesis by changing US attributes after CS-US pairings. Experiments 1 and 2 conditioned athleticism by pairing neutral men (CSs) with athletic and non-athletic USs. Post-conditioning, USs’ athleticism was reversed, which systematically influenced participants’ assessment of CS athleticism. Experiment 3 conditioned athleticism and changed USs’ musicality after CS-US pairings. This post-conditioning change affected musicality assessments of CSs but did not influence athleticism-assessments. The results indicate that AC effects are based on an associative CS-US-attribute structure.
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Attenuating social affective learning effects with Memory Suppression manipulations. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2016; 164:136-43. [PMID: 26799984 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2016.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Revised: 01/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
People can form opinions of other individuals based on information about their good or bad behavior. The present study investigated whether this affective learning might depend on memory links formed between initially neutral people and valenced information. First, participants viewed neutral faces paired with sentences describing prosocial or antisocial behaviors. Second, memory suppression manipulations with the potential to aid in the forgetting of valenced information were administered. Using the Think/No think paradigm, the effectiveness of four different suppression instructions was compared: Unguided Suppression, Guided Suppression, Distraction, and Thought Substitution. Overall, all the tasks appreciably reduced affective learning based on prosocial information, but only the Guided Suppression and Thought Substitution tasks reduced affective learning based on antisocial information. These results suggest that weakening the putative memory link between initially neutral people and valenced information can decrease the effect of learned associations on the evaluation of other people. We interpreted this as indicative that social affective learning may rely on declarative memories.
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The Influence of Emotion Upregulation on the Expectation of Sexual Reward. J Sex Med 2016; 13:105-19. [PMID: 26755093 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2015.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2015] [Revised: 04/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Emotion regulation research has shown successful altering of unwanted aversive emotional reactions. Cognitive strategies can also downregulate expectations of reward arising from conditioned stimuli, including sexual stimuli. However, little is known about whether such strategies can also efficiently upregulate expectations of sexual reward arising from conditioned stimuli, and possible gender differences therein. AIM The present study examined whether a cognitive upregulatory strategy could successfully upregulate sexual arousal elicited by sexual reward-conditioned cues in men and women. METHODS Men (n = 40) and women (n = 53) participated in a study using a differential conditioning paradigm, with genital vibrostimulation as unconditioned stimulus (US) and sexually relevant pictures as conditional stimuli. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Penile circumference and vaginal pulse amplitude were assessed and ratings of US expectancy, affective value, and sexual arousal value were obtained. Also a stimulus response compatibility task was included to assess automatic approach and avoidance tendencies. RESULTS Evidence was found for emotion upregulation to increase genital arousal response in the acquisition phase in both sexes, and to enhance resistance to extinction of conditioned genital responding in women. In men, the emotion upregulatory strategy resulted in increased conditioned positive affect. CONCLUSION The findings support that top-down modulation may indeed influence conditioned sexual responses. This knowledge may have implications for treating disturbances in sexual appetitive responses, such as low sexual arousal and desire.
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Kim JC, Sweldens S, Hütter M. The Symmetric Nature of Evaluative Memory Associations. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2015. [DOI: 10.1177/1948550615599237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Changing attitudes by repeated co-occurrences of initially neutral stimuli (conditioned stimuli [CSs]) with affective entities (unconditioned stimuli [USs]) is called evaluative conditioning (EC). The vast majority of EC procedures in the literature are “forward” in nature, presenting the CS before the US. Scant empirical research into the issue has argued that forward procedures are more effective than backward procedures, but this research suffers from methodological issues while a meta-analysis indicated no difference. Two experiments show that backward conditioning procedures are equally effective in changing attitudes as forward conditioning procedures. Memory measures show that memory associations are equally strong from the CSs to the USs as from the USs to the CSs, irrespective of the presentation order (forward vs. backward) of the stimuli. Together the data support the proposition that the associations generated by EC are symmetric and bidirectional, rather than unidirectional, in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Steven Sweldens
- Marketing Area, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
- Department of Marketing Management, RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Mandy Hütter
- Fachbereich Psychologie, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Molet M, Craddock P, Grassart A. An application of Heider's P–O–X balance model to change evaluative conditioning effects. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2015.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Ludvik D, Boschen MJ, Neumann DL. Effective behavioural strategies for reducing disgust in contamination-related OCD: A review. Clin Psychol Rev 2015; 42:116-29. [PMID: 26190372 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2015.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2015] [Revised: 05/19/2015] [Accepted: 07/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Disgust is an understudied but important emotion in various psychological disorders. Over the last decade, increasing evidence suggests that disgust is also present in various subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), especially in contamination-related OCD (C-OCD). The treatment of choice for C-OCD is exposure with response prevention, originally designed to reduce fear-associated emotions thought to be acquired through Pavlovian conditioning (PC). However, disgust has been proposed to be acquired through evaluative conditioning (EC) and according to the referential model of this form of learning, there are functional differences between PC and EC that need to be considered in the treatment of disgust-related responses. Alternative strategies suggested by EC-based models include counterconditioning (contingent presentation of the CS with a US of opposite valence) and US revaluation (contingent presentation of the US with US of opposite valence). Drawing on the referential model, this paper reviews evidence for the effectiveness of each strategy to identify the most theoretically sound and empirically valid intervention to reduce disgust in C-OCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Ludvik
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, Australia.
| | - Mark J Boschen
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, Australia.
| | - David L Neumann
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast 4222, Australia.
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Luck CC, Lipp OV. A potential pathway to the relapse of fear? Conditioned negative stimulus evaluation (but not physiological responding) resists instructed extinction. Behav Res Ther 2015; 66:18-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Revised: 01/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Kliegl KM, Watrin L, Huckauf A. Duration perception of emotional stimuli: Using evaluative conditioning to avoid sensory confounds. Cogn Emot 2014; 29:1350-67. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.978841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Engelhard IM, Leer A, Lange E, Olatunji BO. Shaking that icky feeling: effects of extinction and counterconditioning on disgust-related evaluative learning. Behav Ther 2014; 45:708-19. [PMID: 25022781 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2013] [Revised: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Learned disgust appears to play an important role in certain anxiety disorders, and can be explained by the process of evaluative conditioning, in which an affective evaluative reaction evoked by an unconditional stimulus (US) is transferred to a conditional stimulus (CS). Much remains unknown about how disgust-related evaluative learning can be effectively eliminated. Study 1 of the present investigation examined the effects of extinction on reducing the negative evaluation of a CS that was acquired during disgust conditioning. Participants completed acquisition trials, with a disgusting picture as US and two neutral pictures as CS (CS+ was paired with the US; CS- was unpaired), followed by extinction trials ("CS only"; experimental condition) or a filler task (control condition). Extinction trials reduced acquired US expectancy to the CS+, but did not extinguish negative evaluations of the CS+. Study 2 examined the effects of counterconditioning on evaluative learned disgust. After disgust acquisition trials, counterconditioning trials followed in which the CS+ was paired with a pleasant US (experimental condition) or a filler task (control condition). Counterconditioning trials reduced acquired US expectancy to the CS+ and reduced evaluative conditioned disgust. Implications of the potential differential effects of extinction and counterconditioning on evaluative learning for exposure-based treatment of specific anxiety disorders are discussed.
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Gawronski B, Gast A, De Houwer J. Is evaluative conditioning really resistant to extinction? Evidence for changes in evaluative judgements without changes in evaluative representations. Cogn Emot 2014; 29:816-30. [PMID: 25131515 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.947919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Evaluative conditioning (EC) is defined as the change in the evaluation of a conditioned stimulus (CS) due to its pairing with a positive or negative unconditioned stimulus (US). Although several individual studies suggest that EC is unaffected by unreinforced presentations of the CS without the US, a recent meta-analysis indicates that EC effects are less pronounced for post-extinction measurements than post-acquisition measurements. The disparity in research findings suggests that extinction of EC may depend on yet unidentified conditions. In an attempt to uncover these conditions, three experiments (N = 784) investigated the influence of unreinforced post-acquisition CS presentations on EC effects resulting from simultaneous versus sequential pairings and pairings with single versus multiple USs. For all four types of CS-US pairings, EC effects on self-reported evaluations were reduced by unreinforced CS presentations, but only when the CSs had been rated after the initial presentation of CS-US pairings. EC effects on an evaluative priming measure remained unaffected by unreinforced CS presentations regardless of whether the CSs had been rated after acquisition. The results suggest that reduced EC effects resulting from unreinforced CS presentations are due to judgement-related processes during the verbal expression of CS evaluations rather than genuine changes in the underlying evaluative representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertram Gawronski
- a Department of Psychology , University of Western Ontario , London , ON , Canada
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Sweldens S, Corneille O, Yzerbyt V. The role of awareness in attitude formation through evaluative conditioning. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2014; 18:187-209. [PMID: 24669003 DOI: 10.1177/1088868314527832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This article provides a review of past and contemporary debates regarding the role of awareness in attitude formation through evaluative conditioning (EC), that is, by repeatedly pairing a stimulus with other stimuli of positive or negative valence. Because EC is considered the most prototypical method to form and change the network of evaluative associations in memory, the role of awareness in this effect is critical to the question of whether attitudes may be formed and changed through dual processes. We analyze the reasons why there has been so much discussion and disagreement regarding the role of awareness, review past and contemporary methodologies and their limitations, discuss the role of mental processes and conditioning procedures, and identify promising directions for future research in this area.
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Förderer S, Unkelbach C. The moderating role of attribute accessibility in conditioning multiple specific attributes. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.1994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Förderer
- Department Psychologie; Universität zu Köln; Cologne Germany
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Leer A, Engelhard IM, Altink A, van den Hout MA. Eye movements during recall of aversive memory decreases conditioned fear. Behav Res Ther 2013; 51:633-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2013.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2013] [Revised: 06/28/2013] [Accepted: 07/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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40
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Van Gucht D, Baeyens F, Hermans D, Beckers T. The inertia of conditioned craving. Does context modulate the effect of counterconditioning? Appetite 2013; 65:51-7. [PMID: 23402718 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2012] [Revised: 11/29/2012] [Accepted: 01/23/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Previous research (Van Gucht, Baeyens, Vansteenwegen, Hermans, & Beckers, 2010) showed that a cue, initially paired with chocolate consumption, did not cease to elicit craving for chocolate after extinction, but did so after counterconditioning (CC). CC moreover was more effective than extinction in changing evaluations, in disrupting reported cue-elicited expectancy to get to eat chocolate, and in reducing actual consumption. The present research aimed to investigate whether the advantage of CC over extinction in changing acquired craving and liking would survive a change in context after CC. One group of participants received acquisition, CC and a final test all in the same context A (AAA-COUNTER-group). A second group received CC in a different context B (ABA-COUNTER-group). To compare the degree of any renewal after CC to renewal after extinction, a third group received extinction rather than CC in context B (ABA-EXT-group). Data indicate that a context switch after CC/extinction (ABA-groups) results in a return of cue-elicited approach tendencies and US-expectancies that were reduced or reversed after CC/extinction (renewal). As before, acquired liking is reduced only through CC, not by an extinction procedure. After CC in a different context, a return to the original acquisition context did not renew liking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinska Van Gucht
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium.
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41
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Raes AK, De Raedt R. The effect of counterconditioning on evaluative responses and harm expectancy in a fear conditioning paradigm. Behav Ther 2012; 43:757-67. [PMID: 23046778 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2012.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2011] [Revised: 03/14/2012] [Accepted: 03/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
In fear conditioning, extinction targets harm expectancy as well as the fear response, but it often fails to eradicate the negative affective value that is associated with the conditioned stimulus. In the present study, we examined whether counterconditioning can serve to reduce evaluative responses within fear conditioning. The sample consisted of 70 nonselected students, 12 of whom were men. All participants received acquisition with human face stimuli as the conditioned stimuli and an unpleasant white noise as the unconditioned stimulus. After acquisition, one third of the sample was allocated to an extinction procedure. The other participants received counterconditioning with either a neutral stimulus (neutral tone) or a positive stimulus (baby laugh). Results showed that counterconditioning (with both neutral and positive stimuli), in contrast to extinction, successfully reduced evaluative responses. This effect was found on an indirect measure (affective priming task), but not on self-report. Counterconditioning with a positive stimulus also tended to enhance the reduction of conditioned skin conductance reactivity. The present data suggest that counterconditioning procedures might be a promising approach in diminishing evaluative learning and even expectancy learning in the context of fear conditioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- An K Raes
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
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Gast A, De Houwer J, De Schryver M. Evaluative conditioning can be modulated by memory of the CS–US pairings at the time of testing. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2012.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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43
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Glaser T, Walther E. One but not the same: Evaluative conditioning with mixed-valence USs. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2012.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Gawronski B, Walther E. What do memory data tell us about the role of contingency awareness in evaluative conditioning? JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Kerkhof I, Vansteenwegen D, Baeyens F, Hermans D. Counterconditioning: an effective technique for changing conditioned preferences. Exp Psychol 2011; 58:31-8. [PMID: 20382627 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The evidence for the effectiveness of counterconditioning as a strategy for changing conditioned preferences is rather scarce and inconclusive. The present experiment reinvestigated this issue and compared the effect of further conditioning, extinction, and a counterconditioning procedure on recently acquired conditioned preferences in a picture-taste paradigm. Self-report and affective priming data indicated that whereas further conditioning and extinction trials were ineffective in fully eliminating the previously acquired evaluations, the counterconditioning treatment did succeed in doing this. A follow-up valence assessment revealed that all these effects persisted after a 7-day delay period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inneke Kerkhof
- Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Belgium.
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47
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Gast A, Rothermund K. What you see is what will change: Evaluative conditioning effects depend on a focus on valence. Cogn Emot 2010; 25:89-110. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931003696380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Gast
- a Friedrich Schiller University of Jena , Jena, Germany
- b Ghent University , Ghent, Belgium
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48
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Langer T, Walther E, Gawronski B, Blank H. When linking is stronger than thinking: Associative transfer of valence disrupts the emergence of cognitive balance after attitude change. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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49
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Walther E, Gawronski B, Blank H, Langer T. Changing likes and dislikes through the back door: The US-revaluation effect. Cogn Emot 2009. [DOI: 10.1080/02699930802212423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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50
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Goubert L, Vervoort T, Crombez G. Pain demands attention from others: the approach/avoidance paradox. Pain 2009; 143:5-6. [PMID: 19304389 DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2009] [Accepted: 02/23/2009] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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