The effect of prior fear levels on UCS-expectancy ratings to a fear-relevant stimulus.
This study investigated the effect of levels of prior fear to a fear-relevant stimulus on UCS expectancy ratings in a threat conditioning procedure. The results suggested that UCS-expectancy ratings are independently influenced by both the nature of the stimulus (whether it is fear-relevant or fear-irrelevant) and the level of prior fear to the stimulus. Furthermore, significantly higher UCS-expectancy levels caused by prior fear and stimulus type were accompanied in some stages of the experiment by greater magnitudes of skin conductance responses during the stimulus.
Diamond
D
D
University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Matchett
G
G
Davey
G C
GC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal; D001245:Association Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D013112:Spiders