The verbal threat information pathway to fear in children: the longitudinal effects on fear cognitions and the immediate effects on avoidance behavior.
Verbal information has long been assumed to be an indirect pathway to fear. Children (aged 6-8 or 12-13 years) were exposed to threat, positive, or no information about 3 novel animals to see the long-term impact on their fear cognitions and the immediate impact on avoidance behavior. Their directly (self-report) and indirectly (implicit association task) measured attitudes toward the animals changed congruent with the information provided, and the changes persisted up to 6 months later. Verbal threat information also induced behavioral avoidance of the animal. Younger children formed stronger animal- threat and animal-safe associations because of threat and positive verbal information than older children, but there were negligible age effects on self-reported fear beliefs and avoidance behaviors. These results support theories of fear acquisition that suppose that verbal information affects components of the fear emotion.
Field
Andy P
AP
Department of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9QH, UK. andyf@sussex.ac.uk
Lawson
Joanne
J
Banerjee
Robin
R
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D030881:Disclosure; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014705:Verbal Behavior