title: Aversive priming: cognitive processing of threatening stimuli is facilitated by aversive primes.
abstract: It would be reasonable to expect that our previous experience regarding a stimulus that predicts harm would make the subsequent identification of that stimulus easier when harm happens again. Forty-eight volunteers were submitted to both phases of this sequence of events: learning of the predictive relationship and later priming. A face with neutral expression (CS+) was paired with a moderately aversive electric shock and another (CS-) with a neutral tone. Subsequently, these two faces, as well as other known and new faces, were presented for familiarity judgments. Both the CS+ and the CS- faces were preceded by an aversive stimulus (aversive prime) in one occasion and by a neutral stimulus (neutral prime) in another. The familiarity judgment regarding the CS+ was faster after the aversive prime than after the neutral prime, but there was no difference regarding the CS-. The differential effect of the aversive prime over the CS+ and the CS- showed a significant but small correlation with the differential skin conductance response to CS+ and CS- (signal learning), and with the differential evaluation of those stimuli in terms of like-dislike (evaluative learning). The scope of these results, as well as the usefulness of this methodological model, is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain. ehuertas@psi.ucm.es
authors.forename: Evelio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huertas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004566:Electrodes; D005149:Facial Expression; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D060865:Repetition Priming / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult