Enhanced sensitization to animal, interpersonal, and intergroup fear-relevant stimuli (but no evidence for selective one-trial fear learning).
Selective sensitization has been proposed as an alternative explanation for enhanced responding to animal fear-relevant stimuli--snakes and spiders--during extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning. The current study sought to replicate the phenomenon using a shock workup procedure as the sensitizing manipulation and to extend it to interpersonal and intergroup fear-relevant stimuli--angry faces and other-race faces. Assessment of selective sensitization was followed by a one-trial fear learning procedure. Selective sensitization, larger electrodermal responses to fear-relevant than to control stimuli after sensitization, or a larger increase in electrodermal responding to fear-relevant than to control stimuli after sensitization was observed across stimulus domains. However, the one-trial fear learning procedure failed to provide evidence for enhanced fear conditioning to fear-relevant stimuli. One-trial fear learning was either absent or present for fear-relevant and nonfear-relevant stimuli. The current study confirms that electrodermal responses to fear-relevant stimuli across stimulus domains are subject to selective sensitization.
School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.|ARC-SRI: Science of Learning Research Centre, Brisbane, Australia.
Ottmar V
OV
Lipp
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
Sophie L
SL
Cronin
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
Sakinah S J
SS
Alhadad
School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.|ARC-SRI: Science of Learning Research Centre, Brisbane, Australia.
Camilla C
CC
Luck
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D004597:Electroshock; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
Animal fear; Electrodermal responses; Fear learning; Fear relevance; Intergroup fear; Interpersonal fear