Citation

Restrepo-Castro JC, Castro-Camacho L, Javier Labrador F. J. Behav. Ther. Exp. Psychiatry 2017; 57: 80-87.

Affiliation

Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jbtep.2017.04.003

PMID

28458128

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Safety signals are conditioned inhibitory stimuli that indicate the absence of unconditioned stimuli. It is not clear whether the presence of safety signals is detrimental or beneficial in extinction-based interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of safety signals on autonomic and expectancy fear-related responses.

METHODS: Following the conditional discrimination paradigm (AX +, BX-), undergraduate students (N = 48) underwent an aversive conditioning procedure, while safety signals were experimentally created. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions during extinction: presence or absence of safety signals.

RESULTS: Significant reductions of fear-related responses were found in both groups. Expectancy measures showed that the presence of safety signals did not interfere with reduction of fear related responses at follow-up. LIMITATIONS: The analogue nature of the study affects its ecological validity. There are some methodological issues.

CONCLUSIONS: Safety signals did not interfere with extinction learning. Attention may be a mechanism associated with the maintenance of fear responses.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Conditional discrimination; Conditioned inhibition; Extinction; Fear conditioning; Safety behavior; Safety signals