Fear expression and return of fear following threat instruction with or without direct contingency experience

Prior research showed that mere instructions about the contingency between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) can generate fear reactions to the CS. Little is known, however, about the extent to which actual CS US contingency experience adds anything beyond the effect of contingency instructions. Our results extend previous studies on this topic in that it included fear potentiated startle as an additional dependent variable and examined return of fear (ROF) following reinstatement. We observed that CS US pairings can enhance fear reactions beyond the effect of contingency instructions. Moreover, for all measures of fear, instructions elicited immediate fear reactions that could not be completely overridden by subsequent situational safety information. Finally, ROF following reinstatement for instructed CS+s was unaffected by actual experience. In summary, our results demonstrate the power of contingency instructions and reveal the additional impact of actual experience of CS US pairings

A functional-cognitive framework for attitude research

In attitude research, behaviours are often used as proxies for attitudes and attitudinal processes. This practice is problematic because it conflates the behaviours that need to be explained (explanandum) with the mental constructs that are used to explain these behaviours (explanans). In the current chapter we propose a meta-theoretical framework that resolves this problem by distinguishing between two levels of analysis. According to the proposed framework, attitude research can be conceptualised as the scientific study of evaluation. Evaluation is defined not in terms of mental constructs but in terms of elements in the environment, more specifically, as the effect of stimuli on evaluative responses. From this perspective, attitude research provides answers to two questions: (1) Which elements in the environment moderate evaluation? (2) What mental processes and representations mediate evaluation? Research on the first question provides explanations of evaluative responses in terms of elements in the environment (functional level of analysis); research on the second question offers explanations of evaluation in terms of mental processes and representations (cognitive level of analysis). These two levels of analysis are mutually supportive, in that better explanations at one level lead to better explanations at the other level. However, their mutually supportive relation requires a clear distinction between the concepts of their explanans and explanandum, which are conflated if behaviours are treated as proxies for mental constructs. The value of this functional-cognitive framework is illustrated by applying it to four central questions of attitude research

Roman-waarheid en roman-fiksie: 'n ondersoek na die waarheidsgehalte van sekere Afrikaanse aktualiteitsromans en na die waarheidsmaatstaf in die aktualiteitsromankritiek

Dit het my herhaaldelik getref dat, by die beoordeling van bepaalde tipes Afrikaanse romans, deur die kritici sekere maatstawwe aangelê word wat as artistieke of literêre kriteria nie geldig, nie ter sake nie, en daarom meestal ook ontoelaatbaar is. Ek bedoel meer bepaaldelik die historiese en aktualiteitsromans: genres wat hul tematiese materiaal grotendeels betrek uit die verbye of hedendaagse "werklikheid" van die gemeenskap waartoe, in prakties alle gevalle, én die auteurs én die kritici van daardie romans behoort. Die ongeldige, slegs ten dele geldige of verkeerd gebruikte geldige kriteria vind hul oorsprong in 'n foutiewe vereenselwiging van die letterkundige kriterium "waarheid in die roman" met die aktualiteitsmaatstawwe "objektiewe werklikheid" en "oordeel oor hierdie werklikheid wat in die roman gevel word". 'n Ondersoek na die grondbeginsels van die romankritiek, die mate van ooreenkoms wat die Afrikaaner kritiek daarmee vertoon, en dus ook na die "waarheidsgehalte" van die betrokke romans self, vorm die opset van hierdie verhandeling. In die loop van die ondersoek het dit egter spoedig geblyk dat die onderwerp te wyd was, en dat dit die beste beperk kon word deur te konsentreer op 'n kleiner aantal romans binne een genre. Die keuse het geval op die aktualiteitsroman, en meer bepaaldelik op 'n negetal romans i.v.m. die "nie-blanke aktualiteit" en "rasseverhoudings in Suid-Afrika". Hierdie keuse is gedoen om twee hoofredes. Eerstens omdat die rasseprobleem veral sedert die Tweede Wêreldoorlog en meer bepaaldelik sedert die Atlantiese Oorkonde (1942) dié heersende wêreldprobleem geword het. Die rassebeleid in Suid-Afrika is derhalwe skerp in die lig gestel, met die gevolg dat Suid-Afrikaners daartoe gedryf is om hulle houding nie net in die praktyk te handhaaf nie, maar ook teoretiee en godsdienstig te verdedig. As aktualiteitsprobleem is die rassesituasie dus die interessantste en dié wat die meeste opspraak wek. Die tweede rede vir my keuae is die feit dat die kritieke oor die "romans oor rasseverhoudings", juis weens die aktualiteitstweedrag oor hierdie situasie, die volledigste voorbeeld vorm van die heersende "werklikheid"/"waarheid"-verwarring in die Afrikaanse aktualiteitsroman-kritiek. Die skripsie is in drie hoofdele verdeel: ʹn ondersoek na die waarheidemaatstaf in die kritiek, toepassing van hierdie maatstaf op romans oor die naturel en op die kritieke daaroor, en die verdere uitwerking daarvan i.v.m. romans oor die kleurling. Die nege romans wat ter sprake gebring is, mag beskou word as die noemenewaardigste kuns-en-aktualiteitspogings in hul genre, en tewens as 'n volledige aanduiding van die algemene ontwikkelingsgang van daardie genre. Die gekose volgorde van die romans dien dan ook om twee hooffaktore te omlyn: (a) die ontwikkeling van die aktualiteitsiening vanuit die idilliese plaasverband van Franz se romans, via die beperkte siening van die nie-blanke stadsproblematiek, na ʹn paging tot 'n volledige Suid-Afrikaanse probleemstelling in Rabie se Ons, die Afgod, en (b) die kunsgehalte van die betrokke romans en die mate waarin dit die draagkrag van die tendens beinvloed, en wederom die mate waarin die keuse van die tema en tendens die waarheidsgehal teen draagkrag van die romans as aktualiteitskommentare bepaal. Ons het gevolglik die romans oor die naturel, wat die eerste fase van die aktualiteitsiening behandel, in Deel II geplaas, en die romans oor die kleurling, van die staanspoor af meer problematies van aard, en as groep dié wat die mees gevorderde aktualiteitsiening vertoon in Deel III. Die slotbeskouing is ʹn kort samevatting van die mate van ontwikkeling in die Afrikaanse aktualiteitsroman oor die nie-blanke, en 'n vasstelling van die aard van die werklikheiq/waarheid-digotomie in die kritieke daaromtrent

A review on the effects of verbal instructions in human fear conditioning : empirical findings, theoretical considerations, and future directions

Fear learning reflects the adaptive ability to learn to anticipate aversive events and to display preparatory fear reactions based on prior experiences. Usually, these learning experiences are modeled in the lab with pairings between neutral conditioned stimuli and aversive unconditioned stimulus (i.e., fear conditioning via CS-US pairings). Nevertheless, for humans, fear learning can also be based on verbal instructions. In this review, we consider the role of verbal instructions in laboratory fear learning. Specifically, we consider both the effects of verbal instructions on fear responses in the absence of CS-US pairings as well as the way in which verbal instructions moderate fear established via CS-US pairings. We first focus on the available empirical findings about both types of effects. More specifically, we consider how these effects are moderated by elements of the fear conditioning procedure (i.e., the stimuli, the outcome measures, the relationship between the stimuli, the participants, and the broader context). Thereafter, we discuss how well different mental-process models of fear learning account for these empirical findings. Finally, we conclude the review with a discussion of open questions and opportunities for future research

Illusory-correlation effects on implicit and explicit evaluation

Research suggests that people sometimes perceive a relationship between stimuli when no such relationship exists (i.e., illusory correlation). Illusory-correlation effects are thought to play a central role in the formation of stereotypes and evaluations of minority versus majority groups, often leading to less favorable impressions of minorities. Extant theories differ in terms of whether they attribute illusory-correlation effects to processes operating during learning (belief formation) or measurement (belief expression), and whether different evaluation measures should be differentially sensitive to illusory-correlation effects. Past research found mixed evidence for dissociative effects of illusory-correlation manipulations on measures of implicit (i.e., automatic) and explicit (i.e., controlled) evaluation. Four high-powered studies obtained illusory-correlation effects on explicit evaluations, but not implicit evaluations probed with an Implicit Association Test, Evaluative Priming Task, and Affect Misattribution Procedure. The results are consistent with theories that attribute illusory-correlation effects to processes during belief expression

Age of second language acquisition affects nonverbal conflict processing in children : an fMRI study

Background: In their daily communication, bilinguals switch between two languages, a process that involves the selection of a target language and minimization of interference from a nontarget language. Previous studies have uncovered the neural structure in bilinguals and the activation patterns associated with performing verbal conflict tasks. One question that remains, however is whether this extra verbal switching affects brain function during nonverbal conflict tasks. Methods: In this study, we have used fMRI to investigate the impact of bilingualism in children performing two nonverbal tasks involving stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflicts. Three groups of 8-11-year-old children - bilinguals from birth (2L1), second language learners (L2L), and a control group of monolinguals (1L1) - were scanned while performing a color Simon and a numerical Stroop task. Reaction times and accuracy were logged. Results: Compared to monolingual controls, bilingual children showed higher behavioral congruency effect of these tasks, which is matched by the recruitment of brain regions that are generally used in general cognitive control, language processing or to solve language conflict situations in bilinguals (caudate nucleus, posterior cingulate gyrus, STG, precuneus). Further, the activation of these areas was found to be higher in 2L1 compared to L2L. Conclusion: The coupling of longer reaction times to the recruitment of extra language-related brain areas supports the hypothesis that when dealing with language conflicts the specialization of bilinguals hampers the way they can process with nonverbal conflicts, at least at early stages in life

Placebo effects of open-label verbal suggestions on itch

Placebo effects are positive outcomes that are not due to active treatment components, which may be elicited even when patients are aware of receiving an inert substance (open-label). This proof-of-principle study investigated for the first time whether open-label placebo effects on itch can be induced by verbal suggestions alone. Ninety-two healthy volunteers were randomized to experimental (open-label suggestions) or control (no suggestions) groups. Self-reported itch evoked by histamine iontophoresis was the primary study outcome. In addition, itch expectations, skin condition and affect were assessed. The experimental group expected lower itch than the control group, which was, in turn, related to less experienced itch in this group only, although no significantly different itch levels were reported between groups. The results illustrate a potential role for open-label placebo effects in itch, and suggest that further study of verbal suggestions through an extensive explanation of placebo effects might be promising for clinical practice