Evidence for an encounter expectancy bias in fear of spiders
Evidence for an encounter expectancy bias in fear of spiders
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DOI：
10.1080/02699931.2011.602241
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发表时间：
2012-01-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Hoeppli, Marie-Eve
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Aue, Tatjana;Hoeppli, Marie-Eve
尽管研究表明，恐惧或害怕的人高估了因遭遇恐惧刺激而产生厌恶后果的可能性，但尚未系统地调查这些人是否也高估了此类遭遇的可能性（即频率）。在当前的研究中，向害怕蜘蛛的参与者和对照参与者提供了背景信息，使他们能够估计遇到不同种类的动物（蜘蛛、蛇或鸟类）的总体可能性。害怕蜘蛛的参与者系统性地高估了遇到蜘蛛的可能性，而不是遇到蛇或鸟的可能性。在对照参与者中没有观察到这种预期偏差。因此，结果强化了我们的观点，即高度恐惧和恐惧症确实存在两种不同类型的预期偏差，这可能与恐惧反应的不同组成部分有关。认真区分和检查这两种类型的期望偏差对于治疗应用具有潜在的意义。
Whereas research has demonstrated that phobic or fearful individuals overestimate the likelihood of incurring aversive consequences from an encounter with feared stimuli, it has not yet been systematically investigated whether these individuals also overestimate the likelihood (i.e., the frequency) of such encounters. In the current study, spider-fearful and control participants were presented with background information that allowed them to estimate the overall likelihood that different kinds of animals (spiders, snakes, or birds) would be encountered. Spider-fearful participants systematically overestimated the likelihood of encountering a spider with respect to the likelihood of encountering a snake or a bird. No such expectancy bias was observed in control participants. The results thus strengthen our idea that there indeed exist two different types of expectancy bias in high fear and phobia that can be related to different components of the fear response. A conscientious distinction and examination of these two types of expectancy bias are of potential interest for therapeutic applications.