Avoidance of learnt fear: Models, potential mechanisms, and future directions

Wong AH, Wirth FM, Pittig A (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Behaviour Research and Therapy Elsevier

Book Volume: 151

Article Number: 104056

DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104056

Abstract

Avoiding stimuli that were previously associated with threat is essential for adaptive functioning, but excessive avoidance that persists in the absence of threat can turn dysfunctional and results in severe impairments. Fear and avoidance conditioning models have substantially contributed to the understanding of safety behaviors towards learnt fear stimuli. Safety behaviors are executed in the presence of a feared stimulus to prevent the upcoming threat and are well-established in laboratory models. Avoidance of learnt fear, i.e., avoidance of the feared stimulus itself, is typically initiated before the onset of a feared stimulus: individuals oftentimes avoid fear stimuli to prevent negative emotions evoked by them or ultimately the associated threat. Avoidance of learnt fear is surprisingly understudied despite its prevalence in pathological anxiety. The current overview proposes potential behavioral mechanisms and neural circuits of avoidance of learnt fear in humans, and discusses findings and paradigms suitable for examining it. Specifically, higher-order conditioning, decision making paradigms, and context-cue conditioning investigate distinct forms of avoidance of learnt fear. We also discuss the clinical prospects and future directions of research in avoidance of learnt fear.

Authors with CRIS profile

Andre Pittig Professorship for Translational Psychotherapy

Related research project(s)

Decision conflicts in anxiety: Experimental mechanisms of approach-avoidance conflicts and their clinical relevance for anxiety disorders (DCA) May 1, 2018 - May 1, 2021

Involved external institutions

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Wong, A.H., Wirth, F.M., & Pittig, A. (2022). Avoidance of learnt fear: Models, potential mechanisms, and future directions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2022.104056

MLA:

Wong, Alex H.K., Franziska M. Wirth, and Andre Pittig. "Avoidance of learnt fear: Models, potential mechanisms, and future directions." Behaviour Research and Therapy 151 (2022).

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