Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: According to cognitive theories of anxiety, phobic patients are searching the environment for threatening stimuli, and detecting them rapidly. However, previous studies failed to find a lowered perceptual threshold for threatening stimuli in specific phobias. Therefore, two experiments applying a signal detection paradigm were conducted. Highly spider fearful and nonfearful participants were asked to decide whether a picture of a spider, beetle, or butterfly was presented. In both experiments, spider fearfuls were not better at detecting spiders, or any other animal, than healthy controls. Instead, spider fearfuls were more liberal in assuming that they had seen a spider or a beetle. In accord with earlier studies, these results suggest that spider phobics may exhibit an interpretation bias rather than improved detection of threat.
Source: Cognition & Emotion
Authors: Eni Becker, Mike Rinck
Institution: Technische Universität Dresden
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
OpenAlex ID: W2148149882