The Role of Verbal Threat Information in the Development of Childhood Fear. “Beware the Jabberwock!”
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Rachman's (Behaviour Research and Therapy 15:372-387, 1977; Clinical Psychology Review 11:155-173, 1991) three pathways theory proposed that childhood fears not only arise as a consequence of direct learning experiences, but can also be elicited by means of threat information transmission. This review looks at the scientific evidence for this idea, which has accumulated during the past three decades. We review research on the influences of media exposure on children's fears, retrospective parent and child reports on the role of threat information in fear acquisition, and experimental studies that explored the causal effects of threat information on childhood fears. We also discuss possible mechanisms by which threat information exerts its influence and the processes relevant to understand the role of this type of learning experience in the origins of fear. Finally, implications for the prevention and intervention of childhood fears are briefly explored, and potential leads for future research will be highlighted.
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Much of the research that has examined pathways to fear has primarily relied upon non-clinical samples.
“Much of the research (Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007; Merckelbach et al., 1996; Muris & Field, 2010; Ollendick & King, 1991) that has examined these pathways to fear have primarily relied upon non-clinical samples, providing insight into the nature of the development of normative childhood fears.”
From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Muris & Field, 2010
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King, N. J., Eleonora, G., & Ollendick, T. H. (1998) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(98)00015-1 · Cited by 136 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Nevertheless, studies employing inventories or interviews that are based on the Phobic Origins Questionnaire can be criticized because this retrospective method has various limitations (King et al. 1998): (1) the lack of control groups; (2) potential memory bias; and (3) the validity of the measurement instruments.”
BackgroundFear and anxiety in children and adolescents.
Craske, M. G. (1997) · PubMed · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Common childhood fears and their origins
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., & Collaris, R. (1997) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00050-8 · Cited by 126 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Interestingly, in two of these studies (Muris et al. 1997; Muris et al. 2008a), children were also explicitly asked to what extent threat information (and other learning) experiences had actually played a role in the exacerbation (‘‘Did the event cause you to become more fearful?’’) or onset (‘‘Did your fear begin wit…”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationClinical characteristics of driving phobia
Ehlers, A., Hofmann, S. G., Herda, C. A., & Roth, W. T. (1994) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/0887-6185(94)00021-2 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Fears and Fearfulness in Children and Adolescents: a Genetic Analysis of Twin Data
Stevenson, J., Batten, N., & Cherner, M. (1992) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1992.tb00919.x · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Children's Fright Reactions to Television News
Cantor, J. R., & Nathanson, A. I. (1996) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1996.tb01510.x · Cited by 120 · see citing works
The etiology of childhood water phobia
Menzies, R. G., & Clarke, J. (1993) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(93)90131-d · Cited by 117 · see citing works
A developmental-genetic analysis of common fears from early adolescence to early adulthood.
Rose, R. J., & Ditto, W. B. (1983) · PubMed · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Field, A. P., Lawson, J., & Banerjee, R. (2008) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.117.1.214 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Self-citationAnxiety disorders in children and adolescents
Fong, G., & Garralda, M. E. (2005) · Psychiatry · doi:10.1383/psyt.2005.4.8.77 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
MacLeod, C. (2005) · doi:10.1002/0470013494.ch22 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Information processing biases and anxiety: a developmental perspective
Hadwin, J. A., & Field, A. P. (2010) · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Self-citationThe behavioral inhibition system and the verbal information pathway to children's fears.
Field, A. P. (2006) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.115.4.742 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Self-citationFear of the beast: a prospective study on the effects of negative information on childhood fear
Muris, P., Bodden, D. H. M., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., Ollendick, T. H., & King, N. J. (2003) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00137-1 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Self-citationA Developmental-Genetic Analysis of Common Fears from Early Adolescence to Early Adulthood
Rose, R. J., & Ditto, W. B. (1983) · Child Development · doi:10.2307/1129697 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Muris, P., van Zwol, L., Huijding, J., & Mayer, B. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.12.001 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationWatch Out for the Beast: Fear Information and Attentional Bias in Children
Field, A. P. (2006) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3503_8 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationDo anxious parents interpretive biases towards threat extend into their child's environment?
Lester, K., Field, A., Oliver, S., & Cartwright-Hatton, S. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2008.11.005 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Self-citationParental Mediation of Children's Emotional Responses to a Violent News Event
Buijzen, M., van der Molen, J. H. W., & Sondij, P. (2007) · Communication Research · doi:10.1177/0093650206298070 · Cited by 86 · cited 4× · see citing works
“looked at the impact of specific news events such as the assassination of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh (Buijzen et al. 2007).”
BackgroundInfluentialHeritability and Prevalence of Specific Fears and Phobias in Childhood
Lichtenstein, P., & Annas, P. (2000) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00680 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Doogan, S., & Thomas, G. V. (1992) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(92)90050-q · Cited by 80 · see citing works
The etiology of specific fears and phobias in children: a critique of the non-associative account
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., de Jong, P. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (2002) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00051-1 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Self-citationChildren's Comprehension of and Fear Reactions to Television News
Smith, S. L., & Wilson, B. J. (2002) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1207/s1532785xmep0401_01 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Beyond fear and disgust: The role of (automatic) contamination-related associations in spider phobia
Huijding, J., & de Jong, P. J. (2006) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2006.10.009 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
A dirty animal is a scary animal! Effects of disgust-related information on fear beliefs in children
Muris, P., Mayer, B., Huijding, J., & Konings, T. (2007) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2007.09.005 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Self-citationThe interaction of pathways to fear in childhood anxiety: A preliminary study
Field, A. P., & Storksen-Coulson, H. (2007) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2007.09.001 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationHolmes, E. A., Creswell, C., & O’Connor, T. G. (2007) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.10.003 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
The verbal information pathway to fear and heart rate changes in children
Field, A. P., & Schorah, H. (2007) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01772.x · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Self-citationConditioning theory: a model for the etiology of public speaking anxiety?
Hofmann, S. G., Ehlers, A., & Roth, W. T. (1995) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(94)00072-r · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Autobiographical Memories About the Experience of Seeing Frightening Movies in Childhood
Hoekstra, S. J., Harris, R. J., & Helmick, A. L. (1999) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1207/s1532785xmep0102_2 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales
Siporin, S., & Zipes, J. D. (1982) · Journal of American Folklore · doi:10.2307/540727 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Dissociations between implicit and explicit attitudes toward phobic stimuli
de Jong, P. J., van den Hout, M., Rietbroek, H., & Huijding, J. (2003) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930302305 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Fright Reactions to Television
Valkenburg, P. M., Cantor, J. R., & Peeters, A. (2000) · Communication Research · doi:10.1177/009365000027001004 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Pathways to fear in spider phobic children
Merckelbach, H., Muris, P., & Schouten, E. (1996) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(96)00052-6 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Self-citationPerceptions of fear in other Children and adolescents: The role of gender and friendship status
Ollendick, T. H., Yang, B., Dong, Q., Xia, Y., & Lin, L. (1995) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1007/bf01447207 · Cited by 60 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Note that this finding is in keeping with the common observation that girls exhibit higher levels of fear than boys (Craske 1997; Muris 2007), which may well have to do with the fact that the expression of fear is more in agreement with the feminine than with the masculine gender role (Ollendick et al. 1995).”
ResultMedia Use and Children's Perceptions of Societal Threat and Personal Vulnerability
Comer, J. S., Furr, J. M., Beidas, R. S., Babyar, H. M., & Kendall, P. C. (2008) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374410802148145 · Cited by 60 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In a similar vein, Comer et al. (2008) explored the link between chil-”
BackgroundKinderman, P., & Tai, S. (2006) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465806003274 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Etiology and maintenance of dog fears
Nardo, P. A. D., Guzy, L. T., Jenkins, J. A., Bak, R. M., Tomasi, S. F., & Copland, M. (1988) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(88)90005-8 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Disgust sensitivity and psychopathological symptoms in non-clinical children
Muris, P., van der Heiden, S., & Rassin, E. (2007) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.02.001 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Self-citationLearning of Information Processing Biases in Anxious Children and Adolescents
Field, A. P., & Lester, K. J. (2010) · doi:10.1002/9780470661468.ch11 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Self-citationThe verbal information pathway to fear and subsequent causal learning in children
Field, A. P., & Lawson, J. (2008) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930801886532 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Self-citationThe etiology of childhood dog phobia
King, N. J., Clowes-Hollins, V., & Ollendick, T. H. (1997) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(96)00067-8 · Cited by 52 · cited 1× · see citing works
“important contribution to the acquisition of children’s dog phobia (King et al. 1997) and dental fear (Milgrom et al.”
BackgroundField, A. P., Hamilton, S. J., Knowles, K. O., & Plews, E. L. (2002) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(02)00050-5 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationKelly, V. L., Barker, H., Field, A. P., Wilson, C., & Reynolds, S. A. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.10.002 · Cited by 48 · cited 5× · see citing works
“They were then asked to do the Touch Box Task (e.g., Field and Lawson 2003; Field et al. 2008b; Kelly et al. 2010) or the Nature Reserve Task (Field and Storksen-Coulson 2007) that have already been described.”
InfluentialSelf-citationHow serious are common childhood fears? II. The parent's point of view
Muris, P., & Merckelbach, H. L. G. J. (2000) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00119-9 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationAnxiety disorders in children and adolescents: research, assessmentand intervention
Vance, A. L. A. (2002) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614.2002.01015.x · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Conditioning models of childhood anxiety
Field, A. P., & Davey, G. C. L. (2000) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511663239.009 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationUCS Inflation in the aetiology of a variety of anxiety disorders: Some case histories
Davey, G. C. L., de Jong, P. J., & Tallis, F. (1993) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(93)90130-m · Cited by 43 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The second way in which verbal information might affect direct conditioning is by enhancing the aversiveness of the US, a phenomenon that is known as ‘‘US inflation’’ (Davey et al. 1993).”
BackgroundFear of water in children and adults: Etiology and familial effects
Graham, J., & Gaffan, E. A. (1997) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(96)00086-1 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Children's Direct Fright and Worry Reactions to Violence in Fiction and News Television Programs
van der Molen, J. H. W., & Bushman, B. J. (2008) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.03.036 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Future directions for child anxiety theory and treatment
Field, A., Cartwright-Hatton, S., Reynolds, S., & Creswell, C. (2008) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930701842270 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationBreaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales
Zipes, J. 1. (2002) · Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Merckelbach, H., Arntz, A., Arrindell, W., & de Jong, P. D. (1992) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(92)90039-j · Cited by 39 · cited 1× · see citing works
“For example, in studies of high and low fearful participants, fear learning experiences are reported by similar numbers of high and low fearful people (Di Nardo et al. 1988; Ehlers et al. 1994; Hofmann et al. 1995; Merckelbach et al. 1992).”
BackgroundEffects of verbal information on fear-related reasoning biases in children
Muris, P., Rassin, E., Mayer, B., Smeets, G., Huijding, J., Remmerswaal, D., & Field, A. P. (2008) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2008.12.002 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citationThe effects of verbal information on children's fear beliefs about social situations
Lawson, J., Banerjee, R. A., & Field, A. P. (2006) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2006.01.007 · Cited by 38 · cited 3× · see citing works
“, social) situations demonstrated that positive information did not produce substantial decreases in fear (Field et al. 2003; Lawson et al. 2007).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationCraske, M. G. (2003) · Origins of Phobias and Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/b978-008044032-3/50008-3 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Smith, S. L., & Moyer‐Gusé, E. (2006) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1207/s1532785xmep0803_2 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
What Happens When Verbal Threat Information and Vicarious Learning Combine?
Askew, C., Kessock-Philip, H., & Field, A. P. (2008) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465808004402 · Cited by 33 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The study in question (Askew et al. 2008) used verbal information before, during, or after vicarious learning experiences.”
BackgroundSelf-citationField, A. P., Ball, J. E., Kawycz, N. J., & Moore, H. (2007) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465807003736 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citationRemmerswaal, D., Muris, P., Mayer, B., & Smeets, G. (2010) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.03.012 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citationMuris, P., Huijding, J., Mayer, B., Leemreis, W. H., Passchier, S., & Bouwmeester, S. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374410902976379 · Cited by 29 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Interestingly, one investigation that provided children with ambiguous verbal information about a novel animal revealed a moderating influence of gender (Muris et al. 2009).”
BackgroundSelf-citationOrigins of common fears in South African children
Muris, P., du Plessis, M., & Loxton, H. (2008) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.03.004 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citationField, A. P., & Price-Evans, K. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.020 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationThe etiology of childhood spider phobia
Merckelbach, H. L. G. J., & Muris, P. (1997) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00054-5 · Cited by 23 · cited 2× · see citing works
“A first study that has addressed this issue was conducted by Muris et al. (2008b) who presented 9- to 13-year-old children with disgust-related and cleanliness-related information about unknown animals. Before and after the information, beliefs of disgust and fear regarding the animals were assessed. Results showed th…”
BackgroundSelf-citationDavis, T. E. (2005) · Clinical Psychology Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy/bpi018 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Developmental Aspects of Conditioning Processes in Anxiety Disorders
Dadds, M. R., Davey, G. C. L., & Field, A. P. (2001) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med:psych/9780195123630.003.0010 · Cited by 19 · cited 2× · see citing works
“In other words, fear learning has to do with forming an association between a neutral stimulus and a noxious outcome (see also Dadds et al. 2001). It is also worth remembering that these stimuli and outcomes need not be real. Field (2006a) cites evidence that suggests that associative learning can operate on mental re…”
BackgroundSelf-citationOrigins of Phobias and Anxiety Disorders
(2003) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-044032-3.x5000-x · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Behaviour modification with the severely retarded
Gathercole, C. E. (1977) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(77)90074-2 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Price-Evans, K., & Field, A. P. (2008) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465808004396 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Emotional Impact of Frightening Stories on Children
Orbach, I., Vinkler, E., & Har‐Even, D. (1993) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1993.tb00999.x · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Could nursery rhymes cause violent behaviour? A comparison with television viewing
Davies, P. (2004) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/adc.2003.042499 · Cited by 8 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Threat information has, for centuries, formed an intrinsic part of culture, folklore and society (Ragan 2006): around 41% of a sample of nursery rhymes was violent in some way (Davies et al. 2004).”
BackgroundOutfoxing Fear: Folktales from Around the World
Ragan, K. (2006) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Cf, J. (1956) · PubMed · Cited by 2 · see citing works
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- Sale R Fairy tales and after 1978 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
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Psychosocial impact of COVID-19
Dubey, S., Biswas, P., Ghosh, R., Chatterjee, S., Dubey, M. J., Chatterjee, S., Lahiri, D., & Lavie, C. J. (2020) · Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2020.05.035 · Cited by 1,958 · see citing works
Fear of the coronavirus (COVID-19): Predictors in an online study conducted in March 2020
Mertens, G., Gerritsen, L., Duijndam, S., Salemink, E., & Engelhard, I. M. (2020) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102258 · Cited by 1,264 · see citing works
A social–ecological perspective on climate anxiety in children and adolescents
Crandon, T. J., Scott, J. G., Charlson, F. J., & Thomas, H. J. (2022) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/s41558-021-01251-y · Cited by 306 · see citing works
Pathways of fear and anxiety in dentistry: A review
Carter, A. E. (2014) · World Journal of Clinical Cases · doi:10.12998/wjcc.v2.i11.642 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Family Factors in the Development and Management of Anxiety Disorders
Rapee, R. M. (2012) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-011-0106-3 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Transmission of risk from parents with chronic pain to offspring: An integrative conceptual model
Stone, A. L., & Wilson, A. C. (2016) · Pain · doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000637 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
What we fear most: A developmental advantage for threat-relevant stimuli
LoBue, V., & Rakison, D. H. (2013) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2013.07.005 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
“Finally, researchers have shown that children can learn to avoid various stimuli by hearing negative verbal information as well (Field, 2006a; Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundAdventurous Play as a Mechanism for Reducing Risk for Childhood Anxiety: A Conceptual Model
Dodd, H. F., & Lester, K. J. (2021) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-020-00338-w · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Holley, A. L., Wilson, A. C., Noel, M. E., & Palermo, T. M. (2016) · European Journal of Pain · doi:10.1002/ejp.879 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
“Dyadic factors such as communal coping or catastrophizing, parent and child threat appraisal and parent–child communication and relationship variables (Robbie Rossman et al., 1997; Muris and Field, 2010; Vervoort et al., 2012; Lynch-Jordan et al., 2013) are important to consider as they are likely to impact the persis…”
BackgroundParental Involvement: Contribution to Childhood Anxiety and Its Treatment
Wei, C., & Kendall, P. C. (2014) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-014-0170-6 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
“Accumulated data have found that anxious parental modeling (Burstein and Ginsburg 2010) and threat interpretation (Bögels et al. 2011; Creswell and O’Connor 2006; Creswell et al. 2006, 2005; Francis and Chorpita 2011; Gifford et al. 2008; Muris and Field 2010; Muris et al. 2010; Remmerswaal et al. 2010) are associated…”
BackgroundAktar, E., Nikolić, M., & Bögels, S. M. (2017) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.31887/dcns.2017.19.2/eaktar · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Mertens, G., Boddez, Y., Sevenster, D., Engelhard, I., & de Houwer, J. (2018) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.07.002 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Remmerswaal, D., & Muris, P. (2011) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.11.008 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
“There is now good evidence that these learning experiences play a role in the origins of childhood fears (Askew & Field, 2008; Field, 2006; Fisak & GrillsTaquechel, 2007; Muris & Field, 2010).”
Self-citationSafe From Harm: Learned, Instructed, and Symbolic Generalization Pathways of Human Threat-Avoidance
Dymond, S., Schlund, M. W., Roche, B., De Houwer, J., & Freegard, G. P. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047539 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“not be necessary for fear conditioning to occur [9–12,6].”
BackgroundSchweda, A., Weismüller, B., Bäuerle, A., Dörrie, N., Musche, V., Fink, M., Dinse, H., Teufel, M., & Skoda, E. (2020) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2020.152218 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
COVID-19 and the Opioid Epidemic: Two Public Health Emergencies That Intersect With Chronic Pain
Manchikanti, L., Vanaparthy, R., Atluri, S. L., Sachdeva, H., Kaye, A. D., & Hirsch, J. A. (2021) · Pain and Therapy · doi:10.1007/s40122-021-00243-2 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
The Spread of Fear: Symbolic Generalization Mediates Graded Threat-Avoidance in Specific Phobia
Dymond, S., Schlund, M. W., Roche, B. T., & Whelan, R. (2013) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17470218.2013.800124 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
“The expression of conditioned fear may often arise in the absence of direct pairing between a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS), such as a tone, and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), such as shock (Askew & Field, 2008; Muris & Field, 2011).”
Evaluating and Approaching a Strange Animal: Children's Trust in Informant Testimony
Boseovski, J. J., & Thurman, S. L. (2014) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12156 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
From avoidance to approach: The influence of threat-of-shock on reward-based decision making
Bublatzky, F., Alpers, G. W., & Pittig, A. (2017) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2017.01.003 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
“Despite increasing evidence showing the relevance of instructed threat learning for anxiety and stress-related disorders (e.g., Muris & Field, 2010; Robinson, Vytal, Cornwell, & Grillon, 2013), surprisingly little is known about its impact on the individuals' behavior and decisions in…”
BackgroundInferred threat and safety: Symbolic generalization of human avoidance learning
Dymond, S., Schlund, M. W., Roche, B., Whelan, R., Richards, J., & Davies, C. (2011) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.06.007 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Perceptual and conceptual similarities facilitate the generalization of instructed fear
Bennett, M., Vervoort, E., Boddez, Y., Hermans, D., & Baeyens, F. (2015) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.03.011 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Cobham, V. E., Filus, A., & Sanders, M. R. (2017) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2017.06.004 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
A Current Learning Theory Approach to the Etiology and Course of Anxiety and Related Disorders
Zinbarg, R. E., Williams, A. L., & Mineka, S. (2022) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072220-021010 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Parents’ Verbal Communication and Childhood Anxiety: A Systematic Review
Percy, R., Creswell, C., Garner, M. J., O’Brien, D., & Murray, L. (2015) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-015-0198-2 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“Consistent with previous reviews (i.e., Muris & Field, 2010), which have distinguished between the cognitive and behavioral components of fear based on established theoretical models (see Lang, 1968, 1985; Merckelbach et al., 1996), we have distinguished between studies that examined fear beliefs…”
Children Selectively Trust Individuals Who Have Imitated Them
Over, H., Carpenter, M., Spears, R., & Gattis, M. (2013) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/sode.12020 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
The relative effectiveness of extinction and counter-conditioning in diminishing children's fear
Newall, C., Watson, T. D., Grant, K., & Richardson, R. (2017) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2017.05.006 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“…contribution of various aetiological factors to childhood anxiety problems, learning experiences (e.g., adverse events, provision of negative information) are considered major contributors to fear and anxiety onset (Askew & Field, 2007; Hoven et al., 2005; Muris & Field, 2010; Rachman, 1977).”
BackgroundRaes, A. K., Houwer, J. D., Schryver, M. D., Braß, M., & Kalisch, R. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084888 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Bennett, M., Meulders, A., Baeyens, F., & Vlaeyen, J. W. S. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00520 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
“For instance, and in real life scenarios, words (e.g., “lifting”) are paired with verbal information (e.g., “is dangerous”) and this can prompt evaluative change in the specific referents (i.e., the musculature involved in lifting; e.g., Muris and Field, 2010).”
BackgroundTelman, M. D., Holmes, E., & Lau, J. Y. F. (2013) · Child Psychiatry and Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-013-0386-6 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Brown, V. M., Price, R. B., & Dombrovski, A. Y. (2023) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-023-01080-w · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“Internal simulations of possible outcomes, observational learning, and instructed learning all cause states to acquire negative values and to be avoided (Askew & Field, 2007; Dymond et al., 2012; Muris & Field, 2010; Olsson & Phelps, 2004, 2007; Rachman, 1977).”
BackgroundLester, K., Field, A., & Muris, P. (2011) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.618449 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citationTransmission of Cognitive Bias and Fear From Parents to Children: An Experimental Study
Remmerswaal, D., Muris, P., & Huijding, J. (2016) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2014.987378 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“This procedure has been shown to be effective in creating variation in fear and related information search bias in unselected samples (see Muris & Field, 2010) and was used here to ensure the presence of some (at least moderately) fearful children in this nonclinical population.”
Self-citationHouwer, J. D. (2020) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2020.103558 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Ollendick, T. H., & Muris, P. (2015) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2015.1020543 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Self-citationLebowitz, E. R., Shic, F., Campbell, D., MacLeod, J., & Silverman, W. K. (2015) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.22333 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“This kind of verbalization may be better viewed as providing information or instruction, rather than actual modeling.[15, 25, 26] Third, the anxiety expressed by the parent focused on the child’s ability to cope with the test, rather than on the mothers’ fear or avoidance.”
BackgroundDon't Think That Kids Aren't Noticing: Indirect Pathways to Children's Fear of COVID-19
Radanović, A., Micić, I., Pavlović, S., & Krstić, K. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635952 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“These indirect pathways can also trigger the acquisition of fear [see Muris and Field (2010), for more details] or anxiety (Percy et al., 2016).”
BackgroundLearned, instructed and observed pathways to fear and avoidance
Cameron, G., Roche, B. T., Schlund, M. W., & Dymond, S. (2015) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.06.003 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“…has been conducted on Rachman's pathways to fear account and those studies that have been conducted have focused near-exclusively on fear (Askew & Field, 2007; Field, Argyris, & Knowles, 2001; Kelly, Barker, Field, Wilson, & Reynolds, 2010; Muris & Field, 2010; Olsson & Phelps, 2004, 2007).”
MethodBroeren, S., Lester, K. J., Muris, P., & Field, A. P. (2011) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2010.11.001 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“Empirical research supports both direct as well as indirect pathways to fear acquisition (see reviews by Askew & Field, 2008; King, Eleonora, & Ollendick, 1998; Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundSelf-citationReynolds, G., Field, A. P., & Askew, C. (2014) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0037225 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“Despite often being quite intense, fears generally spontaneously recede just as quickly as they appeared; however, for a minority of children, fear persists and is maladaptive to normal functioning (see Muris & Field, 2010, for a review).”
Self-citationYaffe, Y. (2021) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2021.1980067 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“Other studies have illustrated the potential impact threating verbal information may have in the development of children’s sense of fear (namely, information transfer; Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundGeneralization of socially transmitted and instructed avoidance
Cameron, G., Schlund, M. W., & Dymond, S. (2015) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00159 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“Vicarious learning of fear may help explain how fear is acquired in common childhood fears (e.g., Askew and Field, 2007, 2008; Muris and Field, 2010) and is consistent with the clinical observation that individuals with anxiety do not always report prior direct conditioning episodes like those…”
BackgroundResultThe Impact of “Scary” TV and Film on Children's Internalizing Emotions: A Meta-Analysis
Pearce, L. J., & Field, A. P. (2015) · Human Communication Research · doi:10.1111/hcre.12069 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citationMuris, P., Huijding, J., Mayer, B., van As, W., & van Alem, S. (2010) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2010.11.006 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Self-citationLobue, V., Kim, E., & Delgado, M. (2019) · Handbook of Emotional Development · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-17332-6_11 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
The fruits of a functional approach for psychological science
Stewart, I. (2015) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12184 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Fliek, L., Dibbets, P., Roelofs, J., & Muris, P. (2016) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-016-0655-2 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationKawai, N. (2019) · The science of the mind · doi:10.1007/978-981-13-7530-9_2 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Remmerswaal, D., Huijding, J., Bouwmeester, S., Brouwer, M. E., & Muris, P. (2014) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2013.07.005 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“In keeping with previous research (see for a review Muris & Field, 2010), it was found that the Field et al.’s (2001) informational learning procedure was highly effective in inducing diverging levels of fear: children who had received threatening information exhibited the highest fear levels in…”
ResultSelf-citationBecker, K. D., & Ginsburg, G. S. (2011) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-011-0216-7 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“expression of threat, uncertainty about ability to cope or likelihood of successful outcome; [4]) and parental modeling (i.”
Simpson, D., Suárez, L., & Connolly, S. D. (2012) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-012-0254-2 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
An ERP study of the interaction between verbal information and conditioning pathways to fear
Ugland, C. C. O., Dyson, B. J., & Field, A. P. (2012) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.02.003 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationHuijding, J., Muris, P., Lester, K. J., Field, A. P., & Joosse, G. (2011) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.06.005 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationMuris, P., Mayer, B., Borth, M., & Vos, M. (2012) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2012.10.002 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationThe role of learning in the etiology of child and adolescent fear and anxiety
Field, A. P., & Purkis, H. M. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511994920.012 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationManaging Children's Anxiety During COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Providers and Caregivers
Kang, Y. Q., Lim, T. S. H., Ragen, E. S., Tan, M. Y., & Aishworiya, R. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552823 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Şahin, Ş., Karşıdağ, S., Çınar, N., Ateş, M. F., Demir, S., Eren, F., Neyal, A., Ak, A. K., Tokçaer, A. B., Ataoğlu, E. E., et al. (2021) · European Neurology · doi:10.1159/000517380 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Aktar, E., Nimphy, C. A., Bockstaele, B. V., & Pérez‐Edgar, K. E. (2022) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.22257 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Does ‘Yuck’ mean ‘Eek’? Fear responses in children after a disgust manipulation
Muris, P., Huijding, J., Mayer, B., & de Vries, H. (2011) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.10.002 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationDujardin, A., Bosmans, G., Raedt, R. D., & Braet, C. (2015) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0039500 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Remmerswaal, D., Muris, P., & Huijding, J. (2013) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2013.01.001 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citationNimphy, C., Venetikidi, M., Elzinga, B., van der Does, W., & Aktar, E. (2023) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-023-00448-1 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“(Muris & Field, 2010), as well as modeling of fear expressions (also referred to as vicarious learning or observational learning, see Askew & Field, 2008).”
BackgroundShared Cognition in Childhood Anxiety: Interpretation Bias in Preschool Children and Their Parents
Ooi, J., Dodd, H. F., & Walsh, J. (2015) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0143-5 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Therefore, there is emerging evidence suggesting a potential pathway whereby parental anxiety affects the amount of threat they communicate to their children, which in turn affects their children’s interpretation bias (Muris and Field 2010; Murray et al. 2009).”
BackgroundSingle-Session Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations Training in High-Anxious Adolescents
Fu, X., Du, Y., Au, S., & Lau, J. Y. F. (2015) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.29.3.253 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“This may be more appropriate for targeting biases because these learning mechanisms are not dissimilar to how interpretative styles during development are first acquired (Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundCan prepared fear conditioning result from verbal instructions?
Mertens, G., Raes, A. K., & Houwer, J. D. (2015) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/j.lmot.2015.11.001 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“Previous research has demonstrated that verbal instructions can be a very powerful tool for inducing fear reactions (e.g., Cameron, Roche, Schlund, & Dymond, 2016; King, Eleonora, & Ollendick, 1998; Merckelbach, de Jong, Muris, & van den Hout, 1996; Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundEnvironmental Factors in the Development and Maintenance of Anxiety Disorders
Lawrence, P. J., Waite, P., & Creswell, C. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-813004-9.00006-2 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Psychological impacts on the travel behaviour post COVID-19
Singh, V., Gupta, K., Agarwal, A., & Chakrabarty, N. (2022) · Asian Transport Studies · doi:10.1016/j.eastsj.2022.100087 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Dibbets, P., Fliek, L., & Meesters, C. M. G. (2014) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-014-0481-3 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Fliek, L., Roelofs, J., van Breukelen, G., & Muris, P. (2019) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-019-00868-7 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationMuris, P., & Rijkee, S. (2010) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-010-9427-y · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationFather's and mother's beliefs about children's anxiety
Beato, A. F., Barros, L., & Pereira, A. I. (2018) · Child Care Health and Development · doi:10.1111/cch.12603 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Vassilopoulos, S., Blackwell, S., Misailidi, P., Kyritsi, A., & Ayfanti, M. (2013) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465813000301 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“…event), is considered to closely mimic the social learning mechanisms by which cognitive biases are initially acquired (pairing a negative outcome/explanation with an ambiguous event, often through verbal report from parents – Lau, Molyneaux, Telman and Belli, 2011; Muris and Field, 2010).”
Farrell, L. J., Hourigan, D., Waters, A. M., & Harrington, M. R. (2015) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.29.3.230 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Although correlations between child and mother bias were not significant, perhaps mother’s threat interpretations contribute indirectly to a context of enhanced threat salience, consistent with an indirect pathway of learning (see Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundBehavioral Inhibition and the Associative Learning of Fear
Reynolds, G., Askew, C., & Field, A. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-98077-5_12 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationUy, J. P., Schwartz, C., Chu, K. A., Towner, E., Lemus, A., Brito, N. H., & Callaghan, B. L. (2022) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/dev.22253 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Verbal Information Transfer in Real-Life: When Mothers Worry About Their Child Starting School
Pass, L., Mastroyannopoulou, K., Coker, S., Murray, L., & Dodd, H. F. (2017) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-017-0735-3 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“All three routes have received support in relation to the development of anxiety (Askew and Field 2008; King et al. 1998; Muris and Field 2010).”
‘I am really scared for the future’: climate distress among Brazilian youth
Schor, M., Clayton, S., Cardoso, M. C. V., Fernandes, M. N., Frota, M. A., & Surkan, P. J. (2024) · Environmental Education Research · doi:10.1080/13504622.2024.2409946 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Further, the ways in which families discuss climate change and the type of information that is shared (e.g. threatening vs hopeful) has also been shown to have an effect on how climate change is perceived by children (Field and Lawson 2008; Muris and Field 2010).”
Bosmans, G., Dujardin, A., Field, A. P., Salemink, E., & Vasey, M. W. (2015) · Parenting · doi:10.1080/15295192.2015.1053336 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“This finding accords with previous research showing that it is hard to find significant moderators of the maternal verbal threat information effect on fear beliefs (Muris & Field, 2010).”
ResultSelf-citationSetiawan, A. S., Agustiani, H., & Kendhawati, L. (2018) · European Journal of Dentistry · doi:10.4103/ejd.ejd_258_18 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“Children do not experience the daily activities as a tabula rasa, but they carry the information of certain stimulus or situation that can determine their fear level with them.[16]”
Social Learning Influences: Modelling, Instructions, Consequences
Mazzucchelli, T. G. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94598-9_4 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Muris, P., & Field, A. P. (2012) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118315088.ch7 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationNimphy, C. A., Mitrou, V., Elzinga, B. M., van der Does, W. A. J., & Aktar, E. (2024) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-024-00485-4 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“…children can learn to be fearful of a novel stimulus when they receive verbal information from others about the threatening/anxiety-provoking properties of this stimulus (also known as verbal (threat) information learning or instructional learning, Olsson et al., 2007; Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialLanguage of perfectionistic parents predicting child anxiety diagnostic status
Affrunti, N. W., Geronimi, E. M. C., & Woodruff‐Borden, J. (2015) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.01.001 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Lester, K. J., Lisk, S. C., Mikita, N., Mitchell, S., Huijding, J., Rinck, M., & Field, A. P. (2015) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.01.008 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Consistent with past research, exposure to verbal threat information appears to be an important pathway for the aetiology of childhood fears (see Muris & Field, 2010 for a review).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationNimphy, C. A., Elzinga, B. M., van der Does, W. A. J., & Aktar, E. (2022) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1002/jad.12105 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“…children to threatening nonverbal and verbal expressions about novel stimuli (such as dolls), and afterward assessing their attitude as well as emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses towards them (Askew & Field, 2007; Field et al., 2001; Muris & Field, 2010; Reynolds et al., 2014).”
BackgroundSpecific Phobia: Phenomenology, Epidemiology, and Etiology
Muris, P., & Merckelbach, H. L. G. J. (2012) · Autism and child psychopathology series · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3253-1_1 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationConrad, M., Reider, L. B., & LoBue, V. (2021) · Visitor Studies · doi:10.1080/10645578.2020.1865089 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
A multi‐centric study on validation of the Fear Scale for COVID‐19 in five Arabic speaking countries
Deek, H., El-Nayal, M., Alabdulwahhab, K. M., Ahmad, M. S., Shaik, R. A., Alzahrani, M. A., Mohamed, I. E., Youssef, N. F. A., Alboraie, M. A. A., Fong, D., et al. (2021) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.2375 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Girls’ Stuff? Maternal Gender Stereotypes and Their Daughters’ Fear
Gerdes, A. B. M., Fraunfelter, L.-A., Braband, M., & Alpers, G. W. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741348 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Anxiety and Interpretation of Ambiguity in Autistic Children, Typical Children and Their Mothers
Neil, L., White, H., Warren, K., & Pellicano, E. (2018) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3781-9 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Rudy, B. M., Storch, E. A., & Lewin, A. B. (2014) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-014-0008-3 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Rifkin, L. S., Schofield, C. A., Beard, C., & Armstrong, T. (2016) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2016.08.013 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
The impact of a context switch and context instructions on the return of verbally conditioned fear
Mertens, G., & Houwer, J. D. (2015) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.11.001 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…responses have been established on the basis of verbal instructions and observation (Cameron, Roche, Schlund, & Dymond, 2016; Lovibond, 2003; Muris & Field, 2010; Olsson & Phelps, 2007) and retrospective reports of anxiety patients who identified verbal threats and social observation as the…”
The influence of anthropomorphism on children's learning and attitudes toward snakes
Reider, L. B., & LoBue, V. (2024) · Frontiers in Developmental Psychology · doi:10.3389/fdpys.2024.1356604 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Alcan, E., Gessner, J., Stangier, G., Benke, C., Busin, J., Christiansen, H., & Melzig, C. A. (2025) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-025-00517-7 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…through three fear learning pathways: vicarious fear, negative information, and reinforcement or punishment (for a review, see Fisak & Grills-Taquechel, 2007; Ollendick & Muris, 2015; Ollendick & King, 1991; Muris & Field, 2010; Lebowitz et al., 2016; Aktar et al., 2017; Aktar & Pérez-Edgar, 2024).”
der Buhs, I. H.-V., & Gosselin, J. (2017) · Marriage & Family Review · doi:10.1080/01494929.2017.1347549 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“…information to bring about a decrease in fear stresses the importance for parents to communicate in a clear, unequivocal, and less emotionally laden manner to their children because it appears to help them to disambiguate novel stimuli in a neutral and nonthreatening manner (Muris & Field, 2010).”
BackgroundAdams, T. G., Sawchuk, C. N., Cisler, J. M., Lohr, J. M., & Olatunji, B. O. (2014) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118775349.ch18 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Climate Change Anxiety and Youth: Mental Health Implications
Ossipova, I., Henry, M. C., & Temmen, C. D. (2026) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling · doi:10.1080/23727810.2026.2615589 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Parents who emphasize the dangers of climate change and focus on the threatening narratives may inadvertently contribute to CCA in their children by magnifying their fears and affecting how they manifest (Muris & Field, 2010; Murray et al., 2009).”
Myalgia-arthralgia and Associated Factors in Patients with COVID-19
Eren, F., Bakdık, B. Ö., & Demir, A. (2021) · Turkish Journal Of Neurology · doi:10.4274/tnd.2021.85453 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Morato, C., Guerra, P. M., & Bublatzky, F. (2023) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.14273 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Ambiguous Information and the Verbal Information Pathway to Fear in Children
Dalrymple-Alford, S., & Salmon, K. (2013) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-013-9878-z · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“The FBQ has been shown to be a reliable index of fear (Muris and Field 2010).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
- Authors
- Muris, P., & Field, A. P.
- Affiliations
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Muris, Peter
- Venue
- Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review
- Published
- 2010-03-03
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 129-150
- ISSN
- 1096-4037 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2827
- PMC
- PMC2882043
- OpenAlex
- W2107307412
- Cited by
- 146
- References
- 170
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 1.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- children's fears, threat information, fear acquisition, media exposure, parent report, fear prevention
- MeSH terms
- Child, Fear, Humans, Phobic Disorders, Verbal Behavior, Expressed Emotion
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