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The Role of Verbal Threat Information in the Development of Childhood Fear. “Beware the Jabberwock!”
Open accessAbstract
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 (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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Citations
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“Normative fears include fear of ghosts and the supernatural in early childhood (Bauer, 1976), fear of animals in middle childhood, and fear of self-injury as well as socio-evaluative apprehension in late childhood and adolescence (Muris & Field, 2010).”
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“…& Ollendick, 1998; Merckelbach, de Jong, Muris, & van den Hout, 1996; Schindler, Vriends, Margraf, & Stieglitz, 2016) as well as laboratory studies demonstrating effects of both pathways on all three of Lang's (1968) fear response systems (Field, 2006; Muris & Field, 2010; Olsson & Phelps, 2004).”
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“Researchers examined several factors that may be related to the origins of the fear, such as parental styles (Hadwin, Garner, & Perez-Olivas, 2006) and media (Muris & Field, 2010); however, the relations of basic demographic variables of age, gender, and SES do not seem to have been fully examined.”
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Self-citationTheoretical Foundations of CBT for Anxious and Depressed Youth
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“SILK SHADOWS SPEAK:” PERFORMING THE VOICES OF CHILDREN THROUGH WAYANG KULIT AND HERITAGE FOLKTALES
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Self-citationPsychological Impacts of COVID-19
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Social anxiety and the acquisition of anxiety towards self-attributes
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Self-citationNewall, C., Jacomb, I., Hudson, J. L., & Broeren, S. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychopathology · doi:10.5127/jep.040013
“Considerable research suggests that both instances are viable pathways to fear, especially in children (Askew & Field, 2007; Muris & Field, 2010).”
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Psychological and social implications of COVID-19
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Etiological and psychopathological correlates of weather-related anxiety and safety behaviors
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“Verbal transmission has shown to be a significant source for fear acquisition (e.g., Muris & Field, 2010), and the current pattern of results is consistent with this larger fear acquisition literature.”
In-group affiliation enhances vicarious fear learning in children
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Metadata
- 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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