The interaction of pathways to fear in childhood anxiety: A preliminary study
Open accessAbstract
Recent research has shown that the verbal information pathway to fear creates long-term fear cognitions and can create cognitive biases and avoidance in children. However, the interaction between the verbal information pathway to fear and other pathways is untested. This experiment exposed children (aged 6-8) to threat information about a novel animal to see the impact on a measure of avoidance after a subsequent simulated direct negative encounter with that animal. Results showed that a direct negative experience (without prior information) or threat information (without a subsequent negative experience) produced similar effects, but in combination (verbal threat information followed by a direct negative experience) the effect was significantly magnified. These results support theories of fear acquisition that suppose that verbal information impacts on the strength of associations formed in subsequent conditioning episodes, and suggest that pathways to fear have interactive effects.
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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 Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007
Rachman's (1977) three pathways to fear have been widely validated through adult retrospective accounts and experimental studies with non-clinical children.
“Rachman ' s (1977) three pathways to fear have been widely validated through adult retrospective accounts (e.g. Murray & Foote, 1979; Rimm et al., 1977), as well as experimental studies with non-clinical children (Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007; Merckelbach et al., 1996; Muris & Field, 2010; Ollendick & King, 1991).”
From Specific Phobia in Young Children: Associations between the Origins of Fear and Clinical Expression of Phobia Symptoms. (2025) · cites this paper as Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007
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MethodAn Everyday Phrase May Harm Your Patients
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BackgroundWhat Happens When Verbal Threat Information and Vicarious Learning Combine?
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BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationDon't Think That Kids Aren't Noticing: Indirect Pathways to Children's Fear of COVID-19
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“…of extending this work to adolescents, the limited available data in this area focuses more on children than adolescents (Craske et al., 2008; Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007; Waters, Henry, & Neumann, 2009) – and none, to our knowledge, pertains to contextual (as opposed to cued) fear…”
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Self-citationAn ERP study of the interaction between verbal information and conditioning pathways to fear
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“With respect to Lang’s second response system, avoidance behavior, Dunne and Askew measured avoidance preferences using the nature reserve task (Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007), in which children indicate how much they would avoid an animal by placing a figure representing themselves on a board…”
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Askew, C., Reynolds, G., Fielding-Smith, S. F., & Field, A. P. (2015) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/abn0000131 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
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Self-citationThe role of learning in the etiology of child and adolescent fear and anxiety
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Self-citationLearning to fear a second-order stimulus following vicarious learning
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Self-citationVicarious learning and reduction of fear in children via adult and child models.
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“NRT .62** -.19 .35 .17 - 4.56 (14.51) 6.”
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“Instructed fear also produces long-lasting emotional impact, resistance to the extinction procedure, and contributes to the development of anxiety disorders (Field and Storksen-Coulson, 2007; Bublatzky et al., 2014).”
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“…study it was important to be sure that the information would have the desired effect, therefore the pre-recorded voice file used in previous studies (e.g. Field et al., 2007; Field and Schorah, 2007; Field and Storksen-Coulson, 2007) was used rather than getting parents to provide the information.”
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Self-citationManaging Children’s Fears during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies Adopted by Italian Caregivers
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“Nonetheless, fears of unspoken words can cause widespread anxiety and often become somatised or lead to behavioural problems, especially in children [40].”
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“Unlike previous findings that reported an interaction between verbal information and a negative conditioning experience (Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007) and a vicarious learning episode (Askew et al., 2008), we did not find an additive effect of combining VI and AATT compared to VI alone.”
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“Children first completed the prelearning FBQ followed immediately by the prelearning NRT.”
MethodInfluentialSomatosensory attentional modulations during pain-related movement execution
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“The hand that received the ES stimulus was counterbalanced across participants, and this association was made clear both by verbal instructions and experience (Field and Storksen-Coulson 2007).”
MethodLee, J., Kim, S., Bae, K., Kim, J., Shin, I., & Yoon, J. (2017) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.07.005 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Field, A. P., & Nightingale, Z. C. (2009) · Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1359104508100891 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Recently, work in children has also demonstrated reliable conditioned fear responses in the laboratory (Craske et al., 2008; Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007; Lau et al., 2008; Neumann,Waters, & Westbury, 2008).”
BackgroundSelf-citationRifkin, 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
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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
“This interpretation aligns with existing fear acquisition models, which posit that fear learning pathways do not operate in isolation in the context of external threats (Field, 2006; Field & Purkis, 2011; Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007; Mineka & Zinbarg, 2006; Rachman, 1977).”
Clauwaert, A., Schouppe, S., Oosterwijck, J. V., Danneels, L. A., & Damme, S. V. (2020) · Clinical Journal of Pain · doi:10.1097/ajp.0000000000000823 · Cited by 5 · 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
Do you think I should be scared? The effect of peer discussion on children's fears
Ooi, J., Dodd, H. F., Stuijfzand, B. G., Walsh, J., & Broeren, S. (2016) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2016.08.009 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
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“The methodology of the nature reserve task was adapted from a previous study by Field and Storksen-Coulson (2007) who modelled this innovative paradigm on a family systems therapy approach to understanding closeness in family relationships (e.g., Gehring & Marti, 2000).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialStuijfzand, S., Chakrabarti, B., Reynolds, S. A., & Dodd, H. F. (2019) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2019.103450 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Can Threat Information Bias Fear Learning? Some Tentative Results and Methodological Considerations
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“In a first study by Field and Storksen-Coulson (2007), young children (six to eight years old) were given negative information about an unknown animal.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialChildren’s sleepiness facilitates the effect of vicarious learning on the development of fear
Reynolds, G., & Ewing, D. L. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105129 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
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“…The Operant Motive Test (Kuhl & Scheffer, 1999; Scheffer, 2005; Scheffer, Eichstaedt, Chasiotis, & Kuhl, 2007), and a broader category of figure placement techniques (Family System Test, Gehring, 1998; Gehring, Debry, & Smith, 2001; see also Field & Field, 2013; Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007).”
Caregiving Impact upon Sufferers’ Cognitive Functioning
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Williams, K. (2014) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Trimarchi, L., Waters, A. M., Simcock, G., & Farrell, L. J. (2025) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-025-03040-z · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“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.”
The Effects of Parent Factors on Children's Separation Anxiety
May, A. C. (2013) · doi:10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.3576 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Dalrymple-Alford, S. (2011) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.17000353
“The Nature Reserve Task is based on the Family Systems task (Gehring & Marti, 2000, cited in Field & Storksen-Coulson, 2007a), in which moveable figurines are placed on a grid to represent family members and ascertain closeness between family members and the child.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialCognitive rehearsal, cognitive bias and the development offear in high trait-anxious children
Nightingale, Z. C. (2011) · Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex)
Dating Anxiety and Paternal Dating Rules
Brice, C. S. (2012) · doi:10.33915/etd.103
The Role of Caregiver Attachment in Vicarious Fear Learning in Children
Reynolds, G., & Oskis, A. (2025) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/sode.70040
Identifiable regional and neural network abnormalities in early childhood anxiety
Thompson, K. I., Zhang, Y., Schaedig, D., Bankston, A., Parnerkar, A., Jeyaram, S., Melhem, N., & Perlman, S. B. (2026) · JCPP Advances · doi:10.1002/jcv2.70158
“Despite these measurement challenges, available evidence suggests that children with elevated trait anxiety or anxiety symptoms show heightened conditioned anticipatory fear responses to unpredictable threat (Field & Storksen - Coulson, 2007; Lester et al., 2011; Nelson & Hajcak, 2017).”
In-group affiliation enhances vicarious fear learning in children
Reynolds, G., & Neller, K. (2026) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2026.2753633
- Authors
- Field, A. P., & Storksen-Coulson, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Field, Andy P.
- ORCID
- Field, Andy P.
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-12
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 3051-3059
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1965561262
- Cited by
- 72
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 5.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- childhood anxiety, fear acquisition, avoidance, fear conditioning, cognitive biases, interaction effects
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Child, Fear, Female, Humans, London, Male, Touch, Verbal Behavior, Narration
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