The verbal threat information pathway to fear in children: The longitudinal effects on fear cognitions and the immediate effects on avoidance behavior.
Open accessAbstract
Verbal information has long been assumed to be an indirect pathway to fear. Children (aged 6-8 or 12-13 years) were exposed to threat, positive, or no information about 3 novel animals to see the long-term impact on their fear cognitions and the immediate impact on avoidance behavior. Their directly (self-report) and indirectly (implicit association task) measured attitudes toward the animals changed congruent with the information provided, and the changes persisted up to 6 months later. Verbal threat information also induced behavioral avoidance of the animal. Younger children formed stronger animal- threat and animal-safe associations because of threat and positive verbal information than older children, but there were negligible age effects on self-reported fear beliefs and avoidance behaviors. These results support theories of fear acquisition that suppose that verbal information affects components of the fear emotion.
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Behavioral avoidance tests involve asking the child to approach a feared object or situation and measuring the physical distance from that object or situation, which is used as an estimate of behavioral avoidance.
“These tests involve asking the child to approach a feared object or situation and measuring the physical distance from that object or situation, which is used as an estimate of behavioral avoidance (Field et al., 2008; Klein et al., 2011).”
From Child- and Parent-Report Measures of Behavioral Avoidance (CAMS/CAMP): Portuguese Validation in Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples. (2024) · cites this paper as Field et al., 2008
Behavioral avoidance tests are the most common method of measuring avoidance.
“Behavioral avoidance tests are the most common method of measuring avoidance.”
From Child- and Parent-Report Measures of Behavioral Avoidance (CAMS/CAMP): Portuguese Validation in Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples. (2024) · cites this paper as Field et al., 2008
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“…and colleagues have shown that children’s avoidant behaviours and fear beliefs are influenced by the information they are given (e.g. Field Hamilton, Knowles, & Plews, 2003; Field, Lawson & Banerjee, 2008; Field & Lawson, 2003; Lawson, Banerjee & Field, 2007; and see Chapter 10, this volume) .”
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“Importantly, these experimentally induced beliefs have been shown to last for up to 6 months (Field et al. 2008), indicating that the acquisition of threat information may have enduring consequences for child fears.”
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“This task has previously been shown to be sensitive to detecting the differential effects of positive and threat verbal information on children's fear-related avoidance behavior (Field & Lawson, 2003 ; Field, Lawson, & Banerjee, 2008 ).”
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“Other research has also shown that when more consistent verbal information is used than was used in Experiment 1, the expectancy evaluations/fear beliefs it creates are reliable, strong and persistent (e.g. Field and Lawson, 2003; Field et al., 2008).”
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The Behavioral Avoidance Task with Anxious Youth: A Review of Procedures, Properties, and Criticisms
Castagna, P. J., Davis, T. E., & Lilly, M. E. (2016) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-016-0220-3 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Lobue, 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
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
Field, 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-citationAn 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-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-citationAnxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Castellanos, D., & Hunter, T. (2010) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e556312011-001 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
How the Emotional Environment Shapes the Emotional Life of the Child
Lobue, V., & Ogren, M. (2021) · Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1177/23727322211067264 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“The increase in fear beliefs and avoidance behavior resulting from negative verbal information are still evident after 6 months, suggesting that verbal input can have long-lasting effects on children’s fear beliefs and fearful behavior (Field et al., 2008).”
BackgroundSmith, A. R., Jones, E., Subar, A. R., Quyen, B., Kircanski, K., Leibenluft, E., Brotman, M. A., Pine, D. S., & Silk, J. S. (2022) · JCPP Advances · doi:10.1002/jcv2.12084 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“There is work linking anxiety, or worry, to avoidance in both children and adults (Bahrami & Yousefi, 2011; Dickson et al., 2012; Field et al., 2008; Field & Lawson, 2003).”
BackgroundInformationprocessing biases in child and adolescent anxiety: a developmental perspective
Field, A. P., Hadwin, J. A., & Lester, K. J. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511994920.007 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self-citationExploring the relationships between maternal and child metacognitions and child anxiety
Esbjørn, B. H., Normann, N., Lønfeldt, N. N., Tolstrup, M., & Reinholdt‐Dunne, M. L. (2016) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12286 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Comer, J. S., DeSerisy, M. L., & Green, J. G. (2016) · Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health · doi:10.1080/23794925.2016.1203737 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Aktar, E., Majdandžić, M., de Vente, W., & Bögels, S. M. (2017) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2017.1371029 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“…learning (or modeling) and verbal learning of others ’ (Askew & Field, 2008; Burtstein & Ginsburg, 2010; Dunne & Askew, 2013; Field & Lawson, 2003; Field, Lawson, & Banerjee, 2008) and mothers ’ (Bunaciu et al., 2014; Dubi, Rapee, Emerton, & Schniering, 2008; Dunne & Askew, 2013; Gerull & Rapee,…”
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
Dujardin, A., Bosmans, G., Raedt, R. D., & Braet, C. (2015) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0039500 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Viana, A. G., Dixon, L. J., Stevens, E. N., & Ebesutani, C. K. (2016) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-016-9783-z · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“One study found that providing threatening information about animals to a nonclinical sample of children ages 6–13 induced threat interpretations as well as behavioral avoidance of the animal, which persisted up to 6 months later (Field et al. 2008).”
BackgroundWatch and Learn: Vicarious Threat Learning across Human Development
Skversky‐Blocq, Y., Haaker, J., & Shechner, T. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci11101345 · 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
Anxiety Sensitivity and Childhood Learning Experiences: Impacts on Panic Symptoms Among Adolescents
Knapp, A. A., Frala, J. L., Blumenthal, H., Badour, C. L., & Leen‐Feldner, E. W. (2013) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-013-9558-8 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Field, Z., & Field, A. P. (2013) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0031147 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationInstructed fear stimuli bias visual attention
Deltomme, B., Mertens, G., Tibboel, H., & Braem, S. (2017) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.08.010 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Field, Lawson, and Banerjee (2008) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.08.010 Received 26 June 2017; Received in revised form 21 August 2017; Accepted 24 August 2017 ☆ Acknowledgements: S.B. is supported by FWO - Research Foundation Flanders (12K6316N).”
BackgroundInfluentialAllen, K. B., Tan, P. Z., Sullivan, J. A., Baumgardner, M., Hunter, H., & Noose, S. K. (2023) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-023-00458-z · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“…(Cabecinha-Alati et al., 2020), overcontrol (McLeod et al., 2007; van der Bruggen et al., 2008), modeling of anxious responses (Askew & Field, 2008), provision of threat and coping information (Emerson et al., 2019; Field et al., 2008), and accommodation (Thompson-Hollands et al., 2014).”
BackgroundVassilopoulos, S., Blackwell, S., Misailidi, P., Kyritsi, A., & Ayfanti, M. (2013) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465813000301 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“This could be through verbal information (Field, Lawson and Banerjee, 2008) transmitted mainly via acoustic events, hence the superiority of the spoken presentation modality in inducing a negative interpretation bias.”
Reynolds, G., & Askew, C. (2018) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000511 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Helping parents to help children overcome fear: The influence of a short video tutorial
Ewing, D. L., Pike, A., Dash, S. R., Hughes, Z., Thompson, E. J., Hazell, C. M., Ang, C. M., Kucuk, N., Laine, A., & Cartwright‐Hatton, S. (2019) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjc.12233 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Price-Evans, K., & Field, A. P. (2008) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465808004396 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“This experiment also supports existing research showing that verbal threat information is sufficient to induce behavioural avoidance (Field and Lawson, 2003), cognitions (Field et al., 2008) and physiological arousal (Field and Schorah, 2007).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialSelf-citationStimulus fear relevance and the speed, magnitude, and robustness of vicariously learned fear
Dunne, G., Reynolds, G., & Askew, C. (2017) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2017.05.002 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Behavioral 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-citationVerbal 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
“Using this approach, studies have shown that negative (threat) information increases child fear beliefs, behavioural avoidance, and negative implicit attitudes toward the novel stimuli (Field et al. 2001, 2008; Field and Lawson 2003).”
BackgroundLanguage 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
Temperament andanxiety in children and adolescents
Lonigan, C. J., Phillips, B. M., Wilson, S. B., & Allan, N. P. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511994920.011 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Working collaboratively with parents and carers in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
Creswell, C., Cartwright‐Hatton, S., & Rodriguez, N. (2013) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139344456.011 · Cited by 8 · 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
“In line with Field et al. (2008) if the participant had not approached the box within 15 s, it was assumed that they were unwilling to stroke the given animal and for ethical reasons the experimenter moved on.”
BackgroundSelf-citationBibliotherapy for Anxious and Phobic Youth
Coffman, M. F., Andrasik, F., & Ollendick, T. H. (2012) · doi:10.1002/9781118315088.ch13 · Cited by 8 · 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
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
Advancements in Addressing Children’s Fears: A Review and Recommendations
Leppma, M., Szente, J., & Brosch, M. J. (2015) · The Professional Counselor · doi:10.15241/ml.5.2.261 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Field, Lawson, and Banerjee (2008) found support for the effect of verbal information on persistent fear acquisition in children.”
BackgroundParenting Strategies to Deal with Children’s Anxiety: Do Parents Do What They Say They Do?
Beato, A. F., Pereira, A. I., & Barros, L. (2016) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-016-0670-3 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Direct and Indirect Learning Pathways to Disgust
Reynolds, G., & Askew, C. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-84486-8_5 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Zeytinoglu, S., White, L. K., Morales, S., Degnan, K. A., Henderson, H. A., Pérez‐Edgar, K. E., Pine, D. S., & Fox, N. A. (2025) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.14169 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Adams, 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
Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Grills, A. E., Seligman, L. D., & Ollendick, T. H. (2014) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118775349.ch22 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
An Examination of the Relationship Between Parent Language and Child Anxiety
Hosey, R., & Woodruff‐Borden, J. (2012) · Child & Family Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1080/07317107.2012.707089 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“In addition, negatively valenced emotion language has been linked to the development of phobias in children (Field & Davey, 2001; Field et al., 2003, 2008).”
BackgroundAmbiguous 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
“Finally, as previous research (e.g., Field & Lawson, 2003; Field et al., 2008) has consistently shown that school-aged children in the UK did not have prior knowledge about the Cuscus and the Quoll, children's familiarity with these animals were not measured in the present study.”
MethodOhl, M., Fox, P., & Mitchell, K. (2013) · Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology · doi:10.5539/jedp.v3n2p204 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Viana, A. G., Trent, E. S., Conroy, H. E., & Raines, E. M. (2021) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118686089.ch8 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Caiado, B., Canavarro, M. C., Pereira, A. I., & Moreira, H. (2024) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-023-10102-3 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“These tests involve asking the child to approach a feared object or situation and measuring the physical distance from that object or situation, which is used as an estimate of behavioral avoidance (Field et al., 2008; Klein et al., 2011).”
Gibb, J. (2014) · IOE EPrints · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Benoit, K. E. (2013) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Emotion understanding in infants and young children: How input shapes emotional development
LoBue, V., Casasola, M., & Oakes, L. M. (2025) · Advances in child development and behavior · doi:10.1016/bs.acdb.2025.07.003 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
de Albuquerque, J. E. G., Munsch, S., Margraf, J., & Schneider, S. (2012) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-012-0337-7 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“a stimuli may alter children’s cognitive thoughts and increase their fear levels when the stimuli is encountered again [11–14], research considering the potential role of these particular learning processes for the development of PD is still scarce [15].”
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The Effect of Positive Verbal Information on Reducing Fears About Bats in School-Aged Children
Williams, K. (2014) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Nowakowski, M. E., Rogojanski, J., & Antony, M. M. (2013) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118528563.wbcbt41 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Huijding, J., Muris, P., & Merckelbach, H. L. G. J. (2010) · Bohn Stafleu van Loghum eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-90-313-7640-7_5
Koerner, N., Rogojanski, J., & Antony, M. M. (2010) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511781919.007
Beckett, J. L., & Harmon, A. A. (2020) · Digital Scholarship - UNLV (University of Nevada Reno) · doi:10.34917/7744507
Dating Anxiety and Paternal Dating Rules
Brice, C. S. (2012) · doi:10.33915/etd.103
“The fear conditioning to the novel animal is also resistant to changes over time in that children continued to display fear and avoidance of the marsupial at a six-month follow up (Field et al., 2008).”
Background
- Authors
- Field, A. P., Lawson, J., & Banerjee, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Abnormal Psychology
- Published
- 2008-02
- Volume
- 117
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 214-224
- ISSN
- 0021-843X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1846
- OpenAlex
- W2088224337
- Cited by
- 104
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 12.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Journal of Abnormal Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (R000239591)
- 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 › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- fear acquisition, avoidance behavior, children, implicit association task, fear beliefs, age differences, fear conditioning
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cognition, Escape Reaction, Fear, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Verbal Behavior, Disclosure
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