Aversive Imagery Causes De Novo Fear Conditioning
Open accessAbstract
In classical fear conditioning, neutral conditioned stimuli that have been paired with aversive physical unconditioned stimuli eventually trigger fear responses. Here, we tested whether aversive mental images systematically paired with a conditioned stimulus also cause de novo fear learning in the absence of any external aversive stimulation. In two experiments ( N = 45 and N = 41), participants were first trained to produce aversive, neutral, or no imagery in response to three different visual-imagery cues. In a subsequent imagery-based differential-conditioning paradigm, each of the three cues systematically coterminated with one of three different neutral faces. Although the face that was paired with the aversive-imagery cue was never paired with aversive external stimuli or threat-related instructions, participants rated it as more arousing, unpleasant, and threatening and displayed relative fear bradycardia and fear-potentiated startle. These results could be relevant for the development of fear and related disorders without trauma.
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Mental imagery of potential threats can result in fear and avoidance learning.
“It has been emphasized in fear conditioning research that mental imagery of potential threats can result in fear and avoidance learning (e.g., Krypotos et al. 2020;Mertens, Krypotos, and Engelhard 2020;Mueller, Sperl, and Panitz 2019).”
From Negative Flashforward Imagery in Adolescent Social Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study of Imagery Reports and a Short EMDR Intervention. (2024) · cites this paper as Mueller, Sperl, and Panitz 2019
The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that faces paired with aversive imagery elicited fear responses, supporting imagery-based fear learning. It does not report avoidance learning; its mention of participants possibly avoiding unpleasant images concerns a potential limitation, not a learned avoidance response. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
A review on mental imagery in fear conditioning research 100 years since the ‘Little Albert’ study
Mertens, G., Krypotos, A.-M., & Engelhard, I. M. (2020) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2020.103556 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Induction of conditioned avoidance via mental imagery
Krypotos, A.-M., Mertens, G., Leer, A., & Engelhard, I. M. (2020) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2020.103652 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Thunnissen, M. R., de Jong, P. J., Weijermans, J., Vet, L. J. J., Rijkeboer, M. M., & Nauta, M. H. (2024) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.3063 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Mueller, E. M., Sperl, M. F. J., & Panitz, C.
- Affiliations
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Mueller, Erik M.
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-05-31
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1001-1015
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- PMC
- PMC6651612
- OpenAlex
- W2947445629
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 3.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Philipps-Universität Marburg
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Keywords
- mental imagery, fear learning, differential conditioning, fear potentiation, fear-potentiated startle, threat perception
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Conditioning, Classical, Cues, Emotions, Facial Expression, Fear, Female, Humans, Imagination, Male, Reflex, Startle, Young Adult
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