Testing the temporal stability of individual differences in the acquisition and generalization of fear
Corresponding Author
David Torrents-Rodas
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David Torrents-Rodas, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMiquel A. Fullana
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Anxiety Unit, INAD-Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Search for more papers by this authorAlbert Bonillo
Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorOscar Andión
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Department of Psychiatry, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorBeatriz Molinuevo
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorXavier Caseras
MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, UK
Search for more papers by this authorRafael Torrubia
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David Torrents-Rodas
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David Torrents-Rodas, Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorMiquel A. Fullana
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Anxiety Unit, INAD-Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Search for more papers by this authorAlbert Bonillo
Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorOscar Andión
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Department of Psychiatry, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorBeatriz Molinuevo
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorXavier Caseras
MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, UK
Search for more papers by this authorRafael Torrubia
Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Institute of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
We studied the temporal stability of individual differences in the acquisition and generalization of fear. Seventy-one participants were tested in two almost identical fear-acquisition and fear-generalization sessions (separated by 8 months). Acquisition and generalization were measured by the fear-potentiated startle, the skin conductance response, and online expectancies of the unconditioned stimulus. To control for the effects of previous experience, different stimuli were used for half of the participants in Session 2. Acquisition and generalization did not differ across sessions or as a function of the stimuli used in Session 2, and a significant proportion of individual differences in these processes was stable over time (generalizability coefficients ranged from 0.17 to 0.38). When the same stimuli were used, acquisition measures showed compromised stability. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied implications.
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