PMID: 9159974Jun 1, 1997Paper

Conditional reasoning and phobic fear: evidence for a fear-confirming reasoning pattern

Behaviour Research and Therapy
P J de JongM van den Hout

Abstract

In two experiments we explored the role of subjects' reasoning performance in the persistence of phobic fear. More specifically, we investigated whether (phobic) subjects are prone to selectively search for danger-confirming information when asked to judge the validity of conditional rules in the context of general and phobic threats. In both experiments, participants were presented with Wason Selection Tasks (WST) pertaining to general and phobic threats. The WSTs contained safety rules (if P then no danger) and danger rules (if P then danger). In Experiment 1 participants were high (n = 20) and low (n = 20) spider fearful students, whereas in Experiment 2 participants were untreated (n = 38) and treated (n = 27) spider phobic women and a group of non-fearful controls (n = 27). Both experiments showed that in the context of general threat, subjects predominantly rely on confirming information regarding danger rules and on falsifying information regarding safety rules. This reasoning strategy was not particularly pronounced in high fear or phobic subjects. However, only clinically diagnosed spider phobics displayed a similar reasoning strategy in the context of phobia-relevant threats. Thus, the present data seem to suggest tha...Continue Reading

References

Aug 1, 1968·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology·P C Wason
Jan 1, 1984·Behaviour Research and Therapy·S Rachman
Feb 1, 1995·Behaviour Research and Therapy·P J de JongH Merckelbach
Jan 1, 1993·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·M Borgerhoff Mulder, D S Judge

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Citations

Jan 26, 2012·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Melanie StollstorffChandan J Vaidya
Oct 16, 2004·Psychological Science·Isabelle Blanchette, Anne Richards
Nov 28, 2009·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·Maartje S Vroling, Peter J de Jong
Jun 24, 2004·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·Francesco Mancini, Amelia Gangemi
Jan 13, 2009·Behaviour Research and Therapy·Peter MurisAndy Field
Jun 6, 2006·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·Francesco Mancini, Amelia Gangemi
Mar 18, 2015·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·Amelia GangemiReuven Dar
Aug 7, 2014·Child Psychiatry and Human Development·Pauline DibbetsCor Meesters
Aug 13, 2013·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·Danielle RemmerswaalPeter Muris
Jun 5, 1998·Behaviour Research and Therapy·P J de JongB Mayer
Jul 18, 2016·Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry·Pauline Dibbets, Cor Meesters
Oct 2, 2002·Psychological Reports·Francesco Mancini, Amelia Gangemi
Sep 5, 2015·Trauma, Violence & Abuse·T K Logan, Robert Walker
May 1, 2001·Journal of Toxicology. Clinical Toxicology·R BekkaF J Baud
Aug 26, 1998·Journal of Toxicology. Clinical Toxicology·M E Mullins, C A Hammett-Stabler
Nov 7, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Amelia GangemiFrancesco Mancini

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