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Aversive Priming: Cognitive Processing of Threatening Stimuli is Facilitated by Aversive Primes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Evelio Huertas
Evelio Huertas*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Evelio Huertas. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Campus de Somosaguas. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón – Madrid (Spain). E-mail: ehuertas@psi.ucm.es
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Abstract

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It would be reasonable to expect that our previous experience regarding a stimulus that predicts harm would make the subsequent identification of that stimulus easier when harm happens again. Forty-eight volunteers were submitted to both phases of this sequence of events: learning of the predictive relationship and later priming. A face with neutral expression (CS+) was paired with a moderately aversive electric shock and another (CS−) with a neutral tone. Subsequently, these two faces, as well as other known and new faces, were presented for familiarity judgments. Both the CS+ and the CS− faces were preceded by an aversive stimulus (aversive prime) in one occasion and by a neutral stimulus (neutral prime) in another. The familiarity judgment regarding the CS+ was faster after the aversive prime than after the neutral prime, but there was no difference regarding the CS−. The differential effect of the aversive prime over the CS+ and the CS− showed a significant but small correlation with the differential skin conductance response to CS+ and CS− (signal learning), and with the differential evaluation of those stimuli in terms of like-dislike (evaluative learning). The scope of these results, as well as the usefulness of this methodological model, is discussed.

Cabe esperar que nuestra experiencia previa respecto a un estímulo predictor de un daño facilite la identificación posterior de ese estímulo cuando el daño ocurre de nuevo. Se sometió a 48 voluntarios a ambas fases de esta secuencia de hechos: aprendizaje de la relación predictiva y facilitación posterior. Se emparejó una cara con expresión neutra (EC+) con una descarga eléctrica moderadamente aversiva y otra (EC-) con un tono neutro. Posteriormente se sometieron esas dos caras, mezcladas con otras antiguas y nuevas, a juicios de familiaridad. Tanto la cara EC+ como la cara EC- iban precedidas de un estímulo aversivo (prime aversivo) en una ocasión y de un estimulo neutro (prime neutro) en otra. El juicio de familiaridad respecto al EC+ fue más rápido tras el prime aversivo que tras el prime neutro, pero no hubo diferencia en el caso del EC-. El efecto diferencial del prime aversivo sobre el EC+ y el EC- mostró una correlación significativa, aunque pequeña, con la respuesta de conductancia de la piel diferencial al EC+ y al EC- (aprendizaje de señal), y con la evaluación diferencial en términos de agrado-desagrado de uno y otro estímulo (aprendizaje evaluativo). Se discute el alcance de estos resultados y la utilidad del modelo metodológico.

Keywords

conditioningevaluative learningcognitive biasstressfamiliaritycondicionamientoaprendizaje evaluativosesgos cognitivosestrésfamiliaridad
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 910 - 921
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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