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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.015 Byline: Dirk Hermans (a), Klara De Cort (b), Daphne Noortman (b), Debora Vansteenwegen (a), Tom Beckers (a)(c), Adriaan Spruyt (d), Koen Schruers (b) Abstract: Cognitive models assume that panic disorder is characterised by a tendency to misinterpret benign bodily symptoms (e.g. breathlessness) in a catastrophic fashion (e.g. suffocation). This is a central part of the cognitive model which presents a core focus for treatment. Several studies have supported this hypothesis. These studies have, however, almost always relied on self-report. In addition to susceptibility to biases (e.g. distortions of memory), a limitation of research based on verbal report is its inability to capture the spontaneous/automatic nature that is attributed to these catastrophic interpretations. The present paper reports on two experiments in which a priming procedure was used to test the hypothesis that panic disorder is characterised by spontaneous catastrophic interpretations and whether this effect is 'specific' to panic disorder. In line with predictions from the cognitive model, it was observed in the first experiment that the panic group demonstrated facilitated responses to trials consisting of a 'symptom' prime and a 'catastrophic outcome' target (e.g. breathlessness - suffocate). Similar effects were not observed for an anxious control group and a nonclinical control group, supporting the specificity of this effect. Interestingly, however, significant priming effects were observed for a group of mental health professionals (part of the healthy control group) who had no history of panic disorder. Subsequently, this unexpected observation was explicitly addressed in a second experiment, which confirmed the findings of Experiment 1. Together, these results suggest that associations between mental representations of benign bodily symptoms and catastrophic outcomes might develop as part of professional knowledge and experience, and should not necessarily be viewed as pathogenic. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium (b) Department of Psychiatry and Neurospyschology, Academic Anxiety Center, Maastricht University, The Netherlands (c) Amsterdam University, The Netherlands (d) Flemish Research Foundation (FWO - Vlaanderen), Ghent University, Belgium Article History: Received 17 November 2009; Revised 15 May 2010; Accepted 19 May 2010 Article Note: (footnote) [star] Preparation of this paper was in part supported by Grant BOF/GOA2006/001 of Ghent University.

Recent evidence indicates that prior learning about a set of cues may determine how new cues are processed. If subjects are taught that two reliable predictors of an outcome do not summate when the cues are presented together (i.e., subadditive pretraining), the subjects will tend to show a less profound blocking effect when trained with different cues. Three experiments investigated the conditions necessary for subadditive pretraining to generalize to new cues. Experiment 1 demonstrated that subadditive pretraining is less effective in reducing blocking when it is experienced in a context other than that in which the blocking training is experienced. In Experiment 2, the effectiveness of subadditive pretraining waned with time. Experiment 3 showed that subadditive pretraining is more effective when the temporal characteristics of pretraining cues are similar to those of the cues used in blocking training. These results provide information concerning the conditions under which learning will generalize from one set of cues to another.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.05.010 Byline: Dinska Van Gucht, Debora Vansteenwegen, Omer Van den Bergh, Tom Beckers Abstract: In two experiments, we used a Pavlovian differential conditioning procedure to induce craving for chocolate. As a result of repeated pairing with chocolate intake, initially neutral cues came to elicit an automatic approach tendency in a speeded stimulus-response compatibility reaction time task. This automatic approach tendency, moreover, seemed to be sensitive to manipulations of extinction and renewal in the Pavlovian conditioning procedure. These findings corroborate and extend previous reports of automatic approach tendencies elicited by substance-relevant cues in addiction, while controlling for alternative accounts for such observations. Moreover, our data lend support to and extend learning models of cue-induced craving and addiction. Finally, we argue that the procedure we present here provides an ecologically valid behavioural tool that allows studying processes involved in cue-induced craving, addiction and relapse without relying on verbal report. Author Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium Article History: Received 10 December 2007; Revised 2 May 2008; Accepted 8 May 2008 Article Note: (footnote) [star] This research was supported by a University of Leuven grant GOA/2001/01. Tom Beckers is a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation -- Flanders (FW0).

In two experiments, we used a Pavlovian differential conditioning procedure to induce craving for chocolate. As a result of repeated pairing with chocolate intake, initially neutral cues came to elicit an automatic approach tendency in a speeded stimulus-response compatibility reaction time task. This automatic approach tendency, moreover, seemed to be sensitive to manipulations of extinction and renewal in the Pavlovian conditioning procedure. These findings corroborate and extend previous reports of automatic approach tendencies elicited by substance-relevant cues in addiction, while controlling for alternative accounts for such observations. Moreover, our data lend support to and extend learning models of cue-induced craving and addiction. Finally, we argue that the procedure we present here provides an ecologically valid behavioural tool that allows studying processes involved in cue-induced craving, addiction and relapse without relying on verbal report. Keywords: Craving Cue-reactivity Automatic approach tendency Conditioning Extinction Renewal

Unlike in fear conditioning, little attention has been devoted to extinction and renewal in appetitive conditioning, despite its relevance for extinction-based addiction treatments. We developed a paradigm, using a specific tray as a conditioned stimulus (CS) for eating chocolate (unconditioned stimulus, US), to investigate the effects of context change on acquisition and extinction of conditioned chocolate craving using an ABA renewal design. In Study 1 (n = 32), participants successfully acquired chocolate craving, but unlike what is commonly observed in fear conditioning, craving did not extinguish. In Study 2, we separately assessed craving and US expectancy in a between-subjects design (n = 64). US-expectancy data showed acquisition, extinction and renewal in the ABA group. The craving data did not follow this pattern, suggesting different mechanisms for craving and US expectancy. Similarities and differences between craving and US expectancy, as well as practical implications, are discussed. Keywords: Return of conditioned responses; Human appetitive conditioning; Renewal; Craving; US-expectancy

In animals, the reappearance of conditioned fear responses after extinction has been primarily-investigated using single-cue conditioning paradigms. However, a differential paradigm can overcome several of the disadvantages associated with a single-cue procedure. In the present study, the reinstatement phenomenon was assessed in mice using a differential conditioned suppression paradigm. In a first phase, one conditioned stimulus (CS+) was consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US; footshock) while another CS (CS-) was not, resulting in selective suppression of previously trained instrumental behaviour during the CS+. After the extinction phase, half of the animals (reinstatement group) were presented with unsignalled USs, while the other half were not (control group). A differential return of conditioned responding was observed in the reinstatement group, but not in the control group. The implications of these findings for future conditioning research are discussed.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2007.03.001 Byline: Stefaan Vandorpe (a), Jan de Houwer (a), Tom Beckers (b) Keywords: Cue competition; Memory for compounds Abstract: Revisions of common associative learning models incorporate a within-compound association mechanism in order to explain retrospective cue competition effects (e.g., [Dickinson, A., & Burke, J. (1996). Within-compound associations mediate the retrospective revaluation of causality judgements. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49B, pp. 60-80.]). These models predict a correlation between memory for compounds (as a measure for the strength of within-compound associations) and retrospective cue competition but not forward cue competition. This was indeed found in a study of [Melchers, K. G., Lachnit, H., & Shanks, D. (2004). Within-compound associations in retrospective revaluation and in direct learning: A challenge for comparator theory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 57B, pp. 25-54.]. We argue that a higher-order reasoning account of causal learning can also explain the evidence for the role of within-compound associations in cue competition. Moreover, this account predicts that if making inferences during the learning stage is impeded, a correlation between memory for compounds and forward cue competition should be found as well. The results of a new study confirmed this prediction. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Gent, Belgium (b) Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Belgium Article History: Received 19 April 2006; Revised 2 February 2007 Article Note: (footnote) [star] Stefaan Vandorpe and Jan de Houwer, Department of Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium. Tom Beckers, Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Belgium. Stefaan Vandorpe and Tom Beckers are post-doctoral researchers for the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO -- Flanders, Belgium). We thank Klaus Melchers for providing stimulus materials. Parts of the data presented in this paper were reported at the Special Interest Meeting on Human Contingency Learning, Le Lignely, Belgium, May 2004.

Recent evidence shows that outcome maximality (e.g., De Houwer, Beckers, & Glautier, 2002) and additivity training (e.g., Lovibond, Been, Mitchell, Bouton, & Frohard, 2003) have an influence on cue competition in human causal learning. This evidence supports the idea that cue competition is based on controlled reasoning processes rather than on automatic associative processes. Until now, however, all the evidence for controlled reasoning processes comes from studies with rather simple designs that involved only few cues and events. We conducted two experiments with a complex design involving 24 different cues. The results showed that outcome maximality and additivity training had an influence on cue competition but that this influence was more pronounced for forward cue competition than for retrospective cue competition. DOI:10.1080/17470210601002561

Previous studies on causal learning showed that judgements about the causal effect of a cue on an outcome depend on the statistical contingency between the presence of the cue and the outcome. We demonstrate that statistical contingency has a different impact on preparation judgements (i.e., judgements about the usefulness of responses that allow one to prepare for the outcome). Our results suggest that preparation judgements primarily reflect information about the outcome in prior situations that are identical to the test situation. These findings also add to previous evidence showing that people can use contingency information in a flexible manner depending on the type of test question. DOI:10.1080/17470210601001084

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.10.014 Byline: Debora Vansteenwegen, Bram Vervliet, Dirk Hermans, Tom Beckers, Frank Baeyens, Paul Eelen Keywords: Return of fear; Human fear conditioning; Retrieval cues; Renewal; Cuing; Context-effects Abstract: It was previously demonstrated in our laboratory that conditioned fear in humans can renew after extinction, when this procedure took place in a different context (ABA-renewal [Vansteenwegen et al. (2005). Return of fear in a human differential conditioning paradigm caused by a return to the original acquisition context. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43(3), 323-336]). Using the same experimental design, we now tested the power of retrieval cues to interact with this contextual renewal phenomenon. Two groups went through acquisition and extinction (in a different context). They were then tested in the original acquisition context and in the presence of a retrieval cue. In the acquisition-cue group, this cue previously featured during the acquisition procedure; in the extinction-cue group, the cue previously featured during the extinction procedure. As expected, renewal of conditioned electro-dermal responding and retrospective expectancy ratings was strongest in the acquisition-cue group. Theoretical and clinical implications of this finding are discussed. Author Affiliation: Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Behaviour Therapy, Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium Article History: Received 7 June 2005; Revised 5 October 2005; Accepted 25 October 2005

It was previously demonstrated in our laboratory that conditioned fear in humans can renew after extinction, when this procedure took place in a different context (ABA-renewal [Vansteenwegen et al. (2005). Return of fear in a human differential conditioning paradigm caused by a return to the original acquisition context. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43(3), 323-336]). Using the same experimental design, we now tested the power of retrieval cues to interact with this contextual renewal phenomenon. Two groups went through acquisition and extinction (in a different context). They were then tested in the original acquisition context and in the presence of a retrieval cue. In the acquisition-cue group, this cue previously featured during the acquisition procedure; in the extinction-cue group, the cue previously featured during the extinction procedure. As expected, renewal of conditioned electro-dermal responding and retrospective expectancy ratings was strongest in the acquisition-cue group. Theoretical and clinical implications of this finding are discussed. Keywords: Return of fear; Human fear conditioning; Retrieval cues; Renewal; Cuing; Context-effects

Forward blocking is one of the best-documented phenomena in Pavlovian animal conditioning. According to contemporary associative learning theories, forward blocking arises directly from the hardwired basic learning rules that govern the acquisition or expression of associations. Contrary to this view, here the authors demonstrate that blocking in rats is flexible and sensitive to constraints of causal inference, such as violation of additivity and ceiling considerations. This suggests that complex cognitive processes akin to causal inferential reasoning are involved in a well-established Pavlovian animal conditioning phenomenon commonly attributed to the operation of basic associative processes. Keywords: animal conditioning, cue competition, causal reasoning, associative learning, animal cognition

Previous studies on human causal learning (De Houwer & Beckers, 2003; De Houwer, Beckers, & Glautier, 2002) showed that secondary task difficulty (performing an easy vs. a difficult secondary task during the main causal learning task) and ceiling information (outcome occurs with a maximal vs. submaximal intensity) had an influence on forward blocking (i.e., lower causal ratings for cue T when AT+ trials are preceded by A+ trials than when no A+ trials are presented). We extended these studies by also examining self-reports of participants about the reasons behind their causal ratings. Blocking was found only for participants who reported an appropriate blocking inference. Furthermore, secondary task difficulty and ceiling information influenced the number of participants who reported an appropriate blocking inference. These findings point to a major impact of inferential reasoning in human causal learning.

When people judge the contingency between a target cue and an outcome, they also take into account the contingency between the outcome and other cues with which the target cue co-occurred. Several authors have argued that such cue competition effects are due to higher order reasoning processes. We review the evidence that supports this hypothesis and discuss whether higher order reasoning might also play a role in other learning phenomena.

Three experiments examined human processing of stimuli as predictors and causes. In Experiments 1A and 1B, two serial events that both preceded a third were assessed as predictors and as causes of the third event. Instructions successfully provided scenarios in which one of the serial (target) stimuli was viewed as a strong predictor but as a weak cause of the third event. In Experiment 2, participants' preexperimental knowledge was drawn upon in such a way that two simultaneous antecedent events were processed as predictors or causes, which strongly influenced the occurrence of overshadowing between the antecedent events. Although a tendency toward overshadowing was found between predictors, reliable overshadowing was observed only between causes, and then only when the test question was causal. Together with other evidence in the human learning literature, the present results suggest that predictive and causal learning obey similar laws, but there is a greater susceptibility to cue competition in causal than predictive attribution.

Recent research suggests that outcome additivity pretraining modulates blocking in human causal learning. However, the existing evidence confounds outcome additivity and outcome maximality. Here the authors present evidence for the influence of presenting information about outcome maximality (Experiment 1) and outcome additivity (Experiment 2) on subsequent forward blocking. The results of Experiment 3 confirm that, with outcome maximality controlled, outcome additivity affects backward blocking but riot release from overshadowing. Finally, the results of Experiment 4 demonstrate that information about outcome additivity has a similar effect on forward Hocking it presented after the blocking training instead of before. The results are compatible with the idea that blocking results, from inferential processes at the time of testing and not from a failure to acquire associative strength during training.

In a differential human fear conditioning paradigm evidence for ABA- renewal was obtained manipulating the lighting in the experimental room. During acquisition in either a dark or illuminated room, one neutral slide was sometimes paired with a loud aversive noise whereas another slide was not. Subsequently, extinction took place in the opposite lighting context. When afterwards the participants were tested again in the original acquisition context, measurements revealed a recovery of the conditioned electrodermal response and an increase in the retrospective verbal US-expectancy ratings. No response recovery was obtained in an AAA-group that received acquisition, extinction and test trials in one and the same context. Several theoretical explanations for this type of return of fear as well as implications for clinical practice are discussed. Keywords: Human fear conditioning; Context-specificity; Exposure; Return of fear; Skin conductance

The influence of a secondary task on forward blocking of human contingency ratings was examined. A smaller blocking effect was found when participants performed a highly demanding secondary task than when they performed a less demanding secondary task. The modulatory effect of secondary task difficulty was significant only when the secondary task was administered during both the learning and the test phase of the contingency judgement task. The results suggest that forward blocking in human contingency learning cannot be fully accounted for by associative processes. Instead, forward blocking seems to depend at least partially on deliberate deductive reasoning processes.

Over the past 20 years, human contingency learning has resurfaced as an important topic within experimental psychology. This renewed interest was sparked mainly by the proposal that associative models of Pavlovian conditioning might also apply to human contingency learning--a proposal that has led to many new empirical findings and theoretical developments. We provide a brief review of these recent developments and try to point to issues that need to be addressed in future research.

Previous studies demonstrated that participants will retrospectively adjust their ratings about the relation between a target cue and an outcome on the basis of information about the causal status of a competing cue that was previously paired with the target cue. We demonstrate that such retrospective revaluation effects occur not only for target cues with which the competing cue was associated directly, but also for target cues that were associated indirectly with the competing cue. These second-order and third-order retrospective revaluation effects are compatible with certain implementations of the probabilistic contrast model and with a modified, extended comparator model, but cannot be explained on the basis of a revised Rescorla-Wagner model or a revised SOP model.

Studies are conducted using fictitious social groups to examine the efficacy of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) in determining attitudes of people. The findings indicate that the IAT effect depends on the instruction and false implicit attitudes can be represented through the IAT.

The simultaneous versus sequential Feature Negative discrimination learning in humans is studied. Studies suggest that a combination of modulatory and direct inhibitory properties is necessary for the suppression of the target-induces Unconditioned Stimulus (US) activation.

This article discusses testing human contingency judgements by cues that could be followed by an outcome. The authors, conducting three experiments, conclude that cue instructions had an effect on blocking, but had to effect on reduced overshadowing.

In this commentary, we assess the propositional approach to associative ]earning not only in terms of veridicality and falsifiability, but also in heuristic value. We remark that it has furthered our knowledge and understanding of human, as well as animal, associative learning. At the same time, we maintain that models developed from the association formation tradition continue to bear great heuristic value as well.