Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10448369 | Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry | 2005 | 19 Pages |
Abstract
The Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (DeHouwer, EAST; Experimental Psychol. 50 (2003) 77) was used to assess how different context conditions lead to differential activation of cognitive schemata in anxiety. Participants completed two identical EASTs, in which ambiguous target words (e.g., legs, net) were categorized together with pleasant words and unpleasant, fear-related words. Each EAST was preceded by the presentation of pictures, activating either a 'human' concept or a 'spider' concept. Results indicated that spider fearful participants showed threat associations towards the target words, but only when the spider concept was primed. Non-fearful participants did not show threat associations with either type of priming. We conclude that impact of threat associations depends on the activated context, and that the EAST is suitable for the assessment of fear associations and their current activation level.
Keywords
Related Topics
Health Sciences
Medicine and Dentistry
Psychiatry and Mental Health
Authors
Thomas Ellwart, Eni S. Becker, Mike Rinck,