Cross-Measure Comparisons in Human Fear Conditioning
Description
Defensive responses induced in fear conditioning paradigms are assessed using a variety of outcome measures, including subjective ratings of valence, arousal, fear, or US expectancy and physiological measures such as skin conductance response, heart rate, or defensive reflexes such as fear-potentiated startle. Often, these measures are treated as broadly equivalent in both primary and meta-analytic work. In meta-analyses, effects for different outcome measures are typically pooled within outcome types (e.g. all ratings combined) or across all outcomes. However, there is evidence that different measures capture different sub-processes and temporal components of the defensive response.
To date, it has not been comprehensively investigated to what extent outcome measures converge. This limits the interpretability and comparability of findings, and poses a challenge for meta-analytical approaches that rely on aggregating results from multiple studies.
In this project, fearbase data will be used to systematically compare the most prevalent outcome measures in fear conditioning research. The analyses aim to quantify the correspondence between different measures over time and examine whether measures cluster into distinct groups. Findings from this project are intended to facilitate both a more targeted selection of measures prior to data collection and a more differentiated interpretation of experimental results. Moreover, they aim to inform the development of suitable procedures for cross-study data aggregation with different outcome measures.
Researchers
Annalena Witte*, Bielefeld University
Fritz Becker, Bielefeld University
Maria Bruntsch, Bielefeld University
Conrad Alting, Bielefeld University
Mana Ehlers, Bielefeld University
Tina Lonsdorf, Bielefeld University
Datasets
ID 98
Pittig
2021
160
habituation, acquisition, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, US Intensity
75%
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 156
Chalkia
2019
15
acquisition, intervention, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
startle emg, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%
Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ)
ID 163
Chalkia
2020
62
acquisition, other, extinction, re-extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Intensity
37.5%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Fear of Pain Questionnaire - Short Form (FPQ-SF)
ID 168
Chalkia
2019
20
habituation, acquisition, habituation, other, habituation, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, startle emg, US Expectancy, US Intensity, CS Valence, CS Arousal
75%
Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 172
Chalkia
2020
62
acquisition, intervention, extinction, re-extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Intensity
37.5%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Fear of Pain Questionnaire - Short Form (FPQ-SF)
ID 176
Hu
2019
22
acquisition, other, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy
43%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Symptoms Checklist 90 (SCL-90)
ID 177
Hu
2019
21
acquisition, other, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy
43%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Symptoms Checklist 90 (SCL-90)
ID 178
Hu
2019
18
acquisition, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy
43%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Symptoms Checklist 90 (SCL-90)
ID 180
Chalkia
2019
15
acquisition, other, intervention, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
startle emg, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%
Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ)
ID 181
Chalkia
2019
15
acquisition, other, intervention, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
startle emg, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%
Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ)
ID 182
Faul
2020
40
habituation, acquisition, extinction, re-extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy
50%, 50%
ID 187
Lonsdorf
2019
120
habituation, acquisition, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, fear
100%
ID 188
Klingelhöfer-Jens
2022
64
habituation, acquisition, extinction, re-extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, startle emg, fear
100%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS)
ID 196
Chalkia
2019
15
acquisition, other, intervention, intervention, extinction, reinstatement test
startle emg, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%
Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ)
ID 203
Chalkia
2019
20
habituation, acquisition, habituation, other, intervention, habituation, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, startle emg, US Expectancy, US Intensity, CS Valence, CS Arousal
75%
Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 205
Sperl
2020
21
habituation, acquisition, extinction
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, CS Valence, CS Arousal
46.67%, 46.67%, 46.67%
ID 210
Gerlicher
2022
50
acquisition, extinction, intervention, re-extinction
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, US Intensity
50%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI)
ID 212
Mertens
2019
31
acquisition, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%, 100%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 214
Mertens
2019
29
acquisition, extinction, re-extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%, 100%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 215
Mertens
2019
31
acquisition, extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%, 100%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 216
Mertens
2019
28
acquisition, extinction, re-extinction, reinstatement test
skin conductance response, US Expectancy, US Intensity
100%, 100%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 217
Morriss
2020
76
acquisition, extinction, re-extinction
skin conductance response, pupil size, US Expectancy
50%
Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), Stait-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA)
ID 218
de Haan
2018
26
habituation, acquisition
pupil size, US Expectancy
46%, 46%
Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T)
ID 221
Pan
2021
40
acquisition, extinction, intervention, re-extinction
skin conductance response, CS Valence, CS Arousal
62.5%, 62.5%
ID 222
Morriss
2020
68
acquisition, extinction, re-extinction
skin conductance response, pupil size, US Expectancy
50%
Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), Stait-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA)
ID 225
Mertens
2020
107
habituation, acquisition, reversal
skin conductance response, startle emg, US Intensity, contingency awareness
%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS)
ID 226
Gerlicher
2019
80
habituation, acquisition, extinction, intervention, re-extinction
skin conductance response, US Intensity
80%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI)
ID 227
Gerlicher
2019
32
habituation, acquisition, extinction, intervention, re-extinction
skin conductance response, US Intensity
80%
State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI)