Avoidance behaviour: An investigation of overgeneralisation and ambiguity using trace procedures.

回避行为：使用跟踪程序对过度概括和模糊性进行调查。

• 批准号: 2573369
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2573369
• 关键词: Avoidance; behaviour; investigation; overgeneralisation; ambiguity

Anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder affecting over 60 million people in Europe alone, and these numbers have increased with the ongoing pandemic. A hallmark of all anxiety disorders is avoidance behaviour, which is a diagnostic criterion for anxiety according to the DSM-V. Avoidance behaviour has been overlooked in the literature. However, a phenomenon that has received attention in relation to anxiety disorders is overgeneralisation. Overgeneralization particularly occurs in those with anxiety when there is ambiguity about potential threats. This ambiguity can occur when there is a temporal gap (i.e., trace) between predictors and dangerous outcomes. There are no assessments of generalisation with trace procedures in humans therefore highlighting that combining trace procedures with an assessment of overgeneralisation in avoidance behaviour may be of high research interest. This project aims to investigate generalisation of avoidance performance in humans, using a novel trace procedure approach. This project will use a pre-existing avoidance task in which participants learn to discriminate between different predictive stimuli (blue and green) of an aversive outcome (loud noise). Following successful discrimination, participants will be presented with all intermediate values of the blue-green dimension and tested for generalisation. In different groups the stimulus-outcome trace will be manipulated in order to manipulate the ambiguity. It is expected that more ambiguity between the stimulus-outcome temporal relationship will lead to overgeneralisation, resulting in more avoidance and this will be mediated by participant's anxiety. If overgeneralisation is observed then the psychological mechanisms will be investigated. One possibility is that due to the temporal gap participants do not remember all the details of the predictor resulting in overgeneralisation this phenomenon is known as forgetting of stimulus attributes. Perceptual discrimination plays a large part in generalisation and poor discrimination can lead to broader generalisation gradient. To assess this avoidance response will be measured and participants will be asked to identify the stimulus that was previously followed by the aversive outcome. This will lead to the understanding of how stimulus attributes are recalled and which elements are best identified. Finally computational modelling will be conducted to identify the different parameters that affect overgeneralisation of avoidance. Understanding the underlying mechanisms for stimulus generalisation and incorporating them into existing models will allow an assessment of the individual differences that lead to overgeneralisation. In summary investigating overgeneralisation in avoidance could further our understanding of the underlying mechanisms which could in turn lead to treatments being adapted to attenuate relapse following treatment. Ultimately, this could result in more successful treatments for this highly prevalent disorder.

焦虑是最常见的精神疾病，仅在欧洲就有超过 6000 万人受到影响，而且随着疫情的持续，这些数字还在增加。所有焦虑症的一个特点是回避行为，根据 DSM-V，这是焦虑的诊断标准。回避行为在文献中被忽视了。然而，与焦虑症有关的一个受到关注的现象是过度概括。当对潜在威胁含糊不清时，过度概括尤其会发生在焦虑的人身上。当预测变量和危险结果之间存在时间间隙（即轨迹）时，就会出现这种模糊性。目前还没有对人类跟踪程序的泛化进行评估，因此强调将跟踪程序与回避行为的过度概括评估相结合可能具有很高的研究兴趣。该项目旨在使用一种新颖的跟踪程序方法来研究人类回避表现的泛化。该项目将使用预先存在的回避任务，其中参与者学习区分厌恶结果（大声噪音）的不同预测刺激（蓝色和绿色）。成功区分后，参与者将获得蓝绿色维度的所有中间值并进行泛化测试。在不同的群体中，刺激结果轨迹将被操纵，以操纵模糊性。预计刺激-结果时间关系之间的更多模糊性将导致过度概括，导致更多的回避，而这将由参与者的焦虑来调节。如果观察到过度概括，则将调查其心理机制。一种可能性是，由于时间间隙，参与者不记得预测变量的所有细节，导致过度概括，这种现象被称为刺激属性的遗忘。感知辨别在泛化中起着很大的作用，辨别力差会导致泛化梯度扩大。为了评估这种回避反应，将测量参与者的反应，并要求参与者识别先前出现厌恶结果的刺激。这将有助于理解如何回忆刺激属性以及最好地识别哪些元素。最后，将进行计算建模来识别影响过度概括回避的不同参数。了解刺激泛化的基本机制并将其纳入现有模型中将有助于评估导致过度泛化的个体差异。总之，研究回避中的过度概括可以进一步加深我们对潜在机制的理解，这反过来又可能导致治疗方法的调整以减少治疗后的复发。最终，这可能会为这种高度流行的疾病带来更成功的治疗。