Brief Communication Conceptual similarity promotes generalization of higher order fear learning

We tested the hypothesis that conceptual similarity promotes generalization of conditioned fear. Using a sensory precon-ditioning procedure, three groups of subjects learned an association between two cues that were conceptually similar, unre-lated, or mismatched. Next, one of the cues was paired with a shock. The other cue was then reintroduced to test for fear generalization, as measured by the skin conductance response. Results showed enhanced fear generalization that correlated with trait anxiety levels in the group that learned an association between conceptually similar stimuli. These findings suggest that conceptual representations of conditional stimuli influence human fear learning processes. The idea that many fears originate from an association between neutral and aversive stimuli has continued to serve as the basis for influential accounts of human anxiety disorders (Bouton 2002; Mineka and Zinbarg 2006). However, the nexus of many fears defy a straightforward explanation, since following an aver-sive experience other stimuli that are indirectly related to the experience oftentimes become feared as well. In some cases, gen-eralizing an acquired fear following an emotional learning epi-sode is predicated on an association between stimuli forme