TY - THES ID - 135396446 TI - The role of detailed processing in return of fear after stimulus change AU - Maes, Julie AU - Hermans, Dirk. AU - Boddez, Yannick. AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Psychologie en Pedagogische Wetenschappen. Opleiding Master in de psychologie (Leuven) PY - 2017 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Psychologie en Pedagogische Wetenschappen DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:135396446 AB - Exposure is the treatment of choice for anxiety, but return of fear responding is a common problem. In this study we addressed the generalization of treatment effects to other stimuli than the exposure stimulus. Therapists often induce detailed processing because they want clients to focus attention on the exposure stimulus and not engage in avoidance behavior. However, by focusing on the specific details of the exposure stimulus, generalization to other stimuli might be impaired. We investigated the effects of detailed processing of the exposure stimulus on the generalization to a novel stimulus. In addition we explored the influence of exposure to the gist of this stimulus to promote a stronger generalization. During the exposure phase, 75 spider-anxious participants were repeatedly presented with pictures of a spider. Participants were assigned to one of three conditions. The crucial manipulation entailed visual alterations in the stimulus. Participants in the global condition were presented with a blurred presentation of the spider stimulus that merely displayed the gist. In the detail condition we aimed to induce a detailed processing style through a circle relocating over the stimulus and indicating the required direction of attention. A third condition was added without visual manipulation to serve as a control group. After exposure all participants were presented with a novel spider stimulus to determine effects of generalization. During the exposure and test phase we asked trial-by-trial ratings for fear, disgust and valence. Before and after the exposure and test phase participants completed a behavioral approach task, the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire and AM Disgust Scale, as well after one week follow-up. We hypothesized stronger generalization effects when the exposure stimulus displayed the gist of this stimulus compared to the condition in which a detailed processing style was induced. Analysis revealed a decrease in fear, disgust and negative valence during exposure. Participants with attention for the gist experienced a significant larger decline relative to the detail condition. No significant differences in generalization between groups were found on the first test trial. The manipulation we employed, caused no lower experience of fear, disgust and negative valence for the global condition. Keywords: exposure therapy, spider phobia, attentional focus, detail, generalization, context-dependency, stimulus specific characteristics. ER -