COVARIATION BIAS IN PHOBIA - MERE RESISTANCE TO PREEXPERIMENTAL EXPECTANCIES

In the present study subjects were asked to read a description of the experimental procedure that was used in a previous study on covariation bias and to imagine that they were about to participate in that experiment. They were then asked to predict the probabilities of all slide/outcome combinations. In addition, they rated the confidence of their predictions. There were 2 concurrent fear-relevant stimuli (weapon and spider) and 1 neutral stimulus (flower) included in the ''experiment.'' Stimuli could be followed by either a shock, a siren, or nothing. Both high-fear (n = 30) and low-fear (n = 34) subjects typically expected spiders to be paired with shock. In addition, they were equally confident about their predictions. The present results indicate that preexperimental expectancies are not sufficient to explain the differences in a posteriori reported covariation estimates between high- and low-fear subjects that were found in previous studies.