Biomedical subjects

F Baeyens

Publications and source records attributed to F Baeyens.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

Verbal evaluative conditioning with undetected US presentations.

In evaluative conditioning research it has been shown that a neutral stimulus (CS) acquires the valence of a positive or negative stimulus (US) with which it is presented contingently. An experiment is reported in which it is examined whether evaluative shifts can also be observed in the complete absence of contingency-awareness. Neutral words were either followed by a briefly presented positive or negative word. Results showed that neutral words which were presented contingently with a positive word, were afterwards liked more than words which were paired with negative words. This result was obtained despite the fact that Ss were not aware of the presentation of the briefly presented USs.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

The role of CS-US contingency in human evaluative conditioning.

Recent studies suggest that in Pavlovian conditioning, two different processes may be operative: signal learning and evaluative learning, resulting in two qualitatively different associative structures. Signal-learning is hypothesized to be responsible for providing us with genuine predictors (CS) for significant events (US). This proposition logically entails that the statistical-correlational relation, i.e. the contingency between CS and US should be a crucial determinant of signal learning. Evaluative conditioning, on the other hand, refers to the observation that the mere pairing of neutral with (dis)liked stimuli changes the valence of the originally neutral stimuli in a (negative) positive direction. As argued elsewhere, evaluative conditioning is probably based on the CS acquiring a mere referential value to the US, without any genuine CS-US expectancy being involved. From this, it was hypothesized that evaluative conditioning might not be dependent on CS-US contingency. Using the standard evaluative conditioning paradigm, four different levels of CS-US contingency were created on a between-subject base. The overall effect of evaluative conditioning was strongly significant, and was not mediated by awareness of the CS-US relation. Of crucial importance, this conditioning effect did not interact with the level of contingency, supporting the hypothesis that CS-US contingency is not a crucial determinant of evaluative conditioning. Moreover, this effect was obtained in a situation in which Ss simultaneously evidence to have consciously registered quite accurately the different levels of CS-US contingency.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Human evaluative conditioning: acquisition trials, presentation schedule, evaluative style and contingency awareness.

Two different processes may be operative in human Pavlovian conditioning: signal learning and evaluative learning. Whereas most studies on evaluative conditioning focused on a mere demonstration of the phenomenon or on a theoretical analysis of the underlying processes, some basic parameters of evaluative learning are still unexplored. Hence, using the standard neutral picture--(dis)liked picture pairing paradigm (Baeyens, Eelen & Van den Bergh, 1990), in this study the effect of two parameters of evaluative conditioning was assessed on a between-subjects base, namely the Number of Acquisition Trials (2/5/10/20) and the Presentation Schedule of the stimulus pairs (blockwise or random). Additionally, the study included an exploratory analysis of the potential effects of the Evaluative Style of subjects (Feelers vs Thinkers, operationalized in terms of speed of emitting evaluations). Finally, the relationship between contingency awareness and evaluative learning was reassessed. Neutral-liked conditioning was found to be quadratically related to the number of acquisition trials (increase in effect up to 10 trials, decrease from 10 to 20 trials), whereas neutral-disliked conditioning linearly increased with increasing numbers of trials. Randomized vs blockwise presentation schedules of the stimulus pairs did differentially affect the overall pattern of conditioning, but in a way which was both unexpected and difficult to account for theoretically. Both the Evaluative Style of subjects and contingency awareness were demonstrated to be generally orthogonal to conditioned shifts in CS valence. Based on these findings, some practical suggestions are provided for the application of evaluating conditioning based therapeutical interventions to affective-behavioral disorders which are centred around inappropriate (dis)likes.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Acquired affective-evaluative value: conservative but not unchangeable.

In a previous study on Evaluative Conditioning it was found that unlike signal-learning, evaluative learning is resistant to extinction. In the present experiment we tried to replicate and corroborate this finding. In addition, we investigated the effectiveness of a counterconditioning procedure to alter acquired evaluative value. On a within-subject base (n = 30), it was found that the mere contingent presentation of neutral with (dis)liked pictures of human faces was sufficient to change the affective-evaluative tone of the originally neutral stimuli in (negative) positive direction. Next, we replicated the finding that an extinction procedure does not have any influence on the acquired evaluative value of the originally neutral stimuli, and this even in subjects fully aware of the extinction presentations. We demonstrated the effectiveness of a counterconditioning procedure to alter acquired evaluative value, and in addition, found some evidence that awareness of the counterconditioning manipulations is not a prerequisite for its effectiveness. The theoretical consequences of these findings are phrased in terms of a fundamental distinction between signal-learning and evaluative learning, and some important implications for the behavioral treatment of affective-emotional disorders are suggested.

Cognition↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Do pain expectancies cause pain in chronic low back patients? A clinical investigation.

The present study investigated whether pain expectancies cause pain in chronic low back patients. Back patients (N = 29) were requested to perform four exercise bouts (two with each leg), each consisting of flexing and extending the knee three times at maximal force (Cybex 350 System). During each exercise bout the baseline pain, the expected pain and experienced pain were recorded. Patients also reported their experienced fear of further injury to the back. Furthermore, the peak force of both knee flexors and extensors was assessed. Although patients did expect a back pain increase during the first exercise bout with each leg, no evidence was found for the thesis that pain expectancies generate increases in subjective pain experiences. Instead, the reported pain expectancy was readily corrected during the next exercise bout, whereas the experienced pain remained unchanged. Furthermore, a high pain expectancy co-occurred with (1) a marginally significant fear of (re)injury, and (2) a significant lower peak torque of the knee flexors. These results are consistent with conditioning models which state that pain expectations are associated with a fear response and an urge to avoid the pain.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The disruptive nature of pain: an experimental investigation.

Pain interrupts, distracts and takes effort to ignore. Focusing our research attention upon this central aspect of pain experience, an experimental paradigm is introduced to study the disruptive nature of pain. Healthy volunteers were exposed several times to an electrical pain stimulus and a control stimulus. Tone probes were presented immediately (100 ms) and later on (1500 ms) after pain/control onset, and after pain/control offset (1000 ms). Results clearly showed disruption during pain. This disruptive effect was most marked immediately after onset. No differential results between pain and control conditions were observed later on during the pain experience. These results are interpreted within current cognitive and psychophysiological theories of attention. Emphasis is placed upon the importance of the experimental investigation of the role of attention in pain processing.

Adolescent↗