Safety signals reinforce instrumental avoidance in humans.

ABSTRACT: Safety signals reinforce instrumental avoidance behavior in nonhuman animals. However, there are no conclusive demonstrations of this phenomenon in humans. Using human participants in an avoidance task, Experiments 1-3 and 5 were conducted online to assess the reinforcing properties of safety signals, and Experiment 4 was conducted in the laboratory. Participants were trained with CSs+ and CSs-, and they could avoid an aversive outcome during presentations of the CSs+ by pressing their space bar at a specific time. If successful, the aversive outcome was not presented but instead a safety signal was. Participants were then tested-whilst on extinction-with two new ambiguous test CSs. If participants made an avoidance response, one of the test CSs produced the trained safety signal and the o

SUBMITTER: Fisher CTL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11407691 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature