EFFECTS OF UCS INTENSITY AND DURATION OF EXPOSURE OF NONREINFORCED CSON CONDITIONED ELECTRODERMAL RESPONSES - AN EXPERIMENTAL-ANALYSIS OF THE INCUBATION THEORY OF ANXIETY

Eysenck's incubation theory of fear or anxiety was examined in a human Pavlovian conditioning experiment with skin-conductance responses as the dependent variable. The conditioned stimuli (CSs) were fear-releva nt slides (snakes and spiders) and the unconditioned stimuli (UCSs) we re aversive tones. Different groups of subjects were presented two ton e intensities during the acquisition phase and three durations of nonr einforced CS (extinction phase) in a delay differential conditioning p aradigm. Resistance to extinction of conditioned skin-conductance resp onses (conditioned fear responses) exhibited was largest for high inte nsity of tone and short presentations of the nonreinforced CS (CS + pr esented alone). The result tends to support Eysenck's incubation theor y of anxiety.