COVARIATION BIAS FOR PHYLOGENETIC VERSUS ONTOGENIC FEAR-RELEVANT STIMULI

In the present study, two groups of 21 subjects with either high or lo w fear of both snakes (or spiders) and damaged electrical outlets/appl iances participated in a two phase experiment. After reading a descrip tion of an illusory correlation experiment, subjects were asked to ima gine themselves participating in it. They rated their expectations for the number of occasions on which slides of snakes, electrical outlets , and flowers would be followed by either a shock, tone, or nothing. A s predicted, both high and low-fear subjects reported an expectancy bi as for both phylogenetic and ontogenetic fear-relevant stimuli and sho ok. In the second phase subjects were actually exposed to the random s lide/outcome presentation. Only high-fear subjects demonstrated a cova riation bias which was specific to phylogenetic fear-relevant slides a nd shock, indicating all other biases were effectively attenuated. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.