Effects of training on interpretation of emotional ambiguity

In four experiments we investigated whether interpretative biases found in anxious patients and high-trait anxious individuals can be induced by train ing in unselected volunteers. Repeated exposure to emotionally valenced (th reatening) meanings of homographs during training was followed by relativel y faster resolution of word fragments and faster lexical decisions for targ ets that matched the trained valence. Similar effects were found whether pa rticipants generated the meanings themselves, or verified a particular mean ing of the homograph. Finally, comparison with a baseline condition confirm ed that systematic exposure to threatening-but not non-threatening-resoluti ons of ambiguous words led to generally faster access times for congruent m eanings, thus resembling the interpretative bias seen in anxiety states.