The role of aversiveness in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and inflexible avoidance
Abstract
The study of avoidance behaviour is considered relevant to improve our understanding of anxiety disorders, which are commonly characterized by the presence of undue avoidance behaviours. Flores et al. (2018) found evidence that Prospective Intolerance of Uncertainty (P-IU) is associated with inflexible avoidance behaviour. Specifically, healthy participants learned in a free-operant discriminative task to avoid an aversive sound, and were tested in extinction to measure the sensitivity of avoidance responses to the devaluation of the sound aversiveness. The results showed that an increase in P-IU was positively associated with insensitivity to outcome devaluation. This association was still significant even when trait anxiety was controlled for. These results suggested that PIU may be a vulnerability factor for inflexible avoidance. However, in a recent replication, we found that the relationship between P-IU and inflexible avoidance was moderated by the participants ratings of outcome aversiveness. Specifically, the significant association between PIU and insensitivity to outcome devaluation was found to be conditional upon high aversiveness ratings.
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The ela ionship be ween P-IU and in lexible a oidance was MODERATED by he pa icipan s’ a ings o ou come a e si eness:
Speci ically, he signi ican associa ion be ween P-IU and insensi i i y o ou come de alua ion was ound o be condi ional upon high a e si eness
a ings (see Table 1 and Figu e 4):
The in e ac ion P-IU x Ou come a e si eness was signi ican : b= 0.005 [.001, .010]
The ole o a e si eness in he ela ionship be ween
in ole ance o unce ain y and in lexible a oidance
g
Amanda Flo es1, F ancisco J. López1, B am Ve lie 2& Ped o L. Cobos1
1Uni e sidad de Málaga and Ins i u o de In es igación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA)
2Cen e o Excellence on Gene aliza ion, Uni e si y o Leu en, and Depa men o Psychia y, Ha a d Medical School, Massachuse s Gene al Hospi al
The s udy o a oidance beha iou is conside ed ele an o imp o e ou unde s anding o anxie y diso de s, which a e commonly cha ac e ized by he p esence o
undue a oidance beha iou s (End ass e al., 2011; Gillan e al., 2014). On he o he hand, Dugas e al. (2001) de ined in ole ance o unce ain y as “ he excessi e
endency o an indi idual o conside i unaccep able ha a nega i e e en may occu , howe e small he p obabili y o i s occu ence”. One o i s wo ac o s,
P ospec i e In ole ance o Unce ain y, has been de ined as a ac o leading o excessi e esponding in unce ain si ua ions (K aeme e al., 2014, Oglesby e al.,
2013). Thus, unce ain a oidance si ua ions may be aken as a ele an scena io o examine he ole o in ole ance o unce ain y as a ac o ha acili a es excessi e
and in lexible a oidance beha io .
Flo es e al. (2018) ound e idence ha P ospec i e In ole ance o Unce ain y (P-IU) is associa ed wi h in lexible a oidance beha iou . Speci ically, heal hy
pa icipan s lea ned in a ee-ope an disc imina i e ask o a oid an a e si e sound, and we e es ed in ex inc ion o measu e he sensi i i y o a oidance esponses
o he de alua ion o he sound a e si eness. The esul s showed ha an inc ease in P-IU was posi i ely associa ed wi h insensi i i y o ou come de alua ion. This
associa ion was s ill signi ican e en when ai anxie y was con olled o . These esul s sugges ed ha P-IU may be a ulne abili y ac o o in lexible a oidance.
Resul s
We eplica ed Flo es e al. (2018):I seems ha p ospec i e in ole ance o unce ain y p edisposes o he acquisi ion o in lexible a oidance
beha iou in unce ain si ua ions.
In e es ingly, new in o ma ion was ound: he ela ionship be ween P-IU and in lexible a oidance was mode a ed by he pa icipan s’ a ings o
ou come a e si eness. Speci ically, he signi ican associa ion be ween P-IU and insensi i i y o ou come de alua ion was ound o be condi ional
upon high a e si eness a ings. In o he wo ds, in ole an o unce ain y people a e easily engaged in in lexible a oidance only i a e si eness is high
enough.
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25,551–558.
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and dep ession. Psicología y Salud, 16,219-233.
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162-166.
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A e a Pa lo ian phase (Phase 1), we used a ee-ope an disc imina ed a oidance p ocedu e (Phase 2). Pa icipan s p essed wo di e en keyboa d keys o a oid
a highly a e si e noise ( he US) p esen ed o ei he he igh o le ea . A e a De alua ion phase (Phase 3) whe e we educed he noise olume p esen ed o one
o he ea s, pa icipan s wen h ough a Tes phase (Phase 4) whe e he noise was ne e adminis e ed (see Figu es 1 and 2).
Figu e 1. Design and phases o he Expe imen .
-P-IU was measu ed wi h he Spanish adap a ions o he In ole ance o Unce ain y Scale: IUS (F ees on e al.,1994; adap a ion: González Rod íguez e al., 2006).
-In lexible a oidance was in e ed om insensi i i y o he educ ion in he sound olume made in he De alua ion phase. A sensi i e pe o mance would en ail
less a oidance esponses o A han o Bin he Tes phase. An insensi i e pe o mance would en ail simila a oidance esponses o Aand B. Insensi i i y o
de alua ion was calcula ed as:
numbe o esponses o CSA +1
(numbe o esponses o CSA + 1) + numbe o esponses o CSB
-Ou come a e si eness a ings we e asked a e he Pa lo ian phase. They we e gi en on a 0 (Non a e si e a all) o 9 (Ex emely a e si e) a ing scale.
In e al in which he US
could appea
(8-12 seconds)
The noise could be a oided by p essing he
co ec key wi hin 1 second be o e he noise
was p og ammed o appea
Me hod
N = 79
CSC
In oduc ion
Objec i e
To eplica e Flo es e al. (2018)’s esul s:
To s udy a oidance beha iou using a ein o ce de alua ion p ocedu e o e alua e he ex en o which P-IU is ela ed o insensi i i y o de alua ion.
P ospec i e in ole ance o
unce ain y (P-IU) In lexible a oidance
(insensi i i y o de alua ion)
Ou come a e si eness
Figu e 2. P ocedu e o he Expe imen , speci ically he ins umen al lea ning phase.
Pa lo ian lea ning phase was simila bu wi hou he possibili y o espond, and he Tes
phase wi hou he noise (al hough pa icipan s we e no explici ly in o med abou his).
Conclusions
CSA
CSB
CSC
CSA
CSB
CSC
CSA
CSB
This esea ch was suppo ed by G an PSI2014-56061 o he Spanish Minis e io de Economía y Compe i i idad, by a Ma ie Cu ie In e na ional Ou going Fellowship wi hin he
7 h Eu opean Communi y F amewo k P og amme o BV, and by he Plan P opio de In es igación de la Uni e sidad de Málaga, P og ama de Fo alecimien o de las
Capacidades en I+D+I en las Uni e sidades 2014-20150, Fondos FEDER, o AF .
Table 1. Ou pu o he PROCESS package implemen ed wi h SPSS o mode a ion analysis.
Rela ionships be ween P-IU and insensi i i y o ou come de alua ion mode a ed by
a e si eness a ings (low, medium and high) can be obse ed.
Figu e 4. Rela ionship be ween P-IU and Insensi i i y o
de alua ion in he h ee le els o ou come a e si eness
a ings (low, medium and high) .
Ou come
a e si eness
a ings:
Low
Medium
High
Figu e 3. Diag am o he concep ual mode a ion model o ou esul s.