An experimental study of spider-related covariation bias in 8- to 13-year old children.

P.E.H.M. Muris; P.J. de Jong; C.M.G. Meesters; B. Waterreus; J. van Lubeck

doi:10.1007/s10578-004-6457-y

An experimental study of spider-related covariation bias in 8- to 13-year old children.

P.E.H.M. Muris^*, P.J. de Jong, C.M.G. Meesters, B. Waterreus, J. van Lubeck

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Covariation bias can be defined as phobic subjects' tendency to overestimate the association between phobic stimuli and aversive outcomes. The current study presents two experiments that examined this type of cognitive bias in children aged 8-13 years (N = 147 in Experiment 1, N = 240 in Experiment 2). Children completed a self-report questionnaire for measuring spider fear and then participated in a card game in which fear-relevant (i.e., spider) and fear-irrelevant (i.e., weapon and Pokemon) pictures were equally paired with negative and positive outcomes (respectively losing and winning candy). No evidence was found for a relationship between children's level of spider fear and the tendency to link negative consequences to fear-relevant pictures. Various methodological and theoretical explanations for this null finding are discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	185-191
Journal	Child Psychiatry & Human Development
Volume	35
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-004-6457-y
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2005

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abstract = "Covariation bias can be defined as phobic subjects' tendency to overestimate the association between phobic stimuli and aversive outcomes. The current study presents two experiments that examined this type of cognitive bias in children aged 8-13 years (N = 147 in Experiment 1, N = 240 in Experiment 2). Children completed a self-report questionnaire for measuring spider fear and then participated in a card game in which fear-relevant (i.e., spider) and fear-irrelevant (i.e., weapon and Pokemon) pictures were equally paired with negative and positive outcomes (respectively losing and winning candy). No evidence was found for a relationship between children's level of spider fear and the tendency to link negative consequences to fear-relevant pictures. Various methodological and theoretical explanations for this null finding are discussed.",

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AU - van Lubeck, J.

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An experimental study of spider-related covariation bias in 8- to 13-year old children.

Abstract

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