The Impact of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Cognitive Behavioural Instructions on Safety Learning

Wake, Shannon; Reekum, Carien M. van; Dodd, Helen F.; Morriss, Jayne

doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10113-4

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…However, only recently has research began to emerge on the importance of individual differences in IU in associative threat and safety learning mechanisms (27,34). Several studies, albeit from the same laboratory (34), have shown that during threat extinction training, individuals with high IU exhibit greater skin conductance responding (SCR) to cues that no longer signal threat (15,(35)(36)(37)(38)(39). However, presentations of disrupted threat extinction training in individuals with high IU appears varied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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I doubt it is safe: A meta-analysis of self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and threat extinction training

Morriss¹,

Wake²,

Elizabeth³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to find uncertainty distressing, is an important transdiagnostic dimension in mental health disorders. Higher self-reported IU has been linked to poorer threat extinction training (i.e., the updating of threat to safe associations), a key process that is targeted in exposure-based therapies. However, it remains to be seen whether IU-related effects during threat extinction training are reliably and specifically driven by the IU construct or a particular subcomponent of the IU construct over other self-reported measures of anxiety. A meta-analysis of studies from different laboratories (experiment n = 18; sample n = 1006) was conducted on associations between different variants of self-reported IU (i.e., 27-item, 12-item, inhibitory and prospective subscales), trait anxiety and threat extinction training via skin conductance response. The specificity of IU and threat extinction training was assessed against measures of trait anxiety. All of the self-reported variants of IU, but not trait anxiety, were associated with threat extinction training via skin conductance response (i.e., continued responding to the old threat cue). Specificity was observed for the majority of self-reported variants of IU over of trait anxiety. The findings suggest that the IU construct broadly accounts for difficulties in threat extinction training and is specific over other measures of self-reported anxiety. These findings demonstrate the robustness and specificity of IU-related effects during threat extinction training and highlight potential opportunities for translational work to target uncertainty in therapies that rely on threat extinction principles such as exposure therapy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2) greater SCR to learned threat cues versus safety cues during late trials (36,37) or (3) greater SCR to learned threat cues across all trials (15,35). Several studies have also reported no association between IU and SCR during threat extinction training (39)(40)(41).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I doubt it is safe: A meta-analysis of self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and threat extinction training

Morriss¹,

Wake²,

Elizabeth³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…larger SCR for the CS+ vs. CS-at the beginning of extinction learning, and comparable SCR for the CS+ and CS-at the end of extinction learning. However, in recent preregistered studies with eyetracking, we have only observed significant effects of stimulus on SCR, and no significant interaction between stimulus x time in our control groups, suggesting that participants continue responding to the CS+ vs. CS- (Morriss et al, 2020;Wake et al, 2020). The two recent studies with eyetracking have near identical procedures to older studies without eyetracking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 41%

“…Prior extinction learning research has shown specificity of IU over self-reported trait anxiety, social anxiety and worry Wake et al, 2021). However, recent published research suggests that STICSA may be more closely related to extinction-learning compared to other self-report measures of anxiety and worry (Morriss et al, 2020;Wake et al, 2020). Future work should continue to include and examine the impact of IU and STICSA upon threat extinction to disentangle shared and specific processes related to these transdiagnostic measures of anxiety (Lonsdorf & Merz, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Intolerance of uncertainty and novelty facilitated extinction: The impact of reinforcement schedule

Wake¹,

Dodd²,

Morriss³

2020

Preprint

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Individuals who score high in Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) display reduced threat extinction learning and retention. Recently, it was shown that replacing threat associations with novel associations (i.e. presenting a novel non-aversive tone 100% of the time vs. presenting nothing) can promote threat extinction retention in individuals with high IU. This effect could be driven by the tone’s novelty or reliability. Here we seek to address this question by adjusting the reliability via the reinforcement schedule of the novel tone. We propose to measure skin conductance response during an associative learning task in which participants (n = 90) will be assigned to one of three conditions; standard extinction, 100% reinforcement NFE or 50% reinforcement NFE. This work will further our understanding of the role novelty, reliability and IU in threat extinction. Ultimately, this research will inform future models of IU and clinical treatments of anxiety and stress disorders.

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“…Carleton (2016b) defined intolerance of uncertainty as “an individual’s dispositional incapacity to endure the aversive response triggered by the perceived absence of salient, key, or sufficient information, and sustained by the associated perception of uncertainty” (p. 31). Intolerance of uncertainty has been associated with heightened psychophysiological reactivity and conditioning to threat cues (Morriss, Saldarini, & van Reekum, 2019) and impairment of safety learning (Wake, van Reekum, Dodd, & Morriss, 2020).…”

Section: Traits Associated With Health Threat Reactivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting PPE use, post-traumatic stress, and physical symptoms during the early weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA

O’Brien

Wang

Varga

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The COVID-19 pandemic combined with inconsistent governmental and public health recommendations, media communications emphasizing threat, and widespread lockdowns created a complex psychological environment for Americans. In this study, 450 MTurk workers completed measures of (a) risk for COVID-19, (b) perceived vulnerability to disease, (c) intolerance of uncertainty, (d) mindfulness, (e) COVID-19 preventive health behaviors, (f) post-Trauma symptoms, and (g) stress related physical symptoms. The surveys were completed between April 9, 2020 and April 18, 2020 which is a period that corresponded to the first 2-3 weeks of lockdown for most participants. A substantial number of participants reported a reduction employment status and 69% were in self-isolation. The participants reported a high degree of perceived vulnerability with 68% indicating they felt there was a 50/50 chance or greater they would contract COVID-19. Mask wearing was variable: 16% not at all, 20% some of the time, 42% a good part of the time, and 26% most of the time. Using clinical cutoff on the post-trauma scale, 70% of the sample would be considered to have symptoms consistent with PTSD. The mean level of physical symptoms was significantly (p < .001) and substantially higher (d = 1.46) than norms. PPE use was positively associated with level of education and mindfulness nonreactivity and negatively associated with age, having a current medical condition, and mindfulness nonjudgment. Post trauma and physical health symptoms were strongly predicted by susceptibility variables and intolerance of uncertainty.

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The Impact of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Cognitive Behavioural Instructions on Safety Learning

Cited by 18 publications

References 49 publications

I doubt it is safe: A meta-analysis of self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and threat extinction training

I doubt it is safe: A meta-analysis of self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and threat extinction training

Intolerance of uncertainty and novelty facilitated extinction: The impact of reinforcement schedule

Predicting PPE use, post-traumatic stress, and physical symptoms during the early weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns in the USA

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