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'Nonspecific' rather than 'nonassociative' pathways to phobias: a commentary on Poulton and Menzies

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 13:37 authored by Graham C L Davey
This commentary attempts to clarify the nature of contemporary associative accounts of phobias, and to describe how they might contribute to the explanation of the diversity of phobic aetiologies. It is argued that conditioning-equivalent associations underpin all phobic conditions, and that the role of experimental psychopathology research is to determine how these associations are acquired. The commentary then proceeds to discuss some of the theoretical problems with the nonassociative account of phobias as it is currently described by Poulton and Menzies, and to suggest that some interpretations of their retrospective and prospective data may not be incompatible with contemporary associative accounts. The outcome of this is that it may be more suitable to describe the fourth pathway to phobia acquisition described by Poulton and Menzies as a ‘nonspecific’ rather than a ‘nonassociative’ pathway.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Behaviour Research and Therapy

ISSN

0005-7967

Publisher

Elsevier

Issue

2

Volume

40

Page range

151-158

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2006-12-15

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