摘要：Associative conditioning deficits resulting in a sense of perceived unpredictability have been linked with increases in contextual anxiety and behavioral avoidance. Trait and state anxiety were investigated as predictors of such conditioning deficits. In a differential fear conditioning paradigm with 107 healthy participants, state, but not trait, anxiety predicted awareness of the association between the conditioned stimulus (CS+) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) as assessed by post-experimental questionnaire and an online measure of US expectancy. Independent of initial state anxiety, unaware participants demonstrated increased contextual anxiety compared to aware participants as indicated by skin conductance responses (physiological arousal), eye blink startle reflex (defensive emotional response), and self-reported fear of the CS- (CS not paired with the US) as well as by self-reported US expectancy during intertrial intervals. Current findings may help to explain the perpetuating nature of anxiety.
