The effects of response feedback on conditioned responding during extinction: Implications for the role of interoception in anxiety-based disorders

Two experiments are described which investigated the effect of false response feedback on conditioned responding during extinction. Experiment 1 found that subjects receiving feedback indicating high levels of responding exhibited significantly greater differential skin conductance responses (SCRs) during extinction than either subjects receiving feedback indicating low levels of responding or attentional control subjects; they also gave significantly higher unconditioned stimulus (UCS) aversiveness ratings than all other subjects. Furthermore, subjects receiving feedback regardless of its informational content emitted greater magnitude SCRs and gave higher UCS aversiveness ratings than attentional control subjects. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that response Feedback is more likely to influence SCR by changing the subject's evaluation of the UCS rather than the conditioned stimulus (CS). These Findings are discussed in terms of how interception might influence the acquisition and extinction of anxiety-based responding.