Peer-reviewed
Case Study: A Quantitative Report of Early Attention, Fear, Disgust, and Avoidance in Specific Phobia for Buttons
Specific phobia is characterized by elevated early attention to the phobic object, negative emotion, and avoidance. Typically, phobic objects are biologically relevant, such as potentially threatening snakes or spiders, or potentially contaminating needles or rodents. It is unclear whether the same early attention, emotion, and avoidance responses can be observed in phobia for uncommon, nonbiologically relevant objects, such as buttons (koumpounophobia). In an experimental case study, we measured early attention (detection rates to briefly presented images before a backward mask), emotion, and avoidance to clothing buttons in a button-phobic participant. We compared these responses to nonphobic objects (zippers), and to well-matched control participants. We observed elevated early attention, fear, and disgust to buttons, which did not generalize to nonphobic emotional stimuli. In addition, we observed elevated avoidance of buttons, which did generalize to normatively fearful and disgusting pictures. If replicated, our results indicate that nonbiologically prepared phobic objects elicit similar elevated early attention, emotion, and avoidance as biologically prepared phobic objects. The finding that avoidance was the only response that generalized to nonphobic objects may have treatment implications—namely, that therapeutic attempts to reduce avoidance might consider including a variety of objects, not just the phobic object.
• Elevated early attention, ratings of fear and disgust, and avoidance to pictures of buttons were observed in a patient with specific phobia for clothing buttons • Elevated early attention, fear, and disgust did not generalize to nonbutton fearful and disgusting pictures, but avoidance did • Attentional, emotional, and avoidance responses in specific phobia need not involve objects that are inherently threatening or associated with contamination
• Elevated early attention, ratings of fear and disgust, and avoidance to pictures of buttons were observed in a patient with specific phobia for clothing buttons • Elevated early attention, fear, and disgust did not generalize to nonbutton fearful and disgusting pictures, but avoidance did • Attentional, emotional, and avoidance responses in specific phobia need not involve objects that are inherently threatening or associated with contamination
Article, 2022
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 29, 202205, 485
2022