TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - What you cannot see can help you: The effect of exposure to unreportable stimuli on approach behavior
JO  - Consciousness and cognition
A1  - Weinberger, Joel
A1  - Siegel, Paul
A1  - Siefert, Caleb
A1  - Drwal, Julie
SP  - 173
EP  - 180
VL  - 20
IS  - 2
N2  - We examined effects of exposure to unreportable images of spiders on approach towards a tarantula. Pretests revealed awareness of the stimuli was at chance. Participants high or low (top and bottom 15%) on fear of spiders were randomly assigned to receive computer-generated exposure to unreportable pictures of spiders or outdoor scenes. They then engaged in a Behavioral Approach Task (BAT) with a live tarantula. Non-fearful participants completed more BAT items than spider-fearful individuals. Additionally, as predicted, a significant interaction (F(1,48)=5.12, p<.03) between fear of spiders and stimulus demonstrated that spider-fearful participants exposed to spiders completed more BAT items than spider-fearful participants exposed to control stimuli (but not as many as non-fearful participants). The findings support the hypothesis that exposure to unreportable feared stimuli promotes approach towards the feared object. Future research and clinical implications were discussed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1053-8100
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2011.01.003
ID  - ref1
ER  -