Generalization of conditioned responding: effects of autobiographical memory specificity

Abstract

Generalization of acquired responses appears to be a crucial, yet under investigated process in emotional disorders. Generalization occurs when a conditioned response is elicited by a stimulus different from the original conditioned stimulus. The expansion of complaints, often seen in emotional disorders, is at least in part due to processes of generalization. In the present study, generalization is approached from a memory perspective. It is hypothesized that generalization of conditioned responding is associated with autobiographical memory specificity. Higher levels of generalization are predicted for people who are characterized by limited memory specificity. In a human contingency-learning procedure, participants learned the association between two pictures of female faces and a schematic drawing of a lightning bolt. Subsequently, six morphed pictures functioning as generalization stimuli (GSs) were introduced and conditioned responses to these GSs were measured. The results showed that memory specificity was significantly associated with the extent of generalization. Participants low in autobiographical memory specificity exhibited significantly stronger conditioned responses to GSs as compared to participants high in autobiographical memory specificity.