Individuals who score high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) display
difficulties updating threat associations to safe associations. Here we seek to
determine whether individuals who score high in IU can learn and retain new safety
associations if given more exposure. We propose to record skin conductance
response, pupil dilation and expectancy ratings during an associative threat learning
task with acquisition, same-day extinction and next-day extinction phases.
Participants (n = 136) will be assigned to either a regular exposure (32 trials of
same-day and next-day extinction) or extended exposure condition (48 trials of
same-day and next-day extinction). We will match individuals based on self-reported
IU to ensure we have an equal balance of IU in each condition. The findings will
further current understanding of the role of IU in safety-learning and safety-retention,
informing models of IU and exposure-based treatments.
