The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Training on Fear Conditioning

The present study examined whether mindfulness training influences fear-learning processes beyond general therapeutic effects. A six-week Workplace Mindfulness Training (WMT) program was compared with an active control condition, the Health Enhancement Program (HEP), using a classical fear-conditioning paradigm in a non-clinical university sample. Physiological and self-report measures were used to assess fear acquisition, avoidance, and extinction learning. Skin conductance response (SCR) was used as a measure of physiological fear response, while self-reported avoidance and expectancy ratings of the aversive stimulus captured subjective and behavioral aspects of fear learning. Baseline anxiety and experiential avoidance were examined as potential moderators of training effects and fear conditioning. Results confirmed successful fear acquisition and avoidance learning, indicated by higher SCR, expectancy, and avoidance responses to the conditioned stimulus compared to the safety cue. However, the main analyses found no significant group differences in avoidance behavior or extinction learning operationalized by SCR and self-reported ratings. Neither baseline anxiety nor experiential avoidance moderated the effects of program type on fear learning outcomes. However, a significant four-way interaction involving SCR, stimulus type, time, and training condition emerged. Overall, the findings suggested that mindfulness training did not bring significantly different results compared to an active control. Future research is advised to expand on the topic of mindfulness and fear-conditioning further, including a wider sample, population comparisons, and alternative operationalizations of the moderators like anxiety.