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Treasure Chest Funding for Bianca Hagedorn (A09): The generalization of safety signals

Exposure therapy for the treatment of anxiety is considered one of the most effective and reliable approaches in psychotherapy. Anyone who comes into contact with the anxiety-inducing stimulus as part of the therapy can expect to “unlearn” the anxiety quickly. Nevertheless, the anxiety may return. This is partly due to insufficient generalization of the unlearned fear. Bianca Hagedorn (A09) is researching how this could be counteracted in her project: “The generalization of safety signals”. She describes her project as follows:

Fear generalization after the encounter of an aversive event is common: After being bitten by a dog, an individual does not only develop fear responses to this specific dog but to similar looking dogs or even the whole category of dogs. However, exposure therapy based on extinction learning that is realized with solely the feared dog might diminish the fear expressed to this specific dog but no other dog. Extinction generalization aims to overcome this caveat by incorporating similar generalization stimuli into the process of learning that a feared stimulus is no longer fearful. Thus, extinction of fear responses can generalize across a variety of related stimuli like the whole category of dogs. However, the concrete mechanism driving this effect remains elusive. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of generalization processes not only for extinction processes but critically also for safety signals. Although the absence of safety signal generalization might state an evolutionary adaptive process, fear overgeneralization in combination with missing generalization of safety signals might contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Thus, the generalization of extinction learning and safety signals might provide approaches to be incorporated in exposure therapy.

The SFB 1280 has set up a budget for its young scientists to realize their own research ideas. We use the “treasure chest” to finance convincing and independent study concepts of our early career researchers.

New Year, New Me: The Facts

As the calendar turns to a new year, millions of people around the world commit to New Year’s resolutions, making promises to use the new year as a fresh beginning and an opportunity for transformation. In 2024, almost three-quarters of the British population set themselves New Year’s resolutions — that’s around 40 million people (or the entire population of Canada). This tradition was particularly strong among younger generations, with 96% of Generation Z (aged 18-27) planning resolutions, compared to just 35% of the Silent Generation (aged 79+).

Most common new years resolutions:

  1. Saving more money (52%)
  2. Eat healthier (50%)
  3. Exercise more (48%)
  4. Lose weight (37%)
  5. Spend more time with family/friends (35%)

How long do most resolutions normally last before being broken?

  • Data from America (2016) shows that 75% of individuals maintain their resolutions through the first week. 
  • 64% of individuals maintain their resolutions through the first month. 
  • 46% of individuals in America keep their resolutions past the 6-month mark.

What makes resolutions stick?

Oscarsson et al. (2020) conducted research into what makes New Year’s resolutions stick. Biggest success rates depended on how people phrased their goals. Participants who set approach-oriented goals (trying to move toward or maintain a desirable outcome or state) than those with avoidance-oriented goals (trying to move toward or maintain a desirable outcome or state) were significantly more successful (58.9% vs. 47.1%) at sticking to their goals.

The study also investigates the effects of outside support. These participants received monthly follow-ups and emails with information and exercises for coping with hurdles when striving toward personal goals, and were also encouraged to set goals using the SMART technique and to set interim goals. The group that received some support was exclusively and significantly more successful compared to the groups who received a lot of support or no support at all. 

Additionally, you might feel more successful if you set goals that are measurable in numbers. While success for a person striving to quit smoking or lose weight could easily be measured in the number of cigarettes smoked or body mass index, the success for a person striving to “take better care of themselves” could be highly subjective and possibly impossible to measure.

So as we enter 2026, let’s remember to work with our brain’s natural learning system: Frame your goals positively, break them into manageable steps, and celebrate small wins along the way.