The Ontogeny of the generalisation of avoidance behaviour

The developmental trajectory of the generalisation of avoidance has received limited research attention, despite generalisation and avoidance being key features of anxiety disorders. This study used a gamified avoidance task to investigate generalisation in 96 children aged 5–11 years old. The task was an adaption of the classic “Space Invaders” videogame, in which participants have to shoot at spaceships to win points but also avoid being shot by a large spaceship (i.e., aversive outcome). The appearance of the large spaceship (the outcome; which resulted in loss of points) was signalled by coloured sensors at the top of the screen. One sensor predicted the outcome (CS+; an aqua coloured sensor), and a second did not (CS-; orange). Participants could avoid the loss of points by moving into the safe areas of the screen in anticipation of the large spaceship. Following avoidance training, we then presented six generalisation stimuli varying along the blue-green dimension of the CS+, to assess generalisation. Our findings revealed that age significantly influenced generalisation gradients, with younger children (5-8) exhibiting broader gradients compared to older children (9-11). Regression analyses indicated that age, but not anxiety, was a significant predictor of generalisation. These results underscore the impact of ontogenetic changes on the generalisation of avoidance behaviour and highlight the importance of including young children in research to better understand the mechanisms underlying generalization and factors leading to anxiety disorders.