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2 DO SAFETY BEHAVIORS PRESERVE THREAT BELIEFS? 43 acquisition phase, and another participant could not explain the contingencies afterwards. The data of the remaining 57 participants ( M age = 22.18, SD = 3.19, 39 women, 18 men) were included in the analyses (Full avoidance condition n = 28, Control condition n = 29). The two conditions did not differ in age, F < 1, state, F < 1, and trait anxiety scores, F (1,55) = 1.06, p = .31, η p 2 = .02. Participants rated the loud noise as unpleasant when they had the headphones on ( M = 18.45, SD = 15.76), and as neutral when they had the headphones off ( M = 52.16, SD = 18.88). Threat expectancy Figure 1 depicts that Pavlovian acquisition occurred for both conditions. At the end of the Pavlovian acquisition phase, threat expectancy was higher for A and C than for B, F (1.65,90.68) = 1771.04, p < .001, η p 2 = .97. There was no main effect of Condition or a Stimulus x Condition interaction, both F s < 1. Additionally, safety behavior learning occurred. In the Safety behavior acquisition phase, threat expectancy decreased in a linear trend during full avoidance trials (see the A*(+) trials in Figure 1), F (1,55) = 8.57, p = .005, η p 2 = .14, which was similar for both conditions, F < 1. Participants thus learned that the full avoidance response cancelled the loud noise. Additionally, threat expectancy increased in a quadratic trend during subtle safety behavior trials (see the A~[+] trials), F (1,55) = 19.80, p < .001, η p 2 = .27, which did not differ between conditions, F (1,55) = 1.82, p = .18, ηp 2 = .03. This indicates that participants learned that the subtle safety behavior response did not prevent them from hearing the loud noise. Finally, in the Extinction phase, threat expectancy decreased in a quadratic trend over the six C trials, F (1,55) = 22.57, p < .001, η p 2 = .29. This trend showed a Stimulus x Condition interaction effect, because this decrease was steeper in the Control condition (see the C- trials in the bottom panel of Figure 1) than in the Full avoidance condition (C*- trials in the upper panel) due to the lower starting point in the Full avoidance condition (see Figure 1, the first Extinction phase C trial is lower in the top panel than in the bottom panel), F (1,55) = 7.09, p = .01, η p 2 = .11.