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2 DO SAFETY BEHAVIORS PRESERVE THREAT BELIEFS? 51 Full avoidance and Subtle safety behavior condition, t (38) = 1.68, p = .10, d = 0.53, and between the Full avoidance and Control condition, t < 1. Results were similar when analyses were performed with state anxiety scores included as a covariate, which suggests that the differences between conditions in state anxiety did not affect the results. We therefore reported the analyses without state anxiety as a covariate. Participants rated the loud noise as unpleasant when they had the headphones on ( M = 12.51, SD = 12.16), and as neutral when they had the headphones off ( M = 53.56, SD = 16.33). Threat expectancy As is depicted in Figure 3, Pavlovian acquisition occurred for all three conditions. At the end of the Pavlovian acquisition phase, threat expectancy was higher for A and C than for B, F (1.44,80.56) = 2718.18, p < .001, η p 2 = .98. There was no main effect of Condition or a Stimulus x Condition interaction, both F s < 1. Safety behavior learning also occurred. In the Safety behavior acquisition phase, threat expectancy for A and C was lower on full avoidance trials (see the A*(+) and C*(+) trials in Figure 3) than on no avoidance or safety behavior trials (A+ and C+ trials in the Safety behavior acquisition phase), F (1,58) = 508.45, p < .001, η p 2 = .90, and subtle safety behavior trials (A~[+] and C~[+] trials), F (1,58) = 424.31, p < .001, η p 2 = .88. In the Extinction phase, threat expectancy decreased over the six C trials in all conditions, which was indicated by a quadratic trend for Stimulus, F (1,56) = 53.55, p < .001, η p 2 = .49. This decrease was steeper in the Control condition (see the C- trials in the bottom panel of Figure 3) and Subtle safety behavior condition (C~- trials in the middle panel) than in the Full avoidance condition (C*- trials in the top panel), F (2,56) = 8.98, p = .01, η p 2 = .24, which was due to the lower starting point in the Full avoidance condition (see Figure 3, the first Extinction phase C trial is lower in the top panel than in the middle and bottom panel), F (2,56) = 139.34, p < .001, η p 2 = .83.