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2 DO SAFETY BEHAVIORS PRESERVE THREAT BELIEFS? 57 related the excitatory CS – US association, and may have returned threat expectancy for C. It is unclear what caused the between-subjects differences in extinction learning within the Subtle safety behavior condition. The data were obtained from a small ( n = 21 for the Subtle safety behavior condition), and specific (i.e., undergraduate students who were approximately 23 years old) group of participants, and yet they showed maximal variation in threat expectancy ratings for C in the Test phase. This variation was not caused by between-subjects differences within the Subtle safety behavior condition in state or trait anxiety. There are numerous individual difference factors that impact fear conditioning processes (see Lonsdorf et al., 2017, for a non- exhaustive list of individual differences factors). However, the between-subjects differences within the Subtle safety behavior condition were an unexpected finding and should be interpreted with caution. Replication of the current findings in a larger and more heterogeneous sample, and on additional outcome measures is warranted. Furthermore, future research should investigate the role of individual differences in the negative effects of safety behavior on extinction learning. Safety behaviors that minimize threat severity, but do not prevent the occurrence of threat, may allow extinction learning for some, but not all, individuals. In a recent fear conditioning study, patients with anxiety disorders more often showed impaired extinction learning than healthy control participants (Duits et al., 2017). Furthermore, impaired extinction learning predicted poorer treatment outcomes. Identifying individual characteristics that predict the negative effects of safety behaviors on fear extinction can provide insights for the development of personalized treatment, and may improve treatment outcomes. In conclusion, safety behavior that precludes the occurrence of threat prevents extinction learning, and may therefore be detrimental to the beneficial effects of exposure. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, we found that safety behavior that minimized threat severity, but does not prevent the occurrence of threat, can allow extinction learning. This finding supports the proposition for the reconsideration of