Free Generalisation Cues Checklist: Varying Exposure to Extend Inhibitory Learning
Exposure · Inhibitory Learning · Emerging
A checklist of twelve generalisation cues — time of day, location, social context, mood state, interoceptive state, and more — for clients and clinicians to vary deliberately across exposure trials, so learning that a situation is safe extends beyond the exact conditions it was first tested in.
Underlying mechanism: Cue variation and generalisation of extinction learning
What it helps with
- Making the range of context a client could vary explicit, rather than leaving generalisation to chance.
- Teaching the brain "this is safe in many contexts" instead of "this is safe in this one specific room".
- Sequencing cue variation gradually, so it extends learning rather than overwhelming a client who has only just mastered a single context.
- Giving clients a self-directed planning tool for practice outside session once basic exposure trials are established.
How clinicians use it
- Introduced from session 5 onward, once exposure has already been established successfully in one context.
- Used to plan the next three or four trials with at least three or four cue dimensions deliberately varied.
- Reviewed alongside the Expectancy Violation Worksheet to check whether learning is holding as context changes.
Clinical Implementation Guide
- Confirm mastery in the original context before introducing any variation — generalisation work on an unstable base tends to backfire.
- Vary three or four cue dimensions per trial at most; changing everything at once makes it hard to identify what, if anything, disrupted the learning.
- Log whether the original outcome held under each new condition, not just whether the trial was completed.
What the worksheet looks like
| Cue Dimension | Original Trial | Varied Trial | Outcome Held? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time of day | Practised the exposure at 10am, felt calm. | Repeated at 7pm, when more tired and less resourced. | Yes — prediction still disconfirmed. |
| Location | Practised in a quiet side street. | Repeated on a busy high street. | Yes, with slightly higher initial SUDs. |
| Social context | Practised alone. | Repeated with a friend present. | Yes — outcome unaffected by company. |
Clinical cautions
Vary cues gradually, not all at once. Ensure the client has mastered the exposure in one context before adding variability. Too much variation too early can overwhelm and trigger avoidance.
References
- Vervliet, B., et al. (2013). Generalization vs. contextualization in exposure therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(9), 549-555.
- Craske, M. G., et al. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 10-23.
Part of
Systematic Exposure Protocol