7: The Role of Mechanisms

Question 1

What are mechanisms?

Answer 1

Factors that are responsible for attentional bias.

Question 2

What 3 things does understanding mechanisms help with?

Answer 2

Understanding emotional disorders, revealing why a bias is shown and finding targets for treatment.

Question 3

What are the three steps in identifying mechanisms?

Answer 3

Looking at convergence of bias across paradigms, testing and refining frameworks and moving form single mediators to interaction of factors.

Question 4

Give 5 types of mechanism.

Answer 4

Neural, cognitive, personality, strategic and automatic.

Question 5

Which process is automatic?

Answer 5

Threat detection.

Question 6

Which process is strategic?

Answer 6

Threat avoidance.

Question 7

Which process is automatic and strategic?

Answer 7

Attentional disengagement.

Question 8

What factor mediates threat detection?

Answer 8

Facilitated attention.

Question 9

What factor mediates attentional control?

Answer 9

Difficulty in disengagement.

Question 10

What factor mediates emotional regulation goals?

Answer 10

Attentional avoidance.

Question 11

Which mechanism is the most robust in anxiety?

Answer 11

Threat detection.

Question 12

How is neutral material judged by high anxiety individuals compared to low anxiety individuals?

Answer 12

Higher subjective threat value.

Question 13

What are the conditions for a labile threat bias in anxiety?

Answer 13

Low threat-safety discrimination and low cognitive control.

Question 14

What are the conditions for a vigilant threat bias in anxiety?

Answer 14

High threat-safety discrimination and low cognitive control.

Question 15

What are the conditions for an avoidant threat bias in anxiety?

Answer 15

High threat-safety discrimination and high cognitive control.

Question 16

What are the conditions for no detectable threat bias in anxiety?

Answer 16

Low threat-safety discrimination and high cognitive control.

Question 17

Which mechanism is key for anxiety?

Answer 17

Threat appraisal.

Question 18

Which mechanism is key for depression?

Answer 18

Goal engagement.

Question 19

What does revealing differences in mechanisms behind anxiety and depression have implications for?

Answer 19

Diagnosis and treatment.

Question 20

When do attentional biases occur in depression?

Answer 20

For self-relevant material at long durations which allow for elaboration.

Question 21

When do attentional biases occur in anxiety?

Answer 21

For a wide range of emotional cues, even automatically at the pre-attentive stage.

Question 22

Which type of anxiety more often shows a bias towards threat?

Answer 22

Distress-related disorders (e.g. GAD).

Question 23

Which type of anxiety more often shows a bias away from threat?

Answer 23

Fear-related pathology.

Question 24

What evidence supports the idea that sub-types of anxiety have different directional biases?

Answer 24

Disorder predicts bias and direction of bias predicts treatment outcomes.

Question 25

How does low attentional control affect threat bias?

Answer 25

The reduced influence of the executive, goal directed system means there is no buffer against prolonged engagement with threat.

Question 26

How does high attentional control affect threat bias?

Answer 26

Trying to avoid anxiety means some material is suppressed.