anxiety disorders REVISE Flashcards
what is classical conditioning and which researcher is it associated with?
classical conditioning is learning through the pairing of one object/sound etc with a stimulus to produce a controlled response (learning through association)
PAVLOV
what is operant conditioning and which researcher is it associated with?
operant conditioning is learning through the positive or negative reinforcement of an action (to produce a behaviour) or the punishment of that action (to stop producing a behaviour)
what are the two types of behavioural conditioning?
classical and operant conditioning
difference between fear and anxiety?
fear is the immediate response to danger
anxiety is the apprehension over an anticipated problem
fear=present=high arousal
anxiety=future=moderate arousal
what does the Yerkes-Dodson curve suggest about arousal?
moderate arousal = optimum performance
too much arousal/anxiety = detrimental to performance
what is anxiety?
anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state characterised by fearfulness and unwanted and distressing physical symptoms and thoughts
when is a phobia diagnosed?
the fear is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the object/situation
disrupting their life
what is a specific phobia?
disproportionate fear caused by a specific object or situation
high comorbidity of specific phobias
what is the process of the fight or flight response?
eyes and ears send info to amygdala which deals with emotional processing
it detects danger and sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus
hypothalamus activates sympathetic nervous system by sending signal to adrenal glands
adrenal glands pump adrenaline into the bloodstream
adrenaline stimulates changes for enough physiological arousal for the fight or flight response e.g increased heart rate and prevention of digestion
hypothalamus also activates the HPA axis which keeps the sympathetic nervous system going through hormonal signals
what is the behavioural theory of the causes of phobias?
see phobias as a conditioned response which develops after a threatening experience and is maintained by avoidant behaviour
which factors make developing a phobia more likely to be conditioned?
genetic vulnerability
neuroticism
if the object is life threatening as opposed to neutral (prepared learning)
what is prepared learning?
our fear circuits may have been prepared by evolution to learn to fear certain stimuli that are life threatening
(supported by Cook & MIneka rhesus monkey study)
more likely that conditioning willl occur if object is threatening
what is vicarious conditioning in respect to a cause of a phobia
phobia reinforced or began by watching others e.g parents scared of spiders
what are some psychological treatments of anxiety disorders?
flooding
systematic desensitisation
CBT
other exposure treatments such as in vivo, virtual and imaginal
what is systematic desensitisation?
unlearning the fear response to the phobic stimulus by working up the anxiety hierarchy from gradual exposure to full exposure whilst practicing a relaxed response at each stage
what is flooding?
exhaustion of the fear response by full exposure to the phobic stimulus
what is included as an anxiety disorders in DSM 5?
specific phobia
social anxiety disorder
generalised anxiety disorder
what are anxiety disorders related to in terms of lifestyle?
twice the risk of suicideattempts
twice the average medical costs
decreased quality of life
lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders?
around 28% (includes OCD and PTSD due to previously included as anxiety disorders in DSM 4)
what is required generally for the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder in DSM5?
symtpoms must interfere with functioning in everday life
symptoms must not be caused by drugs or another medical condition
fears distinct from symptoms of other anxiety disorders
what is social anxiety disorder?
fear of unfamiliar people or social scrutiny
what is panic disorder?
anxiety about recurrent panic attacks
what is agoraphobia?
anxiety about being in a place where escaping or getting help would be difficult
what is generalised anxiety disorder?
uncontrollable worry for at least 3 months
what are the 5 disorders included under the umbrella term of anxiety disorders?
- specific phobias
- generalised anxiety disorder
- social anxiety disorder
- agoraphobia
- panic disorder
which anxiety disorder has the highest lifetime and point prevalence?
specific phobias and social anxiety disorders
what is the comorbidity in anxiety disorders?
more than half with one anxiety disorder will have another
especially general anxiety disorder which is 4x more likely to have an anxiety disorder than the rest of the population
what are subthreshold symptoms?
symptoms that do not meet full diagnostic criteria
common for those with one anxiety disorder to report these of other anxiety disorders
what are 2 explanations of comrobidity between anxiety disorders?
- symptom overlap between disorders
2. some etiological factors may increase risk or several of the disorders
comorbidity of anxiety disorders with other mental disorders
3/4 of those with an anxiety disorder meet criteria for at least one other disorder
60% meet criteria for major depression
also comorbid with medical conditions
what are 2 sociocultural factors in developing anxiety disorders?
1) gender - women 2x more likely to be diagnosed
2) culture - several culturally specific syndromes e.g in Japan and Inuits and prevalence lower in some areas e.g Tokyo
why may more women be diagnosed as having anxiety disorders than men?
more likely to report symptoms, more likely to be sexual assault victims and more biological reactivity to stress
why may the prevalence of anxiety disorders differ across cultures?
may be lower in e.g Japan due to stiga associated with mental disorders so underreporting
what are the general risk factors for anxiety disorders?
- fear conditioning (classical and operant)
- genetic factors (20-40%)
- neurobiological (activated fear circuit and especially amygdala and deactivated medial prefrontal cortex)
- cognitive (lack of control and negative beliefs and attention to threat
what are the 2 medications used to treat anxiety disorders?
- benzodiazepines
2. antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs)
what are the issues with using medication as a form of treatment?
discontinuing medications usually leads to relapse
benzodiazepines can be addictive
