Ch. 24 - Fear and Anxiety Reduction Procedures

Question 1

What is fear composed of?

Answer 1

Both operant and respondent behaviour.

Question 2

What do people with fears exhibit in response to the feared stimulus?

Answer 2

Unpleasant autonomic system arousal and escape or avoidance behaviour.

Question 3

What is anxiety?

Answer 3

The respondent bodily responses.

Question 4

What are the conditioned stimulus and response for an arachnophobe?

Answer 4

The conditioned stimulus is the presence of a spider, the conditioned response is the autonomic nervous arousal.

Question 5

What is the operant response for an arachnophobe?

Answer 5

The person’s reaction to the spider that is reinforced by the removal of the stimulus (via avoidance or escape).

Question 6

What distinguishes true fears from claims for attention?

Answer 6

A true fear has a conditioned response.

Question 7

What are the three overarching procedures to reduce fears and anxiety?

Answer 7

Relaxation training, systematic desensitization, and in vivo sensitization.

Question 8

What are the effects of relaxation therapies?

Answer 8

To decrease autonomic arousal, counteracting the effects of the conditioned response.

Question 9

What are the 4 procedures within relaxation therapies?

Answer 9

Progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, attention-focusing exercises, and behavioural relaxation training.

Question 10

What is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)?

Answer 10

An exercise in which the client tenses and relaxes each muscle group; may involve using cue words.

Question 11

What is diaphragmatic breathing?

Answer 11

Involves a person breathing in a slow, rhythmic fashion (as opposed to the rapid, shallow breathing associated with fear).

Question 12

What are attention-focusing exercises?

Answer 12

Exercises that produce relaxation by directing attention to a neural or pleasant stimulus.

Question 13

What are some examples of attention-focusing exercises?

Answer 13

Meditation, guided imagery, and hypnosis.

Question 14

What is behavioural relaxation training?

Answer 14

A person being taught to relax each muscle group by assuming relaxed postures.

Question 15

What differentiates behaviour relaxation training from PMR?

Answer 15

PMR involves tensing before relaxing, BRT does not.

Question 16

What is systematic desensitization?

Answer 16

A procedure in which the person with a phobia practices relaxation while imagining scene of a fear-producing stimulus.

Question 17

When is a fear a phobia?

Answer 17

When the level of anxiety or escape/avoidance behaviour is severe enough to disrupt the person’s life.

Question 18

Why has systematic desensitization been called reciprocal inhibition?

Answer 18

Because the relaxation response inhibits or prevents the occurrence of the fear response.

Question 19

What are the three steps to systematic desensitization?

Answer 19

1. The client learns to relax.
2. The therapist and client develop a hierarchy of fear-producing stimuli.
3. The client practices relaxation skills while the therapist describes scenes from the hierarchy.

Question 20

When is systematic desensitization complete?

Answer 20

When the client can maintain relaxation during each scene in the hierarchy.

Question 21

How is the hierarchy developed?

Answer 21

Using a fear rating scale to identify the amount of fear that is produced by a variety of situations.

Question 22

What is the fear rating scale called?

Answer 22

The subjective units of discomfort scale (SUDS)

Question 23

What is in vivo desensitization?

Answer 23

A procedure similar to systematic desensitization, however in vivo involves the client actually approaching the feared stimulus.

Question 24

Other than relaxation, what techniques might the therapist use during in vivo desensitization?

Answer 24

Reinforcement for approach behaviour or contact desensitization.

Question 25

What is contact desensitization?

Answer 25

The use of physical, reassuring contact between the therapist and the client.

Question 26

What advantage does in vivo have over systematic desensitization?

Answer 26

In vivo involves the client actually making contact with the feared stimulus.

Question 27

What is the disadvantage of in vivo desensitization?

Answer 27

It is more difficult, time consuming, and costly.

Question 28

What advantage does systematic have over in vivo desensitization?

Answer 28

It is easier and more convenient.

Question 29

What is the disadvantage of systematic desensitization?

Answer 29

Results may not fully generalize to the fear-producing situation.

Question 30

What are two other treatments for fears?

Answer 30

Flooding and modelling.

Question 31

What is flooding?

Answer 31

A procedure in which the person is exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period.

Question 32

How does flooding work to ease fear?

Answer 32

Initially, there is heightened fear, but over time the perceived threat is realized to be irrational and anxiety decreases through respondent extinction.

Question 33

What is modelling?

Answer 33

The client (normally a child) observe another person approaching the feared stimulus or engaging in a feared activity.