chapter 24- fear and anxiety reduction procedures Flashcards
1
Q
anxiety
A
a term used to describe respondent behaviour involving the activation of the autonomic nervous system (including rapid heart rate, shallow rapid breathing, and increased muscle tension)
- autonomic arousal is an EO that increases the probability of operant behaviour involving escape or avoidance escape
- typically, some events function as CS to elicit autonomic arousal as a CR
- the operant behaviour functions to escape from or to avoid the CS
- bodily responses are respondent behaviour
2
Q
attention-focused exercises
A
- a type of anxiety-reduction strategy in which one focuses attention on a pleasant or neutral stimulus to remove attention from anxiety-producing stimulus
- examples include; meditating, guided imagery, hypnosis
3
Q
behavioural relaxation training
A
- type of relaxation training in which one assumes a relaxed posture in all of the major muscle groups of the body to achieve relaxation
- similar to PMR, except the person does not tense and relax each muscle group
- includes components of the other relaxation procedures: focus on muscle tension, correct breathing, and attention focusing
- sits in a recliner with all parts of body supported by the chair and they listen to what the therapist tells them to do
4
Q
contact desensitization
A
- a type of in vivo desensitization in which the therapist provides reassuring physical contact such as holding the clients hand or placing a hand on the clients back, as the client progresses through the hierarchy
5
Q
diaphragmatic breathing
A
- a type of relaxation exercise in which one engages in slow, rhythmic breathing, using the diaphragm muscle to pull air deep into the lungs.
- ## because anxiety or autonomic arousal most often involves shallow, rapid breathing, diaphragmatic breathing decreases anxiety by replacing this breathing pattern with a more relaxed pattern
6
Q
fear
A
- occurs when a stimulus elicits autonomic nervous system arousal and the individual engages in behaviour to avoid or escape from stimulus situation
- compromised of both operant and respondent behaviour
7
Q
flooding
A
- a procedure in which the person is exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period until their anxiety subsides in the presence of the feared stimulus
- at first, person experiences heightened anxiety in the presence of the feared stimulus, over time the anxiety decreases through a process of respondent conditioning
- during invivo the person is exposed to the forced stimulus more gradually therefore, they do not experience the discomfort with flooding
8
Q
hiearchy
A
- used in systematic desensitization or in vivo desensitization procedures; in the hierarchy (also called a “fear hierarchy”) various fearful situations are listed in order from least to most fear provoking
- each new situation is only slightly more fear-provoking then previous one
- client uses fear-rating scale and identifies the amount of fear that is produced by a variety of situations related to the feared stimulus
- fear-rating scale is called a “subjective units of discomfort scale”
9
Q
in vivo desensitization
A
- a procedure for treating a fear or phobia; the client first learns relaxation, then develops a fear hierarchy in which the fear provoking situations are ordered from least to most fear-provoking, then finally the client makes actual contact with the fear provoking situation at each step in the hierarchy in turn while maintaining relaxation as a response that is incompatible with the fear response
- similar to systematic desen. but the person is actually presented with the real fear provoking stimulus
- *relaxation training is not always used during in vivo desensitization
10
Q
phobia
A
- a fear in which the level anxiety or escape and avoidance behavior is severe enough to disrupt a persons life
- the use of systematic desensitization procedure has 3 important steps
11
Q
progressive muscle relaxation
A
- a relaxation procedure in which the client learns to tense and relax each of the major muscle groups of the body; by this means, the client muscle tension and autonomic arousal in the body
- to use this, the person must first learn how to tense and relax each major muscle part
- after process is complete, muscles should be less tense and relaxed
- *people should begin to relax themselves overtime with a cue word
12
Q
relaxation training
A
- a procedure for teaching individuals the skill needed to decrease autonomic arousal (anxiety) by producing an incomputable state of relaxation; progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, attention focusing exercises and behavioral relaxation training are types of relaxation training procedures.
13
Q
systematic desensitization
A
- a procedure used to treat a fear or phobia
- person first learns relaxation, then develops a hierarchy of fear-provoking situations and uses relaxation procedures as they imagine each situation in the hierarchy, starting with LEAST fear provoking and gradually building up to MOST fear provoking situation
- goal is to replace fear with relaxation response
14
Q
3 essention components of relaxation prcoedures
A
- reducing muscle tension
- relaxed breathing
- focused attention
15
Q
3 steps for systematic desensitization
A
- client learns relaxation skills using one of the procedures
- the therapist and client develop a hierarchy of fear-producing stimuli
- the client practices the relaxation skill while the therapist describes scenes from the hierarchy
- once client maintains relaxation response while imagining every scene from the hierarchy the systematic desensitization is complete
