Chapter 5: Anxiety Disorders

Question 1

What is anxiety defined as?

Answer 1

A negative mood state/emotion characterized by bodily symptoms and apprehension about the future

anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders

Question 2

What is avoidance learning?

Answer 2

Avoiding a situation completely due to adversive stimulus (e.g., anxiety)

Question 3

What is escape learning?

Answer 3

Avoiding adversive stimulus by doing something else

Question 4

What is fear defined as?

Answer 4

Immediate alarm reaction to dangerous/life threatening situations

Question 5

What is panic defined as?

Answer 5

Episodic, intense fear/acute discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms

heavy breathing, heart palpitations, etc.

Question 6

What is the difference between an expected/cued panic attack, and an unexpected (uncued) panic attack?

Answer 6

Expected = you know your triggers, unexpected = out of nowhere, no anxiety prior

Question 7

What are some differences between fear and anxiety?

hint - two systems (nervous system)

Answer 7

Anxiety = somatic nervous system (tension), future oriented
Fear = sympathetic nervous system, immediate alarm reaction

Question 8

What is the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 8

The interaction and influence of our biological, social/environmental, and psychological components

Question 9

What are some biological contributions to mental disorder?

(4 components; 3 “brain”)

Answer 9

Genetics, brain circuitry (how connected everything is), brain chemistry (neurotransmitters, HPA axis), brain processing

Question 10

What are some psychological contributions to disorder?

(5 components)

Answer 10

Childhood, personality traits, cognition (perception, beliefs, attitude), conditioning/modelling, coping skills

Question 11

What are some social contributors to mental disorder?

Answer 11

Stressful life events (social, interpersonal, physical)

Question 12

What is the triple vulnerability model?

Answer 12

Suggests that three vulnerabilities contribute to the etiology of emotional disorders - biological, psychological (general; personality traits) and specific psychological (percieved control over life)

Question 13

What is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?

3 specifications

Answer 13

Disorder characterized by intense, free floating anxiety, chronic worrying, and inability to stop the anxious cycle

Question 14

What are the 4 cognitive characteristics for GAD?

Answer 14

1. intolerance of uncertainty 2. positive beliefs about worry 3. poor problem orientation 4. cognitive avoidance

Question 15

What are some typical treatments for GAD?

Answer 15

Cognitive behavioural therapy, medication

Question 16

What are some medications typically used for GAD?

Answer 16

Benzodiazepines (short term; xanax, ativan, valium), antidepressants (paroxetine, fluoxetine -SSRI-, venlafaxine/effexor -SNRI-)

Question 17

What do SSRI’s do?

(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)

Answer 17

Blocks reuptake of serotonin, increases amount of serotonin present in the synapse + magnifies the effects

Question 18

What is social anxiety/social phobia?

Answer 18

Fear/anxiety of social situations, causing stress and impairing ability to function

Question 19

What is the best treatment typically for social anxiety?

Answer 19

CBT focusing on exposure therapy/real life experiences during therapy

Question 20

What is higher order conditioning?

Answer 20

When a conditioned stimulus becomes associated with a new, unconditioned stimulus

Question 21

What was the little Albert study?

John B. Watson’s study

Answer 21

Study that proved fears could be conditioned/generalized despite intelligence (little boy, white rat)

Question 22

What are the ABC’s of behaviour?

Answer 22

Antecedent (cue), Behaviour, Consequences

Question 23

What is a reinforcer?

(behavioural)

Answer 23

Something that strengthens a response or increases probability that it will occur

Question 24

What is shaping?

(behavioural; reinforcers)

Answer 24

Gradually molding desired behaviour by reinforcing closer responses to desired behaviour

Question 25

Who was Mary Cover Jones?

Answer 25

First behavioural therapist, reverse engineered Watson’s approach

(no more fear of white rabbit)

Question 26

What is observational learning?

Answer 26

Learning through other people’s behaviour (sometimes referred to as modelling)

Question 27

What is Horney’s concept of ‘the Self”?

(4 components)

Answer 27

Actual self (person you actually are), real self (subjective view of actual self), despised real self (negative view of the self), and the ideal self (the ‘perfect’ form of self)

Question 28

What is panic disorder?

Answer 28

Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks

(fear of having more panic attacks; required for diagnosis)

Question 29

What is the average age of onset for panic disorder?

Answer 29

25-29 years old

inital attacks begin at/after puberty

Question 30

What is agoraphobia?

Answer 30

Fear/avoidance of situations, places or people (where it’d be ‘unsafe’ to have a panic attack)

(agora is a bustling area in greek)

Considered as a marker of severe panic disorder with a lower recovery rate and less impactful treatments

Question 31

What is interoceptive avoidance?

Answer 31

Avoidance of situations/activities that may produce phisiological beginnings of a panic attack

(heat, exercise, sex, debates, etc.)

Question 32

What may be some causes for panic disorder/agoraphobia?

Answer 32

Genetics, “learned alarms”. as well as other bio/psycho/social factors

Question 33

What might treatment look like for panic disorder?

Answer 33

exposure therapy (AKA Barlow’s panic control treatment), SSRI’s, Benzodiazepines (xanax, ativan, etc.)

Question 34

What is a specific phobia disorder?

Answer 34

Persistent and irrational fear of object/situation that presents no realistic danger

interferes with ability to function

Question 35

What are the three categories of diagnosis for phobias?

(i.e., the three different types of phobias)

Answer 35

situational/specific phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia