Exam 3: Anxiety Disorders

Question 1

Define: Anxiety

Answer 1

An emotional state characterized by physiological arousal, unpleasant feelings of tension, and a sense of apprehension or foreboding.

Question 2

Define: Anxiety Disorder

Answer 2

A class of psychological disorders characterized by excessive or maladaptive anxiety reactions.

Question 3

Define: Panic Disorder

Answer 3

A type of anxiety disorder characterized by repeated episodes of intense anxiety or panic.

Question 4

Define: Phobia

Answer 4

An excessive, irrational fear.

Question 5

Define: Specific Phobia

Answer 5

A phobia that is specific to a particular object or situation.

Question 6

Define: Social Phobia

Answer 6

Excessive fear of social interactions or situations.

Question 7

Define: Two-Factor Model

Answer 7

A theoretical model that accounts for the development of phobic reactions on the basis of classical and operant conditioning.

Question 8

Define: Systematic Desensitization

Answer 8

A behavior therapy technique for overcoming phobias by means of exposure to progressively more fearful stimuli (in imagination of by viewing slides) while remaining deeply relaxed.

Question 9

Define: Fear-Stimulus Hierarchy

Answer 9

An ordered series of increasingly fearful stimuli.

Question 10

Define: Gradual Exposure

Answer 10

In behavior therapy, a method of overcoming fears through a stepwise process of exposure to increasingly fearful stimuli in imagination or in real-life situations.

Question 11

Define: Flooding

Answer 11

A behavior therapy technique for overcoming fears by means of exposure to high levels of fear-inducing stimuli.

Question 12

Define: Virtual Reality Therapy

Answer 12

A form of exposure therapy involving the presentation of phobic stimuli in a virtual reality environment.

Question 13

Define: Cognitive Restructuring

Answer 13

A cognitive therapy method that involves replacing irrational thoughts with rational alternatives.

Question 14

Define: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Answer 14

A type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both.

Question 15

Define: Obsession

Answer 15

A recurring thought, image, or urge that the individual cannot control.

Question 16

Define: Compulsion

Answer 16

A repetitive or ritualistic behavior that the person feels compelled to perform.

Question 17

Define: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Answer 17

(GAD) A type of anxiety disorder characterized by general feelings of dread and foreboding and heightened states of bodily arousal.

Question 18

Define: Acute Stress Disorder

Answer 18

(ASD) A traumatic stress reaction occurring during the month following exposure to a traumatic event.

Question 19

Define: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Answer 19

(PTSD) A prolonged maladaptive reaction to a traumatic event.

Question 20

Define: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR)

Answer 20

A controversial form of therapy for PTSD that involves eye tracking of a visual target while holding images of the traumatic experience in mind.

Question 21

General Considerations:

Answer 21

• Used to be called “Neurosis:” Cullen coined the term—he was a physician and assumed that those with anxiety disorders had some sort of nervous system dysfunction
• Highly Conditionable
• Avoidant Defenses: if something causes you anxiety, you avoid it
• Difference between anxiety/fear

Question 22

Anxiety

Answer 22

Stress
Prolonged/Persistent
Far-Reaching
Psychological
Conditioned
Anticipated/Cognitive
“Top Down Processing”—cortex
THINKING (stop)
BIS—Behavior Inhibition System

Question 23

Fear

Answer 23

Momentary/Right Now
Fight or Flight Response
Reflex
Physiological
Unexpected/Can’t Control
HPA Axis (Cannon)
“Bottom Up Processing”—primitive brain 
ACTION

Question 24

Genetic Connections within Anxiety Disorders

Answer 24

There aren’t specific genes for anxiety disorder, but there could be a genetic connection within anxiety disorders—see stimulation thresholds
Treatment doesn’t change your stimulation threshold—it teaches you coping mechanisms that help you deal with stressful/tense situation

Question 25

GAD: Symptoms

Answer 25

Must have them for longer than 6 months
2:1 (female:male) ratio for development of anxiety disorder
2+ worries/triggers
Muscle tension, difficulty concentrating,
Frequency of the disorder increases with age
Free-Floating Anxiety: “fog”—goes everywhere/pervades everything

Question 26

GAD: Causes

Answer 26

(NOT) Sociocultural: all groups/races are susceptible
Psychodynamic: (Freud) learning theory + classical conditioning
Biology (Autonomic Restrictors): a considerable sub-group doesn’t show any biological responses to their anxiety

Question 27

GAD: Treatment

Answer 27

(medications become the avoidant defenses of anxiety disorders—medication is a Band-Aid, not a solution)
1940’s Barbiturates—lethal dose does not go up with tolerance (very dangerous, high risk of overdose)
1950’s Benzodiazepines—potentiate (magnifies) the effects of GABA (→ inhibits, calms, shuts things down), but are time-limited; causes memory problems, thinking issues, motor coordination, depression; effects “modest at best”
Antidepressants—“depression and anxiety are kissing cousins”
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
“Modest at Best” (the one exception to success rate with anxiety disorder treatments)

Question 28

Specific Phobia: Diagnostic Criteria

Answer 28

(Must have all 5)
+Must have a specific fear of stimulus or situation
+Exposure causes anxiety reactions
+Engages in avoidant defenses
+Originally, you had to accept that your fear is illogical and irrational—now you just have to recognize that it is excessive
+Phobia must (severely) interfere with daily function (obligations and responsibilities)
-Symptoms for around 6 months

Question 29

Specific Phobia: Causes

Answer 29

Biological Preparedness: we are hard-wired to develop some fears (creepy-crawlies) and not others (ice cream)
Mowrer Two Factor Theory: argues that classical and operant conditions result in the development of a phobia EX: spider + bite→fear/anxiety (conditioned stimulus + unconditioned stimulus→unconditioned response)
Vicarious Learning: we learn to fear things without a personal experience
Information Transmission: EX: hobo spider impulse buy
Developmental Patterns: certain phobias show up at certain ages

Question 30

Specific Phobia: Treatment

Answer 30

• Drugs/Medication
• Extinction→Exposure Conditioned stimulus w/o the unconditioned stimulus
• Flooding
• Systematic Desensitization
• Modeling: works if you use an equal or lesser status peer

Question 31

Social Anxiety Disorder

Answer 31

Fear of being exposed to public scrutiny or humiliation

• Same diagnostic criteria as specific phobia
• More females suffer from it

Question 32

Panic Disorder: Diagnostic Criteria

Answer 32

Panic Attack 
\+uncued, unexpected
\+cued (situationally bound)
\+situationally predisposed
      *Stimulus Generalization
-R/O (rule out) Mitral Valve Prolapse
-Interoceptive Avoidance (exercise, theme parks)
Stats: more females than males (5:2)
Treatment (for both Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia)
	Relaxation
	Exposure to Internal Cues

Question 33

Agoriphobia

Answer 33

Male/Female Ratio 2:1
Secondary Gain: someone else has to do everything for an agoraphobic
Treatment (for both Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia)
Relaxation
Exposure to Internal Cues

Question 34

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Answer 34

Clients who re-experience anxiety related to a past trauma
Big Concern—stimulus generalization
Early diagnosis is critical