Fear and Anxiety Reduction Flashcards
What is fear caused by?
a stimulus that produces unpleasant physiological response (autonomic arousal or anxiety) and cognitive appraisal (evaluating the situation)
Fear is comprised of:
a) operant behaviours (CR)
b) respondent conditioning (CS)
c) both respondent conditioning and operant behaviours
c) both respondent conditioning and operant behaviours
in fear and anxiety reduction, what does respondent conditioning produce?
conditioned emotional response (CER)
in fear and anxiety reduction, what does operant conditioning produce?
avoidance and escape behaviour (negative reinforcement)
What is respondent extinction?
presenting CS repeatedly without the US (reduce CER)
in vivo respondent conditioning involves:
a) overt representation of events, object, or people (e.g. picture)
b) real-life events, objects, or people
c) mental representations of events, objects, or people
b) real-life events, objects, or people
imaginal respondent conditioning involves:
a) overt representation of events, object, or people (e.g. picture)
b) real-life events, objects, or people
c) mental representations of events, objects, or people
c) mental representations of events, objects, or people
symbolic respondent conditioning involves:
a) overt representation of events, object, or people (e.g. picture)
b) real-life events, objects, or people
c) mental representations of events, objects, or people
a) overt representation of events, object, or people (e.g. picture)
What is counterconditioning?
respondent extinction (present CS without US) + SUBSTITUTING an incompatible behaviour for the CR when the CS is present
i.e. condition a new response (CR) to the CS
who is the “first behaviour therapist” or “the mother of behavioural therapy”?
Mary Cover Jones (student of James B. Watson)
explain what procedures were used on the “sequel” to Watson’s experiment on Little Albert.
1) respondent extinction –> exposed Peter to rabbits
2) counterconditioning –> eating food associated with the rabbit (instead of conditioned fear response)
what is relaxation?
state of calmness with low physiological and psychological arousal and tension
-> progressive muscle relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, attention-focusing exercises and behavioral relaxation training
how long should a relaxation session last?
10-30 mins
what is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)?
alternately tensing and relaxing different muscle groups while resting
why is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) controversial?
1) tensing muscle may not be required
2) audio-recoded or scripts that guide the process may NOT be as EFFECTIVE as in-person training
what is diaphragmic breathing (aka deep breathing)? how is it different from normal breathing?
slow and deep breathing; expansion of abdomen instead of chest
what is behavioral relxation training?
relax each muscle group in body by assuming relaxed postures
-> focus on muscle tension, correct breathing, attention focusin
what are 3 attention-focusing exercises?
1) guided imagery
2) autogenic training
3) meditation
what is guided imagery?
- person imagines pleasant scenes and images
- therapist describes what is experienced by the senses in the situation
what is autogenic training?
- person imagines being in a pleasant scene, experiencing SPECIFIC BODILY SENSATIONS
- more suitable than PMR in people with chronic pain or difficulty in moving
how long does a full session of autogenic training, involving all body parts, usually take?
35 mins
what is meditation?
contemplating or focusing attention on one thing to DISSOCIATE from physical state
what are the 4 essential components of meditation?
1) a quiet, distraction-free location
2) specific, comfortable posture
3) open attitude
4) focus of attention
what is behavioural relaxation training?
PMR but no tensing of muscles
what is systematic desensitization? what are the procedural steps?
- IMAGINED SCENARIOS
- purpose: reverse a CER
- procedure: learn relaxation –> develop stimulus hierarchy using SUDS –> therapist describes CS while person remains relaxed
- i.e. RELAXATION ENHANCES DESENSITIZATION (reciprocal inhibition)
what does SUDS stand for? what is it used for?
- Subjective Units of Discomfort Scale (0-100)
- hierarchy of least to most fear inducing CSs
what is in vivo desensitization?
- face the CS in reality (NOT IMAGINED SCENARIO)
- same as systematic desensitization but not imagined
Which of the following statements is false?
a) In vivo desensitization is more effective than systematic desensitization
b) systematic desensitization is more effective than in vivo desensitization
FALSE = b) systematic > in vivo
TRUE = a) in vivo > systematic
what is flooding (aka response prevention)?
- exposure to highly feared CS for a PROLONGED period of time
- prevents escape and avoidance behaviour
- NO relaxation
True or False: flooding should only be carried out by a professional
TRUE
What is modeling in terms of fear and anxiety reduction?
- phobic person watches someone else performing a feared behaviour
- desensitize fears
what are 3 types of modeling in exposure therapy? define them
1) participant modeling - person first observes and then joins; use verbal and physical guidance prompts
2) videotaped modeling - person watches a video of someone
3) computer-aided vicarious exposure - play video game on screen
what is VR (virtual reality) exposure?
using VR to present a controlled, simulated experience as part of exposure therapy
what respondent behaviour results from fear?
autonomic nervous system arousal
what are fear and anxiety-reduction procedures based on?
principles of operant and respondent conditioning
what is a phobia?
fear in which level of anxiety or escape and avoidance behavior is severe enough to disrupt persons life
what is contact desensitization?
type of in vivo that provides reassuring physical contact as client progresses through hierarchy
