Fear and Anxiety Reduction Procedures Flashcards
Define fear
Caused by stimulus or situation that produces unpleasant physiological response (anxiety) and cognitive appraisal
Fear comprises both…
Respondent conditioning: conditioned emotional response (CER)
Operant conditioning: escape or avoidance (neg reinf)
What is respondent extinction
Presenting a CS repeatedly without the US
Extinguish CRs association
Kinds of CSs (respondent extinction)
- in vivo: real-life events, objects or ppl
- imaginal: mental representations of events, objects or ppl
- symbolic: overt representation of events, objects or ppl
What is counterconditioning
Trains person to substitute a competing or incompatible behaviour for the CR when the CS is present
Includes extinction
What is relaxation
State of calmness, with low psychological and physiological arousal and tension
After a person has mastered a relaxation technique…
They can develop a rapid relaxation induction method (calm selves quickly)
Relaxation techniques
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Attention-focusing exercises
- Behavioural relaxation training
What is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)
Alternately tensing and relaxing different muscle groups while resting
Positive psychological and physiological results continue after treatment
Controversial aspects of progressive muscle relaxation
- Tensing muscles may not be required
- Audio recorded not as effective as in person w therapist
What is diaphragmatic breathing
AKA deep breathing
Using muscles of diaphragm to breathe deeply and slowly in a rhythmic pattern, expansion of abdomen instead of just chest
Deep breathing is incompatible with..
Rapid, shallow breathing associated with high arousal or anxiety
What are the three attention-focusing exercises
- Guided imagery
- Autogenic training
- Meditation
What is guided imagery
Person imagines pleasant and peaceful scenes and images, guided by therapist using script
Focus attention on scene instead of anxiety-provoking thoughts
What is autogenic training
Person imagines being in pleasant or peaceful scene and experiencing specific bodily sensations
Good for chronic pain, difficulty moving
What is meditation
Process of contemplating or focusing one’s attention on an object, event or idea to help the person become detached or dissociated from their physical states, thoughts and feelings
Essential components of meditation
- Quiet, distraction free location
- Specific, comfortable posture
- Open attitude
- Focus of attention
Meditation alleviates…
anxiety and depression to a similar degree as antidepressant drug therapy
Meditation has been successfully applied to…
Chronic pain by focusing on and separating physical sensations from the cognitive and emotional reactions to pain
What is behavioural relaxation training
Relaxing different muscle groups, adopting certain relaxed body postures
Does not include muscle tensing component of PMR
Breathing exercises, focused attention
What is systematic desensitization applied for
Applied to reverse a person’s learned fear response
Steps of systematic desensitization
- Person learns relaxation techniques/exercises
- Person develops stimulus hierarchy for CSs based on subjective units of discomfort scale (SUDS: 0-100)
- Therapist describes a CS while person maintains state of relaxation (start with least fear-inducing CS)
What is reciprocal inhibition
Relaxation response decreases the fear response
Effectiveness of systematic desensitization
- Effective in overcoming fears
- Maintained
- Generalized
What is in vivo desensitization
Person gradually exposed to actual stimulus producing fear/anxiety
Includes relaxation, cognitive procedures (self statements to cope)
In vivo desensitization is effective for
- anxiety disorders
- obsessions and compulsions
List the exposure-based therapies
- Systematic desensitization
- In vivo desensitization
- Flooding
- Modelling
- Virtual reality exposure
What is flooding? aka
AKA response prevention
Person exposed to highly feared object or situation for prolonged period of time
Therapist prevents escape/avoidance
No relaxation
What is modelling
Phobic person watches someone else performing feared behaviour, desensitizes fear vicariously
Types of modelling
- Participant modeling: person watches, then guided to join in
- Videotaped modelling: watch videos of someone else in feared situation (surgery/dental work)
- Computer-aided vicarious exposure: person uses computer to guide scenarios/CSs that are on-screen experiences
What is virtual reality exposure
Participant wears VR display that presents 3D, immersive experience (may include audio, haptic feedback/vibrations, scents)
Presents controlled, stimulated experience
VR exposure highly effective in treating fear of…
heights, flying, storms, bridges,
