Fear and Anxiety Reduction Procedures

Question 1

What is a ‘Fear’?

Answer 1

Fear is caused by a stimulus or situation that produces unpleasant physiological response and cognitive appraisal

Question 2

What is respondent conditioning of fear?

Answer 2

Conditioned emotional response (CER)

ex: sight of escalators (CS)–> autonomic system arousal, physiological response (fear) (CR)

Question 3

What is operant conditioning of fear?

Answer 3

Escape or avoidance (negative reinforcement) ex: autonomic system arousal (Sd) –> avoiding escalator (behaviour) –> relief (Sr)

Question 4

What are the two basic principles to reduce fear and anxiety?

Answer 4

Respondent extinction and Counter conditioning

Question 5

Explain Respondent Extinction:

Answer 5

Present the CS repeatedly without the US (fear). The idea is to break the connection between the the CS and US so they are no longer afraid

Question 6

What is Anxiety?

Answer 6

Unpleasant bodily responses (autonomic system response) when presented a certain stimuli

Question 7

Describe the 3 kinds in CSs.

Answer 7

1. In-vivo: real-life events, objects or people
2. Imaginal: mental representations of events, objects or people
3. Symbolic: overt representation of events, objects or people

Question 8

Explain Counter Conditioning:

Answer 8

Train the person to substitute a competing or incompatible behaviour for the CR when the CS is presented

Question 9

Who is Mary Jones and what did she do?

Answer 9

‘Mother of behaviour therapy’, she was Watson’s student and pioneered the first use of behavioural techniques in therapy on a 3 year old boy afraid of rabbits. She used modelling and exposure to rabbits to improve his tolerance. AKA the ‘sequel’ to Watson’s Little Albert.

Question 10

Define relaxation:

Answer 10

A state of calmness with low psychological and physiological arousal and tension

Question 11

Define relaxation training:

Answer 11

Strategies that people use to decrease the autonomic arousal they experience as a component of fear an anxiety problems

Question 12

What is Progressive Muscle relaxation (PMR)

Answer 12

First described by Jacobson, the person systematically tenses and relaxes each of the major muscle groups in the body. Tensing and relaxing the muscles leave them more relaxed than the initial state

Question 13

Explain Diaphragmatic breathing (aka deep breathing)

Answer 13

Person breathes deeply in a slow, rhythmic fashion using the muscles of the diaphragm and the abdomen. Anxiety is usually associated with shallow, rapid breathing, diaphragmatic breathing decreases anxiety by replacing its breathing pattern (incompatible)

Question 14

Explain Guided Imagery (Attention-Focusing Exercise)

Answer 14

The person imagines/visualizes pleasant scenes or images, the exercise focuses the persons attention on something other than anxiety inducing thoughts

Question 15

Explain Autogenic training (Attention-Focusing Exercise)

Answer 15

‘Self produced’, the person imagines bieng in a pleasant and peaceful scene and experiencing specific bodily sensations (not muscle tension)

Question 16

Who is autogenic training suited for?

Answer 16

more suitable then PMT for people with chronic pain or difficulty moving

Question 17

Explain Meditation (Attention-Focusing Exercise)

Answer 17

The 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 or feelings.
It has been successfully used to treat chronic pain by focusing on and separating physical sensations from the cognitive and emotional reactions to pain

Question 18

Explain Behavioural Relaxation training:

Answer 18

It involves relaxing (not tensing) different muscle groups and adopting certain relaxed body postures. Typically other relaxation techniques are incorporates too.

Question 19

Who developed Systematic Desensitization?

Answer 19

Joseph Wolpe in 1958 based on Mary Jones’ Counterconditioning

Question 20

Define phobia:

Answer 20

A fear in which the level of anxiety or escape is severe enough to disrupt the person’s life

Question 21

Explain Systematic Desensitization:

Answer 21

A person with a phobia practices relaxation while imagining scenes of the fear- producing stimulus

Question 22

What are the three important steps for systematic desensitization?

Answer 22

1. The client learns relaxation skills
2. The therapist and client develop a hierarchy of fear- producing stimuli
3. The client practices the relaxation skills while the therapist describes scenes from the hierarchy

Question 23

Is systematic desensitization effective?

Answer 23

It is highly effective for helping people overcome fears, and its effectiveness is maintained over time. It often improves other areas of emotional functioning and other anxiety related problems

Question 24

How is In vivo desensitization different from systematic desensitization and which more effective?

Answer 24

In vivo, the client gradually approaches or is gradually exposed to the actual fear- producing stimulus, Systematic, the client only imagines the fear producing stimulus.
In vivo is more effective than systematic

Question 25

What is the VAS scale?

Answer 25

It measures pain levels

Question 26

Explain Flooding (aka response prevention and originally called implosive therapy)

Answer 26

A procedure where the person is exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period. The idea is that the person’s anxiety will decrease over time due to respondent extinction.

Question 27

Explain Modelling:

Answer 27

Phobic person watches someone else preform a feared behaviour and can desensitize fears vicariously. This includes: Participant Modelling (person is encouraged to join in), Videotaped Modelling (less effective) and Computer-aided vicarious exposure (kinda like SIMS)

Question 28

Explain Virtual Reality Exposure:

Answer 28

Participants wear a head-mounted stereoscopic virtual reality (VR) display that presents a 3D immersive experience that may include directional audio, haptic feedback/vibration and scents. It presents a controlled simulated experience as a part of exposure therapy. Good for treating solders with PTSD