Intro To Anxiety Disorders And Phobias

Question 1

Before the DSM-3 what was the common belief associated with anxiety

Answer 1

Neurosis - disturbance in the nervous system

Question 2

True or false: fear, anxiety and panic are similar but also distinct

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Briefly define fear

Answer 3

Response to a real or perceived threat - the threat is occurring or believed to be occurring

Question 4

What is the adaptive significance of fear

Answer 4

Allows us to run away from danger, keeps us alive and safe, enables the fight or flight response

Question 5

True or false: we need to think long about our fear response before it happens

Answer 5

False: we don’t think about it, it just happens fast. It’s an immediate response to our environment

Question 6

What are the overlapping features of fear and panic

Answer 6

Increased HR
Blood pressure increases
Increases in hormones like cortisol and adrenaline
Muscle tension
Increased breathing
The shut down of other systems (e.g, digestion) to be able to respond to the environment

Question 7

What is specific to fear but not panic

Answer 7

Preparation for action, we need fear, it is our friend

Question 8

What is specific to panic and not fear

Answer 8

It is a false alarm

Question 9

What is panic

Answer 9

A fear response that is triggered even though there is no threat or perception of threat - it’s a false alarm

Question 10

Is anxiety oriented in the present or the future?

Answer 10

Future oriented

Question 11

True or false: symptoms of anxiety have no relation to fear and panic

Answer 11

False

Question 12

What characterizes anxiety

Answer 12

It is an affective state
Threat of potential negative event - there is no actual threat

Question 13

Anxiety disorders are disorders of ______ and ______

Answer 13

Anxiety and panic

Question 14

True or false: to qualify for an anxiety disorder, the person must experience impaired functioning

Answer 14

True for all disorders

Question 15

True or false: anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disorders

Answer 15

True

Question 16

What is the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders

Answer 16

30-40%

Question 17

What are the three chapters of anxiety-related disorders

Answer 17

Anxiety disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive and related disorders, Trauma and stressor-related disorders

Question 18

What are the anxiety disorders

Answer 18

Panic disorder
Agoraphobia
Specific phobia
Social anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder

Question 19

What is the significance of the ordering of the chapters in the DSM

Answer 19

Conveys that there is a sequence / relation to the disorders

Question 20

Following the HiTOP model what is the spectra, subfactors and syndromes/disorders of anxiety disorders

Answer 20

Spectra: Internalizing
Subforms: Fear and Distress
Syndromes/Disorders: Fear: specific phobia, SAD, Panic, OCD; Distress: GAD, PTSD

Question 21

What are the main categories/types of a specific phobia

Answer 21

Animal-Type: rodents, reptiles, insects
Natural Environment-Type: storms, heights
Blood/Injection/Injury Type
Situational-Type: tunnels, bridges, elevators, flying

Question 22

What phobias fall in the residual/other category

Answer 22

Choking
Vomiting
Illness (not hypochondriasis)
Loud noises
Falling down

Question 23

Would a cues fear response lead you to a phobia or a panic diagnosis

Answer 23

Most likely phobia

Question 24

What is criterion A of phobias

Answer 24

Marked by persistent and excessive or unreasonable fear when in the presence of or anticipating encountering an object

Question 25

What is criterion B of phobias and give 2 examples

Answer 25

Exposure to the stimulus almost invariably produces and anxiety response EXs: - panic attacks: situationally-bound panic attacks (cued panic attack) - people with blood/injection type phobias will often faint

Question 26

What is criterion C of phobias

Answer 26

Phobia situations is avoided or endured with intense distress

Question 27

True or false: intense fear alone is enough to get a diagnosis of a specific phobia

Answer 27

False: it need to interfere with the person’s daily/normal functioning

Question 28

What would be an example of a phobia that someone living in Quebec is unlikely to have and why

Answer 28

A crocodile phobia because it would not impede with there day-to-day activities where they live

Question 29

In phobias is the fear of the object itself or is it of interacting/coming into contact with the object?

Answer 29

Interaction and/or coming into contact with the object

Question 30

Which of the 2 options would most likely qualify for a phobia diagnosis assuming it impairs with the person’s daily functioning: intense fear of spiders or intense fear of getting stuck in an elevator

Answer 30

Intense fear of getting stuck in an elevator

Question 31

Why is the nature of fear key to the diagnosis

Answer 31

Different phobias can be diagnosed depending on the reasoning behind the fear

Question 32

What are two ways in which a fear of airplanes may be diagnosed demonstrating that the reason behind the fear is key

Answer 32

Diagnosed as a situational phobia: Being afraid of airplanes because of a fear of falling from the sky Diagnosed as agoraphobia: Being afraid of airplanes because of a fear of being trapped and unable to escape if feeling sick

Question 33

True or false: phobias are very uncommon

Answer 33

False, they are very common

Question 34

What is the prevalence of specific phobia and of agoraphobia

Answer 34

Specific phobia: 12.5% Agoraphobia: 1.5%

Question 35

Are phobias more common in males or females

Answer 35

Females 2:1

Question 36

Phobias are usually comorbid with what other types of disorders

Answer 36

Other anxieties or depression

Question 37

True or false: most children do not outgrow their phobias and they become severely phobic adults which is also true for other types of disorders

Answer 37

False: most children will outgrow their phobias and will not become phobic adults which is usually not the case for many other anxiety disorders

Question 38

What are some of the early emerging phobias

Answer 38

Animals (7yrs), blood (9yrs), dentist (11yrs)

Question 39

What mechanisms are usually attributed to the development and maintenance of phobias

Answer 39

Classical and operant conditioning

Question 40

Reinforcement ______ behaviour and punishment _______ behaviour

Answer 40

Increases, decreases

Question 41

What is the 2-factor theory proposed by Orval Hobart Mowrer

Answer 41

Fears are acquired through classical conditioning and are maintained through operant conditioning through negative reinforcement Constant cycle of intense avoidance - the negatively reinforced behaviour - that eventually impedes on everyday functioning

Question 42

True or false: it is worth weighing the costs and benefits of having the phobia and going through the exposure therapy

Answer 42

True

Question 43

If learning theory is true, what should happen VS what actually happens

Answer 43

Should: Onset of phobias should be linked to some sort of traumatic experience Actual: 50% report having a traumatic experience - need to ask ourselves why not all traumatic experiences lead to phobias

Question 44

What is the evolutionary preparedness theory

Answer 44

Evolved a sensitivity to certain stimuli (Seligman) Certain fears were adaptive at one point and were selected for - EX: a fear of bears and running away allowed you to survive longer (long enough to reproduce)

Question 45

What Study did Cook & Mineka (1990) do?

Answer 45

Reared monkey in the lab to be afraid of snakes or afraid of flowers by making them watch another monkey do the same Results: the monkeys only showed the fear response for snakes, not for the flowers Supports a vicarious learning model

Question 46

What are some other sources of phobias

Answer 46

Genetic variance - maybe some heritability Different temperaments - easier to condition a fear in highly emotional or anxious people

Question 47

What is the immunizing effect

Answer 47

A lot of positive and/or neutral experience outweighs the negative Familiarity acts as a buffer for phobias but novelty contributes to the phobias