lec 2 Flashcards
Anxiety as a basic emotion
Normal response to danger or thoughts
Has multiple subsystems
Cognitive
Behavioural
Physiological – part of ANS
anxiety as a personality dimension
trait and association
Trait anxiety (People can be more prone to experiencing anxiety than others)
Positively associated with psychopathology (psychological disorders)
STAI-T shown to have 2 factors (state trait anxiety inventory)
Depression & Anxiety
nature of anxiety
Cognitive and physiological preparation for future threats
Important to distinguish anxiety from other emotional states
Content specificity hypothesis:
Different emotions have different content of thought and coping behaviours
Cognitive & Somatic Anxiety: state anxiety Endler, Parker, Bagby & Cox (1991
dimensions
Large factor analysis– 2 dimensions of state-anxiety:
Cognitive (worry) - chain of negative, repetitive thoughts that start w “what if” question
Temporal dimension: future oriented
State anxiety has Autonomic component (emotional/physiological)
Cognitive component is more disruptive than emotional component
causal factors - MZ & neuroticism
MZ Twin studies of Neuroticism = approx 25% variance in neuroticism due to genetic factors.
No reliable differences between high and low anxious-trait individuals in physiology
However: reliable cognitive differences
Cognitive factors in anxiety: attention
Trait anxiety positively correlated with selective attention to threat stimuli:
Trait anxiety stronger predictor of attention than state anxiety (how we’re feeling)
state anxiety and performance
+ test anxiety
State anxiety impacts performance more than trait anxiety (Eysenck, 1982).
State anxiety most detrimental in certain tasks (difficult, short-term memory tasks, dual tasks
test-anxiety: worry component linked to performance decrement more than somatic component
Anxiety & attention bias
- stroop task
Trait anxiety and anxiety disorder show robust effects on attention.
Stroop Task:
arachniphobes presented 3 words: Phobics paid more attention to fear related words; bias towards fear stimuli
dot probe task
Word pairs (threat and non-threat), follow by a dot probe in the same position as one of them.
Trait- anxious and anxious patient’s focus on threat word (e.g., MacLeod & Mathews,
homophone spelling
+ who did study
Listen to words with 2 alternative meanings
Trait-anxious (those prone to anxiety) wrote threatening word (Eysenck, MacLeod & Mathews, 1987).
Explanation of bias:
Williams et al (1988) Processing Stage Theory
Anxiety effecting automatic processing leading to bias
Anxiety is viewed a bottom up process
Stimulus input (threat) -> state effect -> trait effect
Explanation of bias:
Eysenck (1992)
Hypervigilance Theory
Trait anxious scan environment for threat excessively and lock onto it
Unclear if this theory is bottom up or top down
Unclear if anxiety in this model is automatic or strategic
Wells & Matthews (1994) S-REF Theory (self-regulatory executive functioning)
Anxiety associated with activation of Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS)
CAS involves self-focus, worry, monitoring for threat and ironic coping responses (bias is a consequence of coping strategy)
First model to have both bottom-up and top-down process
Metacognitive beliefs drive and maintain CAS
Can link model back to trait anxiety
S-REF and Trait anxiety
S-REF:similarities between disorders are important than the differences
Metacognitive beliefs as a central factor in state/trait emotion & mechanism?
Nordahl
Metacognitive beliefs: Beliefs people hold about their thinking
Metacognitive beliefs predicted proneness to both domains of trait anxiety (anxiety and depression subscale)
metacognitive beliefs may be an underlying mechanism of vulnerability attributed to trait-anxiety
anxiety disorders
–Specific phobia:
cluster around animals or objects
Panic attacks
Sudden increase in anxiety
Symptoms: Increased HR, sweating, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath
Immediate sense of catastrophe
–Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Characterized by excessive worry
Chain of negative thinking that’s future oriented
OCD & Related disorders
- obsession
Intrusive thought (image or urge)
Ego-dystonic seen as disgusting/abhorrent
80% of people have ego-dystonic thoughts but doesn’t lead to disorder
complusion
Overt or covert reaction
Aim is to decrease distress
Acute Stress
Disorder
Within 4 weeks of exposure to trauma
Symptoms
i.e. memory difficulties, increased arousal
Normal response - Decreases within 4 weeks
Difficulties persist Post traumatic stress disorder
PTSD
Occurs after a trauma (experienced, witnessed)
Multiple types (complex PTSD, Delayed onset PTSD: experience it months/years after trauma)
DSM-V Criteria
Recurrent memories; flashbacks; marked physiological reactions
Avoidance (memories, thoughts, people, places etc)
Alternation in cognition and mood associated with trauma (amnesia, negative beliefs/mood,loss of interest;detachment)
Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
Fear of performance or social situations in which person is subject to scrutiny
Exposure almost invariably causes anxiety
The situation is avoided or endured with intense anxiety/distress
Common symptoms: sweating, shaking, blushing, blank mind, fear of humiliation
cognitive behaviours model (Clark & Wells, 1995)
of SAD
Draws on Beck’s schema theory and cognitive model by Wells
Coping responses and cognitive processes not deficits are central to anxiety maintenance
Clark&Wells model - Why doesn’t social anxiety self correct
Self-focused attention
Processing of inner image
Safety behaviours & avoidance
Anticipatory processing
The post mortem
description of clark and Wells model
Model distinguishes between vulnerability factors and in-situation factors.
It is assumed the person with social anxiety has underlying beliefs or assumptions about the social world,
This leads to negative thoughts in social situations.
Anticipatory processing and post mortem
(clark and Wells)
Anticipatory - happens before entering feared situation
Hours or days ahead
Difficulty in having an experience that challenges negativity
post-mortem:
Upon leaving a feared situation
Ruminate and analyze their performance
Reinforces negative inner image even if the interaction was positive
Rumination biases cognition and maintains anxiety
