Lecture 2, Anxiety

Question 1

How is anxiety described as a basic emotion?

Answer 1

It is a normal response to danger or thoughts and has multiple subsystems

Question 2

What are the subsystems of anxiety?

Answer 2

Cognitive, Behavioural and Physiological

Question 3

What is anxiety as a personality dimension?

Answer 3

Trait anxiety, and neuroticism

Question 4

What is anxiety as a psychological disorder?

Answer 4

GAD, OCD, Panic etc.,

Question 5

According to Endler, Parker, Bagby and Cax, what are the 2 dimensions of state-anxiety?

Answer 5

Cognitive (worry) and autonomic (emotional/physiological).

Question 6

Which component of state-anxiety is more disruptive?

Answer 6

Cognitive

Question 7

What is a personality dimension?

Answer 7

In the case of anxiety, it means that people can be more prone to experiencing anxiety than others, and can be positively associated with psychopathology.

Question 8

What is trait-anxiety?

Answer 8

Relatively stable individual difference in anxiety proneness.

Question 9

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) is shown to have 2 factors, what are they?

Answer 9

Depression, and anxiety.

Question 10

What causal factors are there to describe why some people are more anxious than others?

Answer 10

MZ twin studies of neuroticism demonstrate that there is an approximate 25% variance in neuroticism due to genetic factors.
No reliable differences between high and low anxious-trait individuals.

Question 11

What are the cognitive factors in anxiety?

Answer 11

• Trait anxiety correlated with selective attention to threat stimuli
• Increased trait anxiety linked to more attention to threat, negative thought, worry
• Trait anxiety stronger predictor of attempts than state anxiety

Question 12

What are the versions of emotional stroop task?

Answer 12

• Dot probe task
• Homophone spelling

Question 13

What is the dot probe task?

Answer 13

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 the threat word

Question 14

What is the homophone spelling task?

Answer 14

Listen to words with alternative meanings; trait-anxious write the threatening word

Question 15

What is the processing stage theory?

Answer 15

Anxiety effecting automatic processing leading to bias. In this approach, anxiety is viewed as a bottom-up process. Stimulus input -> State Effect -> Trait Effect

Question 16

What is the hypervigilance theory?

Answer 16

Trait anxious scan environment for threat excessively and lock onto it. Unclear whether theory is bottom up or top down.

Question 17

What is the S-REF theory?

Answer 17

Anxiety associated with activation of Cognitive Attentional Syndrome. CAS involves self-focus, worry, monitoring for threat and ironic coping responses.

Question 18

What does S-REF stand for?

Answer 18

Self-regulatory executive function

Question 19

What did Nordahl et al., 2019 discuss about metacognitive beliefs?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

When is anxiety a disorder?

Answer 20

Anxiety interferes with function; Prolonged/excessive; Impairs quality of life : Specific phobia, panic attack, GAD

Question 21

What are the 3 chapters of anxiety disorders according to the DSM-5?

Answer 21

Anxiety disorders, OCD and related to disorders & trauma and stress related.

Question 22

Give some examples of DSM-5 diagnoses of anxiety.

Answer 22

Separation anxiety, OCD, Agoraphobia

Question 23

What are the trauma and stress disorders of anxiety?

Answer 23

• Acute Stress Disorders, usually occurs within 4 weeks of trauma, decreases within 4 weeks - labelled as a normal response.
• PSTD - This is the disorder developed if acute stress disorder persists

Question 24

What are the symptoms of PTSD, according to the DSM-5 criteria?

Answer 24

Recurrent memories, flashbacks, marked physiological reasons, avoidance, alternation in cognition and mood associated with trauma

Question 25

What is social anxiety disorder?

Answer 25

Fear of performance or social situations in which person is subject to scrutiny - situation is avoided/endured with intense anxiety/distress

Question 26

What are the clinical models of social anxiety disorder?

Answer 26

Social skills deficit; Cognitive behaviours model

Question 27

What theories do Cognitive Behaviours Model draw on?

Answer 27

Draws on Beck’s schema theory and cognitive model by Wells

Question 28

What does Clark and Wells’ Cognitive Behaviours Model ask and answer?

Answer 28

Why doesn’t social anxiety self correct?
1. Self-focused attention; 2. Processing of inner image; 3. Safety behaviours & avoidance; 4. Anticipatory processing; 5. The post-mortem

Question 29

What does the Clark and Well’s model distinguish?

Answer 29

Vulnerability factors and in-situation factors. Assumed that the person with anxiety has underlying beliefs or assumptions about the social world - leading to negative thoughts in social situations

Question 30

What are the important additional mechanisms in the Clark and Well model?

Answer 30

Safety behaviours and somatic & cognitive symptoms

Question 31

What is anticipatory processing?

Answer 31

A safety behaviour - Happens before entering a feared situation, difficulty in having an experience that challenges negativity

Question 32

What is post-mortem safety behaviour?

Answer 32

Upon leaving a feared situation, ruminate and analyse performance. Reinforces negative inner image.