Week 6: Etiology and Maintenance of Anxiety Disorders

Question 1

Heritability of Anxiety

Answer 1

Evidence that tendencies towards anxiety are inherited

(1)
Children of parents with anxiety disorders are about 5 x more likely to have an anxiety disorder than are children whose parents do
not have anxiety disorders.

(2)
Twin studies indicate that 33% of variability in anxiety is heritable.

Question 2

Biological Predisposition to Anxiety

Answer 2

Inherit a general vulnerability (diathesis) to anxiety disorders
-Temperament
=Behavioral inhibition
-Fear and distress in response to novel situations e.g. run away from novelty (withdrawal from novelty)
-Withdrawal
-Negative emotionality

Question 3

Two Stage Model of Fear Acquisition

Stage 1: Classical Conditioning

Answer 3

Etiological and maintenance model for specific phobia
(Mowrer,

Stage 1: Fear develops through classical conditioning
-Unconditioned stimulus (US)
A stimulus that leads naturally to the response
-Unconditioned response (UR)
Response to the unconditioned stimulus
-Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Neutral stimulus
-Conditioned Response (CR)
Response to the CS that results from reliably pairing the CS and the US

e.g.

Sees neighbors dog running toward him

Direct experience

• Conditioned stimulus (CS): Dogs
• Unconditioned stimulus (US): Danger
• Unconditioned response (UR): Fear
• Conditioned response (CR): Fear of dogs

Question 4

Two Stage Model of Fear Acquisition

Stage 2: Operant Conditioning

Answer 4

Stage 2
-Avoidance behavior maintained through operant conditioning
-Recall that operant conditioning involves adding and removing positive
and negative stimuli to change rates of behavior
-Avoidant behavior provides relief from anxiety
-This is a powerful reinforcer (negative reinforcement)
-Avoidant behavior increases

Note that not only does this increase avoidant behavior, it increases the idea that that there was something there to fear in the first
place

Question 5

Unwanted thoughts are typical (OCD)

Answer 5

Unwanted intrusive thoughts are typical

• 293 undergraduate students
• Running car of road 64% of women, 56% of men
• Cutting off finger 19% of women, 16% of men
• Left the stove on 79% of women, 66% of men
• Imagining strangers naked 51% of women, 80% of men

Question 6

Maintenance Model of OCD

Answer 6

An obsessive thought leads to appraisal of its importance

In OCD that appraisal says the obsession was REALLY IMPORTANT!

This provokes anxiety and disgust which feels awful

To get rid of this feeling, you do a neutralization (such as a ritual)

This decreases temporarily the distress

Via negative reinforcement, you learn that this must have been important (Increased appraisal) Which in turn will increase anxiety and disgust of it the next time it happens

Overall this has the effect of INCREASEING the obsession’s importance

Question 7

Summary

Answer 7

Anxiety is heritable

Experience shapes anxiety

Two factor model of fear acquisition posits that fear is learned through classical conditioning and maintained through operant
conditioning

Similarly, for individuals with OCD, operant conditioning serves to reinforce the compulsions and to increase the distress associated
with the obsessive thoughts