Psychology on Fear and Anxiety

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Questions and Answers

What distinguishes fear from anxiety in terms of duration?

Fear is a long/chronic emotion.

Anxiety is a brief/discrete emotion.

Anxiety is immediate and dependent on the moment.

Fear is brief/discrete while anxiety is long/chronic. (correct)

Which physiological response is specifically associated with fear?

Diffuse physiology.

Plan and prepare for future threats.

Instantaneous response for survival. (correct)

Less autonomic arousal.

How is anxiety primarily characterized in contrast to fear regarding cognitive processing?

Fear involves complex cognitions.

Anxiety is based on visual processing.

Anxiety includes verbal processing and worry. (correct)

Fear is a cognitive state dependent on learning.

What role does the amygdala play in fear processing?

It mediates rapid unconscious processing of fearful stimuli. Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary factor that can increase the risk of phobias related to genetics?

Having a close first-degree relative with agoraphobia. Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary characteristic that differentiates anxiety from fear?

Anxiety involves anticipation of future threats. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes the emotional state of anxiety?

An unpleasant emotional state with fearfulness. Signup and view all the answers

What are the behavioral disturbances commonly associated with anxiety disorders?

Cautious/avoidant behaviors and escape responses. Signup and view all the answers

What physiological response is associated with fear as per the characteristics of anxiety disorders?

Surges of autonomic arousal necessary for the fight/flight response. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement about the treatment of anxiety disorders is accurate?

An effective treatment may include both biological and behavioral approaches. Signup and view all the answers

What cognitive function was assessed as fine in the case study?

Thinking and reasoning Signup and view all the answers

What type of memory did the participant experience loss of after the traumatic brain injury?

Episodic memory Signup and view all the answers

What behavior was noted as a compensatory mechanism for cognitive deficits?

Constant checking of personal possessions Signup and view all the answers

What was a reported psychological symptom experienced by the individual?

Suicidal thoughts Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the individual's emotional issues regarding self-image?

Feeling stuck in a poor self-image despite others' opinions Signup and view all the answers

How did the individual's daily routine change following the traumatic brain injury?

He became limited in his daily activities Signup and view all the answers

What influence did memory deficits have on the individual's behavior?

Frequent doubts about personal interactions Signup and view all the answers

What was the score indicating depressive symptoms at assessment in the case study?

8 Signup and view all the answers

What is a key component of systematic desensitization in treating phobias?

Learning a coping response through progressive stages Signup and view all the answers

In exposure therapy, which step is crucial before starting the exposure sessions?

Creating an assessment and fear hierarchy Signup and view all the answers

What role does media play in the development of phobias, as noted in the content?

Media influences phobias through sensationalized depictions Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'Negative Intrusive Thoughts (NITS)' refer to in managing phobias?

Unhelpful thoughts that exacerbate fear Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a reinforcement for coping responses identified in the treatment of phobias?

Receiving support and encouragement from others Signup and view all the answers

What type of phobia did the case of the crane fly illustrate?

Simple animal phobia Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a part of the exposure therapy process?

Avoiding situations that trigger fear Signup and view all the answers

What significant change was observed in the case of CB after his head injury?

His memory for current events and past life became limited Signup and view all the answers

What is a defining characteristic of social anxiety disorder?

Persistent worry about performance in social situations Signup and view all the answers

What role do adverse childhood experiences play in anxiety disorders?

They increase the risk of developing anxiety disorders. Signup and view all the answers

Which of these is NOT a common effect of social anxiety disorder?

Enhanced workplace productivity Signup and view all the answers

Which statement about the treatment of social anxiety disorder is accurate?

Many individuals avoid seeking treatment for over a decade. Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant consequence of social anxiety disorder?

Impairment in caregiving duties and volunteer activities Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a criterion for diagnosing social anxiety disorder?

Avoidance or anxiety lasting six months or more Signup and view all the answers

How does social anxiety disorder typically affect employment?

It is associated with decreased performance and job satisfaction. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following reflects the nature of fear experienced in social anxiety disorder?

Fear that is out of proportion to actual threat Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a requirement for a Generalized Anxiety Disorder diagnosis?

At least one physical symptom present for more than 6 months Signup and view all the answers

Which symptom is considered part of the diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Restlessness or feeling keyed up Signup and view all the answers

What is required regarding the duration of symptoms for Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Symptoms should be present for more days than not over a period of 6 months Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following symptoms is NOT listed as part of the diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Panic attacks Signup and view all the answers

Which statement concerning the causes of symptoms in Generalized Anxiety Disorder is true?

Symptoms should not be attributed to another medical condition Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear and anxiety, along with related behavioral disturbances.
Fear is an emotional response to a real or perceived immediate threat, often involving physiological changes like increased heart rate or sweating, and thoughts of danger or escape.
Anxiety is the anticipation of future threat, often associated with increased muscle tension and vigilance, and cautious or avoidant behaviors.

Anxiety: Background

Anxiety disorders include phobias, fears, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Biological factors, behavioral and social learning factors, and treatment approaches are considered in understanding anxiety's origins and potential cures.

Mentimeter

A teaching tool used to gather student perspectives about anxiety through polls and discussion questions.
Students are prompted to share personal experiences, perceived causes of anxiety, and instances in which anxiety influenced their decision-making.
Students also asked to describe what anxiety felt like for them.

Anxiety

Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state characterized by fearfulness, unwanted, and distressing physical symptoms and thoughts.

Anxiety Disorders (DSM-V)

Anxiety disorders share traits of excessive fear and anxiety, influencing behaviors.
Fear is a response to perceived imminent threat, marked by physiological responses that trigger "fight-or-flight” reactions and mental imagery of potential danger.
Anxiety involves anticipating future threats, evidenced by tension, vigilance, and avoidance.

Behavioural Theory

Avoidance conditioning suggests that some stimuli can evoke fears, even without exposure.
Learned fear responses can develop through pairing a neutral stimulus with an inherently fearful one in situations or across one-off events.
Reinforcement reinforces avoidance behaviors, creating a cycle where the learning isn’t corrected.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning involves associating a stimulus with a response.
Pavlov's dogs demonstrated this phenomenon.
Learning to associate fear with a previously neutral stimulus is explained through classical conditioning; an example is Little Albert.

Further Concepts for Classical Conditioning

Generalization is when a response to one stimulus is extended to similar stimuli.
Extinction is the diminishing conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest.

Operant Conditioning

Reinforcement influences subsequent behaviors.
Operant conditioning involves positive and negative reinforcement.
Context profoundly impacts associative learning, where responses in one environmental setting are altered in a different context.

Associative Learning in Clinical Psychology

Associative learning plays a role in individual beliefs about the world, and has essential influences across a number of psychiatric diagnoses.
Anxiety-related disorders like anxiety, depression, and addiction are impacted by how this form of learning is experienced and reflected.
Learning, then, has implications across everyday feelings, assumptions about the self and the world.

Main Anxiety Disorders in the DSM-V

Specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and agoraphobia are included.

Specific Phobias

Specific phobias present a disproportionate fear of a specific object, animal, situation, or environment.
Instances like a fear of spiders, snakes, heights, flying, blood, enclosed spaces, or clowns represent a range of specific phobias.

Fears and Phobias

Phobias are diagnosed when a fear response is disproportionate to the object's actual threat.
Recognition that fear is significantly intrusive to daily routines is a clinical characteristic of a phobia.
Prevalence of phobias varies by gender, with women more frequently experiencing phobias compared to men.

Phobia DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria

Specific criteria, like marked fear or anxiety, avoidance or enduring fear, and persistence, are central for a diagnosis.
Fear is out of proportion to the actual danger presented by the targeted stimuli.

Causes of Phobias

Experiences of fear can be conditioned through personal experiences, or observed in others.
Modeling, media portrayal, or a direct experience of fear in a situation or with specific objects can influence the development of a phobia.
Evolutionary factors play a role, as an innate tendency to be wary of dangers is common.

Treatment of Simple Phobia

Systematic desensitization is a common treatment to reduce avoidance and fear.
Steps in treatment might begin with identifying the least worrisome stimuli and systematically increasing exposure to progressively more aversive stimuli while gradually overcoming anxiety using coping mechanisms.
Alternative interventions might involve coping skills training, breathing exercises, and learning to identify maladaptive thought patterns, such as catastrophic thinking.

Exposure Therapy

Steps involving assessment, starting with least feared stimuli, exposure sessions, remaining in stressful situations, repetition, and gradual progression are central.

Crane Fly Phobia: Case LM

A specific example case study of a patient with a phobia involving crane flies.
The case's course demonstrates the hierarchy’s implementation.
Treatment and outcomes are presented in the case study.

Referral Letter

A summary of a case, presenting significant information about the patient, their symptoms, and how they’ve dealt with the incident and subsequent challenges.

Case Illustration: CB Assessment

Case details, including the patient’s pre-injury history leading to a traumatic brain injury.
Issues associated with the injury, such as cognitive function and memory recall, detailed in the case.

CB: Self-Report of Symptoms

Report of symptoms, including difficulties with routine or recalling, or experiences impacting self-confidence and safety.

CB: Scores on Mood Measures

Data charts describing results from mood assessments (anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD]) at different points in the process

CB: "Underlying" Emotional Issues

Attention and memory challenges are presented, along with difficulties with controlling emotions and maintaining a positive self-image.
The case highlights that the issues stemmed from re-asserting a sense of control, and these routines supported the patient's coping mechanisms.

CB: Interventions

Interventions involving individual and group therapies to improve cognitive function, anxiety, and memory are given.
Training using tools such as palm-top organizers and voice organizers aimed at improving future memory are described.
Exposure therapy, involving incremental exposures to anxiety-provoking situations, is also discussed, alongside breathing and relaxation training.
Social activities, community mobility, and physical activities are recommended as important components for the patient's recovery.

CB: Working through a Hierarchy

Steps outlining a hierarchy-based approach to addressing anxiety-provoking situations in the patient’s life.
Specific examples, like making calls to friends, leaving the house, or social interactions demonstrate the incremental steps.

CB: Anxiety Ratings for Getting Around

Anxiety ratings for different types of transportation (buses, town, city) are plotted.
Ratings presented across two points in time to illustrate progress made.

CB: Anxiety Ratings for Socialising

Anxiety ratings in social situations (calls, pub, clubbing), at two time points, present the patient's gradual improvements.

CB: Scores on Mood Measures, Assessment, and Discharge

Mood assessment scores, across points of anxiety, depression, and OCD.
The graph shows improvement over time.

CB Outcome

Patient's reflections on their experiences and progress in recovering emotional well-being after the traumatic brain injury.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) DSM-V Criteria

Criteria for the diagnosis, including excessive worrying, difficulty controlling worry, and associated symptoms such as restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and sleep disturbance.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) DSM-V Criteria cont'd

Criteria are presented to determine if the anxiety is separate from other mental health issues.
The criteria suggest that the anxiety is not directly attributable to other medical conditions or substances.

Functional Consequences of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Negative consequences of worry-related disorders, such as difficulty with tasks, maintaining concentration, and experiencing stress, affect functioning and daily routines.
The financial and emotional costs of worry and related disorders can be substantial for individuals, families, and healthcare systems.
Statistics show the magnitude of this impact in terms of the number of disability days caused by this form of anxiety.

Catastrophic thinking, intolerance of uncertainty, over-estimation of threats, perfectionism, need for control, safety behaviors, excessive responsibility, and negative beliefs about worry are considered potential contributors to GAD.

The Cause is Not Well Understood

Evidence on the causes of GAD suggests potential genetic or familial predispositions.
Life stressors, trauma, and chronic stress are presented as contributing factors in anxiety disorders.
Social learning and observations can have influence, suggesting a complex interaction of biological, environmental, and social factors.

Marked fear or anxiety in social situations, involving potential scrutiny or evaluation by others.
Negative self-evaluations and concerns over the potential social consequences drive the fear related behaviours.
Fear of social situations is present, with avoidance, and an overall impact on daily functioning.

Negative consequences associated with social anxiety include impacts on employment, socioeconomic status, and interpersonal relationships.
Symptoms can limit participation in social activities, hindering personal and professional success.
Seeking treatment is often delayed due to the distress associated with social anxiety disorder.

Other Anxiety Disorders and Their Management

Some commonly seen anxiety disorders are presented; including health anxiety and panic disorder.
Management strategies, including medication, are presented alongside cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Summary

Brain has an "approach or avoid" system, influenced by biological wiring for fear responses.
Anxiety can be learned based on stress occurrences.
Effective treatment involves addressing the learned response and its associated behaviours.

PTSD

PTSD is characterized by direct or witnessed experience of threats to self or others involving trauma.
Symptoms, including flashbacks, nightmares, hyperarousal, hypervigilance, avoidance, numb affect, amnesia, and dissociation, are described.
The aetiology (origin) is deemed known, unlike other anxiety disorders, representing a crucial distinction.

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Description

Explore the key differences between fear and anxiety in this quiz. Test your understanding of physiological responses, cognitive processes, and the role of genetics in phobias. Perfect for psychology students looking to deepen their knowledge of these emotional states.