Module 4

Question 1

Three Distinct Components of Emotion

Answer 1

Physiological: Changes in autonomic nervous system (breathing, heart rate..)

Cognitive: Alterations in concsciousness (attention levles) and thoughts (“I’m going to die” or “I’m going to embarrass myself”)

Behavioural: Consequences of certain emotions (feeling a panic attack during an exam –> compelled to leave)

Question 2

Anxiety vs. Fear vs. Panic

Answer 2

Anxiety: Concerned about the possibility of something bad happening in the future (future oriented)

Fear: Occurs in response (reaction) to a real or perceived current threat (present oriented)

Panic: Extreme fear reactions that is triggered even though there is nothing to be afraid of (false alarm)

Question 3

Genetics (Anxiety)

Answer 3

More likely to pass on in terms of temperamental or dispositional traits

Question 4

Neuroanatomy and Neurotransmitters (Anxiety)

Answer 4

Neurotransmitters involved in fear, anxiety and panic are also involved in an assortment of general cognitive, affective, and behavioural functions

Question 5

Behavioural Factors - Mowrer’s Two Factor Theory

Answer 5

Fears develop through the process of classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning. Can develop fears through vicarious learning or modeling and by hearing relevant info

Question 6

Cognitive Factors

Answer 6

Anxious individuals often see the world as dangerous and tend to focus on information that is relevant to their fears

Question 7

Interpersonal Facotrs

Answer 7

Anxious parents interact with their children in ways that are less warm and positive - more critical and catastrophic

Question 8

Panic Attacks & Diagnostic Criteria

Answer 8

Sudden rush of intense fear or discomfort

Abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes and during which time four or more of the following symptoms occur

1) palpatations, pouding heart, or accelerated heart rate
2) Sweating
3) Trembling or shaking
4) Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
5) Feelings of choking
6) Chest pain or discomfort
7) Nausea or abdominal distress
8) Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light headed or faint
9) Chills or heat sensations
10) Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
11) Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
12) Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
13) Fear of dying

Diagnosed when at least one panic attack results in significant alteration in behaviour - occurs in late teenage years & women are twice as likely to experience

Question 9

Agoraphobia

Answer 9

Anxiety about being in places or situations where an individual might find it difficult to escape, or in which they would not have help readily available should a panic attack occur.

Diagnosis is made only when feared situations are actively avoided, require presence of a companion or are endured with extreme anxiety

Question 10

Etiology for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

Answer 10

Rooted in bioloigcal and psychological factors. Tend to run in families.

Cognitive theories believe in catastrophic misinterpretations of their bodily sensations: Getting up too quickly leading to dizziness –> some people may ignore bu tothers may panic that something is wrong

Related theory - anxiety senstivity: Belief that somatic symptoms related to anxiety will have negative consequences that extend beyond the panic episode itself

Question 11

Cognitive Theories

Answer 11

Catastrophic misinterpretations of their bodily sensations: Getting up too quickly leading to dizziness –> some people may ignore bu tothers may panic that something is wrong

Question 12

Related Theory - Anxiety Sensitivity

Answer 12

Belief that somatic symptoms related to anxiety will have negative consequences that extend beyond the panic episode itself

Question 13

Specific Phobia

Answer 13

Fears can cause marked distress and significantly disrupt their daily lives. exposure to feared object or situation must produce excessive anxiety. Diagnosis is given when symptoms interfere with everyday functioning or cause considerable distress

Animal Type: Animal or insect

Natural Environment Type: Part of the natural environment (thunderstorms, water, heights)

Blood Injection Injury Type: Fears seeing blood or an injury, or fears an injection o other type of invasive medical procedure

Situational Type: Fears specific situations (bridges, public transportationa nd enclosed spaces)

Other type: used for all other phobias not covered in the other categories, such as extreme fears of choking, vomiting, and clowns or illness phobia

Question 14

Classical Conditioning Theory (Etiology phobia)

Answer 14

Assumes that all neutral stimuli have an equal potential for becoming phobias, known as the equipotentiality premise

Question 15

Nonassociative Model (Etiology phobia)

Answer 15

Proposes that evolution has caused humans to respond fearfully to a select group of stimuli (eg. water, heights, spiders), thus no learning is necessary to develop these fears

Question 16

Seligman Biological Preparedness Theory (Etiology phobia)

Answer 16

The process of natural selection has equipped humans with the predisposition to fear objects and situations that represent threats to our species - unlike nonassociative model, associative learning is still necessary to develop a phobia

Question 17

Disgust Sensitivity (Etiology phobia)

Answer 17

Degree to which people are susceptible to being disgusted by stimuli - people develop phobias because the phobic object is disgusting and possibly contaminated

Question 18

Social Anxiety Disorder & Diagnostic Criteria

Answer 18

Persistent fear of social or performance related situations. Focuses on fear of acting in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Underlying fear of being evaluated negatively and how others may perceive them

a) Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations
b) Individual fears that he/she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated
c) Social situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety
d) Social situations are avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety
e) Fear or anxiety is out of proportion to actual threat posed by the social situation
f) Fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment
g) Fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment
h) Fear, anxiety or avoidance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental
j) IF another medical condition is present, fear/anxiety/avoidance is unrelated to excessive

Question 19

Genetic Factors (Etiology SAD)

Answer 19

40% at risk, what is inherited is a predisposition to develop anxiety about social situations rather than the disorder itsself

Question 20

Early Psychosocial Experiences (Etiology SAD)

Answer 20

Greater level of parental criticism, overprotection, and control as a child lead to social anxiety

Question 21

Cognitive Factors (Etiology SAD)

Answer 21

Involve both negative beliefs and judgement about self and others - Individuals with social anxiety tend to judge themselves as inferior to others and to engage in negative thinking about self

Question 22

Generalized Anxiety Disorder & Diagnostic Criteria

Answer 22

Uncontrollable and excessive worry - called pathological worry. Becomes pathological when it is chronic, excessive, uncontrollable and essentially takes the joy out of life. Amount of anxiety and worry they experience is the clinical problem.

Excessive anxiety and worry, more days than not for at least 6 months about events or activities.
Difficult to control the worry.
The anxiety and worry are associated with three (or more) of the following

1) Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge
2) Being easily fatigued
3) Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
4) Irritability
5) Muscle tension
6) Sleep Disturbance

Question 24

Etiology (GAD)

Answer 24

Primarily cognitive. Individuals with GAD use worry primarily as an avoidance strategy

Question 25

Intolerance of Uncertainty Theory(IU) (Etiology GAD)

Answer 25

An individual's discomfort with ambiguity and uncertainty. Individuals with anxiety regularly have "what if" questions which are a risk factor for GAD

Question 26

Obsessions

Answer 26

Repeated intrusive uncontrollable thoughts/impulses that cause distress

Question 27

Compulsions

Answer 27

Repeated physical/mental behaviours done in response to an obsession (handwashing, checking, rigidly maintaining order and organization)

Question 28

Neutralizations

Answer 28

Behavioural or mental acts used by individuals to try to prevent, cancel, or "undo" the feared consequences and distress caused by an obsession. People feel better after engaging in a neutralizing act

Question 29

Thought Action Fusion

Answer 29

Tendency to overestimate the relationship between a thought and an action, such that one mistakenly believes a "bad" thought is the equivalent of a "bad" action

Question 30

OCD Diagnostic Critera

Answer 30

Presence or obsessions, compulsions, or both: 1) Thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, are intrusive and unwanted, and cause marked anxiety or distress 2) The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, r images to neutralize them with other thought or action (i.e by performing a compulsion) Compulsions are defined by (1) and (2) 1) Repetitive behaviours or mental acts that the indivdiual feels driven to perform 2) Behaviours or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety, or distress, or preventing some dreaded event or situation - behaviours or mental acrs are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent b. Obsessions or compulsions are time - consuming (take more than 1 hour per day) and cause clinically significant distress or impairment c. The obsessive compulsions symptoms are not attributable to effects of a substance d. The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder

Question 31

Neurobiological Model (Etiology OCD)

Answer 31

Structural and/or functional abnormalities in this brain system (basal ganglia and frontal cortex) may be responsible for compulsions and obsessions

Question 32

Cognitive Behavioural Model (Etiology OCD)

Answer 32

Problematic obsessions are caused by reaction to intrusive thoughts. Catastrophic Misinterpretation: Abnormal obsessions arise

Question 33

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Answer 33

Excessive preoccupation with an imagined or exaggerated body disfigurement, sometimes to the point of a delusion - preoccupied with percieved defect. The excessive preoccupations are difficult to control and individuals may spend many hours of each day dwelling on their "defect"

Question 34

PTSD Diagnostic Criteria

Answer 34

a. Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one (or more) of the following ways 1) Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s) 2) Witnessing, in person, the event(s) as it occurred to others 3) Learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or a close friend 4) Experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event(s) b. Presence of one (or more) of the following, beginning after the event(s) 1) Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of event 2) Recurrent distressing dreams related to event 3) Dissociative reactions (eg. flashbacks) in which the individual feels r acts as if the traumatic event(s) were recurring 4) Intense distress at exposure to cues that symbolize/resemble aspects of the event(s) 5) Physiological reactions to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble as aspect of the traumatic event(s) c. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s), beginign after the traumatic event(s) occured, as evidenced by one or both of the following: 1) Avoidance/efforts to avoid distressing memories/thoughts/feelings 2) Avoidance of or efforts to avoid external reminders (people, places, conversations, activities, objects, situations) that arouse distressing memories d. Negative alterations n cognitions and mood associated with eh traumatic event(s) 1) Inability to remember an important aspect of the traumatic event(s) 2) persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world 3) Persistent, distorted cognitions about the cause or consequences of the event(s) that lead the individual to blame himself/herself or others 4) Persistent negative emotional state (eg. fear, horror, anger, guilt, shame) 5) Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities 6) Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others 7) persistent inability to experience positive emotions (eg. inability to experiences happiness, satisfaction, or loving feelings) e. Marked alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic event(s) beginning or worsening after the traumatic event(s) occurred, as evidence by two (or more) of the following 1) Irritable behaviour and angry outbursts 2) Recklessness or self destructive behaviour 3) Hypervigilance 4) Exaggerated startle response 5) Problems with concentration 6) Sleep disturbance (eg. difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless sleep) f. Duration of the disturbance (criteria B,C,D and E) is more than 1 month g. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress h. Disturbance is not attributable to effects of a substance or medical condition

Question 35

Etiology (PTSD)

Answer 35

Exposure of an individual to a traumatic life. Women are 2 times more likely to devlop PTSD.

Question 36

Gender Differences (PTSD)

Answer 36

Men report witnessing someone badly injured or killed, being exposed to fires, floods, or natural disasters. Women report being raped, sexually molested, neglected and abused

Question 37

Pre Event Risk Factor for Adult PTSD

Answer 37

Low in socio - economic status, education, and tested intelligence, having previous psychiatric history; and experiencing childhood adversity, including being abused as a child

Question 38

Post Event Risk Factors for PTSD

Answer 38

Include the severity of the traumatic event, lack of social support, and whether or not additional stressful experiences occur after the traumatic event