PSYC 337 > Module 7 > Flashcards

Module 7 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is anxiety?

A

A future-oriented emotional response involving worry, tension, and physical arousal.

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2
Q

What is fear?

A

An immediate emotional response to a real or perceived threat.

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3
Q

How do anxiety and fear help survival?

A

They prepare the body to respond to threats and increase alertness.

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4
Q

What is worry?

A

Repetitive thoughts about potential future problems.

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5
Q

How is anxiety different from worry?

A

Anxiety includes physical symptoms (tension, arousal) while worry is mainly cognitive.

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6
Q

What are common types of anxiety disorders?

A

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Specific Phobia

Social Anxiety Disorder

Panic Disorder

Agoraphobia

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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7
Q

What is Separation Anxiety Disorder?

A

Excessive fear or anxiety about being separated from attachment figures.

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8
Q

Key symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder?

A

Distress when separated from caregivers

Worry about losing attachment figures

Refusal to go to school or leave home

Fear of being alone

Nightmares about separation

Physical symptoms (headaches, stomachaches)

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9
Q

How long must symptoms last for diagnosis for separtion anxiety?

A

At least 4 weeks in children

Typically 6+ months in adults

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10
Q

What is a specific phobia?

A

Intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation.

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11
Q

Types of specific phobias?

A

Animal (spiders, dogs)

Natural environment (heights, storms)

Blood/injection/injury

Situational (planes, elevators)

Other (vomiting, choking, loud sounds)

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12
Q

What is Social Anxiety Disorder?

A

Fear of social situations where a person may be judged, embarrassed, or evaluated by others.

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13
Q

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy in social anxiety?

A

Expecting rejection leads to anxious behavior that actually causes negative social outcomes.

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14
Q

What is selective mutism?

A

A disorder where children consistently fail to speak in certain social situations despite speaking in others.

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15
Q

What is the typical age of onset for selective mutism?

A

Around 3–4 years old.

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16
Q

What is a panic attack?

A

A sudden surge of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms like dizziness, sweating, and shortness of breath.

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17
Q

When do panic attacks often begin to increase?

A

Around pubertal development.

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18
Q

What is agoraphobia?

A

Fear or avoidance of situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic occurs.

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19
Q

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

A

Chronic and excessive worry about multiple aspects of life.

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20
Q

Common associated features of GAD?

A

Need for reassurance

Perfectionism

Intolerance of uncertainty

Meta-worry (worry about worrying)

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21
Q

Is GAD equally common in boys and girls?

A

Yes

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22
Q

What are obsessions?

A

Intrusive, unwanted thoughts that cause distress.

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23
Q

What are compulsions?

A

Repetitive behaviors performed to reduce anxiety caused by obsessions.

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24
Q

What are common associated features of anxiety disorders?

A

Cognitive disturbances

Physical symptoms

Social and emotional deficits

Comorbidity with depression

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25
How can anxiety disorders affect academic achievement?
Anxiety can impair concentration, memory, and school performance.
26
What is executive functioning?
Cognitive skills used for planning, attention, decision-making, and self-control.
27
What are threat-related attentional biases?
A tendency to focus more on threatening stimuli than neutral information.
28
What are cognitive errors and biases?
Distorted thinking patterns that exaggerate danger or negative outcomes.
29
What physical symptoms commonly occur with anxiety?
Increased heart rate, sweating, dizziness, stomachaches, and muscle tension.
30
How can anxiety affect social functioning?
It may lead to social withdrawal, difficulty forming relationships, and reduced emotional regulation.
31
What does the tripartite model explain?
The relationship between anxiety and depression symptoms
32
What characterizes anxiety in the tripartite model?
High physiological arousal and high negative affect.
33
What does classical psychoanalytic theory say about anxiety?
Anxiety results from unconscious conflicts and internal psychological struggles.
34
What role does classical conditioning play in anxiety?
Neutral stimuli become associated with fear through learned experiences.
35
How does operant conditioning maintain anxiety?
Avoidance behaviors reduce anxiety temporarily, reinforcing the behavior.
36
What does attachment theory suggest about anxiety?
Insecure attachment relationships can increase vulnerability to anxiety disorders.
37
What does developmental psychopathology emphasize?
How biological, psychological, and environmental factors interact across development.
38
What temperament is strongly linked to anxiety disorders?
Behavioural inhibition.
39
What is behavioural inhibition?
A temperament characterized by shyness, fearfulness, and withdrawal from new situations.
40
What role do genetics play in anxiety disorders?
Genetic factors increase vulnerability to developing anxiety.
41
What brain system is linked to anxiety?
An overactive behavioural inhibition system (BIS).
42
What neurotransmitter is involved in anxiety regulation?
GABA
43
How can brain development influence anxiety?
Neural developmental changes can affect emotional regulation and fear responses.
44
How can family modeling influence anxiety?
Children may learn anxious behaviors by observing anxious parents.
45
How do parenting practices affect anxiety?
Overprotective or controlling parenting may increase anxiety risk.
46
What family factors increase anxiety risk?
Family stress Parenting style Attachment patterns
47
What is exposure therapy?
Gradually confronting feared situations to reduce anxiety.
48
What is graded exposure?
Gradually facing feared situations from least to most anxiety-provoking.
49
What is systematic desensitization?
Combining relaxation with gradual exposure to feared stimuli.
50
What is flooding?
Immediate exposure to the most feared stimulus without gradual buildup.
51
What is interoceptive exposure?
Exposure to feared bodily sensations (e.g., dizziness, rapid heartbeat).
52
What is exposure and response prevention (ERP)?
Exposure to anxiety triggers while preventing compulsive responses (commonly used for OCD).
53
What is CBT?
A therapy that changes both maladaptive thoughts and behaviors.
54
Main components of CBT for anxiety?
Exposure techniques Relaxation training Cognitive restructuring Role plays
55
Why are family interventions used in child anxiety treatment?
Parents influence children's coping skills and anxiety responses.
56
What medications are commonly used to treat anxiety disorders?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
57
What children were targeted in the Rapee prevention study?
4-year-old children showing behavioural inhibition or withdrawal.
58
Topics covered in the prevention program?
Psychoeducation about anxiety Parenting techniques Cognitive restructuring Exposure hierarchies
59
What is adaptive anxiety?
Normal anxiety that helps prepare for danger and improves performance.
60
What is maladaptive anxiety?
Excessive, persistent anxiety that interferes with daily functioning.
61
Examples of physical anxiety responses?
Increased heart rate, sweating, dizziness.
62
Examples of cognitive anxiety responses?
Catastrophic thinking, worry, threat expectations.
63
Examples of behavioral anxiety responses?
Avoidance, escape, safety behaviors.
64
What did Shear et al. (2006) study?
The relationship between childhood separation anxiety disorder and later panic disorder. Childhood SAD may increase risk for panic disorder later in life.
65
What does evolutionary theory suggest about specific phobias?
Humans are biologically prepared to fear historically dangerous stimuli (e.g., snakes, heights).
66
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy in anxiety?
Expectations of negative outcomes lead to behaviors that cause those outcomes to occur.
67
What is the difference between panic attacks and panic disorder?
Panic attacks: sudden episodes of intense fear Panic disorder: repeated panic attacks with persistent worry about future attacks.
68
Why do panic attacks increase during puberty?
Hormonal changes and increased physiological sensitivity.
69
Examples of cognitive errors in anxiety?
Catastrophizing Overestimating danger Underestimating coping ability.
70
What is negative affectivity?
General distress shared by anxiety and depression.
71
What is physiological hyperarousal?
Physical activation mainly associated with anxiety.
72
What is low positive affectivity?
Reduced pleasure mainly associated with depression.
73
What are the two processes in the two-factor theory of anxiety?
Classical conditioning (fear learning) Operant conditioning (avoidance reinforcement)
74
What is the HPA axis?
The stress-response system involving hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands.
75
What brain system processes fear and emotion?
The limbic system.
PSYC 337
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