Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal Psychology

Chapter 4

Question # 1

Distinguish between clinically significant fear and anxiety, and everyday fear and anxiety.

Anxiety is a common mental health concern facing many Americans today. In 1997 Thomas Huberty defined anxiety as a unique emotional state characterized by feelings of distress and tension about real or anticipated threats that may manifest in cognitive, behavioral, or physiological patterns. Anxiety can have devastating effects on individuals, as it can interfere with their learning and social and emotional development. In this entry, general information about anxiety is presented. Common features found among the anxiety disorders, types of anxiety disorders, and etiological factors underlying anxiety disorders are discussed. Prevention and intervention strategies are covered (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

An emotional state in the presence or anticipation of a dangerous or noxious stimulus. Fear is usually characterized by an internal, subjective experience of extreme agitation, a desire to flee or to attack, and a variety of sympathetic reactions. Fear is often differentiated from ANXIETY on one (or both) of two grounds: (a) fear is treated as involving specific objects or events while anxiety is regarded as a more general emotional state; (b) fear is considered a reaction to a present danger, anxiety to an anticipated or imagined one.

Question # 2

Explain how the autonomic nervous system responds in the face of fear and after the event has passed.

We have to react quickly to potential danger in order to stay safe. Once the brain jump starts the fear response, it doesn't take long for physiological changes to affect the entire body. First, the sensory organs - our eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin - pick up cues from our surroundings and feed them to the brain (Flint, 2005).

The brain's threat center, a structure called the amygdala, is constantly on the lookout for danger. If it identifies a possible threat, it sounds the alarm, immediately kicking the fight or flight response into gear. Before we know it, our heart's beating like crazy, we're taking quick, shallow breaths and sweating in case we have to defend ourselves or make a quick getaway. These changes are controlled by a part of the peripheral nervous system called the autonomic nervous system, which regulates automatic changes to the body's vital functions.

Question # 3

Carefully describe the exposure therapies: desensitization, flooding, and modeling as used to treat phobias.

Flooding

The decision to use flooding versus systematic desensitization or some other treatment for child anxiety depends on several conceptual, practical, and ethical factors. First, the therapist should consider the function of coping for this child. In other areas of life, does the child use distraction, relaxation, or other coping techniques to “recharge” and prepare to tackle challenges or does the child tend to use them to check out and disengage? Certainly, a style of disengagement would interfere with exposure-based anxiety treatment and would argue strongly for the use of flooding over systematic desensitization (Lang, 2001)

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Desensitization

Desensitization is a process through which repeated exposure, without incident, to a stimulus that naturally evokes a powerful emotional response leads to a ...