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This article reviews the manner in which overt behavioral measures of fear (usually Behaviour Avoidance Tests) are reported in major behaviour therapy journals. It was investigated whether instructions and procedures of BATs were outlined... more
This article reviews the manner in which overt behavioral measures of fear (usually Behaviour Avoidance Tests) are reported in major behaviour therapy journals. It was investigated whether instructions and procedures of BATs were outlined in sufficient detail to enable a potential researcher to replicate them. The results show that only one third (62) of 185 reviewed studies on fear, anxiety or phobias included some form of overt behavioral assessment. Only one third of these 62 studies gave a fair or detailed account of BAT instructions and procedures whereas the remaining studies provided only vague information or no details at all.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Research Design, Fear, Behavior, and 3 moreAnxiety, Humans, and ANXIETY
... At this time, neither a rigid application of manuals nor their total rejection appears feasible or even desirable. ... and fixed numbers of sessions, the most important task of behavior therapists is to conduct functional analyses of... more
... At this time, neither a rigid application of manuals nor their total rejection appears feasible or even desirable. ... and fixed numbers of sessions, the most important task of behavior therapists is to conduct functional analyses of ... Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 215240. ...
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... The first couple, Landon (33) and Wendy (28) reported low levels of marital satisfaction and high levels of conflict due to rigidity in joint decision-making. Landon was raised in Europe and moved to the United States as an adult. ...
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... These findings are particularly interesting with respect to the study by Kleinknecht (1982), who found that the large majority of his 5s attributed their fear reduction to acquired knowledge of the phobic objects and to observation.... more
... These findings are particularly interesting with respect to the study by Kleinknecht (1982), who found that the large majority of his 5s attributed their fear reduction to acquired knowledge of the phobic objects and to observation. ... Julian Press, New York. ...
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ABSTRACT This paper presents a summarizing overview of the present conceptual, empirical, and practical status of the recent “cognitive trend” in behaviour therapy. The theoretical and practical similarities and differences of the three... more
ABSTRACT This paper presents a summarizing overview of the present conceptual, empirical, and practical status of the recent “cognitive trend” in behaviour therapy. The theoretical and practical similarities and differences of the three most influential cognitive-behavioural approaches are presented and some empirical evidence of their theoretical bases is critically examined. Finally, the therapeutic efficacy of these approaches is briefly reviewed.
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Background: Nonresponsiveness to therapy is generally acknowledged, but only a few studies have tested switching to psychotherapy. This study is one of the first to examine the malleability of treatment-resistant patients using acceptance... more
Background: Nonresponsiveness to therapy is generally acknowledged, but only a few studies have tested switching to psychotherapy. This study is one of the first to examine the malleability of treatment-resistant patients using acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial that included 43 patients diagnosed with primary panic disorder and/or agoraphobia (PD/A) with prior unsuccessful state-of-the-art treatment (mean number of previous sessions = 42.2). Patients were treated with an ACT manual administered by novice therapists and followed up for 6 months. They were randomized to immediate treatment (n = 33) or a 4-week waiting list (n = 10) with delayed treatment (n = 8). Treatment consisted of eight sessions, implemented twice weekly over 4 weeks. Primary outcomes were measured with the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS), the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and the Mobility Inventory (MI). Results: At post-treatment, patients who receive...
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Fear of bodily sensations has received extensive attention in relation to panic disorder, and more recently, other types of anxiety pathology and chronic pain problems. Extending this work, the present study examined fear of bodily... more
Fear of bodily sensations has received extensive attention in relation to panic disorder, and more recently, other types of anxiety pathology and chronic pain problems. Extending this work, the present study examined fear of bodily sensations and its underlying dimensions in emergency room patients with Noncardiac Chest Pain (NCCP; n = 63). We posited a "differential specificity" hypothesis, expecting that specific cardiopulmonary fears would be more strongly associated with NCCP symptoms relative to other bodily fears. As hypothesized, participants reported cardiopulmonary sensations as significantly more fear-provoking than numbness, dissociation, and gastrointestinal sensations. Additionally, regression analysis indicated that after accounting for theoretically relevant demographic variables and health status, cardiopulmonary fear was the best predictor of a composite index of cardiac complaints intensity, even after removing variance related to the absolute number of c...
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The present cross-sectional study sought to examine the extent to which heart-focused anxiety is associated with the co-occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and a history of regular smoking in a sample of 148 postangiography... more
The present cross-sectional study sought to examine the extent to which heart-focused anxiety is associated with the co-occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and a history of regular smoking in a sample of 148 postangiography patients from a cardiology unit. Individuals with CAD who regularly smoked demonstrated significantly greater heart-focused attention, but no greater degree of avoidance and fear of heart-focused sensations, than did nonsmoking persons with CAD and smokers without CAD. We also found evidence that heart-focused attention and fear incrementally predicted (above and beyond demographic variables and body mass index) intensity of average chest pain. Overall, this study provides some of the first empirical evidence that the occurrence of regular smoking and CAD is associated with specific dimensions of health anxiety. We discuss these findings in relation to models of panic pathology and anxious responding to bodily sensations.
Research Interests: Cardiology, Anxiety Disorders, Behavioral Medicine, Humans, Female, and 14 moreMale, Body Mass Index, Heart Disease, Middle Aged, Questionnaires, Coronary Angiography, Empirical evidence, Time Factors, Behavioral, Coronary Artery Disease, Cross sectional Study, Chest Pain, Predictive value of tests, and Heart Diseases
We examined whether certain “risky” drinking motives mediate the previously established relation between elevated anxiety sensitivity (AS) and increased drinking behavior in college student drinkers (n=109 women, 73 men). Specifically, we... more
We examined whether certain “risky” drinking motives mediate the previously established relation between elevated anxiety sensitivity (AS) and increased drinking behavior in college student drinkers (n=109 women, 73 men). Specifically, we administered the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), Revised Drinking Motives Questionnaire, and a quantity-frequency measure of typical drinking levels. Participants were parceled according to high (n=30), moderate (n=29), and low
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Predictability of aversive events impacts the development and maintenance of anxiety, particularly panic disorder. Although animal studies typically have found a preference for signaled (predictable) over unsignaled (unpredictable)... more
Predictability of aversive events impacts the development and maintenance of anxiety, particularly panic disorder. Although animal studies typically have found a preference for signaled (predictable) over unsignaled (unpredictable) aversive events, results of research with human participants have been less clear. Using a panic-relevant paradigm, the authors examined predictability preference with humans as a function of anxiety sensitivity and gender during repeated administrations of 20% carbon-dioxide-enriched air. Participants preferred predictable administrations, with high-anxiety individuals showing greater preference than low-anxiety individuals and women showing greater preference than men. In addition to providing information to better understand human predictability preference for panic-related events, results also may aid in determining the applicability of predictability to the cognitive-behavioral treatment of panic disorder.
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... by cognitive therapy (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979), rational emotive therapy (Ellis Grieger, 1977), modification of causal attributions and expectancies (Peterson, 1982; Weiner, 1988), social skills training (Nezu, Nezu, Perri,... more
... by cognitive therapy (Beck, Rush, Shaw, Emery, 1979), rational emotive therapy (Ellis Grieger, 1977), modification of causal attributions and expectancies (Peterson, 1982; Weiner, 1988), social skills training (Nezu, Nezu, Perri, 1989), or ... Allyn and Bacon: Needham Heights, MA. ...
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ABSTRACT
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... eg, a panic attack) report a broad range of rapidly escalating and persistent autonomic responses including heart palpations, sweaty palms, dizzi ... degree of experimental control is manual regulation of participant access to C02 and... more
... eg, a panic attack) report a broad range of rapidly escalating and persistent autonomic responses including heart palpations, sweaty palms, dizzi ... degree of experimental control is manual regulation of participant access to C02 and room air using a 3-way stop cock valve system ...
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Research Interests: Psychology, Anxiety Disorders, Fear, Kinetics, Monte Carlo, and 21 moreAdolescent, Anxiety, Spain, Mexico, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans, Female, Male, Netherlands, United States of America, Health Status, Clinical Sciences, North America, Conceptual Understanding, Questionnaires, Anxiety Sensitivity, Cardiovascular Diseases, MEXICO, ANXIETY, Indexation, and Anxiety Disorder
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Research Interests: Psychology, Mathematics, Anxiety Disorders, Decision Making, Educational Measurement, and 18 moreCarbon Dioxide, Vocabulary, Working Memory, Anxiety, Humans, Air, Galvanic Skin Response, Female, Male, Bit Error Rate, Lexical Decision, Aptitude, Clinical Sciences, Undergraduate Student, Adult, Inhalation, ANXIETY, and Condition dependence
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Despite advances in our understanding of the nature of anxiety-related responding during periods of elevated bodily arousal, it is not necessarily evident by what psychological mechanisms anxiety is produced and maintained. To address... more
Despite advances in our understanding of the nature of anxiety-related responding during periods of elevated bodily arousal, it is not necessarily evident by what psychological mechanisms anxiety is produced and maintained. To address this issue, researchers have increasingly employed biological challenge procedures to examine how psychological factors affect anxious responding during elevated bodily arousal. Of the challenging procedures, hyperventilation and inhalations of carbon dioxide-enriched air have been among the most frequently employed, and a relatively large body of literature using these procedures has now accumulated. Unfortunately, existing reviews do not comprehensively examine findings from hyperventilation and inhalations of carbon dioxide studies, and only rarely the methodological issues specific to these studies. To address these issues, we review the voluntary hyperventilation and carbon dioxide-enriched air literature in order to identify the primary methodological issues/limitations of this research and address the extent to which psychological variables influence anxious responding to such challenges. Overall, we conclude challenge research is a promising paradigm to examine the influence of psychological variables in anxious responding, and that such work will likely be enhanced with greater attention to psychological process issues.
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... The pic-ture completion subtest requires concentration, visual alertness, visual organization, and long-term visual memory. ... Richter, NC (1984). The efficacy of relaxation training with children. ... Pediatric burns. In MC Roberts... more
... The pic-ture completion subtest requires concentration, visual alertness, visual organization, and long-term visual memory. ... Richter, NC (1984). The efficacy of relaxation training with children. ... Pediatric burns. In MC Roberts (Ed.), Handbook of pediatric psychology (pp. ...
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... By definition, an interpretive bias for threat reflects the tendency to respond to ambiguous stimuli as nega-tive and ... Broad threat responses were those in which the participant indicated that the inter-nally oriented stimulus was... more
... By definition, an interpretive bias for threat reflects the tendency to respond to ambiguous stimuli as nega-tive and ... Broad threat responses were those in which the participant indicated that the inter-nally oriented stimulus was indicative of impending psy-chological or ...
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Despite its positive effects on the increased use of multiple assessments and improved assessment validity, the triple-response concept has led to some conceptual and practical confusion. This is mainly due to two problems: (1) a... more
Despite its positive effects on the increased use of multiple assessments and improved assessment validity, the triple-response concept has led to some conceptual and practical confusion. This is mainly due to two problems: (1) a confounding of the content and method of assessment; and (2) an imprecise and vague use of the 'verbal-subjective mode' which has been expanded to include cognitive elements since the introduction of cognitive-behavioural theories and treatments. A new matrix is proposed that clearly distinguishes content and method of assessment. It also defines a separate cognitive/information-processing content area and introduces affect as an additional content area. Thus, four content areas are suggested: behavioural, physiological, cognitive, and affective, which can be measured in three different ways: by means of self-report, observation, and instruments or technical equipment. We point out the implications of these changes for (1) a more appropriate selection of assessment procedures and outcome measures in clinical research; (2) a more adequate individualization of treatment through matching individual response profiles to specific treatments; and (3) an improved understanding of the interrelationship between behavioural, physiological, cognitive, and affective processes in anxiety and depression. Finally, we suggest that the lack of agreement between measures of physiological, cognitive, behavioural and affective changes in some studies may be as much a reflection of the lack of agreement arising from spurious sources of variance within content areas as it is a reflection of the operation of different processes and systems.
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Research Interests: Psychology, Cardiology, Psychometrics, Humans, Behaviour, and 17 moreBusiness and Management, Personality Assessment Inventory, Emergency Room, Female, Male, Reliability Analysis, Cross Validation, Heart Disease, Middle Aged, Coronary Angiography, Coronary heart disease, Somatoform disorders, Sick Role, Reproducibility of Results, Factor structure, Chest Pain, and Behaviour Therapy
Disease fears, such as excessive heart-focused anxiety (HFA), are quite common, and yet their origin is only poorly understood. Explanatory models of HFA have emphasized observational learning, parental cardiac disease, and the effects of... more
Disease fears, such as excessive heart-focused anxiety (HFA), are quite common, and yet their origin is only poorly understood. Explanatory models of HFA have emphasized observational learning, parental cardiac disease, and the effects of separation experiences as key ethological factors. The purpose of this study was: (a) to provide descriptive information on the prevalence of HFA in an unselect sample of younger adults; and (b) to investigate the relation of HFA and general illness fears to parental medical history and different types of separation experiences. 421 undergraduate students completed the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), Illness Attitude Scales, Parental Medical History Questionnaire, and Separation Anxiety and Experiences Questionnaire. Approximately 2–3% of our sample reported excessive HFA, and both illness attitudes and parental cardiac disease predicted 23% of total CAQ variance. Subjects with high CAQ scores reported more parental cardiac and other medical problems than low HFA subjects. Although high and low HFA subjects did not differ in terms of number of personal intimate relationships that ended in separation, subjects with separated parents reported more HFA than persons with nonseparated parents. We discuss the relevance of these findings for our understanding of HFA.
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Research Interests: Psychology, Anxiety Disorders, Mexico, Canada, Cross-Cultural Comparison, and 16 moreHumans, Behaviour, Business and Management, Europe, United States, Female, Male, Adult, Anxiety Sensitivity, Reproducibility of Results, MEXICO, Anxiety Disorder, Sensitivity and Specificity, Factor structure, Personality Trait, and Behaviour Therapy
Research Interests: Psychology, Carbon Dioxide, Personality Disorders, Response Inhibition, Humans, and 13 moreBehaviour, Business and Management, Female, Male, Panic Disorder, Heart rate, Psychological Tests, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Experimental Tests, Anxiety Disorder, Individual Difference, and Behaviour Therapy
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ABSTRACT