Chapter 5 Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is fear?
The central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one’s wellbeing
What is anxiety?
The central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger
What is generalized anxiety disorder?
A disorder marked by persistent and excessive feelings of anxiety and worry about numerous events and activities
What are basic irrational assumptions?
The inaccurate and inappropriate beliefs held by people with various psychological problems, according to Albert Ellis
What is rational-emotive therapy?
A cognitive therapy developed by Albert Ellis that helps clients identify and change irrational assumptions and thinking that help cause their psychological disorder
What is the family pedigree study?
A research design in which investigators determine how many and which relatives of a person with a disorder have the same disorder
What are benzodiazepines?
The most common group of anti-anxiety drugs, which includes Valium and Xanax
What is Gamma-amniobutyric acid? (GABA)
A neurotransmitter whose low activity in the brain’s fear circuit has been linked to anxiety
What is the brain circuit?
Networks of brain structures that work together, triggering each other into action.
What are sedative-hypnotic drugs?
Drugs that calm people at lower doses and help them fall asleep at higher doses.
What is a phobia?
A persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation
What is a specific phobia?
A severe and persistent fear of a specific object or situation
What is agoraphobia?
An anxiety disorder in which a person is afraid to be in public situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like or embarrassing symptoms were to occur
What is systematic desensitization?
An exposure treatment that uses relaxation training and a gear hierarchy to help clients with phobias react calmly to the objects or situations they dread.
What is flooding?
An exposure treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is actually harmless
What is social anxiety disorder?
A severe and persistent fear of social or performance situations where embarrassment may occur.
What are social skills training?
A therapy approach that helps people learn or improve social skills and assertiveness through role-playing and rehearsing of desirable behaviour
What are panic attacks?
Periodic, short bouts of panic that occur suddenly, reach a peak within minutes, and gradually pass.
What is locus coeruleus?
A small brain area that seems to be active in regulating emotions. Many of its neurons use norepinephrine
What is the biological challenge test?
A procedure used to produce panic in participants or clients by having them exercise vigorously or perform some other potentially panic-inducing task in the presence of a researcher or therapist.
What is anxiety sensitivity?
A tendency to focus on one’s bodily sensations, assess them illogiclaly, and interpret them as harmful
What is obsession?
A persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image that is experienced repeatedly, feels intrusive, and causes anxiety
What is compulsion?
A repetitive and rigid behaviour or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety.
What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?
A disorder in which a person has recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both
