Theorists are increasingly arguing that it is fruitful to approach anxiety from the cognitive perspective, and the empirical evidence supports that contention. The cognitive perspective is also adopted in this book, but the approach represents a development and extension of earlier ones. For example, most previous theories and research have been based on anxiety either in clinical or in normal groups. In contrast, one of the central themes of this book is that there are great advantages to be gained from a joint consideration of clinical and normal anxiety. Another theme of this book is that it is of major importance to establish whether or not there is a cognitive vulnerability factor which is associated with at least some forms of clinical anxiety. It is argued (with supporting evidence) that there is a latent cognitive vulnerability factor for generalized anxiety disorder which manifests itself under stressful conditions. This vulnerability factor is characterized by hypervigilance, and is found predominantly in normals high in the personality dimension of trait anxiety. The scope of the book extends to the effects of anxiety on performance and to the phenomenon of worry, which is regarded as the cognitive component of anxiety. In both cases, a new theoretical framework is presented. Correction notice: In chapter 4, on pages 70-71, Christos Halkiopoulos should have been credited for his role as the inventor of the Dot Probe Paradigm and for the design and execution of the experiment discussed in Eysenck, M. W. (1991 a). Trait anxiety and cognition. In C. D. Spielberger, I. G. Sarason, Z. Kulczar, and J. Van Heck (Eds.), Stress and Emotion, Vol. 14. London: Hemisphere.

Pediatric Anxiety Disorders provides a critical, updated and comprehensive overview of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents based on the current state of empirical research. The book provides specific clinical recommendations which integrate new knowledge from neuroscience and innovative delivery formats for interventions. This is the first reference to examine anxiety diagnoses in accordance with the latest edition of the DSM-5, including childhood onset disorders, such as Separation Anxiety Disorder, Selective Mutism, Specific Phobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The book assists clinicians in critically appraising the certainty of the evidence-base and the strength of clinical recommendations. - Uses the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5 - Includes the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach in assessing guideline development - Focuses on advances in etiology, assessment and treatment - Presents new advances in our understanding of the brain behind fear and anxiety - Uses a stepped care approach to treatment

It is argued in this book that there are three major approaches to anxiety. First, there is anxiety as an emotional state. Second, there is trait anxiety as a dimension of personality. Third, there is anxiety as a set of anxiety disorders. What is attempted is to produce a unified theory of anxiety which integrates all these major approaches. According to this unified theory, there are four sources of information which influence the level of experienced anxiety: (1) experimental stimulation; (2) internal physiological activity; (3) internal cognitions, (e.g., worries); and (4) one's own behaviour. The unified theory is essentially based on a cognitive approach. More specifically, it is assumed that individual differences in experienced anxiety between those high and low in trait anxiety depend largely on cognitive biases. It is also assumed that the various anxiety disorders depend on cognitive biases, and that the main anxiety disorders differ in terms of the source of information most affected by such biases (e.g., social phobics have biased interpretation of their own behaviour). In sum, this book presents a general theory of anxiety from the cognitive perspective. It is intended that this theory will influence theory and research on emotion, personality, and the anxiety disorders. Correction notice: Christos Halkiopoulos should have been credited for his role as the inventor of the Dot Probe Paradigm and for the design and execution of the experiment discussed in C. D. Spielberger, I. G. Sarason, Z. Kulczar, and J. Van Heck (Eds.), Stress and Emotion, Vol. 14. London: Hemisphere.

Cognitive Biases in Health and Psychiatric Disorders: Neurophysiological Foundations focuses on the neurophysiological basis of biases in attention, interpretation, expectancy and memory. Each chapter includes a review of each specific bias, including both positive and negative information in both healthy individuals and psychiatric populations. This book provides readers with major theories, methods used in investigating biases, brain regions associated with the related bias, and autonomic responses to specific biases. Its end goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the neural, autonomic and cognitive mechanisms related to processing biases. - Outlines neurophysiological research on diverse types of information processing bias, including attention bias, expectancy bias, interpretation bias, and memory bias - Discusses both normal and pathological forms of each cognitive biases - Provides specific examples on how to translate research on cognitive biases to clinical applications

This volume summarizes the research on the brain mechanisms of attention, especially those from human imaging studies. Michael I. Posner places this research in the context of human development, educational applications, and brain pathology.

[Truncated] A distinction can be drawn between the disposition to experiencing anxiety in general (i.e. general anxiety vulnerability) to the disposition to experiencing anxiety in response to specific stimuli (i.e. specific fears). Elevated levels of these two types of anxious disposition are characterised by increased attentional bias to threat and to specific fear stimuli, respectively. While selective attentional responding to threat causally contributes to variation in general anxiety vulnerability, it has not yet been established whether selective attention to fear stimuli causally contributes to specific fear. Relatedly, while it has been shown that attenuating selective attention to threat has the therapeutic benefit of attenuating dysfunctional anxious symptomatology in people with general anxiety vulnerability, it is unclear whether attenuating selective attention to fear stimuli has the therapeutic benefit of attenuating dysfunctional anxious symptomatology in people with specific fears. The present research program was designed to address these two issues, by investigating i. whether individual differences in selective attentional responding to fear stimuli causally contributes to variation in behavioural and affective aspects of specific fear symptomatology (which became the first key objective of the present research program) and ii. whether attenuating selective attention to fear stimuli serves to therapeutically attenuate the specific fear symptomatology exhibited by high fearful individuals (which became the second key objective of the present research program).

Filled with breakthrough research, the book explains how to identify the facial expression of basic emotions and how to tell when people try to mask, simulate or neutralize their expression. Features practical exercises to help build skills.

This Handbook surveys existing descriptive and experimental approaches to the study of anxiety and related disorders, emphasizing the provision of empirically-guided suggestions for treatment. Based upon the findings from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the chapters collected here highlight contemporary approaches to the classification, presentation, etiology, assessment, and treatment of anxiety and related disorders. The collection also considers a biologically-informed framework for the understanding of mental disorders proposed by the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). The RDoC has begun to create a new kind of taxonomy for mental disorders by bringing the power of modern research approaches in genetics, neuroscience, and behavioral science to the problem of mental illness. The framework is a key focus for this book as an authoritative reference for researchers and clinicians.