The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain

Although anxiety has both dispositional and situational determinants, little is known about how individuals' anxiety-related sensitivities and their expectations about stressful events combine to determine anxiety. This research used Information Integration Theory and Functional Measurement to...

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Main Authors: Rolf A. Peterson, Jeffrey S. Chrabaszcz, Philip J. Moore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: DIGITAL.CSIC 2010-01-01
Series:Psicológica
Online Access:http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=16917002011
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author Rolf A. Peterson
Jeffrey S. Chrabaszcz
Philip J. Moore
author_facet Rolf A. Peterson
Jeffrey S. Chrabaszcz
Philip J. Moore
author_sort Rolf A. Peterson
collection DOAJ
description Although anxiety has both dispositional and situational determinants, little is known about how individuals' anxiety-related sensitivities and their expectations about stressful events combine to determine anxiety. This research used Information Integration Theory and Functional Measurement to assess how participants' anxiety sensitivity and event expectancy are cognitively integrated to determine their anxiety about physical pain. Two studies were conducted-one with university students and one with anxiety clinic patients-in which participants were presented with multiple scenarios of a physically painful event, each representing a different degree of event probability, from which subjective expectancies were derived. Independent variables included anxiety sensitivity (low, moderate, high) and event expectancy (low, medium, high, no probability information). Participants were asked to indicate their anxiety (dependent measure) in each expectancy condition in this 3 X 4 mixed, quasi-experimental design. The results of both studies strongly suggest that anxiety sensitivity and event expectancy are integrated additively to produce somatic anxiety. Additional results and their implications for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders are also discussed.
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spelling doaj.art-22a07515c8eb4959bfbb988af0a6fb7a2022-12-22T02:56:30ZengDIGITAL.CSICPsicológica1576-85972010-01-01313605627The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of painRolf A. PetersonJeffrey S. ChrabaszczPhilip J. MooreAlthough anxiety has both dispositional and situational determinants, little is known about how individuals' anxiety-related sensitivities and their expectations about stressful events combine to determine anxiety. This research used Information Integration Theory and Functional Measurement to assess how participants' anxiety sensitivity and event expectancy are cognitively integrated to determine their anxiety about physical pain. Two studies were conducted-one with university students and one with anxiety clinic patients-in which participants were presented with multiple scenarios of a physically painful event, each representing a different degree of event probability, from which subjective expectancies were derived. Independent variables included anxiety sensitivity (low, moderate, high) and event expectancy (low, medium, high, no probability information). Participants were asked to indicate their anxiety (dependent measure) in each expectancy condition in this 3 X 4 mixed, quasi-experimental design. The results of both studies strongly suggest that anxiety sensitivity and event expectancy are integrated additively to produce somatic anxiety. Additional results and their implications for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders are also discussed.http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=16917002011
spellingShingle Rolf A. Peterson
Jeffrey S. Chrabaszcz
Philip J. Moore
The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
Psicológica
title The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
title_full The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
title_fullStr The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
title_full_unstemmed The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
title_short The cognitive processing of somatic anxiety: Using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
title_sort cognitive processing of somatic anxiety using functional measurement to understand and address the fear of pain
url http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=16917002011
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