Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- An introduction and synthesis
- Andrew Mathews: a brief history of a clinical scientist
- Part I Theoretical approaches
- Part II Empirical directions
- 5 Habits of thought produce memory biases in anxiety and depression
- 6 Anxiety and the resolution of ambiguity
- 7 Dissociating fear and disgust: implications for the structure of emotions
- 8 The causal status of anxiety-linked attentional and interpretive bias
- 9 The experimental modification of processing biases
- Part III Clinical perspectives
- Index
9 - The experimental modification of processing biases
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- An introduction and synthesis
- Andrew Mathews: a brief history of a clinical scientist
- Part I Theoretical approaches
- Part II Empirical directions
- 5 Habits of thought produce memory biases in anxiety and depression
- 6 Anxiety and the resolution of ambiguity
- 7 Dissociating fear and disgust: implications for the structure of emotions
- 8 The causal status of anxiety-linked attentional and interpretive bias
- 9 The experimental modification of processing biases
- Part III Clinical perspectives
- Index
Summary
Introduction
An impressive body of empirical evidence, laid down over the past twenty-five or so years, has firmly established that emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression are accompanied by characteristic cognitive biases in the processing of emotional information. This chapter pays tribute to Andrew Mathews' significant contribution to this accumulated knowledge but also to his continued involvement in the new directions that are building on these solid foundations. On a personal note, Andrew has played a pivotal role in the respective lives and careers of both authors, acting in turn as a nurturing teacher, respected colleague and invaluable friend. Although we can never repay our debt of gratitude, nor match his eloquent style and incisive logic, we can, and do, attempt to highlight his recent work so that the importance of his ongoing contributions to this field are represented in this volume.
Assumptions and observations from clinical practice indicate that cognitive biases must be susceptible to some change since their modification forms an important basis of cognitive therapy. This chapter focuses on the development of experimental techniques to modify cognitive biases and on the assessment of the subsequent effects on mood states and vulnerability to anxiety. Research in this direction has the potential to provide a useful laboratory analogue to aid the investigation of naturally occurring biases, as well as allowing us to address questions of causality (see MacLeod et al., this volume) and explore new treatment possibilities. Before embarking on details of methodology, it is worth considering some of the questions that we have attempted to address on the way.
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- Cognition, Emotion and PsychopathologyTheoretical, Empirical and Clinical Directions, pp. 190 - 210Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004
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