Reducing chronic anxiety by making the threatening event predictable: an experimental approach

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
08:17

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance

Published on: July 19, 2017

Riet Fonteyne1, Bram Vervliet, Dirk Hermans

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. riet.fonteyne@psy.kuleuven.be

Behaviour Research and Therapy
|July 17, 2009
PubMed

More Related Videos

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

Related Concept Videos

Behavior Therapy01:22

Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy incorporates diverse techniques rooted in classical conditioning principles to address maladaptive behaviors and anxiety disorders. These methods aim to reduce avoidance behaviors, foster adaptive coping mechanisms, and alter associations between stimuli and responses, making them effective in a wide range of therapeutic contexts.
Exposure therapy is a cornerstone of behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders. It involves systematic exposure to feared stimuli, either in real...
Classical Conditioning in Daily Life01:17

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

Classical conditioning, a fundamental principle of associative learning, explains various phenomena observed in daily life, such as fear development, the placebo effect, taste aversion, and drug habituation. These applications demonstrate the profound impact of associative learning on human behavior and physiological responses.
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner famously demonstrated the development of fear through classical conditioning in their experiment with Little Albert. They paired the...
Anxiety: Overview01:18

Anxiety: Overview

Anxiety is a common mental disorder featuring excessive worry, fear, and apprehension, significantly affecting daily life. People with anxiety disorders experience persistent and intense anxiety, interrupting their everyday functioning.
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder01:30

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic condition characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry that persists for at least six months, significantly interfering with daily functioning. Unlike situational anxiety, which arises in response to specific stressors, GAD often occurs without a clear cause. Individuals may experience disproportionate worry about work, health, or relationships. For instance, a person might continuously fear poor health despite normal medical evaluations or...
Classical Conditioning01:18

Classical Conditioning

Associative learning, a core principle in behavioral psychology, involves forming connections between events and facilitating learned responses. This concept is vividly illustrated by classical conditioning, a process extensively studied by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov's pioneering research on dogs' digestive systems led to the discovery that behaviors can be learned through association, laying the groundwork for classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs salivated...
Operant Conditioning Intervention01:24

Operant Conditioning Intervention

Operant conditioning serves as a foundational principle in therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying maladaptive behaviors. Central to this approach is the notion that behaviors, both adaptive and maladaptive, are learned through reinforcement. By analyzing the environmental factors that reinforce problematic behaviors, clinicians can design interventions to weaken these reinforcements and replace maladaptive behaviors with healthier alternatives.
In operant conditioning, behaviors that are...