Emotion Theory & Contemporary Learning Theory

Barlow(2000) and Mineka & Zinbarg(2006) both explore the nature and development of anxiety disorders. The authors agree that psychological vulnerability based on early experience is very important in understanding the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. In addition, they share a strong emphasis of the effect of uncontrollability and unpredictability in the process of the disorders. Based on the research in animal studies, the authors contemplate the consequence of early experience with uncontrollability and conclude that a sense of control during development seem to inhibit the development of different anxiety disorders. This result is linked to studies in human regarding the concept of locus control. Evidences point that parenting style of encouraging the healthy sense of control over environments and experiences appear to equip children immunize against emotionally stressful events. Those studies taken together, Barlow(2000) strongly asserts that uncontrollability works as mediator between negative life events and the emergence of anxiety early in development. More specifically, Mineka & Zinbarg(2006) show how perception of uncontrollability is possible source of individual differences in vulnerability to the effects of social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder.

Barlow(2000) takes integrative accounts of cognitive science and neuroscience and learning theory in order to explain emotion related disorders such as anxiety and depression. He points out that different types of emotions are similar or distinctive in terms of phenomenological, behavioral expressive, psychometric and neurobiological leve(p.1249). For example, while the emotions of fear and anxiety seem to be fundamentally different emotions, anxiety and depression seem to be share common traits. Unlike Barlow(2000), Mineka & Zinbarg(2006) focus on the effectiveness of contemporary learning theory with a focus on anxiety disorders. Mineka & Zinbarg(2006) show how a contemporary learning theory contributes to capture the richness and complexity associated with development and course of anxiety disorder. Moreover, their argument-learning approaches are better grounded in research findings, and thus they provide a more explicit factors promoting and inhibiting the development of different anxiety disoders- is compelling with a wide variety of evidences. In addition, the authors suggest contemporary learning models can provide a good way of identifying populations at higher risk for anxiety disorder and preventive measures to be taken in parenting style.

Both emotion theory and contemporary learning approaches add comprehensive and cogent explanations on the etiology and development of anxiety disorders. They incorporate the role of genetic and temperamental variables into their models based on empirically supported research findings. Not only do the research finings and models make us understand the nature and processes of anxiety disorders in depth, but they also provide important implications on the treatment or prevention approaches to the disorders.