Login | Register

An Exploration of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Memory Bias.

Title:

An Exploration of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Memory Bias.

Francis, Kylie (2011) An Exploration of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Memory Bias. PhD thesis, Concordia University.

[thumbnail of K_Francis_PhD_F2011.pdf]
Preview
Text (application/pdf)
K_Francis_PhD_F2011.pdf - Accepted Version
1MB

Abstract

An Exploration of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Memory Bias
Kylie Francis, Ph.D.

Concordia University, 2011

Research shows that Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is related to excessive worry. Individuals high in IU appear to have information processing biases, which may explain how IU leads to worry. Specifically, high IU individuals appear to have an attentional bias for threat and uncertainty, and interpret uncertain information in a threatening way. While there is some evidence of a memory bias for uncertainty in high IU, findings are limited. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the relationship between IU and memory biases for threat and uncertainty. Stimuli for use in the research were pilot tested in Study 1; this produced a set of word stimuli that included neutral, uncertain, social threat, physical threat, and positive words. Study 2 evaluated the relationship between IU and explicit memory for threat and uncertainty; the influence of worry, cognitive avoidance, and depression were also explored. Participants performed an incidental learning task and then completed recognition and free recall tests of memory. Results showed no relationship between IU and explicit memory for uncertain and threat words. However, three forms of cognitive avoidance—distraction, avoidance of threatening stimuli, and thought suppression—were related to recall of physical threat words. Study 3 examined the role of IU in implicit memory for threat and uncertainty, and the contribution of cognitive avoidance and stimulus relevance. Participants performed an implicit encoding task, and measures of explicit (recall) and implicit (tachistoscopic identification) memory. The results showed no relationship between IU and memory for threat or uncertainty. However, stimulus relevance was related to implicit memory for physical threat words. Interesting results again emerged for cognitive avoidance: thought substitution, avoidance of threatening stimuli, and thought suppression were related to implicit memory for physical threat words. Findings from the three studies were discussed in relation to the Williams et al. (1997) model, which predicts an implicit but not an explicit memory bias for threat among anxious individuals. Further exploration of stimulus relevance and cognitive avoidance were recommended for future research.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Psychology
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Authors:Francis, Kylie
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:Ph. D.
Program:Psychology
Date:20 April 2011
Thesis Supervisor(s):Dugas, Michel J.
Keywords:Intolerance of uncertainty, worry, information processing, memory bias
ID Code:7766
Deposited By: KYLIE FRANCIS
Deposited On:22 Nov 2011 14:05
Last Modified:18 Jan 2018 17:31

References:

References

Abramowitz, J. S., Tolin, D.F., & Street, G. P. (2001). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression: A meta-analysis of controlled studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 683-703.
Altarriba, J., Bauer, L. M., & Benvenuto, C. (1999). Concreteness, context availability, and imageability ratings and word associations for abstract, concrete, and emotion words. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 31, 578-602.
American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., revised). Washington DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington DC: Author.
Andrews, G., Hobbs, M. J., Borkovec, T. D., Beesdo, K., Craske, M. G., Heimberg, R. G., Rapee, R. M., Ruscio, A. M., Stanley, M. A. (2010). Generalized Worry Disorder: A review of DSM-IV Generalized Anxiety Disorder and options for DSM-V. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 134–147.
Bar-Haim,Y., Lamy, D., Pergamin, L., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2007). Threat-related attentional bias in anxious and non-anxious individuals: A meta-analytic study. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 1-24.
Barlow, D. H. (1988). Anxiety and its disorders. New York: Guilford Press.
Beck, A.T. & Clark, D.A. (1997). An information processing model of anxiety: Automatic and strategic processes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 49-58.
Becker, E. S., Rinck, M., Magraf, J., & Roth, W. T. (2001). The emotional Stroop effect in anxiety disorders—general emotionality or disorder specificity? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 15, 147–159.
Becker, E. S., Roth, W. T., Andrich, M., & Margraf, J. (1999). Explicit memory in anxiety disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 153-163.
Behar, E., Alcaine, O., Zuellig, A. R., & Borkovec, T. D. (2003). Screening for generalized anxiety disorder using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: A receiver operating characteristic analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 34, 25-43.
Belzer, K. D., D’Zurilla, T. J., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2002). Social problem solving and trait anxiety as predictors of worry in a college student population. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 573-585.
Bernstein, I. H., & Eveland, D. C. (1982). State vs trait anxiety: A case study in confirmatory factor analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 3, 361-372.
Bieling, P. J., Antony, M. M., & Swinson, R. P. (1998). The State- Trait Anxiety Inventory, Trait version: Structure and content re-examined. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 777-788.
Blaxton, T. (1989). Investigating dissociations among memory measures: Support for a transfer-appropriate processing framework. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 657-668.
Blazer, D.G., Hughes, D., George, L. K., Swartz, M., & Boyer, R. (1991). Generalized anxiety disorder. In L. N. Robins & D. A. Regier (Eds.), Psychiatric disorders in America: The Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study (pp. 180-203). New York: Free Press.
Borkovec, T. D. (1985). Worry: A potentially valuable concept. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 481-482.
Borkovec, T. D., Alcaine, O. M., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder. In R. G. Heimberg, C. L. Turk, & D. S. Mennin (Eds), Generalized anxiety disorder: Advances in research and practice (pp.77-108). New York: Guilford Press.
Borkovec, T. D. & Costello, E. (1993). Efficacy of applied relaxation and cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 611-619.
Borkovec, T. D., Lyonfields, J. D., Wiser, S. L., & Deihl, L. (1993). The role of worrisome thinking in the suppression of cardiovascular response to phobic imagery. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 321-324.
Borkovec, T. D., & Newman, M. G. (1999). Worry and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. In P. Salkovskis (Ed.), Comprehensive clinical psychology, Vol. 6, Adults : Clinical formulation and treatment (pp. 439-459). Oxford : Elsevier Science.
Borkovec, T. D., Newman, M. G., Pincus, A. L., & Lytle R. (2002). A component analysis of cognitive-behavioural therapy for generalized anxiety disorder and the role of interpersonal problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 288-298.
Borkovec, T. D., Ray, W. J., & Stöber, J. (1998). Worry : A cognitive phenomenon intimately linked to affective, physiological, and interpersonal behavioral processes. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 561-576.
Borkovec, T. D., Robinson, E., Pruzinsky, T., & DePree, J. A. (1983). Preliminary exploration of worry: Some characteristics and processes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 9-16.
Borkovec, T. D., & Roemer, L. (1995). Perceived functions of worry among Generalized Anxiety Disorder subjects: Distraction from more emotionally distressing topics? Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 26, 25-30.
Bower, G. H. (2000). A brief history of memory research. In E. Tulving & F. Craik (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of memory (pp. 3-32). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bradley, B. P., Mogg, K., & Millar, N. (2000). Covert and overt orienting of attention to emotional faces in anxiety. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 789-808.
Bradley, B. P., Mogg, K., Millar, N., & White, J. (1995). Selective processing of negative information: Effects of clinical anxiety, concurrent depression, and awareness. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 532–536.
Bradley, B. P., Mogg, K.,White, J., Groom, C., & de Bono, J. (1999). Attentional bias for emotional faces in generalised anxiety disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 267–278.
Bradley, B. P., Mogg, K., & Williams, R. (1995). Implicit and explicit memory for emotion-congruent information in clinical depression and anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 755–770.
Brown, T. A., Antony, M. M., & Barlow, D. H. (1992). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a clinical anxiety disorders sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 30, 33-37.
Brown, T. A., Campbell, L. A., Lehman, Grisham, J. R., & Mancill, R. B. (2001). Current and lifetime co-morbidity of DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders in a large clinical sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 585-599.
Brown, T. A., Chorpita, L. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1998). Structural relations among dimensions of the DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders and dimensions of negative affect, positive affect, and autonomic arousal. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 179-192.
Buckley, T. C., Blanchard, E. B., & Neill, W. T. (2000). Information processing and PTSD: A review of the empirical literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 1041-1065.
Buhr, K., & Dugas, M. J. (2002). The intolerance of uncertainty scale: Psychometric properties of the English version. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 931-345.
Buhr, K., & Dugas, M. J. (2006). Investigating the construct validity of intolerance of uncertainty and its unique relationship with worry. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 222-236.
Butler, G., Wells, A., & Dewick, H. (1995). Differential effects of worry and imagery after exposure to a stressful stimulus: A pilot study. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 45-56.
Carroll, J. B., Davies, P., & Richman, B. (1971). Word frequency book. New York: American Heritage.
Casey, L. M., Oei, T. P. S., & Newcombe, P. A. (2004). An integrated cognitive model of panic disorder: The role of positive and negative cognitions. Clinical Psychology Review, 24, 529-555.
Cisler, J. M., Bacon, A. K., & Williams, N. L. (2009). Phenomenological characteristics of attentional biases towards threat: A critical review. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 33, 221-234.
Cisler, J. M., & Koster, E. H. W. (2010). Mechanisms of attentional biases towards threat in anxiety disorders: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 203-216.
Clark, D.A., & Beck, A.T.(2010). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: Science and practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd edition). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Coles, M. E., Turk, C. L., & Heimberg, R. G. (2007). Memory bias for threat in generalized anxiety disorder: The potential importance of stimulus relevance. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 36, 65-73.
Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11, 671-684.
Craske, M. G., Rapee, R. M., Jackel, L., & Barlow, D. H. (1989). Qualitative dimensions of worry in DSM-III-R generalized anxiety disorder subjects and nonanxious participants. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 397-402.
Creamer, M., Foran, J., & Bell, R. (1995). The Beck Anxiety Inventory in a nonclinical sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 477-485.
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349-354.
Dalgleish, T. (1994). The relationship between anxiety and memory biases for material that has been selectively processed in a prior task. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 227-231.
Davey, G. C. L. (1993). A comparison of three worry questionnaires. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 51-56.
Davey, G. C. L. (1994a). Trait factors and ratings of controllability as predictors of worrying about significant life stressors. Personality and Individual Differences, 16, 379-384.
Davey, G. C. L. (1994b). Worrying, social problem-solving abilities, and social problem-solving confidence. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 327-330.
Davey, G. C. L., Hampton, J., Farrell, J., & Davidson, S. (1992). Some characteristics of worrying: Evidence for worrying and anxiety as separate constructs. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 133-147.
Davey, G. C. L., Tallis, F., & Capuzzo, N. (1996). Beliefs about the consequences of worrying. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20, 499-520.
Deffenbacher, J. L. (1978). Worry, emotionality, and task-generated interference in test anxiety: An empirical test of attentional theory. Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 248-254.
Derryberry, D., & Reed, M. A. (2001). Attentional control, trait anxiety, and the regulation of irrelevant response information. Manuscript in review.
Derryberry, D., & Reed, M. A. (2002). Anxiety-related attentional biases and their regulation by attentional control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 225-236.
Dugas, M. J., Brillon, P., Savard, P., Turcotte, J., Gaudet, A., Ladouceur, R., Leblanc, R., & Gervais, N. J. (2010). A randomized clinical trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy and applied relaxation for adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Behavior Therapy, 41, 46–58.
Dugas, M. J., Freeston, M. H., Blais, & Ladouceur, R. (1993, November). Prise de décision et stimuli ambigus chez les personnes souffrant du trouble d’anxiété généralisée et de l’inquiétude excessive [Decision making and ambiguous stimuli in generalized anxiety disorder patients and high worriers]. Paper presented at the XVIth congress of the Société Québécoise de la Recherche en Psychologie, Québec, Canada.
Dugas, M. J., Freeston, M. H., Doucet, C. D., Lachance, S., & Ladouceur, R. (1995). Structured versus free-recall measures: Effect on report of worry themes. Personality and Individual Differences, 18, 355-361.
Dugas, M. J., Freeston, M. H., & Ladouceur, R. (1997). Intolerance of uncertainty and problem orientation in worry. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 21, 593-606.
Dugas, M. J., Freeston, M. H., Ladouceur, R, Rheaume, J., Gagnon, F., Thibodeau, N. (1998). Sociodemographic & clinical features of GAD patients. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Washington, D.C.
Dugas, M. J., Freeston, M. H., Provencher, M. D., Lachance, S., Ladouceur, R., & Gosselin, P. (2001). Le questionnaire sur l’inquiétude et l’anxiété: Validation dans des échantillons non cliniques et cliniques. [The Worry and Anxiety Questionnaire: Validation in clinical and nonclinical samples.] Journal de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive, 11, 31-36.
Dugas, M. J., Gagnon, F., Ladouceur, R., & Freeston, H. (1998). Generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary test of a conceptual model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 215-226.
Dugas, M. J., Hedayati, M., Karavidas, A., Buhr, K., Francis, K., & Phillips, N. A. (2005). Intolerance of uncertainty and information processing: Evidence of biased recall and interpretations. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 29, 57-70.
Dugas, M. J., Ladouceur, R., Léger, E., Freeston, M. H., Langlois, F., Provencher, M., et al. (2003). Group cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Treatment outcome and long-term follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 821-825.
Dugas, M. J., Letarte, H., Rhéaume, J., Freeston, M. H., & Ladouceur, R. (1995). Worry and problem solving: Evidence of a specific relationship. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 19, 109-120.
Dugas, M. J., Marchand, A., & Ladouceur, R. (2005). Further validation of a cognitive-behavioral model of generalized anxiety disorder: Diagnostic and symptom specificity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19, 329-343.
Dugas, M. J., & Robichaud, M. (2007). Cognitive-behavioral treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: From science to practice. New York: Routledge.
Dugas, M. J., Savard, P., Gaudet, A., Turcotte, J., Laugesen, N., Robichaud, M., Francis, K., & Koerner, N. (2007). Can the components of a cognitive model predict the severity of Generalized Anxiety Disorder? Behavior Therapy, 38, 169-178.
Dugas, M. J., Schwartz, A., & Francis, K. (2004). Intolerance of uncertainty, worry, and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28, 835-842.
Dupuy, J.-B., Beaudoin, S., Rhéaume, J., Ladouceur, R., & Dugas, M. J. (2001). Worry: daily self-report in clinical and non-clinical populations. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 1249-1255.
D’Zurilla, T. J., & Nezu, A. M. (1999). Problem-solving therapy: A social competence approach to clinical intervention (2nd ed. ). New York: Springer.
Eysenck, M. W. (1992). Anxiety: The cognitive perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Eysenck, M. W., & Byrne, A. B. (1994). Implicit memory bias, explicit memory bias, and anxiety. Cognition and Emotion, 8, 415-431.
Eysenck, M. W., Mogg, K., May, J., Richards, A., & Mathews, A. (1991). Bias in interpretation of ambiguous sentences related to threat in anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 144-150.
Eysenck, M. W., Payne, S., & Derakshan, N. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7, 336-353.
Field, A. (2005) Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Finucane, M.L., Alhakami, A., Slovic, P., & Johnson, S.M. (2000). The affect heuristic in judgments of risks and benefits. Journal of Behavioural Decision Making, 13, 1-17.
Foa, E. B., & Kozak, M. J. (1986). Emotional processing of fear: Exposure to corrective information. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 20-35.
Francis, W. N., & Kucera, H. (1982). Frequency analysis of English usage. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Freeston, M.H., Rhéaume, J., Letarte, H., Dugas, M.J., & Ladouceur, R. (1994). Why do people worry? Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 791-802.
Friedman, B. H., Thayer, J. F., & Borkovec, T. D. (2000). Explicit memory bias for threat words in generalized anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 31, 745-756.
Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449-468.
Gilhooly, K. J., & Logie, R. H. (1980). Meaning-dependent ratings of imagery, age of acquisition, familiarity, and concreteness for 387 ambiguous words. Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation, 12, 428-450.
Golombok, S., Stavrou, A., Bonn, J., Mogg, K., Critchlow, S., &
All items in Spectrum are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved. The use of items is governed by Spectrum's terms of access.

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads per month over past year

Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
- Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
Back to top Back to top