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Reducing the Meta-Emotional Problem Decreases Physiological Fear Response during Exposure in Phobics
Couyoumdjian, Alessandro Ottaviani, Cristina Petrocchi, Nicola
Trincas, Roberta Tenore, Katia Buonanno, Carlo Mancini, Francesco
Couyoumdjian, Alessandro
Ottaviani, Cristina
Trincas, Roberta
Tenore, Katia
Buonanno, Carlo
Mancini, Francesco
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Abstract
Anxiety disorders may not only be characterized by specific symptomatology (e.g., tachycardia) in response to the fearful stimulus (primary problem or first-level emotion) but also by the tendency to negatively evaluate oneself for having those symptoms (secondary problem or negative meta-emotion). An exploratory study was conducted driven by the hypothesis that reducing the secondary or meta-emotional problem would also diminish the fear response to the phobic stimulus. Thirty-three phobic participants were exposed to the phobic target before and after undergoing a psychotherapeutic intervention addressed to reduce the meta-emotional problem or a control condition. The electrocardiogram was continuously recorded to derive heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) and affect ratings were obtained. Addressing the meta-emotional problem had the effect of reducing the physiological but not the subjective symptoms of anxiety after phobic exposure. Preliminary findings support the role of the meta-emotional problem in the maintenance of response to the fearful stimulus (primary problem).
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Date
2016
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Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
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Keywords
Specific phobia, Meta-emotional problem, Double standard, Phobic stimuli, Heart rate variability, Autonomic nervous system, Self-criticism
Citation
Couyoumdjian, Alessandro, Cristina Ottaviani, Nicola Petrocchi, et al. “Reducing the Meta-Emotional Problem Decreases Physiological Fear Response during Exposure in Phobics.” Frontiers in Psychology 7: 1105. 2016.
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Attribution 4.0 International