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Worry: Mechanisms and Modulating Influences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Frank Tallis  and
Michael W. Eysenck
Frank Tallis
Affiliation:
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London
Michael W. Eysenck
Affiliation:
Royal Holloway, University of London
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Abstract

A new model of worry is presented, differing from previous work in which worry was set within a broader theory of anxiety. It is proposed that threat is initially evaluated in terms of imminence, likelihood, and cost set against perceived self-efficacy; this evaluation can produce worry as a relatively automatic response. Worry serves the functions of alarm, prompt, and preparation; in terms of processes, it leads to an unfocused attentional style, sensitivity to emotional information, and arousal (which produces self-absorption). Threat (and worry) are maintained if there are elevated evidence requirements or inappropriate problem solving. The therapeutic implications of the model are discussed briefly.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , January 1994 , pp. 37 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1994

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