De rol van disfunctionele automatische associaties bij angststoornissen

Cognitive models assume that dysfunctional associations between anxiogenic stimuli and unrealistic negative attributes and consequences are a core feature in the onset and persistence of anxiety disorders. This treatise describes a dual process approach to anxiety disorders that, with respect to such ‘associations’, differentiates into associations that are automatically activated upon encountering the anxiogenic stimulus, and more deliberated beliefs concerning this stimulus. The emergence of dual process models and indirect measures of automatic associations yielded a series of new insights and testable hypotheses with respect to the factors that are involved in the onset and persistence of anxiety disorders. In this treatise these hypotheses and possible implications for clinical practice will be discussed.