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The Anxiety Research Group (ARG) studies anxiety, fear, and its regulation. Some label this emotional state fear, terror, dread, horror, fright, panic, alarm, trepidation, apprehension, anxiety, and even stress – indicating it is an ill-defined construct. A part of our work is to determine which of these labels represent psychologically real constructs (Latent Constructs) and which represent labels of convenience (Emergent Constructs). We know spatial environments, intra-species environments, social situations, simple discriminative stimuli, rules, frames of reference, coping strategies, and even traumatic stress can regulate this emotional state. Hence, a part of our work is to examine various sources of regulation and try to figure out how each works. To do so, we use approaches anchored in evolutionary psychology and clinical science to examine a model of specific phobia (Jacobs & Nadel, 1985), panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, and related anxiety disorders (Jacobs & Nadel, 1998, 1999; Metcalfe & Jacobs, 1996, 1998, 2000; Nadel & Jacobs 1996, 1998), and self regulation (e.g., Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999). We hope our work lets us understand what this emotional state is, how it may go out of control, and how we may bring it back under control. If we are lucky, skilled, and focused, this work will serve as the basis of interventions that help alleviate psychological problems associated with fear and anxiety. Quick Links C-G
Arena: Software controlling the
computer-generated arena -- used to study human spatial cognition. This is
the latest stable version. Java Arena:This is the newest version of the C-G Arena. It contains
support for 3D objects, lighting, 3rd person perspective, and a swath of
other cool stuff. It's still in development so all we have is a demo, albeit
a very cool demo. Go ahead, download it (circ
3MB). Also download the SGI OpenGL
drivers (don't worry, it's just a set of software OpenGL drivers, so it won't
mess anything up on your computer). fMRI:
Shameless plug of the webmaster. :) We have combined results from fMRI,
lesion studies, and Structured Equation Modeling, and the C-G Arena to
characterize the neural correlates of spatial cognition and navigation
(including wayfinding) in humans. Intro | People | Arena | Projects | Theory | Empirical | Classes | Links Credits: ARG logo by Dianne Karalunas, webpage
design and other images by Ming Hsu, and content by all the members of the
Anxiety Research Group.
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