Information processing

Cognitive models imply that emotional disorders critically depend on the existence of maladaptive cognitive structures in memory. These so-called schemas are assumed to automatically influence all stages of individuals' information processing. The basic assumption of the information-processing models of anxiety disorders (ADs) is that these information processing biases are not merely symptoms but play a vital role in the maintenance and causation of ADs. Attentional bias (AB), interpretation bias (IB), and covariation bias (CB) are discussed. This chapter evaluates the relatively reflexive as well as the more reflective cognitive biases that are assumed to be involved in ADs, with an emphasis on the mechanisms underlying these biases and their implications in terms of the persistence, recurrence, and development of anxiety symptoms. Finally, the chapter discusses major findings in terms of a multiprocess model of AD with specific attention to potential clinical implications and important lacunae that call for future research.