Specificity of Cognitive Vulnerability in Fear and Sad Affect: Anxiety Sensitivity, Looming Cognitive Style, and Hopelessness in Emotion Reactivity and Recovery

Abstract

Cognitive models of the pathogenesis of anxiety and depressive disorders identify looming cognitive style (LCS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) as vulnerability factors specifically related to anxiety disorders, whereas hopelessness (HS) is considered more applicable to depression. Given their dimensional perspective most cognitive models of psychopathology may also be extended to explain normal emotional responses. To investigate the effect of cognitive vulnerability on the reactivity and regulation of negative emotion, 183 undergraduates were assigned to watch a sad or fearful movie clip. Then, all participants retrieved positive memories in an expressive writing task. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that LCS was uniquely associated with greater fear reactivity. AS and HS were significant predictors of greater fear and sadness after a down-regulation task, respectively. These findings support the downward extension of cognitive vulnerability constructs to normal emotion and suggest that the const...