2005/11/22 by Maria Miceli, Cristiano Castelfranchi · 4 citations
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes #Mind wandering and attention #Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/10615800500209324
openalex publication_date 2005/11/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This paper attempts to provide a conceptual framework placing anxiety in a perceived control perspective. We analyse the basic cognitive components of anxiety with reference to the need for control, both pragmatic and epistemic. We address the difference between fear and anxiety by pointing to the special role played in anxiety by the need for epistemic control and uncertainty reduction. We examine some typical “questions” of anxiety, and some typical “answers” or coping strategies, with special reference to their relationships with either need for control. We focus on the need for epistemic control, its relationship with pragmatic control, its impact on the amount of anxiety experienced, and its role in anxiety-proneness. We address worry and its relationships with anxiety and the needs for control. Finally, we compare our approach with related models, point to its implications for clinical treatment, and discuss the interplay of conscious and unconscious processes in anxiety.