Anxiety disorders: Some emerging theories

The influential Miller-Mowrer theory of fear and avoidance served well for over 30 years, but the need for revisions is now irresistible. The evidence in support of the first part of the theory, the conditioned acquisition of fear, is reviewed briefly and the major weaknesses of the theory are identified. The insufficiency of the second part of the theory, which deals with the persistence of avoidance behavior, is noted. Six emerging themes and theories of anxiety are described and briefly compared: Lang's bioinformational theory, Gray's neuropsychological theory, Beck's cognitive theory, Eysenk's neobehavioristic theory, emotional processing, and Bandura's self-efficacy theory. Attention is given to the 3 pathways to fear acquisition hypothesis, and to the role of safety signals in maintaining avoidance behavior. This subject is undergoing a period of healthy ferment, and significant advances in understanding can be expected to occur in the near future.