Glo, By J-Lo; Stuff, By Duff; Living Lohan, With Dina?

I cannot believe it is already almost 10 o’clock on Tuesday night. Though my post is late (once again), I am not yet ready to surrender my coveted position as a JAM JR member. In fact, I think it would just be plain irresponsible to even consider pulling out the only vowel and replacing it with say a B, or an M. Now, if anyone has a friend named, say, Irene or Isaac, by all means. Then, it could be JIM JR…

Anyway, I think that both Barlow and Mineka would be thrilled to know that JAM JR, or JBM JR, or JIM JR is on the case…the case of the elusive origin, etiology, nature of anxiety and related disorders, that is. And what a tricky case it is. Both Barlow and Mineka provide interesting theoretical perspectives regarding anxiety, a common and costly phenomenon. While Mineka’s contemporary learning stance is fascinating and consistent with previous JAM JR readings and discussions, I cannot help but embrace Barlow’s “triple threat” approach. As you all know, the opportunity to discuss psychological theories in the context of anything media or celebrity-related is just one on which I cannot pass. While the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) approach may be the predictable one, the Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff, J-Lo parallel just seem so much more fitting. So, what do these three ladies have in common? Yes, they all wear velour Juicy sweat suits; they all have chauffeurs (or at least, they should); and they all like soup. But what is the key? They are all triple threats—“singers,” “dancers” and “actors.”

Interestingly, as mentioned above, this “triple threat” concept is one that Barlow applies when addressing the causes of anxiety. He identifies biological, general psychological and specific psychological vulnerabilities as key factors influencing the development, persistence and perhaps evolution of anxiety and related disorders. While Barlow emphasizes this threesome of vulnerabilities, he makes clear that the model of anxiety is much more complex. Specifically, just as singing, acting and dancing do not a Hollywood star make (or else, I would surely be one), there is much more to the mystery of anxiety—the etiology, observed individual differences, etc. Barlow’s consideration and discussion of emotion theory, affective states, perceived control, personality, etc. demonstrate that he is well on his way toward designing a clothing line, releasing a perfume and/or airing a reality television show based on his parents.