Triple response system model: what it is, its parts and characteristics

The triple response system is a very influential model in the history of psychology.

Anxiety and other emotions do not manifest themselves only in our mind. In addition to catastrophic thoughts and emotional discomfort, anxiety makes us feel tics, breathe faster, accelerates our heart and even gives us indigestion.

There are three types of responses that manifest with emotions: cognitive, behavioral and physiological. These three dimensions are related to anxiety, but they do not necessarily go hand in hand.

The triple response system is a now classic model that emphasizes these three related dimensions. which emphasizes these three dimensions related to emotions, paying attention to the patient's behavior and organism without ignoring its processes at the psychological level. Let's look at it in more detail below.

What is the triple response system?

The triple response system is a three-dimensional theory of anxiety developed by psychologist Peter Lang in 1968.. This theory, which is also called Lang's model after its author, is three-dimensional in that it assesses three types of anxiety-related response: cognitive, behavioral, and physiological. Before this model was conceptualized, it was believed that emotions and other psychological processes were always internal in nature, i.e., that they only occurred mentally or cognitively.

However, with the emergence of Lang's model, the idea that emotions and other psychological processes were s model, the idea began to spread that in order to approach a problem, especially anxiety disorders, both the internal aspects and the patient's thoughts should be evaluated.The fundamental idea of the triple response system is that, in addition to what the organism reflects both physiologically and behaviorally, this is the fundamental idea of the triple response system. Furthermore, it is argued that, although related, some responses do not have to go hand in hand with the others, that is, the cognitive, behavioral and physiological spheres do not manifest themselves with the same intensity.

Main premise of the model

The theory of the triple response system has its origins in the observations of Peter Lang when he treated patients with phobias using systematic desensitization. This psychologist observed that the responses of his patients contradicted the unidimensional model of emotion, a theoretical assumption that was very widespread.a theoretical assumption that was widespread in the 1960s. The unidimensional model held that cognitive, behavioral and physiological measures were correlated in emotional problems such as anxiety and that if there was a change in one of these measures, there would also be a change in the other two.

However, Lang's clinical experience suggested rather the opposite, since he saw that there were certain discordances between these three types of response in the presentation of anxiety and also in other psychological problems related to emotions. A triple response system was manifested, that is, the cognitive, physiological and behavioral components of the patient did not necessarily correlate with each other, although they were related to the main problem of anxiety. That is, there could be different intensity in the manifestation of responses.

Components of the system

As we have indicated, Lang's model holds that three different levels of responses to anxiety can be observed: cognitive, physiological and motor. These three typologies need not necessarily be connected or interrelated and, at the same time, their intensity, perception, duration and time of onset may be different. and, at the same time, their intensity, perception, duration and time of onset may vary according to the patient. This is due to the presence and influence of stimuli, both internal and external to the patient, as well as the type of stimulus that triggers the response and, of course, the individual's own characteristics (individual differences).

Cognitive response

In Lang's model, cognitive response refers to the set of thoughts and feelings that appear in the mind of the individual in the presence of the stimulus that provokes anxiety. On the part of feelings we can speak of fear, worry or dread. As for the thoughts part, just to mention a few, we have exaggerating the magnitude of the perceived threat, imagining worst-case scenarios, anticipating that something catastrophic is going to happen....

All this can lead to feelings such as insecurity, a sense of loss of control, negative thoughts about oneself such as low self-esteem and reduced self-concept, inability to make decisions, problems concentrating, and fear that others will realize that one is feeling deep discomfort or that they will detect that one is suffering from anxiety.

2. Motor or behavioral response

The motor or behavioral response refers to the movements or actions that the patient carries out when he feels anxiety. This type of response is divided into two types: direct responses and indirect responses.

2.1. Direct responses

We refer to direct motor responses as those which are directly observable but involuntary. In this type of responses we find tremors, stuttering, tics, general motor restlessness ....

In addition, lack of motor precision and problems in learning and execution of complex tasks can be manifested. These motor signs can be so disruptive that they can affect such apparently unrelated processes as memory and prescriptive discrimination.

2.2. Indirect responses

Indirect responses are escape or avoidance behaviors performed by the patient, which have some, but not absolute, voluntary control.. These types of behaviors usually occur in response to the other two components of the triple response system, i.e. cognitions (thoughts and feelings) and physiological changes.

This typology of behavioral responses includes behaviors that in the short or long term can damage the individual's health or lead to various problems: alcohol abuse, smoking, use of prohibited substances, eating large amounts of food...

3. Physiological responses

Physiological responses are those that appear when there is an increase in the activity of the autonomic nervous system and the somatic nervous system, as well as in combination with physiological responses.and in combination with the endocrine responses of the Central Nervous System. These systems are involved in the responses that occur at the organic level to a stimulus that causes anxiety, such as increased Cardiovascular activity, muscle tension, sweating, dry mouth, interrupted digestion...

The patient does not have to manifest all these physiological signs. When a stimulus that provokes anxiety appears, but it must be said that in case of manifesting any of them and that it is maintained for a long time, it can have negative repercussions on the physical health of the affected person. For example, being constantly anxious and manifesting their physiological responses for a long time can cause problems such as insomnia, gastrointestinal discomfort, muscle contractions, erectile dysfunction, tachycardia...

Usefulness in the diagnosis of anxiety disorders.

The triple response system model is very useful with regard to the diagnosis of anxiety disorders since, by taking into account that the cognitive, motor and physiological aspects may not manifest with the same intensity when an anxiogenic stimulus appears, it is possible to obtain a more precise differential diagnosis and to apply more appropriate therapeutic techniques for the specific case.

One of the main problems with verbal reports in the form of an interview is that they focus more on the cognitive and purely emotional area of the patient, i.e., the patient is asked how he or she is being treated, and how he or she is being treated.In other words, the patient is asked how he/she feels, something that is necessary to know, but how the patient behaves in a purely anxiogenic situation is not evaluated, causing him/her to manifest responses of all three types. In order to know how to help the patient, it is necessary to go beyond the internal, evaluating both his organic response and his behavior before the stimulus, aspects that even the patient himself may not be aware that he is doing.

With the model of the triple response system, it is possible to understand the need to provoke, in a controlled context, the responses associated with anxiety.. For this reason Peter Lang himself often resorted to stimuli such as photographs, words and sounds with a positive, negative and neutral component, stimuli that aroused some kind of emotion in the patient. These stimuli have their own system, the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and the International Affective Sound System (IADS).

This same strategy is nowadays fundamental for detecting and treating anxiety problems such as phobias. Knowing that a patient feels anxiety before a phobic stimulus is necessary to be able to diagnose him/her as a patient with phobia, but it is of little use if we do not go further and try to find out how he/she responds to what he/she claims to feel anxious about. For example, to help a patient with arachnophobia you can present him with images of spiders, record how he behaves, what he feels and also what physiological response he manifests.

Bibliographic references:

• Alvarez, J., Aguilar, J., Fernandez, J. M., Salguero, D., & Perez-Gallardo, E. R. (2013). Exam stress in university students. Intervention proposal. INFAD Revista de Psicología, 1 (2), 179-188.
• Martínez-Monteagudo, M. C., Inglés, C. J., Cano-Vindel, A., & García-Fernández, J. M. (2012). Current status of research on Lang's three-dimensional theory of anxiety. Anxiety and Stress, 18 (2-3), 201-219. Retrieved from: https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/35859/1/2012_Martinez-Monteagudo_etal_AnsiedadyEstres.pdf
• Sierra, J. C., Ortega, V., & Zubeidat, I. (2003). Anxiety, distress and stress: three concepts to differentiate. Revista Mal-estar e Subjetividade/Fortaleza, 3 (1), 10-59. Retrieved from: https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/271/27130102.pdf
• Fernández-Abascal, E. G., Guerra, P., Martínez, F., Domínguez, F. J., Muñoz, M. Á., Egea, D. A.,& Vila, J. (2008). The International Affective Sounds System (IADS): Spanish adaptation. Psicothema, 20(1).
• Jesús, M. I. V., & Isabel, M. (2008). Psychophysiological mechanisms of pathological anxiety: clinical implications. Editorial of the University of Granada.
• Castellar, J. V. (1984). Therapeutic implications of psychophysiological experimentation of anxiety. Anuario de psicología/The UB Journal of psychology, (30), 45-58.
• Correa, S. (2020). Triple response system: Lang's model. Mind and Science. Retrieved from: https://www.menteyciencia.com/triple-sistema-de-respuesta-el-modelo-de-lang/