Answer to Question 1
Desensitization theory, based on the concept of systematic desensitization, suggests that mantra meditation induces a global desensitization of many disturbing thoughts and images. Systematic desensitization, a technique pioneered by the behavior therapist Joseph Wolpe (1958), pairs relaxation responses with a graduated hierarchy of phobic images. These mental images start with the least and proceed in a graded fashion to the most phobic. By pairing relaxation with these phobic images, the anxiety associated with them is attenuated through a process called counterconditioning . When encountering these same images in real life, the phobic individual who undergoes this counterconditioning process no longer experiences unmanageable anxiety. The desensitization theory of mantra meditation then suggests that as the meditator experiences various thoughts and images that drift in and out of consciousness, some disturbing or anxiety provoking thoughts and images are desensitized by being paired with the relaxation inducing mantra. It's like demagnetizing a library book before walking out of the library. The demagnetized book will not set off the alarm as it would have done had it remained magnetized.
Answer to Question 2
Although many factors are involved in RP, current research supports the theory that attacks occur because of hypersensitivity of blood vessel alpha-2 adrenergic receptors to cold or to catecholamines elevated during emotional stress.
The work of Charles Darwin forms the foundation for modern evolutionary theory.
Worldviews Theory
Anna Freud’s Instinctual Theory
Signal Detection Theory
Four kinds of evidence supporting the theory that species evolve.
The four identity statuses proposed by Marcia, based on Erikson's theory