2. characteristics of phobias

Question 1

BEHAVIOURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS

Answer 1

1. panic
2. avoidance
3. endurance

Question 2

PANIC

Answer 2

A person with a phobia may panic in response to the presence of the phobic stimulus.
Panic may involve a range of behaviours including crying, screaming, or running away. Children may react slightly differently, for example by freezing, clinging, or having a tantrum.

Question 3

AVOIDANCE

Answer 3

Unless the person is making a conscious effort to face their fear, they tend to go to a lot of effort to prevent coming into contact with the phobic stimulus. This can make it hard to go about daily life.
For example, someone with a fear of public toilets may have to limit the time they spend outside the home in relation to how long they can last without a toilet. This in turn can interfere with work, education, and a social life.

Question 4

ENDURANCE

Answer 4

The alternative behavioural response to avoidance is endurance. This occurs when the person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus.
For example, a person with arachnophobia might choose to remain in a room with a spider on the ceiling and keep a wary eye on it rather than leaving.

Question 4

EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS

Answer 4

1. anxiety
2. fear
3. unreasonable emotional response

Question 5

ANXIETY

Answer 5

Phobias are classed as anxiety disorders. By definition then they involve an emotional response of anxiety, an unpleasant state of high arousal. This prevents a person relaxing. and makes it very difficult to experience any positive emotion. Anxiety can be long term.

Question 6

FEAR

Answer 6

Fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus. It is usually more intense but experienced for shorter periods than anxiety.

Question 7

UNREASONABLE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

Answer 7

The anxiety or fear is much greater than is ‘normal’ and disproportionate to any threat posed. For example, a person with arachnophobia will have a strong emotional response to a tiny spider. Most people would respond in a less anxious way even to a poisonous spider.

Question 8

COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS
The cognitive element is concerned with the ways in which people process information.
People with phobias process information about phobic stimuli differently from other objects or situations.

Answer 8

1. selective attention to the phobic stimulus
2. cognitive distortions
3. irrational beliefs

Question 9

SELECTIVE ATTENTION TO THE PHOBIC STIMULUS

Answer 9

If a person can see the phobic stimulus, it is hard to look away from it. Keeping our attention on something really dangerous is a good thing as it gives us the best chance of reacting quickly to a threat, but this is not so useful when the fear is irrational.

Question 10

IRRATIONAL BELIEFS

Answer 10

A person with a phobia may hold unfounded thoughts in relation to phobic stimuli, ie that can’t easily be explained and don’t have any basis in reality.
This kind of belief increases the pressure on the person to perform well in social situations.

Question 11

COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS

Answer 11

The perceptions of a person with a phobia may be inaccurate and unrealistic.
So, for example, someone with mysophobia sees mushrooms as disgusting, and an ophidiophobia may see snakes as alien and aggressive looking.