3.4. Phobias Explanation - Behaviourist Approach

Question 1

What is the two process model?

Answer 1

Proposed by Mowrer, incorporating both classical and operant conditioning to explain the initiation and persistence of phobias

Question 2

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 2

Initiation (how you get the phobia)

Question 3

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 3

Maintenance (how you keep the phobia)

Question 4

Who is the example of classical conditioning?

Answer 4

Little Albert

Question 5

What do behaviourists believe?

Answer 5

They believe that usually with phobias a traumatic event has led to the development of a phobia

Question 6

What is generalisation?

Answer 6

Generalise fear response to other stimuli e.g. Little Albert also showed fear response to other white furry objects

Question 7

How is operant conditioning used?

Answer 7

• If the behaviour is rewarded, it’s more likely to be repeated
• Negative reinforcement (remove an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behaviour)
• Escape from the phobic stimulus reduces fear = negative reinforcement (unpleasant consequence of fear/anxiety removed, increases avoidance behaviour and maintains phobia)

Question 8

Example of operant conditioning

Answer 8

Avoid fields and farms to reduce chance of seeing cow which reduces fear but maintains phobia

Question 9

Strength: RWA

Answer 9

• Idea that phobias are maintained by avoidance is important in explaining why some people benefit from exposure therapies -> once avoidance is prevented, it’s no longer reinforced, avoidance behaviour then declines
• This shows that the two process approach is valuable because it identifies a way to treat phobias

Question 10

Strength: evidence linking phobias to bad experiences

Answer 10

• Phobics often recall a specific incident when their phobia appeared, for example, being bitten by a dog or experiencing a panic attack in a social event
• De Jongh et al -> 73% of dental phobics had experienced a trauma (control group, with low dental anxiety, only 21% had experienced a traumatic event)
• This confirms that the association between stimulus and unconditioned response does lead to a phobia

Question 11

Weakness: cognitive elements

Answer 11

• There are cognitive elements that the behaviours cannot explain
• Cognitive approach proposes that phobias may develop as the consequence of irrational thinking -> i.e. I could become trapped in this lift and suffocate
• Cognitive therapies designed to treat this, such as CBT, may be more successful that the behaviourist treatments for certain phobias
• Cognitive treats obsession and behaviourist treats the compulsion

Question 12

Weakness: alternative explanations

Answer 12

• Not everyone can remember a traumatic experience/incident -> Di Nado found 50% of people couldn’t remember a traumatic experience when they feared dogs
• The diathesis stress model could explain this: we inherit a genetic vulnerability for developing a mental disorder, however, it will only manifest itself if triggered by a traumatic event
• People without this vulnerability wouldn’t develop a phobia
• Social learning theory -> we acquire a phobia and maintain it through social learning theory and vicarious reinforcement

Question 13

Weakness: biological preparedness

Answer 13

• Animals including humans are genetically programmed to rapidly learn to fear certain stimuli because they’re potentially life threatening
• This preparedness means that behavioural explanations alone cannot explain the development of all phobias
• The two process model doesn’t explain some important properties of phobias