4.1.4 BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH TO EXPLAINING PHOBIAS

Question 1

what is the behavioural explanation of phobias?

Answer 1

• explains all behaviour as something that’s both observable and learned
• when explaining phobias, the behaviourist approach is therefore focused on explaining behaviours created by the phobia
  -> but doesn’t explain the cognitive/emotional features/phobias

Question 2

what is the two process model?

Answer 2

• an explanation for the onset + persistence of disorders that create anxiety (includes phobias)

Mowrer (1960
- suggests phobias are first learnt (acquired) by association (classical conditioning)
- then maintained via reinforcement (operant conditioning)

Question 3

explain the acquisition of the phobia by classical conditioning

Answer 3

• phobic objects are at first a neutral stimulus (NS) and don’t produce a phobic response
• if it’s then presented with an unconditional stimulus (UCS) that produces an unconditional response (UCR) then the NS will become associated with UCS and the fear will occur whenever the NS is there
• this means the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the UCR becomes the conditioned response (CR)
• this conditioning is then generalised to similar objects

Question 4

explain the maintenance of phobias by operant conditioning

Answer 4

• if a person avoids the phobic object or situation then anxiety is greatly reduced, which is rewarding for the sufferer
• operant conditioning happens when behaviour is reinforced
• by avoiding something unpleasant + being rewarded through not experiencing anxiety we’re reinforcing (strengthening) the avoidant behaviour
• Mowrer suggest this is what happens when we avoid the phobic stimulus
  -> we reduce the fear + this reduction in fear reinforces the avoidance behaviour + so the phobia is maintained

Question 5

what’s an example of the acquisition of a phobia?

Answer 5

Little Albert (1920)
- John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920)
-> wanted to study the development of phobias
- conducted a lab experiment where they created a 9-month old baby = Little Albert

• showed that the conditioned stimulus could be generalised to similar objects
  -> eg) Santa, non-white rabbit - showed distress
• phobia became generalised

Question 6

what is a positive of the behavioural explanation of phobias?

Answer 6

real world application
- two process model has real-world application
- explains using two distinctive elements
-> how phobias are both created and maintained

• Watson and Rayner’s ‘Little Albert’
  -> supports two-process model as they showed how a frightening experience can be conditioned

Question 7

what is a negative of the behavioural explanation of phobias?

Answer 7

cognitive aspects of phobias
- two process model doesn’t account for the cognitive processes associated with phobias
-> behavioural explanations focus on cause of the behaviours
-> cognitive components play a significant part in why someone has a phobia

• not all phobias appear following a bad experience
• the phobia of snakes is evidence in many people who have no experience with them
  -> this doesn’t support the two part model

Question 8

how can some behavioural responses be better explained by evolutionary theory?

Answer 8

may be better explained by evolutionary theory for those phobias which exist that would once have been dangerous to our ancestors
- eg) darkness, snakes + dogs

• evolutionary theory explains this as preparedness (Seligman 1971)