acquisition of phobias Flashcards
two process model of acquisition of phobias - P1, A01
Hobart Mowrer (1960) proposed the two process model for both the acquisition and maintenance of phobias based on learning theories
the two-process model states that phobias can be acquired by a process of classical conditioning, and are then maintained through operant conditioning
Acquisition of phobias by classical conditioning - P2, A01
classical conditioning of a phobia involves learning to associate one stimulus with another stimulus
one stimulus initially creates no fear (neutral stimulus, NS) and the other stimulus is the one that already triggers a fear response (unconditioned stimulus, UCS)
through association the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) producing a conditioned response (CR) of fear
this process of learning a fear response was demonstrated by Watson and Rayner in their classic study of Little Albert
examples of unconditioned fear stimuli include loud noises as well as painful bites and stings
if a wasp stings you then the painful sting (UCS) is paired with the sight and sound of wasps which intially are neutral but become a CS and provoke a CR
study evidence from animal and humans - P2, A03
one strength of using social learning and conditioning in the acquisition of phobias is that there is study evidence from human and animal studies
evidence for the acquisition of fear responses in humans comes from Watson and Rayner - study of little albert, conditioning a fear response in him towards a white rat
evidence for maintenance of fear in animals through avoidance comes from Mowrer’s study of rats using a cage where shocks were administered to a rat when they stood in a certain part of the cage
Mineka and cook demonstrate social learning of fear of animals in infant rhesus Monkey’s
therefore, this suggests that even if learning is not a complete explanation for phobias, it does take place
maintenance of phobias by operant conditioning - P3, A01
phobic responses which are acquired by classical conditioning tend to decline over time - this is extinction
however, phobias are persistent
Mowrer explained this as the result of operant conditioning
operant conditioning takes place when behaviour is reinforced (rewarded) or punished
reinforcement (positive or negative) increases the frequency of behaviour
negative reinforcement takes place when a behaviour is rewarded by the removal of something by anxiety
Mowrer demonstrated this by condition a rat to develop an avoidance response to a shock - the rat was placed in a cage where shocks were delivered
the rat could escaped the shock by jumping over a barrier
escape was negatively reinforced and in this way the avoidance response was learned
when someone with a conditioned phobia responds by avoiding the fear-provoking stimulus, their anxiety lessens and this provides negative reinforcement for the avoidance behaviour
Mowrer says this is avoidance and its negative reinforcement is what maintains phobias
social learning of phobias - P4, A01
Mineka and Cook suggested another mechanism for the acquisition of phobias - observational learning
they demonstrated that infant rhesus monkeys who watched adult monkeys displaying fear of fear-relevant stimuli such as toy snakes and crocodiles acquired fear of these toys
humans may similarly acquire phobias by imitating the fear responses modelled by others such as parents
this might be one reason why there are gender differences in phobias
Kay and Morrison found in 2004 that men (fathers) traditionally display less visible fear than women, and so sons are less likely to acquire phobias than daughters
weakness, learning does not explain all aspects of phobias - P4, A03
one weakness is that some phenomena associated with the acquisition of phobias cannot be explained by learning alone
we easily acquire phobias of things that have been a source of danger in our evolutionary past, such as fear of snakes or the dark, but not of other dangerous things like cars or guns despite the fact that these are far more hazardous
also, some people acquire phobias without conditioning experiences or modelling
therefore, this is important because it shows that learning is not a complete explanation for the acquisition for phobias
strength, application to treating phobias
One strength of learning theories explaining the acquisition of phobias is that they have real world applications in therapies for phobias
systematic desensitisation and flooding are based on classical conditioning as a way to treat phobias
systematic desensitisation helps clients to learn new responses to the phobic stimulus whilst flooding works by extinction of learned fear responses
therefore, this shows the practical value of learning explanations for phobias
weakness, other explanations of phobias (I&D)
one weakness of using learning as an explanation for acquisition of phobias is that there are other explanations such as the psychodynamic theory
Freud explained phobias in terms of displacement
he suggested that when a person experiences anxiety arising from a complex situation that is hard to deal with (such as a difficult relationship with parents) they cope with this unconsciously by displacing the anxiety onto a simpler object
this will reduce their anxiety in general
this explanation can be useful in complex clinical cases where patients / clients have multiple symptoms and a history of trauma
therefore, this shows that learning theories is not the best explanation for every case of phobias
COUNTER ARGUMENT TO weakness, other explanations of phobias (I&D)
however, there is generally a stronger evidence base for learning theory explanations for phobias than alternatives, for example psychodynamic theory of phobias is generally just supported by isolated case studies
