behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Question 1

who proposed the two-process model?

Answer 1

• Mowrer
• based on behavioural approach to phobias
• states phobias acquired by classical conditioning then continue because of operant conditioning

Question 2

how are phobias acquired by classical conditioning?

Answer 2

learn to associate something of which we originally have no fear (neutral stimulus) to something that already triggers a fear response (unconditioned stimulus)- becomes a phobic stimulus (conditioned stimulus)

Question 3

outline Watson and Rayner’s study into acquisition by classical conditioning

Answer 3

aim- to create phobia in 9-month-old baby ‘Little Albert’
showed white rat- no unusual anxiety, tried to play with it
then presented rat with loud scary noise (banging on iron bar next to his ear)
noise US- UR of fear, rat NS, becomes associated w US, rat CS- CR of fear
generalised to similar- e.g. fur coat

Question 4

how are phobias maintained through operant conditioning?

Answer 4

negative reinforcement- person avoids unpleasant situation (phobic stimulus and anxiety/fear), desirable consequence (no fear/anxiety), behaviour repeated (phobia maintained)

Question 5

strength- good explanatory power

Answer 5

went beyond Watson and Rayner’s concept of classical conditioning
included maintenance
implications for therapies- exposure needed
avoidance prevented, behaviour not reinforced, phobia declines
strength- value for treatment, improve QoL

Question 6

limitation- alt expls for avoidance

Answer 6

not all avoidance behaviour result of anxiety reduction
e.g. agoraphobia- positive feelings of safety (staying inside)
explains why some able to leave w/ trusted person w/ little anxiety but not alone
limitation- model limited/ over-simplified, suggests all avoidance motivated by anxiety reduction

Question 7

problem- incomplete expl of phobias

Answer 7

some phobia aspects need further explaining
Seligman- biological preparedness, adaptive to acquire fears of dark or snakes (source of danger in evol past)
fears of cars/guns rare- more dangerous today than snakes/dark
recent existence- not biologically prepared yet
problem- more to acquiring phobias than conditioning, model over-simplified/limited

Question 8

issue- phobias that don’t follow trauma

Answer 8

conditioning- phobias follow bad experience
some develop phobia w/out this
social learning- child observes parent avoid something to reduce anxiety, good model so imitates, reinforced (own anxiety reduction and seeing parents anxiety reduced)
psychodynamic- displaced anxiety
issue- not all phobias result from classical conditioning, model limited/over-simplified

Question 9

criticism- ignores cognitive aspects of phobias

Answer 9

behaviourists explain behaviour not cognition
phobias have cognitive element
however- behaviourists see it as bi-product of its behavioural characteristics
or may not require learning- hard-wired to focus on anything provoking anxiety (evolution)