Behavioural Approach to Explaining Phobias

Question 1

Outline the behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Answer 1

The behavioural approach to explaining phobias suggests that phobias are a learned behaviour. They are learnt through classical conditioning and are maintained through operant conditioning. This is called the two process model. Classical conditioning involves learning to associate a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. This fear response is triggered each time they see or think about the feared object. Little Albert was conditioned to have a fear of rats. The neutral stimulus - a rat- was associated with a loud bang which was the unconditioned stimulus and produced the unconditioned response of fear. The rat then became a conditioned stimulus and caused the conditioned response of fear in little Albert. Mowrer emphasised that phobias are maintained through operant conditioning because the phobic stimulus is being negatively reinforced by reducing the anxiety that they feel so phobias are long lasting.

Question 2

Discuss the behavioural approach as an explanation of phobias (3 X AO3)

Answer 2

Research to support the behaviourist explanation of phobias comes from a study by Ad De Jongh et al who found that 73% of people with a fear of dental treatment had experienced a traumatic experience, mostly involving dentistry. This can be compared to a control group of people with low dental anxiety where only 21% had experienced a traumatic event. This confirms that association between a stimulus, in this case dentistry, with an unconditioned response, in this case pain, leads to the development of a phobia. Therefore, this study supports the behaviourist explanation of phobias developing through associations, stimulus and responses.

The behaviourist approach to explaining a phobia can be criticised for environmental reductionism. This is because it reduces the complex human behaviour of phobias down to the simple basic units of learning phobias through stimulus, response and associations between a neutral stimulus and a unconditioned stimulus, and maintaining a phobia through reinforcements. This neglects a holistic approach, which would take in to account how a person’s culture and social context would influence phobias. Therefore, the behavioural explanation of phobias may lack internal validity, as it does not allow us to understand the behaviour in context.

The behavioural approach to explaining phobias has practical applications. It suggests that phobias are learnt through classical conditioning, and can therefore be unlearnt using classical conditioning. This theory has been used to create the treatment; systematic desensitisation. This works by teaching a patient relaxation techniques, and gradually exposing them to their phobic stimulus so they can learn to associate their phobic stimulus with relaxation, rather than fear, and therefore extinguish the phobia. This helps to treat people in the real world and therefore the behavioural approach of explaining of phobias is an important applied psychology.