Behavioural Approach To Explaining Phobias

Question 1

How are phobic fears acquired?

Answer 1

Classical conditioning

Question 2

What did Barlow and Durand (1995) find?

Answer 2

Reported that 50% of individuals who had a specific phobia for driving remembered a traumatic event when driving that had triggered the phobia to be caused, showing how phobic individuals are very likely to have had a traumatic experience with the phobic object that caused the phobia through classical conditioning

Question 3

How did Menzies and Clarke (1993) oppose the idea that conditioning explains a phobia?

Answer 3

Only 2% of water-phobic children had a conditioning experience involving water

Question 4

How is a phobia explained through conditioning in the behavioural approach?

Answer 4

The conditioned/phobic stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus that creates fear e.g being attacked by a dog