Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of PHOBIAS Flashcards
What are phobias?
Anxiety disorders characterised by excessive fear and anxiety which is triggered by an object, place or situation.
The extent of fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the ______ _______.
Phobic stimulus
What are examples of common phobic stimuli?
Heights, enclosed spaces and spiders
What are the two emotional characteristics of phobias?
Anxiety and Unreasonable Emotional Response
What is ‘anxiety’ in terms of phobias?
An unpleasant state of high arousal we experience when we encounter or think about the phobic stimulus - makes it difficult to experience any +ve emotions.
What is ‘Unreasonable emotional response’ in terms of phobias?
Where the fear experiences is often disproportionate to the actual danger presented by the phobic stimulus.
What is an example of ‘Unreasonable Emotional Response’?
A fear of spiders will involve a very strong emotional response to a tiny harmless spider.
What are the 2 cognitive characteristics of phobias?
Irrational beliefs and Selective attention
What are ‘irrational beliefs’ in terms of phobias?
Beliefs that aren’t logical and do not make sense to other people. Sufferers can hold irrational beliefs about the phobic stimuli and are very resistant to rational arguments.
What is an example of an irrational belief?
A person with a fear of flying isn’t helped by arguments that it is the safest form of transport.
What is ‘selective attention’ in terms of phobias?
Find it difficult to focus their attention away from the phobic stimulus and this may interfere with day to day life.
What is an example of selective attention?
Someone with a fear of spiders may find it difficult to concentrate on what they’re doing if someone has mentioned there might be a spider nearby.
What are the two behavioural characteristics of phobias?
Avoidance and panicking
What is avoidance in terms of phobias?
When sufferers will go out of their way to avoid the phobic stimulus which can interfere with their day to day life.
What is an example of avoidance?
Someone with a social phobia might avoid certain social situations which might affect their job, relationships or social activites.
