Behavioural explanations of phobias

Question 1

the behavioural model

Answer 1

suggests that all behaviour can be learnt + people who have an abnormality can learn negative behaviours

Question 2

two process model

Answer 2

• phobia is learnt via classical conditioning or social learning
• phobia is maintained by operant conditioning

Question 3

classical conditioning

Answer 3

• involves building up an association between two different stimuli
  = learning takes place
• white rat presented to a person = neutral stimulus, no reaction
• loud banging noise = unconditioned stimulus
• makes the person cry = unconditioned response
• then repeatedly pair the two stimuli together many times
• present both stimuli together until classical conditioning + learning takes place
• then present the white rat alone (conditioned stimulus)
• person will have an emotional response (conditioned response)
• learning has taken place via classical conditioning
• association has been established

Question 4

ad of classical conditioning

Answer 4

• psych supports the ideas proposed by classical conditioning
• from reviewing case studies
• found that children acquire phobias by encountering traumatic experiences w/ the phobic object
• e.g. bitten by a dog, may develop a phobia of dogs

Question 5

disads of classical conditioning

Answer 5

• water
• car crash

Question 6

water - disads of classical conditioning

Answer 6

• psych criticises the behavioural model, especially classical conditioning
• studies that people who had a phobia of water (hydrophobia)
• found that only 2% of his sample had encountered a negative experience w/ water
• so 98% of his sample hadn’t had a negative experience
  = means they hadn’t learned to become frightened of water via classical conditioning
• how did these people get their phobia of water if they hadn’t learnt it?
• classical conditioning is not the complete explanation

Question 7

car crash - disads of classical conditioning

Answer 7

• some people have a traumatic experience e.g. car accident
• however, many people do not go onto develop a phobia of cars/ driving
• so classical conditioning doesn’t explain how all phobias develop
• the opposite is true for some phobias
• some people are scared of an object, but haven’t had a negative experience or even encountered them
• e.g. snakes

Question 8

social learning theory

Answer 8

• based on observational learning
• young children might observe a reaction that a significant other has to a particular situation
• child will copy this behaviour
• e.g. watch a parent get bitten by a dog + start screaming
• we might imitate this + become scared of dogs

Question 9

operant conditioning

Answer 9

• helps to explain how phobias are maintained
• negative reinforcement = e.g. if someone is scared of snakes, they’l try to avoid snakes to reduce the risk that they will feel fear
• positive reinforcement = e.g. by avoiding snakes + not feeling fear = rewarding, avoidance of snake continues

Question 10

ads of two process model

Answer 10

• buzzer
• clear steps

Question 11

disads of two process model

Answer 11

• other factors
• adults

Question 12

buzzer - ads of two process model

Answer 12

• Bandura supports the idea of social learning theory
• research was conducted whereby a person acted as if they were in pain when a buzzer sounded
• parts had to watch this reaction
• later on, parts given the chance to hear the sound of the buzzer
• showed the same response (in pain)
  = shows SLT does seem to be an effective method when learning to become fearful of an object

Question 13

clear steps - ads of two process model

Answer 13

• the two step process has received praise
• involves two clear steps that highlight how phobias are learned + maintained
• learnt by classical conditioning/ social learning
• maintained by operant conditioning
  = process seems an accurate way in explaining how phobias can be learnt overall

Question 14

other factors - disads of two process model

Answer 14

• behavioural model is limited
  = ignores other factors that could cause ohobias
• focuses on learning + the environemnt
• wouldn’t take into accound biological or evolutionary factors that could cause phobias
• some people might have a greater genetic vulnerability to developing phobias than others
  = model would ignore this

Question 15

adults - disads of two process model

Answer 15

• SLT successful in explaining how learning a phobia occurs in animals + young children
• however SLT not very strong in explaining how adults can learn to have phobias
  = behavioural model is limited to only explaining in young children + animals