Behaviourist approach - Phobias Flashcards
What is a phobia ?
It is an irrational fear of an object or situation.
What model does the behaviourist approach take ?
The two - process model states that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and operant conditioning
What does the behaviourist approach focus on ?
It focuses on behaviour and emphasises the role of learning in the acquistion of behaviour.
Who proposed the model ?
Hobart Mowrer
What is classical conditioning ?
it involves learning to associate something which we initially have no fear.
It is learning by association.
Who did research on Little Albert
Watson and Rayner (1920)
Research on phobias ;
Phobia was created on Little Albert. Albert showed no unusual anxiety at the start of the study.
-He was shown a white rat to play with - when rat was presented a loud frightening noise was made by the experimenter.This noise was the UCS and fear UCR.
Classical conditioning -
UCS - Noise
UCR - Fear
NS - rat
The rat (NS) is associated with the UCS and now both produce a fear response (CR)
cs + cr .
How did they test albert ?
The conditioning then generalised to similar objects. That tested Albert by showing him other furry objects - ie. non-white rabbit,fur coat and santa clause beard. Little albert showed distress at the sight of all these things.
What is operant conditioning ?
A form of learning where behaviour is maintained by consequences
How are phobias often long lasting ?
As a result of operant conditioning
When does operant conditioning take place ?
It takes places when our behaviour is reinforce (rewarded) or punished
What is reinforcement ?
Reinforcement tends to increase the frequency of a behaviour for both negative and positive reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement :
An individual avoids a situation because it is unpleasant. Such behaviour has desirable consequences, which means the behaviour will be repeated.
What did Mowrer propose about phobic stimulus ?
When we avoid a phobic stimulus we successfully escape the fear and anxiety that we would have suffered if we had remained there. The reduction in fear reinforces avoidance and phobia is maintained.
