behaviourist approach to explaining phobia

Question 1

what are 3 symptoms of phobia?

Answer 1

1. persistent fear of a specific stimulus
2. irrational beliefs about specific stimulus
3. avoidance of specific stimulus

Question 2

symptoms of phobias are categorised as:

1. behavioural
2. cognitive
3. emotional

using symptoms you learned categorise the symptoms.

Answer 2

behavioural : avoidance of specific stimulus

cognitive : irrational beliefs about feared stimulus

emotional : persistent fear of specific stimulus

Question 3

behaviourist explanation for phobias

1. how are phobias acquired?
2. how are phobias develop? ( 4 steps)

Answer 3

1. through classical conditioning
2. a person develops a phobia of a neutral stimulus alongside a unpleasant unconditioned stimulus.
3. as result the person forms a association between the neutral and unconditioned stimulus
4. neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus
5. the person develops a condition response to stimulus.

Question 4

behaviourist approach part 2

1. what are phobias maintained through?
2. how are they maintained?

Answer 4

1. through operant conditioning

2.feared stimulus is being negatively reinforced as it being avoided. this is called two process model

Question 5

behaviourist approach in explaining phobias
little albert
1. what two psychologist conducted little albert study?

2. what was procedure?
   4 things to talk about
3. how did little albert acquire phobia was through classical or operant

Answer 5

1. Watson and Rayner 1920
2. • repeatedly showed little albert a white rat followed by a loud scary noise
   • at first little albert showed no response to white rat ( neutral stimulus)
   • but through repeated experience albert associated the rat with loud sound ( conditioned stimulus)
     -little albert would begin to cry when he saw the white rat and began to fear it
   • little albert acquired phobia of rats through classical conditioning.

Question 6

behaviourist approach to explaining phobias
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2 strength

Answer 6

1. not all phobias are caused by traumatic event. this suggest that there are other factors involved such as it being genetically determined
2. support from case study. Watson and Rayner 1920 - albert study shows how phobias can be acquired. thus supporting idea that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning
3. behaviourist explanation of phobias had led to real life treatment suggesting theory is valid.

Question 7

behaviourist explanation of treating phobias

1. what are 2 ways we can treat phobias

Answer 7

flooding and systematic desensitisation.

Question 8

what is flooding?

why does flooding work? (2)

Answer 8

when patient is exposed to phobia in one go. then they are encouraged to remain near the phobia until their anxiety has worn off.

2. prevents the patient from avoiding the feared stimulus.

Question 9

flooding evaluation
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1 strength
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Answer 9

1. flooding can be seen as unethical because it can create distress amongst the patients. therefore it may be inappropriate for some groups of people such as children as it may be too traumatic.

2.cost less than sd as it quicker and effective for removing phobias as patients are free of the symptoms as soon as possible and that makes treatment cheaper

3. less effective in certain types of phobias. for e.g flooding can not be used to treat social phobias as it has cognitive aspects so you use cognitive therapies. therefore its not effective in removing all phobias.

Question 10

what is systematic desensitisation mean?

what is 3 steps of systematic desensitisation?

what is evaluation
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Answer 10

reduce fear of phobia through gradual process which involves relaxation techniques and anxiety hierchy.

1. first doctor and patient write a list that builds up in stages from least feared to most feared stimulus this is called fear hierarchy.
2. patients are taught relaxation techniques to manage anxiety

3.patient would then be exposed to the fear stimulus gradually making sure they are relaxed at each stage.

evaluation
1. exposes the patient to feared stimulus gradually causes less distress and may be more ethical than flooding.