Behaviourist Explanations for Phobia's

Question 1

What is the 2 process model?

Answer 1

Create by Mowrer.
-Based on the assumption that phobias are learnt through
association and consequenes.
-Most learned behaviours are adaptive, but maladaptive behaviours such as phobias can be acquired in the same way.
This model suggests the phobia needs classical conditioning to form and operant conditioning to be maintained.

Question 2

A03 - John Watsons Research

Answer 2

He used classical conditioning to successfully develop a phobia of white rats when initially paired with a loud bang on a metal
pole.

• Watson also demonstrated that this associative learned behaviour could be generalised to other objects, such as a white beard through the process of classical conditioning.

-However, whilst the experiment supports the formation of phobias through classical conditioning, the process doesn’t account for how all phobias are developed
-Some may be developed through social learning, therefore we must be cautious in considering the comprehensiveness of the classical conditioning theory.

Question 3

A03 - Neglects to acknowledge biological causes

Answer 3

• The two-process model suggests that when a neutral stimulus is paired with a fearful experience a phobia will
  emerge.
• However, not all people who are bitten by a dog go on to develop a phobia of dogs, thus questioning the two-process model.

-The diathesis-stress model that suggests that a person who develops a phobia is born with a genetic predisposition towards developing a phobia.
- It just requires an incident to trigger the phobia. Those people not born with the genetic predisposition so do not develop a phobia.
-Hence, the two-process model might wrongly ignore the influence of genetic and cognitive factors questioning its application to the causes of all phobias.