Characteristics of Phobia

Question 1

Behavioural: Panic

Answer 1

• The person with the phobia might panic in the presence of the stimulus.
• They may show behavioural characteristics of crying, running, screaming, freezing, fainting and vomiting

Question 2

Behavioural: Avoidance

Answer 2

• When faced with the object or situation that creates fear, the response is to avoid the object or situation.
• This can interfere with the person’s normal daily life

Question 3

Behavioural: Endurance

Answer 3

• When a person is stressed their bodily response is usually fight/flight
• However when faced with the object or situation that is feared a person might freeze or faint instead.

Question 4

Emotional: Fear

Answer 4

• Persistent, excessive and unreasonable fear might be felt in the presence of the stimulus, and it can be long lasting.
• Fear response might be immediate

Question 5

Emotional: Panic and anxiety

Answer 5

• The person will feel highly anxious and experience unpleasant negative feelings when faced with the phobic situation

Question 6

Cognitive: Irrational

Answer 6

• The person will think in an irrational manner about their phobia, and their will resist rational arguments that counter it.

Question 7

Cognitive: Insight

Answer 7

• The person will know that their fear is excessive or unreasonable, but they still find it difficult not to fear the object.

Question 8

Cognitive: Cognitive distortions

Answer 8

• The person will have a distorted perception of the stimulus

Question 9

Cognitive: Selective attention

Answer 9

• If a person with a phobia is presented with an object or situation they fear, they will find it difficult to direct their attention elsewhere.
• They will become fixated on the object they fear