evaluation: the behavioural explaination for phobias

Question 1

what does it mean when we say the behavioural explanation for phobias has good explanatory power

Answer 1

The two-process model was a definite step forward when it was proposed in 1960 as it went beyond Watson and Rayner’s concept of classical conditioning

It explained how phobias could be maintained over time and this had important implications for therapies because it explains why patients need to be exposed to the feared stimulus

Once a patient is prevented from practicing their avoidance behaviour, the behaviour ceases to reinforced and so it declines

Question 2

what is the alternative explanation for avoidance behaviour

Answer 2

not all avoidance behaviour associated with phobias seems to be the result of anxiety reduction, at least in more complex phobias e.g. agoraphobia

There is evidence to suggest that at least some avoidance behaviour appears to e motivated more positive feelings of safety
In other words, the motivating factor in choosing an action like not leaving the house is not so much to avoid the phobic stimuli but to stick with the safety factor

This explains why some patients with agoraphobia are able to leave their house with a trusting person with relatively little anxiety nut not alone ( Buck 2010)

• is a problem with a two - process model

Question 3

an incomplete explanation of phobias

Answer 3

even if we accept that classical and opernant conditioning are involved in the development and maintenance of phobic behaviour - this still requires further explaining

Question 4

who points out the two process model was an incomplete explanation for phobias

Answer 4

Bounton (2007) points out e.g. that evolutionary factors probably have an important role in phobias but the two - factor theory does not mention this - we easily acquire phobias of things that have been a source of danger in our evolutionary past, such as fire

Seligman (1971) called this biological preparedness - the innate predisposition to acquire certain fears
However, it is quite reare to develop a fear cars or guns, which are actually more dangerous to most of us today than spiders or snakes

Presumably this is because they have only existed very recently and so we are not biologically prepared to learn dear responses towards them

Question 5

what does biological preparedness mean for the two - process model

Answer 5

this phenomenon of preparedness is a serious problem for the two - process theory because its hows there is more to acquiring phobias than simple conditioning

Question 6

phobias that don’t follow trauma

Answer 6

sometimes phobias appear following a bad experience and it is easy to see how they could be a result of conditioning

However, sometimes people develop a phobia and are not aware of having had a related bad experience.

For example, someone could have a fear of snakes although they have never met one before
therefore, perhaps a better explanation should be used in some cases

e.g. There are also psychodynamic explanations for phobias. In psychodynamic theory, displacement occurs when we redirect an emotion from one person, object or situation to another. It is possible that sometimes a phobia can be the result of displaced anxiety on to something easier to deal with. Fear of zombies may for example be a displaced fear of death following the death of a loved one.
These alternative explanations for phobias suggest perhaps not all phobias result from classical conditioning.