Explanations of phobias

Question 1

BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH: 2 process model

Answer 1

• proposed by Mowrer (1960)
• consists of classical conditioning and operant conditioning
• phoias are learned and are not innate

Question 2

Classical conditioning

Answer 2

phobias are acquired and initiated
* * phobias develop through associating a neutral stimulus (something we initially have no fear of) with an unconditioned stimulus (something that already triggers a fear response)
* eg Watson & Rayner (1910)

Question 3

Little Albert

Answer 3

Watson and Rayner (1910)
* 9 month old baby developed a phobia
* initially had no fear of a white rat (NS)
* loud frightening noise is an UCS because we are naturally afraid of loud noises
* when the 2 are paired, fear develops towards the white rat
* the rat is now a conditioned stimulus that produces a comditioned response (the fear)
* fear was generalised to similar furry objects e.g. a rabbit or a fur coat

Question 4

Operant conditioning

Answer 4

phobias are maintained
* reinforcement increases the frequency of behaviour
* person with phobia avoids situation that leads to fear - negative reinforcement
* this results in desirable response (escaping fear and response) which means *behaviour (avoidance) will be repeated *
* avoidance behaviour strengthens phobia

Question 5

Evaluation

Answer 5

- ignores cognitive characteristics
+ Support from Little Albert
+ Support from De Jongh et al
- Evolutionary theories

Question 6

- Ignores cognitive characteristics

Answer 6

the 2 process model can only account for behavioural characteristics of phobias but doesnt offer an explanation for the cognitive characteristics of phobias e.g. irrational thoughts

Question 7

+ Support from Little Albert

Answer 7

Little Albert study highlights links between frightening experiences and development.

Question 8

+ Support from De Jongh et al

Answer 8

De Jongh et al (2006) carried out on dental procedures
* found that 73% of people with a fear of dental treatment had gone through previous traumatic experiences or pain in dentistry
* suggests associations between stimulus and response leads to phobias

Question 9

-Evolutionary theories

Answer 9

not all phobias are stimulated by trauma
* fears may develop towards objects that we may not have traumatic experiences with such as snakes
* we have evolved to acquire phobias towards objects that have presented a danger in our evolutionary past
* explains why so many people have phobias of snakes despite not having any bad experiences with them
* we obtain phobias from our ancestors
* phobias can be innate we are predisposed to some of them according to Seligman (1971) this is known as biological preparedness