Lecture 5 Flashcards
Phobias
What is a phobia? according to the DSM
an irrational fear of an objectively harmless stimulus or situation
According to the DSM, what can phobias be considered?
a type of anxiety disorder, that are split into three categories
what are these 3 categories of phobias
agoraphobia
social phobia
simple/specific phobia
agoraphobia
public places / outside home
a complex disorder that typically develops during adulthood
a fear of places that are thought to be difficult to escape if a panic attack were to occur
social phobia
being watched / appraised by others
a complex disorder that typically develops during teenage years
leads to avoidance of social situations
simple phobia
fear of a specific phobia/item or situation
typically occurs in childhood/teenage years
5 broad categories
5 categories of simple phobias
animals - dogs, snakes or spiders
natural environment - heights or water
medical/injury related - blood or injections
situational - planes, driving or lifts
other types - clowns, vomiting etc
DSM criteria of phobias
- unreasonable, excessive fear out of proportion to actual danger
- phobic stimulus always produces immediate fear/anxiety
- fear or avoidance is persistent for 6 months+
- phobia stimulus is actively avoided or endured with intense fear
- fear causes clinical distress
- not better explained by another disorder
according to the behavioural approach, how do phobias develop?
- phobic stimulus is paired with a frightening/painful event
- phobias are acquired through classical conditioning
- phobias are maintained via operant conditioning
Little Albert case study
- Albert is presented with a rat (CS) and various other animals = no fear
- Albert is presented with a surprising loud noise (US) = fear (UR)
- Albert presented with rat this time paired with loud noise = fear
- Albert presented with rat = fear (CR)
conditioned stimulus
previously a neutral stimulus that acquires a response by being paired with a US
conditioned response
response evoked by CS
unconditioned stimulus
biologically significant event
unconditioned response
response evoked by US
generalisation
when stimuli similar to the phobic stimulus also produces a fear response
for example, little Albert generalised hid fear of rats and was also afraid of Santas beard and rabbits
Mowrer 2 factor theory
fear is established by classical conditioning but maintained by operant conditioning
reduction of fear when avoiding the phobic stimulus results in avoidance being negatively reinforced
social approach to phobias
vicarious learning - Bandura
phobias can be learned from others nit just the individuals own experiences
how did Mineka and Cook support Bandura?
found that young monkeys that observed their parents display fear towards a snake, they too would devlelop a fear
issues withe the behavioural approach
- a phobia won’t always occur
- many people with phobias can’t remember acquiring them
- small set of stimuli seem to form most phobias
- one trial leaning
evolutionary explanation - Seligman
evolution has rendered some stimuli more susceptible to phobias that others
preparedness theory
CS - US associations operate on a spectrum of preparedness
evidence or evolutionary theory
Ohman et al
paired images of neutral stimuli and common phobias with mild electric shock
during an extinction phase spiders and snakes still produced fear, while mushrooms and flowers did not
issues with the evolutionary theory
-not all stimuli prepared for learning actually pose a threat
- how do we determine the evolutionary origins of fear
- evidence from experimental studies heterogeneous mixed
cognitive theory
- people have faulty cognition about situations or objects
- they overestimate danger inherent in objects / situations
