Lesson 6: Behavioural Explanation Of Phobias

Question 1

Who proposed the two-process model?

Answer 1

Howard Mowrer

Question 2

What is the two-process model?

Answer 2

-behavioural approach emphasises the role of learning in the acquiring of behaviours therefore phobias must be learned
- two-process model states that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning then are maintained through operant conditioning

Question 3

Classical conditioning

Answer 3

• learning through association
• stimulus produces the same response as another stimulus as they have been constantly presented at the same time
• NS is paired with UCS which generates an UCR, the same response will become associated with the neutral stimulus.
• a phobia therefore happens when the phonic stimulus is the conditioned stimulus which illicits a fear response
• studied by Ivan Pavlov using dogs

Question 4

Watson and Raynor (1920) study

Answer 4

• a study to support the two process model in terms of the initiation of a phobia through classical conditioning was carried out by Watson and Raynor who classically conditioned an 11 month old child known as little Albert to have a phobia for white rats
• paired presentation of a tame white rat with a sudden loud noise striking a steel bar (UCS)
• noise caused fear, which is a UCR, eventually Albert was conditioned to associate the rat with fear. Little Albert eventually became frightened of not just rats but white rabbits and dogs.

Question 5

Weaknesses of Watson and Raynor’s study

Answer 5

• there was a number of ethical issues, first Albert did not give his consent to take part in the study. This means that Watson and Raynor breached the ethical code of consent. Also as little Albert was a baby, eh would be too young to understand the consequences of this study which means that this study posed a significant risk of long term harm for Little Albert.
• little Albert was only a single case study so our ability to generalise is limited i.e. we cannot be sure that all people would have developed a phobia through classical conditioning like Albert did. However, other studies have demonstrated that a fear response can be conditioned. For example, Bandura and Rosenthal found that participants developed a fear of a buzzer if they observed confederates apparently receiving an electrical shock when buzzer was sounded.

Question 6

Operant conditioning

Answer 6

Positive reinforcement - behaviour leads to a reward
Negative reinforcement - the behaviour stops something unpleasant
Positive punishment - behaviour leads to something negative being added to the person
Negative punishment - behaviour leads to something good being taken away
- shown through Skinner box - experiment with rats who pushed lever to receive treat/pushed lever to stop electric shocks

Question 7

Strengths of two-process model

Answer 7

+ This model does not label people with the stigma of being mentally ill. Such labels can be damaging because they tend to be difficult to remove. Instead the model is positive, perceiving phobias as incorrect responses that can be corrected.

+ Proven through therapies like systematic desensitisation and flooding (real-life application)

+ Supported by little Albert case study

+ King (1998) reviewed several case studies and found that children acquire phobias after having traumatic experiences with the phobic object. This supports the idea that phobias are initiated because they are learned through classical conditioning.

Question 8

Weaknesses of the two-process model (behavioural explanation of phobias)

Answer 8

• Many people who have a traumatic experience such as a car accident do not then go on to develop a phobia so classical conditioning does not explain how all phobias develop
• Research evidence (little Albert) is flawed or not ethically sound
• Beh ai ouran approach may not provide a complete explanation of phobias. For example, Bounton (2007) highlights the fact that evolutionary factors could play a role in phobias, especially if the avoidance of a particular stimulus (e.g. snakes) could have caused pain or even death to our ancestors. Consequently evolutionary psychologists suggest that some phobias (e.g. snakes and heights) are not learned but are in fact innate, as such phobias acted as survival mechanism for our ancestors. This innate predisposition to certain phobias is called biological preparedness (Seligman 1971) and casts doubt on the two process model as it suggests there is more to phobias than learning.