P - Phobias

Question 1

What is a phobia?

Answer 1

• An irrational fear of an object, place or situation which triggers excessive fear and anxiety
• The extent of fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus

Question 2

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Answer 2

• Panic; may include crying, screaming or running away
• Avoidance; this can interfere with daily life
• Endurance; sufferer remains in presents of the phobic stimulus but continuous to experience high levels of anxiety

Question 3

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

Answer 3

• Anxiety; phobias are classed as an anxiety disorder, anxiety is the unpleasant state of high arousal this makes it difficult to experience any positive emotions
• When they are in a place associated with the phobic stimulus they experience anxiety. When they actually see the said phobic stimulus, they experience fear.
• Emotional responses are unreasonable; incredibly disproportionate for any real danger posed

Question 4

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Answer 4

• Selective attention on the phobic stimulus; keeping our eyes in something really dangerous is a good thing as it gives us the best chance of reacting quickly to a threat, but with phobias the fear is irrational
• Irrational beliefs; for example for social phobias ‘if I blush people will think I’m weak’
• Cognitive distortion; for example a person with a phobia of snakes may see snakes as alien and aggressive looking