Phobias

Question 1

Phobias (AO1)

Answer 1

A group of mental disorders characterised by high levels of anixety in respone to a particular stimulus or group of stimulus.

Question 2

Emotional characteristics of phobias (AO1)

Answer 2

Excessive/unreasonable/presistent
Feelings for anixeity in public
Emotions cued by presence

Question 3

Behavioural characteritics of Phobias (AO1)

Answer 3

Avoidance eg a person with a phobia of spiders

Freeze or flight, response

Question 4

Cognitive characteristic Phobias (AO1)

Answer 4

• Intrusive thoughts

- impluses that are precieved as inappropriapte or forbidden.

Question 5

Two process model (AO1)

Answer 5

States that phobias are learned by classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning (Mowrer 1960).

Question 6

According to the behaviour approach, abnormal behaviour can be caused by:
(AO1)

Answer 6

1) Classical conditoing
2) operant conditoning
3) Social learning theory

Question 7

Mowrer (1947) (AO1)

Answer 7

put forward a two-process model, to explaim how phobias are learned through classical conditioning and mainted through operant conditioing.

Question 8

Pavlov (1903) (AO1)

Answer 8

Discovered the idea of classical conditioning in his work with dogs and in his original research, dogs learned to salivate at the sound of the bell,

Question 9

Watson & Rayner (1920) (AO1)

Answer 9

conducted a laboratory experiment to examine whether a fear response could be learned through classical conditioning, in humans.

Question 10

Strengths of the behaviourists explanation of phobias (AO3)

Answer 10

Watson & Rayner (1920) demonstrated the process of classical conditionig, in the formation of phobias in little albert, who was conditioned to fear white rats.

Question 11

Strengths of the behaviourist explanation (AO3) - Application to theraphy.

Answer 11

Have been used for treatments for phobias eg systematic desensitation and flooding.

Question 12

Systematic desensitation (AO1)

Answer 12

Help people unlearn their fear, using principles of classical conditioning

Question 13

Flooding (AO1)

Answer 13

A type of behaviour theraphy that prevents people from avoiding their phobias. A client is exposed to an image under relaxed conditons

Question 14

Critisms of the behaviourists explaination for phobias (AO3) - Ignores cognitive factors.

Answer 14

Ignores the role of cognition in the formation of phobias and cognitive psychologists suggest that phobias may develop as a result of irrational thinking. eg claustrophobia

Question 15

What’s the first stage of the two-process model (AO1)

Answer 15

Classical conditioning.

Question 16

Weakness Some phobias don’t follow a traumatic experience

AO3

Answer 16

A person may have a fear of snakes without ever having encountered a snake. This suggests some phobias have not been acquired through learning, weakening this explanation

Question 17

Weakness of behaviour explanation of phobias
(AO3)

may be pre-disposed to some phobias

Answer 17

We may be pre-disposed to some phobias, such as snakes or spiders, which would have given human ancestors a survival advantage.

This means the capacity for certain phobias is ‘hard-wired’, and therefore not learnt.

Phobias of guns and cars, which are far more dangerous to most human today, are very rare, perhaps because these things were not present in humans’ evolutionary past. This weakens the behavioural explanation.

Question 18

What’s the second stage of the two-process model? (AO1)

Answer 18

Operant conditioning

Question 19

Depression

Answer 19

Classifed as a mood disorder. DSM-V disgusihes between major depressive disorder and presistent depresive disorder which is longer term

Question 20

Depression

Emotional characteristics

Answer 20

Negative emotions - Sadness, loss of interest and sometimess anger

Question 21

Depression Behavioural characteristics

Answer 21

Reduced or increased activity related to energy level, sleep, eating