phobias

Question 1

what is a phobia?

Answer 1

an irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 2

what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Answer 2

panic- crying, screaming, running away

avoidance- going to a lot of effort to avoid coming into contact with a phobic stimulus (affects daily life); fear of public toilets- limits amount of time spent outside home to see how long they can last w/out toilet, impacts work

endurance- remains in presence of phobic stimulus but continues to experience high anxiety (unavoidable- e.g. flying)

Question 3

what are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

Answer 3

anxiety- emotional response of anxiety and fear, prevents relaxing and positive emotions, can be long-term (fear=immediate, extreme response when encountered or thought about)
e.g. arachnophobia- anxiety increases when in a place associated w/spiders, when sees spider feels fear

unreasonable emotional responses- responses wildly disproportionate to actual danger posed

Question 4

what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Answer 4

selective attention- can’t look away from stimulus, evolutionary advantages but not useful when fear is irrational

irrational beliefs- e.g. social phobias ‘I must always sound intelligent’, increases pressure

cognitive distortions- perceptions of stimulus distorted, fear of belly buttons- ugly/disgusting