Phobias Flashcards
What type of disorder are phobias
Anxiety disorder
Why are phobias charactised by
A uncontrollable extremely irrational and enduring fear
What do phobias involve
Anxiety level out of proprtion to the risk
What are the 3 types of phobias
- simple phobia
- Socia phobia
- agoraphobia
Behavioural characteristic’s of phobias
- avoident/anxiety response
- disruption of functioning
Emotional characteristics of phobia
- persistant, excessive fear due to anticipation of teh anxiety provoking stimulas
- panic attacks from exposure to stimulas
Cognitive characteristics of a phobia
- recognition that the fear is overstated
What approach is used to treat and eplain phobias
The behaviourist approach
How do behaviourist explain phobias
Phobias are a learned through assocation
What is associative learning
Conditioning
What model is used to explain conditioning of phobias
The two-process model
How does the two-process model explain aquistion of phobias
Through classical conditioning
How does the two process model explain maintenance of phobias
Through operant conditioning
Phobia acquisition through classical conditioning
A neutral stimulas beomes associatied with an unconditioned stimulas tha naturaly causes a unconditionedresponses (fear response). The association causes a conditioned response of fear to a neutral stimulas which now becomes a conditioned stimulus.
Maintenance of phobias through operant conditioning
If the fear response is reinforced they are more likely to repeat it.
Phobic behaviour can be reinforced trough positive and negative reinforcement but is more likely to repeat through negative reinforcement.
Phobia reinforced through negative reinforcement
The phobic person acts to avid the phobic stimulus. This reduces the anxiety caused by the anticipation of the stimulus or is presence whcih negatively reinforces the avoident behaviour. Therefore the phobia will be very resistant to extinction as the avoidant behaviour means a person will be unlikely to confront their fear.
Watson and rayner
little ablert
- exposed to white rat and loud banging noise
- started to cry when saw rat
learned an association between fear of rats and loud noises supports classical conditioning
- Support classical conditioning
Weaknesses of the explanation of phobias
- not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will develop a phobia
- critised for being a reductionist = reduces causes of phobia to a simple stimulus fear response-it ignores biology or cognitive factors
What psychologist critises the behaviourist approach to phobias
Bounton criticised the 2 process model for not taking in to account evolutionary explanations fpr the development and maintenance of phobias he suggests that avoidance behaviour is aquired faster if the vaoidence response is similar to natural defence mechanisms that are typically displayed in animals
Strength of the behavioural explanation of phobia
- Treatment based on the 2 processs model have been effective
Treatment of treating phobias
Systematic desensitisation and flooding
What is SD based on
Classical conditioning
What doe SD aim to do
Causes the extinction of fear response and replacing it with feelings of calm and relaxation
3 stages of SD
- Relaxation training - teaches a ppts how to realx using techniques
- Hierachry construction - create a graded series of anxiety provoking situations starting from least and going most
- treatmet - ppt works up the hierchy whilst practising relaxation techniques its not phyical possible to experince a fear responsee d realxtion at the same time as long as the client feels relaxed fear response shoud disappear.
Whatbhappend in SD if the ppt feels fear at any time
Go back a stage in the heirachy and try again
What types of desentation can be used
Vitro and in vivo
What is vitro desensiation
Imagined
In vivo desenatation
Real
What does flooding involve
- Involves direct exposure to the phobic stimulus
What type of exposure is used in flooding
Vivo
What is ppt prevented from doing in flooding
- prevented from making there normalvoidence response and are forced to confront their fears
- the extreme anxiety they experince cannot physically be maintained at such high levels for long and so eventually subside
- phobia shoud become extinct once the stimulus is present without a fear response
Supporting evidence for SD
Brosan and thorpe - demostated effectiveness of SD in treating technophobia they found that the reduction of anxiety was 3 times bigger in treated group of ppts than the group that didnt receive SD treatment and after a year those treated had no fear
Supporting evidence for flooding
Wolpe - demonstrated effectiveness of flooding by forcing a girl into a car and driven around and after 4 hours her anxiety had completely subsided
Comparsion of SD and flooding evdiene
Both as affective but SD is preferred and better tolerated by most patients
evaluation of treating phobias
- both raise ethical-issues = exposes them to things that cause anxiety causes psychological harm and physical harm HOWEVER long term benefits outweigh short term benefits
- not effective for all types of phobias = less effective for agoraphobia
- vitro desensitisation is limited learning to cope with imagined feared doesn’t mean they will able to cope with them in vivo situations
