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psychology: psychopathology > phobias > Flashcards

phobias Flashcards

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1
Q

define phobia

A

an extreme or irrational fear of objects or situations

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2
Q

what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

A

panic, avoidance and endurance

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3
Q

behavioural characteristic of phobias: panic

A

patient suffers from heightened physiological arousal upon exposure to the phobic stimulus, caused by the hypothalamus trigging increased levels of activity in the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system

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4
Q

behavioural characteristics of phobias: avoidance

A

avoidance behaviour is negatively reinforced because it is carried out to avoid the unpleasant consequence of exposure to the phobic stimulus. avoidance severely impacts the patient’s ability to continue with their day to day lives

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5
Q

behavioural characteristics of phobias: endurance

A

this occurs when the patient remains exposed to the phobic stimulus for an extended period of time but also experiences heightened levels of anxiety during this time
may lead to failure to function - difficult to take part in normal life activities e.g. going to social events

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6
Q

what are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

A

anxiety and fear

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7
Q

emotional characteristics of phobias: anxiety

A

emotional consequence of the physiological response of panic and an unawareness that the anxiety experienced towards the phobic stimulus is irrational

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8
Q

emotional characteristics of phobias: fear

A

intense emotional state linked to fight-or-flight response
sensation of extreme and unpleasant alertness in presence of phobia subsides when phobic object is removed

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9
Q

what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

A

selective attention to the phobic stimulus, irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions

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10
Q

cognitive characteristics of phobias: selective attention

A

this means that the patient remains focused on the phobic stimulus, even when it is causing them severe anxiety - may be a result of other cognitive characteristics

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11
Q

cognitive characteristics of phobias: irrational beliefs

A

this may be the cause of unreasonable responses of anxiety towards the phobic stimulus due to the patient’s incorrect perception as to what the danger posed actually is

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12
Q

cognitive characteristics of phobias: cognitive distortions

A

the patient does not perceive the phobic stimulus accurately. therefore it may often appear grossly distorted or irrational

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13
Q

The Two Process Model (Mower 1960)

A
  • The behavioural approach emphasises the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour.
  • Mower (1960) proposed the two process model based on the behavioural approach to phobias.
  • This states that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.
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14
Q

maintenance by operant conditioning

A
  • Operant conditioning takes place when our behaviour is either reinforced or punished.
  • Reinforcement tends to increase behaviour whether this is through negative or positive reinforcement
  • Negative reinforcement is avoiding a situation which is unpleasant. This results in a desirable consequence which means the behaviour will be repeated.
  • When we avoid a phobic stimulus we avoid the fear and anxiety that is associated with it, this reinforces the avoidance behaviour and the phobia is maintained.
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15
Q

strengths of the application of behavioural approach

A
  • Good explanatory power - face validity`
  • Explains how phobias can be maintained over time and this has important implications for therapies - systematic desensitisation and flooding
  • Once a patient is prevented from practising their avoidance behaviour the behaviour ceases to be reinforced and it declines.
  • research support - Watson and Rayner
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16
Q

weaknesses of the application of behavioural approach

A
  • Not all avoidant behaviour associated with phobias seems to result in reduced anxiety as they may be more motivated by feelings of safety
  • Bounton (2007) suggested that evolutionary factors have an important role in phobias e.g. fear of drowning - Seligman (1971) called this biological preparedness – the innate predisposition to acquire certain fears - suggests phobias are hereditary
  • objects like knives or cars are common in day-to-day life but are not common phobic objects despite them resulting in horrific accidents whereas snake fear is more common even if there are no snakes in your country
  • For some people they do not know why they fear something - it can be a result of conditioning but not always.
17
Q

how are phobias acquired?

A

Mowrer suggested through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning

18
Q

case study involving phobias

A

Watson and Rayner
Little Albert associated the fear of loud noises with a white rat

19
Q

explain the Little Albert study

A
  • Albert was exposed to a white rat (NS) producing no response
  • When paired with a loud bang (UCS), this produced fear (UCR)
  • Through several repetitions, Albert made the association between the rat (CS) and fear (CR)
  • This conditioning was then generalised to other subjects e.g. Santa hats
20
Q

how do phobias use classical conditioning?

A

through the manipulation of the UCS can produce a CR to the CS

21
Q

how do phobias use operant conditioning?

A

takes place when a behaviour is being rewarded or punished
phobias practise avoidance behaviours
they avoid the associated fear
by doing this the avoidance behaviour is negatively reinforced and likely to be repeated again
hence maintaining the phobia

22
Q

strengths of the two-process theory

A
  • can explain the mechanism behind the acquisition and maintenance of phobias
  • this translates to practical benefits in systematic desensitisation and flooding
  • emphasises the importance of exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus because it prevents the negative reinforcement of avoidance behaviour
  • patient realises the phobic stimulus is harmless and their responses are irrational
23
Q

weaknesses of the two-process theory

A
  • Buck suggested that safety is a greater motivator for avoidance behaviour rather than avoiding the anxiety associated with the stimulus - may not work for some people and some phobias e.g. social anxiety
24
Q

alternative explanation for the acquisition of phobias

A

Seligman suggested that we are more likely to develop phobias towards ‘prepared’ stimuli e.g. fire or deep water
- running away from such a stimulus increases the likelihood of survival and reproduction - meaning it has a selective evolutionary advantage
- this means that alternative theories can explain why some phobias are much more frequent than others

25
Q

what did Mowrer do?

A

He made the two-factor theory - behavioural approach for the acquisition of phobias

26
Q

Name two behavioural approaches to treating phobias

A

systematic desensitisation
flooding

27
Q

what is systematic desensitisation?

A
  • This is a behavioural therapy designed to reduce phobic anxiety through gradual expose to the phobic stimulus using the principle of classical conditioning.
  • If the sufferer can learn to relax in the presence of the phobic stimulus they will be cured.
  • Relies upon the principle of counterconditioning - learning anew response to the phobic stimulus
28
Q

how does systematic desensitisation work?

A

this works due to reciprocal inhibition
1. patient and therapist draw up an anxiety hierarchy together, made up of situations involving the phobic stimulus
2. therapist teaches the patient relaxation techniques to be used at each anxiety level
3. patient works their way up through the hierarchy whilst remaining calm
4. phobia is cured when the patient can remain calm at the highest anxiety level - new association with relaxation is formed between phobic object

29
Q

strengths of systematic desensitisation

A
  • supporting evidence - Gilroy et al. - systematic desensitisation group showed a reduction in their symptoms compared to control group
  • suitable for many patients - patients have ability to evaluate their own thoughts
  • more acceptable to patients - more control over experience makes it more likely to continue with therapy - economical implications
30
Q

weaknesses of systematic desensitisation

A
  • limited to controlled environment so may not translate to real-world experience
  • more effective in treating specific phobias than social phobias - hard to construct anxiety hierarchy for social situations
  • drug therapies are an effective alternative treatment to reduce anxiety and alleviate phobic responses that is quicker and less expensive however drug therapies may have side effects
  • time consuming compared to flooding
31
Q

what is flooding?

A
  • behavioural therapy designed to reduce phobic anxiety in one session through immediate exposure to the phobic stimulus
  • occurs in secure environment - without the option of practising avoidance behaviour as it is not reinforced so phobia is not maintained
  • Sometimes the patient may achieve relaxation in the presence of the phobic stimulus because they become exhausted by their own fear response.
  • patient is exposed to phobia - relies on the principle that is impossible to maintain a state of heightened anxiety for a prolonged period eventually patient learns that phobic stimulus is harmless
  • This is called extinction
32
Q

strengths of flooding

A
  • cost-benefit analysis - Ougrin compared flooding to cognitive therapies and found it to be cheaper as phobia is cured in one session
33
Q

weaknesses of flooding

A
  • not suitable for people with heart conditions
  • limited to controlled environment so may not translate to real-world experience
  • more effective in treating specific phobias than social phobias - hard to construct anxiety hierarchy for social situations
  • drug therapies are an effective alternative treatment to reduce anxiety and alleviate phobic responses that is quicker and less expensive however drug therapies may have side effects
34
Q

why is systematic desensitisation preferred to flooding?

A

this is because flooding is not a viable form of treatment for all phobic individuals, no matter how effective it is, this is because it can be a highly traumatic form of treatment. although patients are aware of this before beginning treatment, many find themselves unable to complete the treatment, limiting its overall effectiveness at treating phobias

35
Q

how does the SLT explain phobias?

A

the social learning theory suggests that phobias may be acquired through modelling the behaviour of others. if a child sees an adult react fearfully to a dog, they are likely to imitate the behaviour themself because the behaviour is rewarding - it gets them attention

psychology: psychopathology (4 decks)

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