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psychopathology > phobias > Flashcards

phobias Flashcards

1
Q

behavioural characteristics of phobias

A

AVOIDANCE
- avoid phobic object (and places), can interfere w everyday life
ENDURANCE
- freeze / faint when faced w object
DISRUPTION
- anxiety and avoidance, may be so extreme: interferes w ability to function socially or at work
PANIC
- may show characteristics of running, screaming, vomiting, freezing, crying

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2
Q

emotional characteristics of phobias

A

FEAR
- persistent, excessive, unreasonable, worry about death maybe
PANIC AND ANXIETY
- highly anxious when faced w phobic situation
EMOTIONS (general)
- strong emotions in presence of situation, out of proportion to actual danger that is posed

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3
Q

Cognitive characteristics of phobias

A

IRRATIONAL
- think in an irrational way, resist rational arguments,
INSIGHT
- person will know their fear is excessive or unreasonable, still can’t help it
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
- distorted perception of stimulus, eg snakes = aliens
SELECTIVE ATTENTION
- cannot look away from phobic stimulus, ignore everything else

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4
Q

what is a phobia?

A

mental disorder characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a stimulus
- the anxiety interferes w normal living
- can cause irrational fear

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5
Q

what is the behavioural model?

A

suggests ALL BEHAVIOUR can be LEARNT
phobias are learnt through 2 processes
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning

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6
Q

what is the 2 process model by Mowrer?

A

1) onset of phobia
- can occur directly: classical conditioning
- or indirectly: social learning

2) maintenance of phobia : operant conditioning
- feared object is avoided - negative reinforcement
- reduces anxiety = reward

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7
Q

classical conditioning

A

method of learning - building an ASSOCIATION between 2 diff. stimuli
- so learning takes place

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8
Q

example of classical conditioning

A

LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT
- white rat = neutral stimulus (no response alone)
- loud banging is presented - steel bars (causes emotional response)
REPEATEDLY PAIR THEM TOGETHER
- present both stimuli until classical conditioning takes place
- baby has emotional response (conditioned response) when they see the rat alone (conditioned stimulus)
— and also other similar objects

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9
Q

what is generalisation

A

when a conditioned response is produced to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
- eg little albert was scared of anything white and fluffy that resembled the rat

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10
Q

criticism of Little Albert study

A

IT WAS ONLY CONDUCTED ONCE
- findings have not been repeated - not very reliable
- questioned whether same results would be gained if study was repeated
- study couldn’t be repeated now though - ethical concerns

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11
Q

strength of Little Albert study (👑)

A

King (1998) supports the ideas proposed by classical conditioning
- reviewed case studies
- found kids acquire phobias by encountering traumatic experiences w phobic object

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12
Q

disadvantage of Little Albert study (cars)

A

some people have traumatic experiences, but DON’T HAVE PHOBIAS
- eg many ppl in a car accident don’t have a phobia of cars
- classical conditioning doesn’t explain how ALL phobias develop
- (& opposite - some have phobias without traumatic experience)

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13
Q

criticism of the behavioural model (%s)

A

Menzies criticises it and the idea of classical conditioning
- studied ppl w a phobia of water
- only 2% of his sample had a traumatic experience w water - classical conditioning
- so, 98% had a phobia without a negative experience - not classical conditioning;
- 50% of ppl w dog phobia have never had a bad experience
SO learning can’t be a factor

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14
Q

social learning theory

A

based on observational learning
- a young child may OBSERVE A REACTION that their parents have and then the child will COPY this behaviour
- eg if someone starts screaming when they see a dog, the baby will copy this and develop a phobia
MINNEKA
- when one monkey in a cage showed a fear response to snakes, other mon lies in the cage COPIED this response

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15
Q

operant conditioning

A

learning a new response (phobia) that can result in REINFORCEMENT
- helps explain how phobias can be maintained
-ve reinforcement : person will avoid phobic object to reduce the risk of feeling fear
+ve reinforcement : avoiding this fear is REWARDING (sense of relief)
- therefore avoidance continues

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16
Q

criticism of the two process model (bio)

A

LIMITED because it ignores OTHER FACTORS that could cause phobias
- focuses on learning and environment
- doesn’t take into account biological or evolutionary factors (that could cause phobias)
- some people may have more genetic vulnerability to develop phobias (behavioural model ignores this)

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17
Q

evaluation of behavioural model (social learning theory)

A

can be SUCCESSFUL is explaining how learning a phobia can occur in animals and young children
- BUT not strong in explaining how adults can have phobias
- therefore, behavioural model is limited to only explaining learning in YOUNG CHILDREN and animals only

18
Q

strength of social learning theory

A

BANDURA supports the idea of social learning theory
- research conducted whereby a person acted in pain when a buzzer sounded - pps had to watch this reaction
- later, pps showed the same response when hearing the buzzer
- so, social learning theory is an EFFECTIVE METHOD when learning to become fearful of an object

19
Q

strength of two step process

A

involves TWO CLEAR STEPS that highlight how phobias are learnt and maintained
- learnt by powerful classical conditioning or social learning
- maintained by operant conditioning (+be and -ve reinforcement)
- process seems an ACCURATE way in explaining how phobias can be learnt overall

20
Q

systematic desensitisation

A

BEHAVIOURAL therapy (developed by wolpe)
- reduce / diminish phobias using CLASSICAL conditioning
- uses CC to replace irrational fear associated w phobic object with CALM AND RELAXED feelings

21
Q

what is reciprocal inhibition?

A

the idea it’s IMPOSSIBLE to feel 2 OPPOSING EMOTIONS
- eg fear and relaxation
- so, if patient can remain relaxed (new emotional response), in the presence of their phobia, they can be cured
- this is COUNTER CONDITIONING (linked to SD)

22
Q

what is the process of SD?

A

1) hierarchy of fear
2) relaxation techniques
3) gradual exposure

23
Q

hierarchy of fear

A

situations involving phobic object are RANKED from least to most fearful
- constructed by therapist and patient

24
Q

example of a fear hierarchy - phobia of dogs

A

say the word dog
think about dogs
show pictures and videos of dogs
bring a dog into the room
have the dog sit next to the patient
touch the dog

25
Q

relaxation techniques

A

DEEP MUSCLE relaxation techniques
- like deep breathing, PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXATION, and the relaxation response

26
Q

progressive muscular relaxation

A

tense up a group of muscles
hold them in a state of extreme tension
relax muscles to their previous state
consciously relax muscles even further

27
Q

relaxation response

A

patients asked to sit quietly and comfortably and close their eyes
- start by relaxing feet muscles
- work up the body, relaxing muscles
- breathe deeply and meditate while doing this

28
Q

gradual exposure

A

patient is introduced to phobic object GRADUALLY
- work their way up fear hierarchy
- when they feel comfortable (no longer afraid) with a stage, they move up to the next one
- use relaxation techniques (while being exposed to phobic object)
- eventually phobia is ELIMINATED : through repeated exposure to phobic object with relaxation and no fear

29
Q

strength of SD (rabbit)

A

JONES (1924) used SD to eliminate Little Peter’s phobia
- white rabbit was presented to him at gradually closer distances
- each time, his anxiety levels lessened
- eventually, he developed affection for the white rabbit
- shows SD can work to eliminate phobias

30
Q

strength of SD (%s)

A

KLOSKO et al. (1990) supports SD
- he assessed various therapies for the treatment of panic dosorders
- found that 87% of patients were PANIC FREE after receiving SD
- (compared to 50% receiving medication, 36% receiving a placebo and 33% receiving no treatment)
- so, SD = effective therapy

31
Q

advantage of SD (feelings)

A

LESS TRAUMATIC than other behavioural therapies, like flooding (where patients confront phobia directly)
- SD has less ethical implications (less psychological harm) than other therapies
- less upsetting for patient

32
Q

weakness of systematic desensitisation (sharks)

A

NOT ALWAYS PRACTICAL for individuals to be desensitised by confronting real life phobic situations
- real life step by step situations are difficult to arrange and control (eg someone scared of sharks)
- so, SD might be difficult to apply to real life situations
- can question the effectiveness of the therapy

33
Q

criticism of behavioural therapies (some critics believe that…)

A

behavioural therapies have the adv. that they address symptoms of phobias
- BUT, some critics believe symptoms = tip of the iceberg
- underlying causes of the phobia will remain
- in the future, symptoms might return or SYMPTOM SUBSTITUTION will occur (when other abnormal behaviours replaced the ones that have been removed)

34
Q

flooding

A

DIRECTLY EXPOSING the patient to feared object
- immediate situation
- taught some relaxation techniques beforehand
- no gradual buildup
- can be done ‘in vivo’ (IRL) or virtually (eg imagining the situation or a headset)

35
Q

flooding stops phobic responses very …

A

QUICKLY
- patient doesn’t have option for avoidance
- may quickly learn the object is harmless (therefore, extinction occurs)
- sometimes, patient may reach relaxation bcs they’re so EXHAUSTED by fear response (so phobic response diminishes)

36
Q

is flooding ethical?

A

YES
- patient gives FULLY INFORMED CONSENT (written)
- given choice of SD or flooding
- sessions usually last 2-3 hours

37
Q

strength of flooding (£)

A

COST EFFECTIVE
- especially compared to cognitive behavioural therapies (which take months or years to work)
- quick therapy
- useful: patients are free of symptoms asap
- makes treatment cheaper, cost effective

38
Q

weakness of flooding (types)

A

less effective for some types of phobias
- eg social phobia
- (maybe bcs social phobias have have more cognitive aspects that flooding can’t address - speaking in public)
- social phobias can be cured more successfully y COGNITIVE therapies

39
Q

weakness of flooding

A

HIGHLY TRAUMATIC
- many patients may be unwilling to continue w the therapy until the end
- time and money may be wasted in preparation (if patient drops out)
- their phobia will remain uncured
- maybe alternatives will be better, like SD (WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY)

40
Q

strength of flooding

A

OST (1997) stated flooding is an EFFECTIVE AND RAPID treatment
- delivers immediate improvements
- especially the case when patient is encouraged to continue self directed exposure to feared objects
- results from flooding can be applied to EVERYDAY life, outside therapy situation

psychopathology (4 decks)

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