Phobias Flashcards
what is a phobia
an irrational fear of an object or situation
all phobias are characterised by excessive fear and anxiety
the extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus
what are the DSM-5 categories of phobia
specific phobia - phobia of an object or a situation
social anxiety (social phobia) - phobia of a social situation such as public speaking
agoraphobia - phobia of being outside or in a public place
what are behavioural characteristics of phobias
we respond to things or situations by behaving in particular ways, such as, high levels of anxiety and trying to escape
the fear responses are the same as we experience for any other fear
what is the panic response (behavioural)
panic may involve a range of behaviours including crying, screaming or running away
children may react slightly differently, such as, freezing, clinging or having a tantrum
what is the avoidance response (behavioural)
people tend to go to a lot of effort to prevent coming into contact with the phobic stimulus, this can make it hard to go about daily life
what is the endurance response (behavioural)
when the person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus, e.g., a person with arachnophobia may choose to remain in the room with a spider on the ceiling rather than leaving
what is the anxiety characteristic of phobias (emotional)
phobias involve an emotional response of anxiety, an unpleasant state of high arousal
prevents a person relaxing and makes it very difficult to experience any positive emotion
can be long-term
what is the fear characteristic of phobias (emotional)
fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus
it is usually more intense but experienced for shorter periods than anxiety
how is the emotional response unreasonable (emotional)
the anxiety or fear is much greater than ‘normal’ and disproportionate to any threat posed
what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias
the cognitive element is concerned with the ways in which people process information
people with phobias process information about phobic stimuli differently from other objects or situations
describe selective attention to the phobic stimulus (cognitive)
when a person can see the phobic stimulus it is hard to look away from it
keeping our attention of something really dangerous is a good thing as it gives us the best chance of reacting quickly to it, this is not so useful when the fear is irrational
describe irrational beliefs (cognitive)
a person may hold unfounded thoughts in relation to phobic stimuli, having no basis in reality
describe cognitive distortions (cognitive)
the perceptions of a person with a phobia may be inaccurate and unrealistic
e.g., and ophidiophobic may see snakes as aggressive-looking
