phobias

Question 1

what is a social phobia?

Answer 1

phobia of a social situation

Question 2

give an example of a social phobia

Answer 2

e.g. public speaking, using a public toilet

Question 3

what is a specific phobia?

Answer 3

phobia of an object

Question 4

give 2 examples of specific phobias

Answer 4

e.g. clowns, flying, injections etc.

Question 5

what is agoraphobia?

Answer 5

phobia of being outside/in a public place

Question 6

what are the 3 behavioural characteristics?

Answer 6

panic, endurance, avoidance

Question 7

name 3 behaviours of panic

Answer 7

crying, screaming, running away etc.

Question 8

what happens during avoidance?

Answer 8

the person tries to avoid contact with the stimulus - this can interfere with daily life

Question 9

how may someone with a fear of public toilets avoid their phobia?

Answer 9

they may limit their time spent outside the home in relation to how long they can last without a toilet

Question 10

what happens during endurance?

Answer 10

the person remains in the presence of phobic stimulus but continues to feel high anxiety

Question 11

give an example of a phobia that may have to be endured

Answer 11

e.g. fear of flying

Question 12

what is anxiety?

Answer 12

an unpleasant state of high arousal

Question 13

e.g. arachnophobia: what is the emotional response directed towards the spider?

Answer 13

strong fear

Question 14

e.g. arachnophobia: when will anxiety levels increase?

Answer 14

whenever the person enters a place associated with spiders

Question 15

what is an unreasonable response?

Answer 15

irrational strong responses to stimuli that may be seen as harmless

Question 16

what are the 3 cognitive characteristics?

Answer 16

cognitive distortions, selective attention, irrational beliefs

Question 17

how may a snake be cognitively distorted to someone with this fear?

Answer 17

someone’s perception of a fearful snake may be alien/aggressive etc.

Question 18

e.g. social phobia: how do irrational beliefs affect someone with this fear?

Answer 18

ideas such as “I must always sound intelligent” increase pressures to perform well in social situations

Question 19

what is selective attention?

Answer 19

keeping attention only on phobic stimulus (it is hard to look away)
may be seen as a good thing as it gives the best chance of reacting to threats