Phobias

Question 1

Define ‘Phobia’

Answer 1

• An irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 2

What are all phobias characterised by?

Answer 2

• Excessive fear & anxiety
• Triggered by an object, place or situation

Question 3

What are the cateogories of phobia and related anxiety disorder in the DSM?

Answer 3

• Specific phobia
• Social anxiety (Social phobia)
• Agoraphobia

Question 4

What is a specific phobia?

Answer 4

• Phobia of an object, such as an animal or body part or a situation.

Such as flying or having an injection

Question 5

What is social anxiety (social phobia)?

Answer 5

• Phobia of a social situation.

such as a public speaking or using a public toilet

Question 6

What is agoraphobia?

Answer 6

• Phobia of being outside or in a public place.

Question 7

What are the 3 behavioural characterisitics of phobias?

Answer 7

• Panic
• Avoidance
• Endurance

Question 8

What is meant by the behavioural reaction ‘panic’?

Answer 8

• A person with a phobia may panic in response to the prescence of the phobic stimulus
• Panic may involve a range of behaviours including crying, screaming or running away

Children may react slightly differently, e.g. clinging or having a tantrum.

Question 9

What is meant by the behavioural response ‘avoidance’?

Answer 9

• Unless the person is making a conscious effort to face their fear they tend to go a lot of effort to preventing coming into contact with a phobic stimulus
• This can make it hard to go about daily life

Question 10

What is meant by the behavioural response ‘endurance’?

Answer 10

• Occurs when the person chooses to remain in the prescence of the phobic stimulus.

e.g. a person with arachnophobia might choose to remain in a room with a spider on the ceiling and keep a wary eye on it rather than leaving.

Question 11

What are the 3 emotional characterisitcs of phobias?

Answer 11

• Anxiety
• Fear
• Emotional response is unreasonable

Question 12

What is anxiety?

Answer 12

• Phobias are classed as anxiety disorders
• Have an unpleasant state of high arousal

Question 13

What is fear?

Answer 13

• The immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus
• Usually more intense but experience for shorter periods than anxiety.

Question 14

What is the emotional response being unreasonable?

Answer 14

• The anxiety or fear is much greater than is ‘normal’ and will disproportionate to any threat posed.

e.g. a person with arachnophobia will have a strong emotional response to a tiny spider. Whereas most people would respond in a less anxious way even to a poisinous spider

Question 15

What is the cognitive element of phobias concerned with?

Answer 15

• Concerned with the ways in which people process information.
• People with phobias process information about phobic stimuli differently from other objects or situations.