phobias

Question 1

phobias definition

Answer 1

overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, animal, feeling or situation - type of anxiety disorder - can think about phobia and experince distress (anticipatory anxiety)

Question 2

behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 2

avoidance - freezing or fainting which is triggered by acute/sudden stress - may prevent from executing everyday tasks

Question 3

cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 3

characterised by irrational nature of a persons thinking and their resistance to rational arguments about their fear, person recognises their fear is excessive, person may have selective attention to phobic stimulus

Question 4

emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 4

fear that is persistant, visible, excessive and unreasonable - anxiety and panic about the possibility of coming into contact, emotions can be exhibited in presence of stimulus but also anticipation of stimulus

Question 5

what is the behavioural explanation of phobias

Answer 5

the two-process model of phobias

Question 6

two-process model of phobias step one explanation

Answer 6

• step one - initiation, phobias created due to classical conditioning, neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus which causes fear, an association is formed the NS becomes the conditioned stimulus which causes conditoned response

Question 7

step two

Answer 7

maintenance - phobias maintained via classical conditioning, usually negatively reinforced as the unpleasant consequence of confronting phobia is avoided when the individual avoids situation, this reduces persons feeling of anxiety

Question 8

evaluation of two-process model (other explanations, 2)

Answer 8

• SLT, children observe role model reacting to phobic stimuli, reaction of fear and panic and avoiding stimulus is rewarding for them (vicarious reinforcement) so then feel motivated to imitate behaviour, supporting evidence by Mineka who observed rhesus monkeys and found after 6 sessions they became scared of snakes when parents were
• prepardness - Seligman - humans more ready to learn associations between different stimuli as we are more likely to learn fear responses that were linked to our survival in evolutionary past, inherited genes - contradicts behaviourism as it suggests we arnt born a blank slate but have an innate predisposition to develop fear responses faster

Question 9

two process model limitatios

Answer 9

• reductionist - attemps to reduce complex behaviours into simple explanations, suggests phobia ia aquired through simple stimulus and doesnt consider individual as a whole, ignored genetics
• deterministic - beyond conscious control of individual, removes free will, no awareness of behaviour just develop phobia if 2 stimuli are placed together

Question 10

2 types of behavioural treatments for phobias

Answer 10

systematic desensitisation
flooding

Question 11

systematic desensitisation explanation

Answer 11

gradual method of exposure either in vivo (real-life) or in vitro (reality) - uses principles of classical conditioning to systematically replace on CR with another (fear to calm) = counterconditioning
* step 1-sufferer is taught relaxation techniques
* step 2-sufferer constructs a hierarchy of fears, rate each situation
* step 3-relaxes at the end of each stage to replace CS with relaxation, person then becomes desensitised due to reciprocal inhibition as cant feel calm and fear at same time

Question 12

flooding explanation

Answer 12

(implosion) sufferer is directly exposed to their phobic stimulus, encouraged to remain in situation for a period of time till anxiety peaks, the level of anxiety cant be prolonged and eventually decreases, by not allowing person to remove themselves from situation theyre prevented from negatively reinforcing their fear.