Phobias Flashcards
what type of disorder is a phobia?
an anxiety disorder
define what a phobia is?
a irrational fear of something that poses little/no actual danger
what are SPECIFIC phobias?
phobias of an object or situation
what are SOCIAL phobias?
phobias of social situations
what is agoraphobia?
fear of public places or the outside world
3 behavioural characteristics of phobias
endurance - remaining in the presence of the phobia stimulus
avoidance
panicked response
3 cognitive characteristics of phobias
selective attention - only concentrating on the stimulus
self-critical - aware its irrational and blame themselves
irrational belief - that the stimulus is dangerous /deadly and resistance to rational arguments
what is the two process model TPM?
assumes behaviour is learned through classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning
How does classical conditioning explain phobia development?
phobias can develop when a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that causes fear - making the neutral stimulus itself induce fear
what is operant conditioning in the context of the TPM?
operant conditioning is learning via consequences, where behaviour is reinforced through positive/negative reinforcement
what is positive reinforcement in operant conditioning?
rewarding behaviour (avoiding a fear gives person relief)
what is negative reinforcement in operant conditioning?
removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage behaviour (avoiding a fear reduces anxiety)
What 2 people did the Little Albert case study
Watson and Rayner
How did Rayner and Watson demonstrate that an irrational fear could be induced using classical conditioning?
Whenever a rat was placed in Alberts lap, watson made a loud noise behind Albers back.
Loud noise = (UCS)
Alberts crying (UCR)
Before conditioning - rat = (NS)
After conditioning - rat = (CS)
what is - the tendency to respond in the same way to stimuli that are similar but not identical to the CS - called?
generalisation
what is - the return of a CR in a weaker form after a period of time when it had subsided - called?
spontaneous recovery
what is - the gradual weakening of a CR by breaking the association between the CS and UCS - called?
extinction
what is - learning to differentiate among similar stimuli and respond appropriately to each one - called?
discrimination
2 strengths of the two process model
1 . real world application, eg exposure therapy through systematic desensitisation.
2. there is evidence that links bad experiences and phobias
2 limitations of the two process model?
- doesnt account for cognitive factors behind a phobia
- doesnt justify evolutionary explanations
what is systematic desensitisation?
behavioural therapy which reduces phobic anxiety through classical conditioning and a gradual process
what is the aim of systematic desensitisation?
to relax the patient in the presence of a phobic stimulus and to learn a counter - conditioning response
what are the 3 process of SD
- anxiety hierarchy
- relaxation
- exposure
what does the anxiety hierarchy process involve?
the patient ranks situations from least to most frightening relating to their phobia
what does the relaxation process involve
breathing exercises, mental imagery techniques, meditation , Valium
what does the exposure process involve?
whilst relaxed, the patient is exposed to the stimulus in line with the hierarchy
what are 3 strengths of SD
- it is effective
- appropriate for all people
- flexible
what are 3 limitations of SD
- ignores cognitive
- expensive
- long process
what is flooding?
exposing patients to their phobic stimulus without a gradual build up
how long does flooding usually take
2-3 hours
how are clients prepared before flooding
they are taught relaxation techniques before they face their fear
what happens in flooding?
The client is unable to avoid the situation and eventually learns that their phobic stimulus isnt harmful ( extinction)
so now the learned response is extinguished when the CS is encountered without the UCS
Why does flooding work?
clients exhaust themselves by their own fear and become relaxed
2 strengths of flooding
effective
cheaper than SD
3 limitations of flooding
traumatic
high drop out rates
not appropriate for all phobias
