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Phobias Flashcards

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1
Q

What type of disorders do phobias fall under, according to the DSM-5?

A

Phobias fall under the category of anxiety disorders, which involve excessive, irrational fear responses that lead to avoidance and stress

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2
Q

Define a phobia

A

A phobia is an intense, irrational fear of objects, situations or concepts. This fear is disproportionate to the actual threat posed, leading to extreme anxiety

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3
Q

How does the DSM-5 categorise phobias?

A

the DSM-5 categorises phobias into three main types:
1-specific phobia, which relates to specific objects or situations
2-social phobia, which involves gear of social situations
3-agoraphobia, which involves fear of open or public spaces

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4
Q

what are the characteristics that come with social phobia (social anxiety disorder)

A

Social anxiety disorder can bring a fear of social situations or interactions for example being judged, embarrassed or negatively evaluated by others

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5
Q

What are examples of specific phobias?

A

specific phobias include things like arachnophobia(fear of spiders), trypanophobia (fear of injections) and claustrophobia(fear of enclosed spaces)

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6
Q

What is a common behavioural characteristics in response to a phobic stimulus?

A

A common response is to panic which involves things like:
-high stress and anxiety
-“freezing” on the spot
-crying and screaming
-running away
-passing out/fainting

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7
Q

Another behavioural characteristic is avoidance, what would a sufferer do to avoid a stimulus?

A

To avoid the suffer may:
-go out of there way to avoid stimulus eg. not booking a flight for a holiday.
-taking steps to ensure they’re not confronted with the stimulus eg. refusing invitation to social event
-informing others of phobia so they are aware

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8
Q

what do cognitive characteristics of phobias involve?

A

cognitive characteristics of phobias involve irrational thinking, cognitive distortions and selective attention.

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9
Q

what do cognitive characteristics of phobias control?

A

cognitive characteristics may control how the phobic person thinks about the phobic stimulus and the way in which they process information about the stimulus.

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10
Q

give examples of what might a person with irrational thinking and cognitive distortions think surrounding the phobic stimulus

A

a phobic person may believe:
-“What if i talk to someone new and they laugh at me and tell everyone I’m stupid”
-If I use an escalator my clothes could get trapped and I could end up injured”

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11
Q

what does selective attention involve?

A

selective attention involves the phobic person becoming fixated on the stimulus and unable to draw their attention away from it.

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12
Q

what is an example of selective attention?

A

example of selective attention:
-Staring at someone’s shirt buttons at a party due to the fear that the buttons will choke someone.

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13
Q

What do emotional characteristics revolve around?

A

Emotional characteristics revolve around the primary feelings and emotions experienced in the presence of a phobic stimulus

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14
Q

what is the key emotion surrounding phobias?

A

anxiety

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15
Q

What is the definition of a phobic response?

A

A phobic response is an extreme emotional response which is usually out of proportion to the threat posed by the phobic stimulus.

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16
Q

what does the two process model(TPM)assume about behaviour?

A

it assumes behaviour is learned through experience via environmental stimuli

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17
Q

what psychological approach is key to understanding the TPM?

A

behaviourism

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18
Q

what are the key mechanisms of behaviourism?

A

behaviour can be conditioned via classical and operant conditioning

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19
Q

how does classical conditioning relate to phobias?

A

it explains the development of phobias

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20
Q

what does operant conditioning explain in the context of phobias?

A

it explains the maintenance of phobias.

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21
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

It involves the transformation of a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus through association.

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22
Q

give an example of classical conditioning

A

Pavlovs dog, where a bell produced salivation in dogs when associated with food

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23
Q

what is the unconditioned stimulus in pavlovs experiment?

A

food

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24
Q

what is operant conditioning?

A

It involves the role of reinforcement in behaviour and learning via consequences

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25
Q

provide an example of positive reinforcement in operant conditioning

A

rats learn to tap a lever an receive food.

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26
Q

provide an example of negative reinforcement in operant conditioning

A

learning to tap a lever to avoid electric shock

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27
Q

according to the TPM, how are behaviours such as phobias learned and maintained?

A

they are originally learned via classical conditioning and the maintained via operant conditioning

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28
Q

what case study provides research support for the development of phobias?

A

The case study of little albert (Watson and Rayner 1920)

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29
Q

How did little albert initially react to the white rat?

A

He showed no anxiety or fear

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30
Q

what was the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in little albert conditoning

A

a loud, frightening noise created by banging an iron bar

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31
Q

what was the unconditioned response (UCR) in the little albert experiment?

A

fear response created by loud noise

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32
Q

What role did the pairing of the rat (NS) and the noise (UCS) play in Little Albert’s development of fear?

A

It created the initial fear response.

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33
Q

After conditioning, how did Albert react to the rat alone?

A

He displayed fear when he saw the rat without the noise

34
Q

What does the rat become after conditioning in Little Albert’s case?

A

The conditioned stimulus (CS) producing the conditioned response (CR) of fear.

35
Q

What do the findings from the Little Albert study suggest about phobias?

A

They suggest that phobias can be established via classical conditioning.

36
Q

How has the TPM contributed to the treatment of phobias?

A

It has led to therapies such as systematic desensitisation that aim to reverse the conditioning process.

37
Q

What is a strength of the TPM regarding therapy?

A

The TPM has useful applications for treating phobias.

38
Q

What is a limitation of the TPM in explaining phobia development?

A

It only focuses on conditioning and does not account for evolutionary origins of some phobias.

39
Q

Provide an example of a phobia that may have an evolutionary origin.

A

Fear of snakes (which can harm or kill humans).

40
Q

What is another example of an evolutionary phobia?

A

Fear of heights (due to the risk of falling).

41
Q

What limitation does the TPM have regarding individuals with aversive experiences?

A

It cannot explain why some people do not develop phobias despite having continuous aversive experiences.

42
Q

Give an example of someone who did not develop a phobia despite an aversive experience.

A

A person who was physically punished at school but does not develop school phobia (scolionophobia).

43
Q

What is the most commonly used behavioral therapy to treat phobias?

A

Systematic desensitization (SD).

44
Q

How long does systematic desensitization typically take?

A

It takes place over weeks or even months.

45
Q

What type of process is systematic desensitization?

A

A gradual, stage-based process.

46
Q

How does systematic desensitization empower the patient?

A

It puts the patient in charge of their own progress.

47
Q

On what principles does systematic desensitization work?

A

The principles of classical conditioning.

48
Q

What was the phobic stimulus initially considered before conditioning?

A

A neutral stimulus.

49
Q

What does systematic desensitization aim to achieve regarding the conditioned phobic stimulus?

A

It aims to revert the conditioned phobic stimulus back to being a neutral stimulus.

50
Q

What happens to the fear response during systematic desensitization?

A

It produces no fear response in the person.

51
Q

How does gradual exposure to the phobic stimulus help the patient?

A

It allows for ‘unlearning’ to occur, conditioning them to view the stimulus without fear.

52
Q

What are the three stages of systematic desensitization?

A

Anxiety Hierarchy, Relaxation, and Exposure.

53
Q

What occurs in the Anxiety Hierarchy stage?

A

The patient and therapist construct a list of situations involving the phobic stimulus, ranked from least to most frightening.

54
Q

What is the purpose of the Relaxation stage?

A

To help calm the patient physiologically.

55
Q

What technique involves controlling and slowing down the breath?

A

Breathing exercises.

56
Q

How does visualisation help in the Relaxation stage?

A

The patient mentally places themselves in a calming environment, such as a beach or meadow.

57
Q

What type of treatment might be used as part of biological therapy during desensitization?

A

Drug therapy, such as diazepam.

58
Q

What happens during the Exposure stage?

A

The patient is exposed to the phobic stimulus while in a relaxed state, starting at stage 1 of the anxiety hierarchy.

59
Q

How does the patient progress during the Exposure stage?

A

They move up the hierarchy stage by stage, checking for signs of panic and slowing down if necessary.

60
Q

What is the aim of the Exposure stage in systematic desensitization?

A

For the patient to reach the top of the hierarchy while remaining relaxed and in control.

61
Q

What is one strength of systematic desensitization (SD)?

A

SD is supported by research demonstrating its effectiveness.

62
Q

What study provided evidence for the effectiveness of SD?

A

Gilroy et al. (2003), which studied 42 patients with spider phobia.

63
Q

What were the findings of Gilroy et al.’s study on SD?

A

Patients showed less fear and more control over their phobia at 3 and 33 months compared to a control group.

64
Q

For which type of patients is SD particularly successful?

A

Patients with vivid imaginations who can visualize their phobia.

65
Q

What is a limitation of systematic desensitization?

A

It does not treat the underlying cause of the phobia, only the resulting behavior.

66
Q

What might happen because SD does not address the cause of the phobia?

A

The phobia may return, or another phobia may replace it.

67
Q

How does SD’s focus limit its usefulness?

A

It may not provide a comprehensive solution for phobia treatment.

68
Q

What challenge might patients face after therapy sessions?

A

They may struggle to apply what they’ve learned to real-life situations without therapist guidance.

69
Q

How does the patients struggle to apply what they’ve learned to real life situations affect the external validity of SD?

A

It reduces the generalisability of the treatment’s effectiveness in everyday scenarios.

70
Q

What alternative treatment might be more effective than SD alone?

A

A combination of biological (e.g., drug therapy) and behavioral (e.g., SD) treatments.

71
Q

What is a less widely-used and more controversial behavioral treatment for phobias?

A

Flooding.

72
Q

How does flooding differ from systematic desensitization (SD)?

A

Flooding involves sudden, extreme exposure to the phobic stimulus without a gradual approach.

73
Q

What type of approach does flooding utilize?

A

An ‘all or nothing’ approach.

74
Q

Does flooding place the patient in a calm state or involve relaxation techniques?

A

No, it does not.

75
Q

How long does a flooding session typically last?

A

A few hours, often taking place in one session.

76
Q

What is the goal of sudden exposure in flooding therapy?

A

To extinguish the fear associated with the phobic stimulus.

77
Q

Provide an example of flooding for someone with acrophobia (fear of heights)

A

Taking them to a high building and having them stand on the edge.

78
Q

What is the term for the absence of fear in the face of the conditioned phobic stimulus in flooding?

A

Extinction.

79
Q

Why does extinction occur according to flooding therapy?

A

Because the patient cannot avoid or escape the phobic stimulus; they must confront it.

80
Q

How does the perception of the phobic stimulus change for the patient after flooding?

A

What once filled them with fear is now regarded as ‘just a spider’ or ‘just a high building.’

psychology (11 decks)

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