Phobias Flashcards
What are phobias
An irrational fear of an object or situation that is persistent (6+ months).
Why help people with phobias?
Help improve human life, people cannot function, can pass down phobias to children
Behavioural meaning and 3 characteristic of phobias
The way is which people respond to things in a situation we fear. You respond by feeling High levels of anxiety and trying to escape. The fear response for phobias is the same fear that you would experience for anything else even tho the fear is irrational. PANIC, AVOIDANCE, ENDURANCE
Emotional definition and 3 characteristics
Ways in which people feel emotions that we experience in response to being around or thinking of the phobias stimulus. ANXIETY, FEAR, EMOTIONAL RESPONSE IS UNREASONABLE
Cognitive definition and 3 characteristics
The process of thinking, knowing, perceiving and beguiling. How people process information. People with phobias process info about phobic stimuli differently to other objects or situations. SELECTIVE ATTENTION, IRRATIONAL BELIEFS, COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS
How does the DSM-5 recognise phobias
All phobias are characterised by an excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object place or situation. The extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus.
What is specific phobia (DSM-5)
Phobia of an object such as an animal or specific situation such as having an injection, or a natural situation such as a storm
What is social anxiety (social phobia) (DSM-5)
Phobia of a social situation such as public speaking or using a public toilet
what is Agoraphobia (DSM-5)
Phobia of being outside or in a public place (not necessarily people related)
What does the behaviourist approach say to explain phobias
Mower (1960) proposed the two process model which suggests that all phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning
AO3 phobias Nuture
Takes nurture side of NN debate, ignores nature, unlike biological approach. Seligmen (1970) argued that humans are programmed to rapidly learn associations between potentially life threatening stimuli and fear, there are referred to as “ancient fears” which are things that would have been dangerous in our evolutionary past. So reductionist and assuming that we learned all of our fears and their may be importation biological factors affecting our phobias.
AO3 not encountered
People have phobias that they have not encountered and learned through operant or classical conditioning. For example lots of people have phobias of sharks but they have not encountered them to make that association for the fear. Suggests phobias could be learned from a young age of just through behaviour. Rosenthal did an experiment where a model acted as though they were in pin every time a buzzer sounded, participants were later observed showing an emotional response to the buzzer, they have queried a fear response just by watching the model.
AO3 practical application
Can provide treatment for phobias. Reprogram people’s phobias using classic condoning and systematic desensitisation. When u associate your fears with something pleasant and relaxing. Can improve quality of life as they can be successful in removing phobias. However may be open to abuse as people might condition phobias into people, like with little Albert and the rat.
What is SD
Systematic desensitisation
What is systematic desensitisation
SD is a behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce the phobic anxiety through the principle of classical conditioning. A new response to the phobic stimulus is learned (stimulus is paired with relaxation instead of anxiety), this is called counter conditioning.
What is the anxiety hierarchy in SD
Anxiety hierarchy is created by the client and therapist and is a list off things related to the phobic stimulus arranged in order from least to most frightening. Eg someone with arachnophobia would place a picture of a spider at the bottom and holding a big spider at the top
Explain relaxation techniques in SD
Impossible to relax and and afraid at the same time so one emotion prevents the other, this is called reciprocal inhibition. Could be breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation where you let go of the tension in your body.
Explain exposure in SD
Client is exposed to phobic stimulus while in a relaxed state. Takes place across several sessions, start at bottom of hierarchy . When client can stay relaxed slowly move up hierarchy. Treatment is successful when client can stay relaxed in situations high up on the anxiety hierarchy.
Evaluation of SD
- Evidence of effectiveness: Lisa Gilroy et al followed up 42 people who has SD for spider phobia, after both 3 and 33 months the SD group were less fearful than a control group treated by relaxation and no exposure. Shows SD is helpful
- Some patients may struggle to deal with the phobia outside of the therapy sessions. They may not be able to apply what they have learned to real, everyday situations, particularly without guidance from the therapist. This reduces the external validity of the theory behind the treatment
What is flooding?
Flooding is a behavioural therapy where people are immediately exposed to their phobia. Eg someone with arachnophobia would have a spider crawl over them for a ling time. Flooding sessions are very long and can be 2-3 hours, sometimes only one session is needed to cure the phobia.
How does flooding work?
Because the client cannot avoid the phobia they must endure it and they will learn that the phobia is harmless. This is called extinction: a learned response is extinguished when the CS (eg dog) is encountered without the US (bitten). The CS no longer produces the CS of fear. Sometimes a client may achieve relaxation because hey are too exhausted by their own fear response.
Flooding evaluation
- highly cost effective, phobias can sometimes be cured in 1 session whereas SD casually take around 10 sessions to see similar results, even tho flooding is 3 hours, still much cheaper. Means more people can be treated at the same cost with flooding than with SD.
- highly traumatic and unpleasant. Can raise ethical issues as psychologists know it causes stress to their clients, tho it’s okay cause they have informed consent. Trauma can worsen phobias, or cause such anxiety that patient needs to be hospitalised. Could result in dropouts.
What is VRET
Virtual reality exposure treatment. Used to merge you in your phobias by putting the person into their fear using VR, usually on a loop and can be changed to get harder. It’s gradual and repeated experience. Usually used for fear of heights, needs, animals …
