phobias Flashcards
what are the categories of phobias
animal type
natural environment type
blood-injection-injury type
situational type
other type
what is the diagnostic criteria for a phobia
persistent fear that’s excessive/unreasonable
avoidance of phobia
under 18- phobia lasts over 6 months
exposure to phobic stimulus provokes an anxiety response
anxiety/panic attacks due to specific object/situation that isn’t accounted for with another disorder
on average how many people develop a phobia
11%
how does classical conditioning explain how we develop phobias
we can acquire a phobic response in the same way Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate at different stimuli
phobic object becomes conditioned stimulus
how can classical conditioning be applied to phobias
can be applied to social phobias like paruresis and the resulting anxiety may become conditioned to avoid the situation of being in a public toilet (phobic situation)
if other people notice and laugh, this can be intensified
being laughed at= UCS
public toilets= NS
toilets= CS
produces the same response (CR) as laughter
how does operant conditioning explain how a phobia is maintained
if sufferers avoid their phobic object, this removed the unpleasant emotions so avoidance becomes a reward and reinforced the behaviour of avoidance
what is an example of how operant conditioning can be applied to phobias
people with social anxiety will feel a significant decrease in anxiety once they avoid attending large social events
the avoidance results in the removal of unpleasant anxiety symptoms so reinforces avoidance behaviour
this becomes the persons preferred method of coping with future social events
what is the supporting studies for phobias
Watson and Rayner
Cook and Mineka
evaluate phobias using Watson and Rayner (supporting)
this is a supporting study
Watson and Rayner successfully conditioned Little Albert to fear a rat via stimulus response pairings which was then generalised to other stimuli
demonstrating that phobias can be acquired through classical conditioning
evaluate phobias using Cook and Mineka (supporting)
this is a supporting study
monkeys developed a snake phobia by observing another monkeys fearful reaction to a snake in a video
this finding supports the role of social learning in the acquisition of phobias as the monkeys didn’t need to experience a direct traumatic event to develop their fear, instead they learned it via vicarious reinforcement
evaluate phobias using Watson and Rayner (criticism)
weak evidence
Albert had been reared in a hospital environment from birth and had unusual behaviour (never showed rage)
therefore Little Albert may have responded differently to other children so findings are unique
evaluate phobias using Cook and Mineka (criticism)
weak evidence
study only focuses on social interactions with monkeys
therefore humans may respond differently in this scenario as findings cant be extrapolated so it would limit the development of phobia treatments
evaluate the applications of phobias
practical applications that classical conditioning can lead to phobia development
Watson and Rayner demonstrated that phobias can be learned when a NS is associated with an UCS that naturally causes fear
this understanding lead to developments of effective treatments like systematic desensitisation
what is the acronym for treatment evaluation and what does it stand for
Different treatment
Ethics and control
Studies supporting or opposing
Side effects
Expense
Reason or mask symptoms
Time commitment
DESSERT
who developed systematic desensitisation
Wolpe
what are the 4 stages of systematic desensitisation
functional analysis- discuss phobia, identify triggers
construction of anxiety hierarchy
training in relaxation techniques- eg. control of breathing
gradual exposure- progress along fear hierarchy
evaluate systematic desensitisation using different treatments
flooding is an alternative treatment
unlike SD there is no gradual exposure so patients are exposed to stimulus completely at top of hierarchy
could help individuals overcome phobias quicker, gain a better commitment to treatment
evaluate systematic desensitisations ethics and control
treatment is fairly ethical
especially in comparison to flooding which involves placing patients into situations causing extreme anxiety
SD is more gradual and controlled so t reduces the risk of psychological harm and is more likely to be tolerated by patients
evaluate systematic desensitisation using a study
Capafons supports SD
found that individuals with a fear of flying who underwent SD showed significant reductions in fear responses
study increases credibility that SD is an effective treatment
evaluate systematic desensitisations side effects
no physical side effects
in comparison to biological treatments which involve medication that can cause side effects like nausea, drowsiness or dependency
drug treatments offer immediate action to reduce anxiety but SD cant do that
evaluate systematic desensitisations expenses
the treatment is relatively cheap and provided by NHS
many NHS trusts offer access to SD as a part of their psychological services for free
as its cost effective and widely accessible. SD provides an affordable option for people seeking phobia treatments, making it practical and equitable option for those in need
evaluate systematic desensitisations reasoning or mask symptoms
SD addresses root cause of phobias not masking symptoms
SD works at the core of an issue by helping patients to retrain their responses to phobic stimulus unlike medication that manages symptoms
meaning that it provides long term benefits by addressing underlying cause of fear
evaluate systematic desensitisations time commitment
this is a limitation of SD
typically involves weeks or months of therapy sessions depending on severity of fear
SD can be an effective treatment but the extended duration may be a disadvantage for people seeking quick results
what is flooding
exposure to the phobic stimulus that would be at the top of the anxiety hierarchy
what is the rationale behind flooding
patients anxiety if maintained at a high level will eventually reach exhaustion or stimulus satiation takes place
if patient is prevented from making normal avoidance response, extinction will occur
what happens to cause people to be calm when flooding occurs
parasympathetic nervous system will eventually kick in to calm them down
what does flooding demonstrate
phobias are irrational and the person will see this once they realise that the worst didn’t happen
evaluate flooding using different treatments
SD is an alternative
SD uses gradual exposure where patients build up to their worst fear over a period of time
this could help individuals overcome phobias in a more ethical way, better alternative to flooding
evaluate flooding’s ethics and social control
major ethical concern is psychological harm
individuals are placed in situations that cause extreme anxiety and panic
however progressive exposures can be used which are may be more tolerable
evaluate flooding using a study
Wolpe provided evidence for flooding being successful
he took a girl who was scared of cars on a drive until she calmed down despite her extreme distress at the start of journey
the study increases the credibility that flooding is an effective treatment
evaluate flooding’s side effects
flooding can have significant side effects
intense exposure may lead to a worsening of the fear, especially if patient isn’t adequately prepared for the overwhelming experience
this shows why flooding may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those who are more susceptible to harm
evaluate flooding’s expenses
can be a limitation
although typically completed in fewer sessions than SD, the intense nature of treatment often requires more specialised supervision and prep by a trained therapist
making it less cost effective than SD, which can achieve similar results at a lower cost
evaluate flooding’s reasons or mask symptoms
can be spontaneous recovery
which is when a phobia reappears after a period of time
this can happen with SD but its less likely because the process takes more time and creates a stronger disconnection between phobic object and fear, flooding may be a short term solution
evaluate flooding’s time commitment
difficult to predict the duration of treatment
some individuals may experience prolonged distress or may not respond as effectively to the treatment
this variability makes it difficult to estimate how long the treatment for phobia
