Phobias

Question 1

what is a phobia?

Answer 1

an irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 2

what are behavioural characteristics?

Answer 2

ways in which people act

Question 3

what are emotional characteristics?

Answer 3

ways in which people feel

Question 4

what are cognitive characteristics?

Answer 4

ways in which people think, know, perceive and believe.

Question 5

what are phobias characterised by?

Answer 5

all phobias are characterised bu excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object, place or situation.

Question 6

The extent of the fear is out of proportion…

Answer 6

to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus.

Question 7

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Answer 7

Panic- crying, screaming, running away, clinging

Avoidance- efforts are made to avoid the feared objects and situations to reduce anxiety.

Endurance- remaining in the presence of the phobia but having high levels of anxiety.

Question 8

what are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

Answer 8

Anxiety- unpleasant state of high arousal that prevents relaxation and positive emotion.

Emotional responses are unreasonable- the emotions are disproportionate to the behaviours caused.

Question 9

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Answer 9

selective attention to the phobic stimulus- attention placed on phobic stimulus once identified.

irrational beliefs- unsupported view. eg: spider will kill you.

cognitive distortions- exaggerated and irrational though pattern.

recognition of exaggerated anxiety- conscious awareness that anxiety levels are overstated.

Question 10

what is behavioural conditioning?

Answer 10

emphasises the role of learning in the aquisition of behaviour. Behaviour is explained in terms of what is observable.

Question 11

what is classical conditioning?

Answer 11

Learning by association. Occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together- UCS and NS, eventually these will produced the same response that was first produced alone.

Question 12

what is operant conditioning?

Answer 12

a form of learning in which behaviour is maintained and shaped by its consequences. Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement and/or Punishment.

Question 13

who proposed the TWO PROCESS MODEL?

Answer 13

Mowrer- based on behavioural approach.

Question 14

what does the two process model state?

Answer 14

states that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and then continue because of operant conditioning.

Question 15

Who aimed to demonstrate how the two processes model works in acquiring phobias?

Answer 15

Watson and Rayner (1920)

Question 16

what was Watson and Rayner’s aim?

Answer 16

aimed to demonstate that an irrational fear could be induced by classical conditioning.

Question 17

what was Watson and Rayner’s procedure?

Answer 17

They used a placid baby boy named ‘little Albert’, who at 9 months showed no fear of of a laboratory white rat.
at age 11 months they carried out a procedure to aim to induce fear, whenever the rat was placed in Alberts lap, Watson made a loud noise by banging together two steel bars behind alberts back 7x.

Question 18

talk about the Watson and Rayner’s procedure in terms of classical conditioning ….

Answer 18

loud noise= unconditioned stimulus
Albert’s response (crying)= unconditioned response
before conditioning rat= neutral stimulus
when Albert showed fear whenever he saw the rat= conditioned response.
rat was conditioned stimulus now.

Question 19

How did Mowrer describe phobias being MAINTAINED?

Answer 19

through operant conditioning.

Question 20

example of negative reinforcement?

Answer 20

A person who is afraid of spiders is likely to run away when they see one. The escape and constant reduction of fear acts as a negative reenforcement. this increases the likelihood that they will avoid spiders in the future. in this way the behaviour is maintained.
When an individual avoids a situation which is unpleasant, it results in an pleasant consequence, means behaviour is likely to be repeated.

Question 21

Evaluate the two process model using a strength

Answer 21

The two processes explanation of phobias has good explanatory power.
It provides an explanation of how phobias can be maintained over time which has important implications for therapies
because it explains why patients need to exposed to their feared stimulus.
By preventing patients practicing there avoidance behaviour their behaviour stops being reinforced.
This application to therapy is a strength to the approach.

Question 22

Evaluate the two process model using a weakness

Answer 22

one limitation of the two process model is that it does not explain the development of all phobias.
some people can’t remember an incident occurring that led to their phobia developing.
This suggests different phobias may be the result of different processes .
However, OST says that it is possible that traumatic events occurred but we just forgot them.

Question 23

What are the two behaviourist therapies?

Answer 23

systematic desensitisation and flooding (both use the principles of classical conditioning)

Question 24

what is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 24

a behavioural therapy
designed to reduce phobic anxiety
uses counter conditioning to unlearn the maladaptive responsibly eliciting another response = relaxation.
according to this two states cannot exist at the same time.

Question 25

when it says being fearful and relaxed at the same time, relaxation should take over fear, what can term does this link too?

Answer 25

reciprocal inhibitation

Question 26

After learning relaxation techniques like breathing techniques, the final component is exposing, how is this introduced?

Answer 26

An anxiety hierarchy, they start at the bottom and when the individual can stay relaxed they move up the hierarchy until they are completely relaxed.

Question 27

evaluate systematic desensitisation using a strength

Answer 27

Systematic desensitisation is suitable for a diverse range of patients.
A lot of individuals who have anxiety disorders like phobias also have learning disabilities. this make it hard for patients to understand what is happening during the alternatives like flooding, this requires the ability to reflect on what individuals r thinking.
therefore it is an appropriate treatment for individuals.

Question 28

evaluate systematic desensitisation using a weakness

Answer 28

systematic desensitisation is not affective at treating all phobias.
patients w/ fears have not developed thru personal experience, eg being fear of heights are not effectively treated by systematic desensitisation.
some psychologists believe that certain phobias have certain evolutionary survival benefit. result of evolution.
highlight a limitation= ineffective in treating evolutionary phobias.

Question 29

what is flooding?

Answer 29

an extreme behavioural therapy. Rather than exposing gradually. A person is exposed to the most frightening situation immediately.

Question 30

what is the justification between flooding?

Answer 30

person is unable to avoid their phobia (negative reinforcement).

Question 31

How does flooding work?

Answer 31

continuous behaviour= anxiety levels decreasing.
individuals learn that the phobic stimulus is harmless.
eg; extinction

Question 32

how many forms of flooding take place?

Answer 32

in vivo= actual exposure

in vitro= imaginary exposure

Question 33

evaluate flooding using a strength

Answer 33

one strength is that it is cost effective. research from Ougrin in 2011 suggested that flooding is comparable to other treatments in terms of effectiveness. this is a strength because patients are treated quicker and it is more cost-effective for health service providers.

u can use this a a counter argument=
although flooding is cost effective it is traumatic and causes high levels of anxiety. Although patients provide informed consent many do not complete the treatment because it is too stressful sometimes it is a waste of money and time.

Question 34

evaluate flooding using a weakness

Answer 34

a common criticism of flooding is that when one phobia disappears another may appear in its place. For example, a phobia of snakes might be replaced with a phobia of trains. this symptomm substitution suggests that flooding is not effective.