Phobias (characteristics) Flashcards
What is a phobia?
- Type of anxiety disorder.
- Characterised by uncontrollable, extreme, irrational and enduring fears.
- Induce anxiety levels that are out of proportion to any actual risk.
- The fear experienced leads to avoidance of the feared object and this is disruptive to everyday life.
How many people suffer from phobias?
- About 10% of people suffer from a phobia at some point in their life- but this figure is unlikely to be accurate as many do not report their problem and attempt to deal with it themselves.
What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?
Phobias effect the way people feel:
- Anxiety= this unpleasant state of high arousal prevents an individual from relaxing or experiencing any positive emotions.
- Fear= the immediate and extremely unpleasant feeling of being afraid that leads to feelings of being unsafe.
Cognitive characteristics of phobias
Individuals with phobias tend to process information (think) differently:
- Irrational beliefs= thoughts that relate to the phobia that don’t reflect reality or can’t easily be explained, for example a belief that all spiders are dangerous and deadly, despite the fact that no spiders in the UK are actually harmful.
- Cognitive distortions= inaccurate and unrealistic perceptions, for example, a belief that an encounter with the feared stimulus will result in a catastrophe.
- Selective attention= an individual may not be able to pull their attention away from the stimulus, for example, they don’t take their eyes off it.
Behavioural characteristics of phobias
Phobias have an impact on the way an individual acts:
- Avoidance= an individual will make a lot of effort to stay away from places or situations where their feared stimulus might be encountered, this can be disruptive to everyday life.
- Panic= screaming, crying, shaking or running away.
- Freeze response (endurance)- an individual may not be able to move until their fearer stimulus has gone.
