Phobias - Characteristics

Question 1

What are phobias

Answer 1

Anxiety disorder - irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of the feared object or situation

Question 2

3 types of phobias

Answer 2

• specific phobias
• social phobias
• agoraphobia

Question 3

5 subtypes of specific phobias

Answer 3

1 - animals (mice)
2 - natural environment (ocean)
3 - blood / injections
4 - situational (heights)
5 - other

Question 4

What are social phobias

Answer 4

They are phobias which involves an intense fear of a social situation or intense fear of having to interact with people

Question 5

What is agoraphobia

Answer 5

Fear of open spaces, being away from home

Question 6

3 diagnostic features of phobias

Answer 6

1. Intense, persistent, irrational fear of a particular object even or situation
   2, response is disproportionate and leads to avoidance of phobic object, event or situation
2. Fear is severe enough to interfere with everyday life

Question 7

Emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 7

Anxiety
Unpleasant state
Fear is immediate and extremely unpleasant

Question 8

Behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 8

Panic (crying, screaming, running away)
Avoidance
Endurance

Question 9

Cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 9

Irrational thoughts
The person knows that their fear is excessive
Thinking resists rational arguments about the phobia