phobias characteristics + 2 process model

Question 1

define phobia

Answer 1

an anxiety disorder that interferes with daily living

it is an irrational fear that produces conscious avoidance or a feared object or situation

Question 2

define DSM

Answer 2

Diagnostic and Statistical manual for Mental disorder

Question 3

what are the DSM-5 categories of phobias

Answer 3

• specific phobias
• social phobias
• agoraphobia

Question 4

give an example of a specific phobia

Answer 4

animal (spiders)
events (flying)
bodily (blood)
situations (enclosed places)

Question 5

give an example of a social phobia

Answer 5

social situations
public speaking
parties
meeting new people

Question 6

give an example of something someone with agoraphobia is scared of

Answer 6

• public crowded spaces
• leaving safety of their home

Question 7

what are the 3 characteristics of phobias

Answer 7

• behavioural
• emotional
• cognitive

Question 8

define behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 8

ways in which people act

Question 9

define emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 9

related to a persons feelings/mood

Question 10

define cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 10

refers the process of knowing, including, thinking, reasoning, remembering , believing

Question 11

what are the 3 main characteristics of behavioural characteristics

Answer 11

• panic
  (e.g: screaming, crying, running away)
  (children- freezing, clinging onto parent, tantrum)
• avoidance
  (e.g: someone with the fear of public toilets may have to limit the time they spend out in relation to how long they can spend without a toilet)
• endurance
  (someone with arachnophobia chooses to remain in a room with spider on ceiling than leave)

Question 12

what are the 3 main characteristics of emotional characteristics

Answer 12

• anxiety
• fear
  ( immediate and unpleasant response when we encounter/think about a phobic stimulus)
• emotional response is unreasonable
  ( a person with arachnophobia will have an strong emotional response to a tiny spider but most people would respond in a less anxious way even to a poisonous spider)

Question 13

what are the 3 main characteristics of cognitive characteristics

Answer 13

• selective attention to the phobic stimulus
  ( a person with pogonophobia will struggle to concentrate if someone with a beard is in the room
• irrational beliefs
  (social phobias can involve beliefs of “I must sound intelligent”. This increases the pressure on a person to perform in social situations)
• cognitive distortion
  (someone with mycophobia sees mushrooms as disgusting)

Question 14

what is the two process model

Answer 14

Mowrer (1960)

1. classical conditioning explains how a phobia can be acquired
2. operant conditioning explains how a phobia can be maintained

Question 15

explain watson and rayner’s study

Answer 15

Little Albert
1920

pre conditioning:
UCS –> UCR
loud bang from hammer hitting metal bar –> cry

during conditioning:
NS –> NR
white rat —> no response

UCS + NS —> UCR
loud bang + white rat —> cry

post conditioning

CS —> CR
white rat —> cry

Question 16

explain how phobias are maintained through operant conditioning

Answer 16

• negative reinforcement - when an individual avoids something unpleasant so the outcome is positive
  this leads to the behaviour being repeated
• mowrer = we successfully escape the feelings of fear and anxiety when we avoid a phobic stimulus

this reinforces the avoidance behaviour so the phobia is maintained