Phobias - characteristics, explanations and treatment

Question 1

What is a phobia?

Answer 1

A persistent, extreme and irrational fear of a specific object or situation which disrupts everyday life. The fear is disproportionate to the actual danger.

Question 2

What are the 3 categories of phobias

Answer 2

Specific - fear and avoidance of a particular object or situation
Social - fear of humiliation/embarrassment and being judged in social situations
Agoraphobia - fear of being outside or in a public place

Question 3

Behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 3

Panic - people may panic which activated fight or flight response. Show behaviours like crying and screaming

Avoidance - going into a lot of effort to avoid coming into contact with their phobia - causes disruption to a normal everyday life

Question 4

Emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 4

Anxiety - phobias are classified as anxiety disorders and involve emotional responses like anxiety and fear.

Fear - response produced when a person thinks about their phobic stimulus. These emotional responses are often unreasonable

Question 5

Cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 5

Selective attention - only concentrating on the phobia and nothing else

Irrational beliefs

Cognitive distortions- perception of phobic stimulus may be distorted and inaccurate

Question 6

Behavioural approach to explaining phobias - what are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach

Answer 6

Only actions/behaviour that can be observed and measured objectively should be studied

The basic processes of learning occur in all species

All behaviour is determined by environmental stimuli and behaviour is learned through classical and operant conditioning

Question 7

How does the two process model explain all phobias

Answer 7

Phobias are initially caused through classical conditioning and maintained over a persons lifetime by operant conditioning

Question 8

Classical conditioning explanation example using phobia of dogs

Answer 8

Pain (UCS) causes Fear (UCR)
Dog (NS) causes no response
Pain (UCS) + Dog (NS) causes Fear (UCR
Dog (CS) causes Fear (CR)

Question 9

Key research - Watson and Rayner ‘Little Albert’

Answer 9

Aim - to establish whether emotional responses such as fear could be conditioned

Procedure - Albert at 9 months old was presented with various stimuli to see his reaction such as a dog, a rabbit, a monkey, masks with and without hair, cotton wool, burning newspapers and a hammer striking a steel bar behind his head. Only the last of these frightened him and the rest were neutral as fear wasn’t produced.
Results - At 11 months the rat and the hammer striking the steel bar were presented together which occurred seven times in total over the next 7 weeks and at this time the rat alone produced fear. The dear response transferred to the rabbit, the dog, cotton wool showing generalisation but not to building blocks and the hair of observers showing discrimination.
Conclusion - classical conditioning caused fear and this was still evident one month later

Question 10

Classical conditioning equation for Little Albert study

Answer 10

Before conditioning
Steel bar with hammer (UCS) causes fear (UCR)
During conditioning
Steel bar with hammer (UCS) + rat (NS causes fear (UCR)
After conditioning
rat (CS) causes fear (CR)

Question 11

Operant conditioning explanation of phobias

Answer 11

According to operant conditioning, phobias can be negatively reinforced. The behaviour is strengthened because an unpleasant consequence is removed which is rewarding. For example a person with a phobia of dogs may avoid parks or cross to another side of the road when they see a dog to avoid the unpleasant situation of anxiety and fear

Question 12

Evaluation of behaviourist explanation of phobias

Answer 12

STRENGTHS
- research support from little Albert
- useful in developing therapies
- practical applications to flooding and systematic desensitisation

LIMITATIONS
- two process model doesn’t account for the cognitive processes associated with phobias
- not all phobias occur after a bad experience
- deterministic and ignores free will
- we may be predisposed to so,e phobias eg snakes to give human ancestors a survival advantage - hard wired and not learned

Question 13

3 steps of systematic desensitisation as a treatment to phobias

Answer 13

1 - relaxation eg breathing techniques, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation
2 - anxiety hierarchy - formed with patient and therapist from most frightening and least frightening stimulus
3 - exposure - gradually exposed to anxiety hierarchy whilst doing relaxation techniques. Each stage must be mastered before moving to the next.

Question 14

Difference between in vivo and in vitro

Answer 14

In vivo - person exposed to real feared stimulus
In vitro - non contact, uses pictures and images

Question 15

Flooding as a treatment of phobias

Answer 15

This approach directly exposes clients to the objects or situations they fear - there is no gradual exposure it is immediate. The patient is exposed to the phobia without any option for avoidance, patient is initially overwhelmed but this feeling subsides, patient recognises anxiety levels have dropped and realise phobic stimulus is harmless and are no longer scared

Question 16

Are behaviourist treatments for phobias effective? EVALUATION

Answer 16

Strength - research to support the effectiveness of flooding - Ost et al found anxiety was reduced in 90% of patients after just one session. This makes it time and cost effective as well as being extremely effective in reducing the fear, anxiety and phobia. However this treatment can be highly traumatic so there is risk of relapse or even phobia becoming worse.

Strength- research to support the effectiveness of systematic desensitisation- Lang and Lazovik looked at the phobia of snakes and split patients into two groups. Group 1 received therapy and group 2 didn’t. Group 1 were found to be less fearful and this was the same after 6 months, showing it is effective and long lasting. Further supported by Gilroy et al who also used 3x45 min therapy sessions.

Strength - further research support for flooding - Kneebone et al looked at treatment for a patient who had a fear of her feet being touched and found flooding was effective. This means that treatment is effective in a single session. This is good for the economy as people can quickly return to work.