Phobias (explanation) Flashcards
The behavioural approach to explaining phobias
1
Q
What did Mowrer 1947 propose?
A
The two-process model to explain how phobias are learnt (behavioural approach)
2
Q
What is the first stage?
A
Classical conditioning; inititation
3
Q
What does this involve?
A
A phobia being acquired through association
4
Q
What is the second stage?
A
Operant conditioning; maintenance
5
Q
What does this involve?
A
The likelihood of a behaviour being repeated increasing if the outcome is rewarding
6
Q
Who carried out the Little albert study?
A
Watson 1920
7
Q
How was Little Albert’s phobia maintained?
A
- through operant conditioning (Little Albert avoided anything that looked remotely similar to a rat)
- behaviour was rewarding because it allowed Little Albert to avoid fear so was therefore repeated (negative reinforcement).
7
Q
What did the study involve?
A
- every time little albert got close to the rat, a loud noise was made
- Little Albert associated the loud noise and the shock/fear that came with it with the rat through classical conditioning. - - rat produced a fear response, resulting in Little Albert’s phobia
8
Q
What is social learning theory in terms of phobias and what kind of approach is it?
A
Idea that phobias may also be acquired through modelling the behaviour of others
Non-behaviourist approach
9
Q
Evaluation?
A
- research support for the two-process model through asking people about phobias.
- Sue et al 1994; people with phobias often do recall a specific incident when their phobia appeared, e.g. being bitten by a dog.
- demonstrates key role of classical conditioning in developing phobias.
10
Q
Evaluation?
A
- cognitive aspects to phobias that can’t be explained in a traditionally behaviourist framework
- cognitive approach; phobias may develop as the consequence of irrational thinking
- Such thoughts create extreme anxiety and may trigger a phobia (e.g. thinking that you could become trapped in a room and suffocate)
11
Q
Evaluation?
A
- biological prepareness can also explain some phobias
- seligman 1970; animals are gentically programmed to learn an association between potentially life-threatening stimuli and fear
- as stimuli are ancient fers it would have been adaptive to rapily learn to avoid such stimuli
- explains why people are less likely to develip fears of modern objects like toasters
- suggests the behavuouyral apparoch cannot explain all phobias
