PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR ANXIETY AND PHOBIAS Flashcards
1
Q
What is classical conditioning?
A
Learning through association
2
Q
What does the behavioral approach suggest about phobias?
A
- Phobias are learned behaviours through classical conditioning (acquiring the fear)
- and maintained through operant conditioning (avoiding the fear)
3
Q
How does classical conditioning explain phobias?
A
- Before conditioning- Neutral stimulus and response becomes a conditioned stimulus and response.
- During conditioning- A neutral stimulus is paired with a scary experience (unconditioned stimulus) like being bitten.
- After conditioning- This creates a learned fear response (conditioned response) whenever someone sees the conditioned stimulus again (the dog)
4
Q
How is a phobia/ or anxiety maintained through operant conditioning?
A
- Avoidance- The person avoids the fear stimulus (crossing street to avoid dog)
- Temporary reduction- Which temporaliy reduces anxiety which feels like relief.
- Negative reinforcement- This negatively reinforces the phobia, making it stronger over time (negative stimulus removed)
5
Q
What is operant conditioning?
A
- Learning through consequences (reinforcement, punishment etc)
6
Q
What is negative reinforcement?
A
- Increasing the liklihood a behaviour will occur by removing/ avoiding negative consequence
7
Q
What is Mower’s Two-process model?
A
- Step 1: Phobia is learned through classical conditioning.
- Step 2: Phobia is maintained through operant conditioning (avoidance = relief, reinforcing fear).
8
Q
Strengths of the psyhcological approach
A
- Supported by research- Research into classical conditioning (e.g., Little Albert experiment) supports the idea that phobias can be learned. Phobias can often be traced to a specific event, showing that they are not purely biological.
9
Q
Weaknesses of the psychological explanation?
A
- Reductive: Doesn’t account for phobias that aren’t linked to specific traumatic events. Does not account for genetic or unconscious influences.
