psychopathology 1.3

Question 1

two process model

Answer 1

phobias are initiated through classical conditioning (learning through association) and maintained through operant conditioning (negative reinforcement)

Question 2

acquisition of phobias

Answer 2

phobic objects are at first a NS and do not produce a phobic response

however, if then presented with an UCS that produces an UCR then the NS will become associated with the UCS

the fear will occur whenever the NS is there

the NS becomes a CS and the UCR becomes the CR

Question 3

generalisation

Answer 3

phobia applies to similar objects

Question 4

maintenance of phobias

Answer 4

if person avoids phobic stimulus, anxiety is greatly reduced, which is rewarding for sufferer

operant conditioning happens when behaviour is reinforced negatively, by being rewarded by not experiencing anxiety the avoidant behaviour is reinforced

Question 5

example of acquisition of phobia

Answer 5

Little Albert (1920)

watson and rayner wanted to study development of phobias

9 month old baby called Little Albert

start of study, Albert showed no unusual anxiety of worries about different objects

Albert tried to play with white rat and they made a loud scary noise by banging on iron bar

noise (UCS) created fear response
rat (NS) + (UCS) became associated and created fear response
displayed fear when saw rat (NS)
rat then became the (CS) that produces the (CR) and phobia started
Watson and Rayner showed that the (CS) could be generalised to similar objects e.g. when they showed Albert other fluffy objects such as Santa’s beard and a fur coat Albert showed distress at all of them

his phobia became generalised

Question 6

why wouldn’t the Little Albert experiment take place today?

Answer 6

due to ethics and harm Albert was put under

Question 7

supporting evidence for behavioural explanations of phobias AO3

Answer 7

Watson and Rayner Little Albert

Albert was presented with a range of animals to see his emotional reaction, included white rate

normal reactions, no fear

at 11 months old he was presented with them again, loud noise behind him

Albert cried and moved away, they repeated this

white rat (NS) paired with (UCS) of loud noise which led to rat becoming (CS)

Question 8

practical application behavioural explanations of phobias AO3

Answer 8

able to treat phobias

systematic desensitisation, applying principles of classical conditioning to learn to associate fear object with a new response

patient taught to relax as deeply as possible e.g. deep breathing

gradually exposed to fear object and then move through different levels of exposure on a hierarchy whilst in relaxed state

e.g. associate balloon with something relaxing because can’t be anxious and scared at same time

Question 9

comparision with biological explanations AO3

Answer 9

behaviourist explanation - all phobias learnt, doesn’t consider biology

sometimes people experience same incident but don’t develop a phobia

Seligman (1971) argued that sometimes humans are genetically predisposed or susceptible to learn an association that could be highly fearful because in the past we’ve evolved to understabd potential threats

biological prepardness

increased likelihood of developing certain phobias because of a specific variation in our DNA which predisposes us to this fear

as a result, could be argued behaviourist explanation alone can’t account for development of all phobias

Question 10

comparision with cognitive explanations AO3

Answer 10

doesn’t take into role of cognitive factors

there are aspects to phobias which can’t be explained through behaviourist principles

e.g. one key characteristic of phobias is irrational thoughts which create anxiety and may trigger a phobia

researchers like Beck have drawn attention to importance of irrational thoughts like over-generalising and catastrophising that can be involved in people’s fear

therefore could be argued behaviourist explanation of phobias is oversimplified because it neglects cognitive processes

Question 11

systematic desensitisation

Answer 11

main behaviourist therapy used to treat phobias

designed to slowly reduce the anxiety caused by the phobia using classical conditioning

Question 12

3 processes involved in systematic desensitisation

Answer 12

anxiety hierarchy

relaxation

exposure

Question 13

anxiety hierarchy

Answer 13

patient and therapist work together to create anxiety hierarchy

a list of situations that involve the phobic stimulus ordered from least to most frightening

Question 14

relaxation

Answer 14

it is impossible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time and so the therapist teaches the patient relaxation techniques

could be in form of breathing exercises or imagining techniques (imagine self in relaxing situation)

could also include medication to relax, valium

Question 15

exposure

Answer 15

whilst in relaxed state, being exposed to phobic stimulus

exposure starts at bottom of hierarchy

likely to take several sessions

once relaxed in lower levels, they move up the scale

aim of treatment is to allow the patient to be successful and move to top of hierarchy while being relaxed

Question 16

supporting evidence for SD (snakes)

Answer 16

range of supporting evidence for positive impact

research was done into people with fear of snakes

students went through 11 sessions, anxiety hierarchy

relaxation techniques were used which included the use of hypnosis to help people stay relaxed

p’s fear ratings were reduced and effect lasted 6 months later

Question 17

supporting evidence for SD (flying)

Answer 17

rothbaum et al (2000) used virtual reality exposure therapy as well as standard exposure with people who had a fear of flying

p’s were given 8 sessions over 6 weeks

following treatment, p’s agreed to take a real flight where they measured participants willingness to fly and their anxiety levels

anxiety levels were lower than a control group who hadn’t received SD, maintained 6 months later

Question 18

strength of SD (less traumatic compared to flooding)

Answer 18

due to gradual exposure to fear stimulus as well as the experience of relaxation

whereas being immediately exposed to your feared object in flooding can be quite a shock and difficult to handle which may not be suitable for many people

Question 19

limitation of SD (doesn’t treat cause)

Answer 19

SD doesn’t treat the cause of the phobia, only the behaviour it causes

may lead to patient being vulnerable to other phobias developing

Question 20

limitation of SD (time consuming)

Answer 20

biological treatments involve use of drug medication such as beta blockers and benzodiazepines

these drugs can be very beneficial as short term solutions as they reduce the physiological response that people have to a fear, doesn’t take long

Question 21

flooding

Answer 21

a person to their phobic stimulus gradually, a person is exposed to the most frightening situation immediately

e.g. a person with a phobia of dogs would be placed in a room with a dog and asked to stroke the dog straight away

Question 22

what is a person unable to do in flooding

Answer 22

person is unable to avoid (negatively reinforce) their phobia and through continuous exposure, anxiety levels decrease

Question 23

how does flooding differ to SD?

Answer 23

there is no anxiety hierarchy made, exposed to fear all at once

takes much less time

Question 24

what 2 forms can flooding take?

Answer 24

in vivo (actual exposure)

in vitro (imaginary exposure)

Question 25

process of flooding

Answer 25

patient receiving treatment will be flooded with immediate exposure to their phobia e.g. fear of heights taken to stand on edge of tall building

flooding is designed to stop the phobic response using a ‘short, sharp, shock’ approach

patient can’t avoid phobic stimulus, avoidance is prevented and patient is ‘magically cured’

phobic response stops, learned response becomes extinct

results in counter-conditioning

Question 26

counter-conditioning

Answer 26

conditioning someone to change their response from fear to excitement or excitement to fear

Question 27

strengths of flooding

Answer 27

cost effective, although sessions are usually longer than SD, fewer sessions are needed

works well with simple phobias e.g. arachnaphobia

Question 28

limitations of flooding

Answer 28

can be very traumatic and may be ethically compromised, Schumacher et al (2015) found patients and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD

less effective with more complex phobias such as social phobias