Psychopathology: behavioural explanations for phobias

Question 1

What did the two process model state?

Answer 1

-phobias are learnt through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning

Question 2

how does operant conditioning play a role in phobias?

Answer 2

.avoiding the phobia causes relief of anxiety is an example of negative reinforcement as phobic behaviours become more likely because they want to avoid the feeling of anxiety

Question 3

Who created the two process model?

Answer 3

Mowrer

Question 4

What was the key study that supports this model

Answer 4

-little albert

Question 5

Who did the little Albert study?

Answer 5

Watson and rayner

Question 6

What was the procedure of the study?

Answer 6

-association of white rats with a loud bang

Question 7

What did the study find?

Answer 7

-white rats became a conditioned stimulus leading to fear

Question 8

What did the study allow to be generalised?

Answer 8

-the white rats were generalised to a similar stimuli (white furry objects)

Question 9

What was a strength to mowrer’s model?

Answer 9

-RWA:
.phobias can be treated by preventing avoidance application through systematic desensitisation -gilroy et al found it effective for spiders -therefore shows the theory is accurate as it has provided effective treatment

Question 10

What were some of the negatives to mowrer’s model?

Answer 10

-phobias don’t always follow after a traumatic event eg: snake phobia in the UK
-‘biological prepardness’:
.humans are genetically programmed to associate fear with a life threatening stimuli (seligman 1970) -it’s easier to acquire phobias from our evolutionary past so not just reliant on conditioning