Psychopathology: Explaining Phobias Flashcards
What approach does phobias come under?
The behaviourist approach
What is behaviourism?
Behaviour is learned from the environment
Which specific part of behaviourism does phobias come under?
Stimulus and response learning
What 2 ways do behaviourist believe behaviour is learnt?
Classical and Operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association. This is where two stimuli are repeatedley paired together until they become associated with one another
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequences and reinforcement. It involves both positive and negative reinforcement.
What is positive reinforcement?
Following a behaviour, a reward is given that strengthens the behaviour and makes it more likely that the behaviour will be repeated.
What is negative reinforcement?
Where a person avoids a situation that is unpleasant. This also strengthens the behaviour and makes it more likely that it will be repeated.
What does the 2 process model propose?
1) Phobias are aquired through classical conditioning 2) Phobias are maintained through operant conditioning
What is a neutral stimulus?
They don’t produce a phobic response
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
Unconditioned means that it has not yet been learned.
What happens to the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus?
They are paired together. This again eads to the unconditioned response.
What happens after a lot of repeated pairings? What then happens to the neutral stimuls?
The unconditioned stimulus is removed. The neutral stimulus then becomes the conditioned stimulus
Which two researchers give supporting evidence for the two process model?
Watson and Raynor (Little Albert study)
What was the white rat origninally, and what was Little Albert’s reaction? When was it presented to him?
The white rat was originally the neutral stimuls. It produced no response from little Albert. It was presented to him at 9 months old.
What happened to Little Albert at 9 years old?
A metal bar was struck behind him whilst he was platying with th =e white rat. It made a loud noise which produced the response of fear in little albert.
What was the unconditioned stimuls in Watson and Rayner’s little Albert study?
The Metal bar being struck and producing a loud noise
What was the unconditioned response in Watson and Rayner’s study with little Albert?
Fear
What was paired with what to make what in Watson and Rayenr’s Little Albert study?
The neutral stimulus (being the white rat) was paired with the unconditioned stinulus (being the metal bar being struck making a loud noise). This then formed the conditioned stimulus of the white rat, which produced the conditioned response of fear.
How can the behaviourist explanation of phobias be praised?
Due to its practical application of treating phobias, which lead to the formation of systematic desensitisation
Name one treatment of phobias.
Systematic desensitisation
What is the first step of systematic desensitisation?
The patient is taught to relax as deeply as possible (e.g. deep breathing excercises or visualisation of pleasant scenes)
What is the second step of systematic desensitisation?
They are then gradually exposed to the object or situation they are afraid of
What is the third step of systematic desensitisation?
They then move through different levels of exposure on a hierachy whilst in this relaxed state.
Which approach can you compare the behaviourist approach of explaining phobias to?
The biological approach.
What does the behaviourist approach state? What does it ignore?
It states that all phobias are learned and ignores anty biological explanations that might be involved.
What did Selegman argue?
Humans are genetically pre-disposed or susceptible to learn to learn an association with something that could be highly fearful.
What is meant by Seligman’s biological preparedness?
We may have an increased likelihood of developing phobias because of a specific variation in our DNA which pre-disposes us to this fear
Name another approach we could compare the beahviourist aprroach to explaining phobias to?
The cognitive approach
Whatm does the behaviourist approach also not take into account?
Cognitive factors. For example irrational thoughts which may create anxiety and therefore trigger a phobia
