Psychopathology L5 - 7 (Phobias) Flashcards
What are two manuals used in psychology to classify psychological disorders?
- DSM-V
- ICD-10
What is a phobia?
Mental disorder characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a stimulus
Behavioural characteristics of phobias:
- Avoidance
- Endurance –> instead of fight/flight, freeze/faint
- Disruption of functioning
- Panic –> crying, shaking
Emotional characteristics of phobias:
- Fear
- Panic + anxiety
Cognitive characteristics of phobias:
- Irrational –> resist rational arguments countering the phobia
- Insight –> they are aware their fear is excessive
- Cognitive distortions –> distorted perception of stimulus
- Selective attention –> ignores all other surroundings
What is the behavioural approach to explaining phobias?
- All behaviour can be learnt
Who proposed the two process model for phobias and what is it?
Proposed by Mowrer.
1. Phobia is learnt by classical conditioning (direct)/ social learning (indirect)
2. Phobia is maintained by operant conditioning (by reinforcement)
What is classical conditioning and who was it first shown by?
Building an association between two different stimuli so learning occurs. First shown by Ivan Pavlov
Explain the process of classical conditioning
Little Albert by Watson and Rayner (1920):
1. Neutral stimulus eg. white rat presented
2. Unconditioned stimulus eg. loud noise from striking steel bar w/ hammer presented to make participant have an emotional response eg. crying
3. Now, when conditioned stimulus eg. white rat is presented, participant will have a conditioned response eg. crying
Explain one study that displays classical conditioning
Little Albert by Watson and Rayner (1920):
- 11 month old baby
- Repeated x3 and did the same a week later
- Hammer struck 6x
- Cried + started to crawl away
- Generalisation occurred
Give a strength of classical conditioning and explain this
Research support
- King 1998 supports classical conditioning
- Found after reviewing case studies that children acquire phobias by encountering traumatic experiences
List the weaknesses of classical conditioning
- Not reliable
- Some people have traumatic experiences but did not develop a phobia
- Some people have phobias but did not have any traumatic experience linked to this
Why is classical conditioning not very reliable?
Little Albert study has only been conducted once, as it cannot be repeated due to ethical issues
What research shows that not everyone who has a phobia had a traumatic experience?
- Psychologist Menzies found that 98% of the people he studied with hydrophobia had never had a negative experience with water
- Other findings show 50% of those who have a dog phobia have never had a bad experience with a dog
What is the social learning theory?
New patterns of behaviour can be acquired by observing the behaviour of others
Give research support for the social learning theory
Psychologist Minneka found that when one monkey showed a fear response to snakes, the others copied this, which can be applied to humans
How does operant conditioning occur?
- Positive reinforcement –> not feeling fear is rewarding so avoidance continues
- Negative reinforcement –> avoiding the phobic object to reduce risk of fear
List the strengths and weaknesses of two process model
- Effective method & clear steps highlighting how phobias are learnt and maintained
- Ignores other factors eg. genetic vulnerability/biological/evolutionary that can cause phobias
- Weak in explaining how adults learn to have phobias
What research support shows two process model is effective?
Bandura’s (1965) research shows that when someone acted like they were in pain in front of participants when a buzzer sounded, later on, the participants showed the same fear response
What is SD?
Systematic desensitisation is a behavioural therapy by Wolpe (1958) to reduce phobias using classical conditioning
What are three stages of SD?
- Hierarchy of fear
- Relaxation techniques
- Gradual exposure
How is a hierarchy of fear constructed?
- Constructed by therapist + patient
- Situations w/ phobic object ranked from least to most fearful
Give three relaxation techniques
- Deep breathing
- PMR
- Relaxation response
What is PMR and how is it done?
Progressive muscular relaxation
1. Tense group of muscles
2. Hold for few secs
3. Relax to previous state
4. Relax further to full relaxation
What is the relaxation response?
- Sit quietly and close eyes
- Relax feet muscles and do the same for rest of body
- Breathe deeply and meditate whilst doing this
What are the strengths of SD?
- Research support to show it eradicates phobias and is effective
- Less traumatic therapy w/less ethical issues
What research support shows that SD eradicates phobias?
- Jones (1924) eradicated Little Peter’s phobia w/ SD
- Presented white rabbit at gradually closer distances which lessened anxiety levels
- Developed affection for white rabbit and all other white fluffy objects
What research support shows SD is an effective therapy?
- Klosko et al (1990) assessed various therapies for treating panic disorders
Results show percentages that were panic-free after treatment: - 87% after SD
- 50% after medication
- 36% after placebo
- 33% after nothing
List the weaknesses of SD
- Impractical for some phobias, where real life step-by-step situations are hard to arrange eg. sharks
- Symptoms may return/ Symptom substitution may occur
- Expensive
What is symptom substitution and why may this occur after SD?
Symptom substitution= Other abnormal behaviours replacing removed behaviours
Critics claim the underlying causes of phobia will remain even if the symptoms are removed. This may result in symptom substitution or returning of symptoms
What is flooding?
Direct exposure to feared object in immediate situation
What are the features of flooding?
- No gradual build-up
- Can be done in vivo (irl)/ in vitro (imagination)
- Extinction occurs due to no avoidance option
- Fully informed consent must be given
- Relaxation techniques used
- Sessions last 2-3 hours
What are the strengths of flooding?
- Cost-effective as it is quick
- Rapid and effective therapy as said by Ost (1997) especially when exposure is encouraged outside of therapy
List the weaknesses of flooding
- Less effective for curing some types of phobia eg. social phobia, which is more reliant on cognitive aspects (CBT may be better)
- Highly traumatic experience that may lead to withdrawal, wasting time and money
