Psychopathology - Phobias

Question 1

characteristics of phobias

Answer 1

Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder. Anxiety is an emotion all people experience and is a natural
response to potentially dangerous stimuli, but phobias are characterised by uncontrollable, extreme,
irrational and enduring fears and involve anxiety levels that are out of proportion to any actual risk.

It is difficult to estimate how many people suffer from a phobia (as many do not seek help) but it is
likely that 10% of the population will suffer from a phobia at some point in their life.

Phobias can be long-lasting, enduring over many years. They often originate in childhood and sufferers
generally realise their reactions are irrational, but cannot consciously control them.

Question 2

sub types of phobias

Answer 2

specific phobias
social phobias
agoraphobia

Question 3

specific phobias

Answer 3

Fear of a specific thing e.g. spiders, blood, flying, water

Question 4

social phobias

Answer 4

Being over anxious in social situations e.g. public speaking, interacting with
others, crowds

Question 5

agoraphobia

Answer 5

Fear of leaving home or a safe place. Can be a response to avoidance
behaviours.

Question 6

behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 6

panic
avoidance
endurance

Question 7

panic

Answer 7

A phobic person may panic in response to the presence of the phobic stimulus. Panic
may involve a range of behaviours including crying, screaming or running away. Children may
react slightly differently, for example, by freezing, clinging or having a tantrum

Question 8

avoidance

Answer 8

Unless the sufferer is making a conscious effort to face their fear they tend to go to a lot of effort to
avoid coming into contact with the phobic stimulus, in order to reduce the chances of anxiety responses
occurring. This can severely interfere with their ability to conduct everyday working and social functioning. For
example, someone with a fear of public toilets may have to limit the time they spend outside the home in
relation to how long they can last without a toilet.

Question 9

endurance

Answer 9

The alternative to avoidance is endurance, in which the sufferer remains in the presence of the
phobic stimulus but continues to experience high levels of anxiety. This may be avoidable in some situations, for
example for a person who has an extreme fear of flying.

Question 10

emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 10

persistent excessive fear and anxiety
fear from exposure to phobic stimulus
unreasonable response

Question 11

persistent excessive fear and anxiety

Answer 11

• Phobias produce an emotional response of anxiety and fear. Anxiety is an
  unpleasant state of high arousal. This prevents the sufferer from relaxing and makes it difficult to experience any
  positive emotion. This emotional response can occur in the presence of or in anticipation of feared objects and
  situations.

Question 12

fear from exposure to phobic stimulus

Answer 12

Phobias can produce an immediate fear response, even panic attacks,
due to the presentation of the phobic object or situation.

Question 13

unreasonable response

Answer 13

Emotional responses to phobic stimuli are unreasonable and wildly disproportionate
reactions to the danger posed by the object or situation.

Question 14

cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 14

selective attention to the phobic stimulus
irrational beliefs
cognitive distortions

Question 15

selective attention to the phobic stimulus

Answer 15

A sufferer will often not be able to look away from the phobic
stimulus. From evolutionary purposes this would have been useful to humans so we are able to
react quickly to something potentially dangerous. However, this is not so useful when the fear is
irrational. For example, a pogonophobic will struggle to concentrate on what they are doing if
there is someone with a beard in the room.

Question 16

irrational beliefs

Answer 16

A phobic may hold irrational beliefs in relation the phobic stimuli. For example, social phobias
can involve beliefs like ‘if I blush people will think I’m weak’. This kind of belief increases the
pressure on the sufferer to perform well in social situations.

Question 17

cognitive distortions

Answer 17

The phobic’s perceptions of the phobic stimulus may be distorted.
For example, a coulrophobic may see clowns as scary and dangerous.

Question 18

acronym for characteristics of phobias

Answer 18

APE PUF SIC
Avoidance, Panic, Endurance
Persistent excessive fear, Unreasonable response, Fear when exposed
Selective attention, Irrational beliefs, Cognitive distortions