psychopathology - phobias Flashcards
describe and explain the behavioural characteristics of phobias (3)
- panic - screaming, crying, running away
- avoidance - avoid phobic stimulus - may affect everyday life
- endurance - stay in room w spider to keep an eye on it
describe and explain the emotional characteristics of phobias (3)
- fear - immediate and extremely unpleasent response to phobic stimulus, more intense than anxiety but lasts for a shorter period
- anxiety - unpleasent state of high arousal preventing someone from feeling positive emotions or relaxing - less intense than fear but lasts longer
- responses are unreasonable - Anxiety or fear response is disproportionate to threat posed - Eg someone w arachnophobia might hyperventilate every time they think of spiders dur to fear
describe and explain the cognitive characteristics of phobias (3)
- selective attention to phobic stimulus - find it hard to look away from phobic stimulus- Eg fear of beards find it hard to concentrate on task if there was a man with a beard in same room
- irrational beliefs - someone w social phobia may think “ if i blush ppl will think i am weak”
- cognitive distortions - Inaccurate and unrealistic perception on phobic stimulus -eg someone who has ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) – see snakes as aliens and aggressive looking
what is the name of the model which explains phobias (1)
2 process model
(learnt through CC and maintained by OC)
aquiring phobias by classical conditioning AO1 (2)
- Learn to associate something we have no fear of with something that already triggers a fear response
Before CC
UCS (being bitten) = UCR (anxiety)
NS (dog) = no response
During CC
UCS + NS (being bitten + dog) = UCR (anxiety)
After CC
CS (dog) = CR (anxiety)
who carried out the research on Little Albert ?
Watson and Rayner
who proposed the 2 process model to explaining phobias ? (1)
Mowrer
give 3 evaluation points for using the behavioral approach to explaining phobias (3)
not all bad experiences lead to phobias
- some ppl experience bad experiences but dont develop phobias
- according to 2 process model it should
- suggests there are other factors that act as barriers against phobias
- cant be explained by 2 process model
Doesn’t consider cognitive aspects
- Reductionist + limits understanding
Applied to therapy - systematic desensitisation/ flooding
- Understand that avoidance maintains phobias so can counteract it eg Prevented from avoidance = phobia reduced
Little albert – research support
- Classical conditioning does play a role in acquiring phobia
CA❌ unethical
Can’t explain why ppl have phobias of things they never previously experienced
- many people have phobia of planes even though never experienced a crash or near crash or fear of heights but havent fell off high surfaces before
- These can’t have been learnt through experience, explanation is too simplistic + incomplete
AO1 : systematic desensitisation
- principles of SD (3)
- relaxation and exposure(2)
principles of SD:
- based on classical conditioning
- counterconditioning: learning diff respose: - phobic stim CS paired w relaxation (new CR)
- reciprocal inhibition: not possible to feel relaxed and afraid at same time so 1 emotion prevents the other
relaxation and exposure:
- patient taught relaxation techniques eg deep breathing
- work through anxiety heirarchy whilst applying relaxation technique
systematic desensitisation evaluation points (3)
preferred by patients
- less trauma than flooding
cant treat phobias than havent been developed by CC
- eg fear of heights (evolutionary phobia)
- of social phobia - caused by irrational thinking - more succesful treatment = CBT which terat the orrational thinking
requires complex rational thinking
- not suitible for ppl w learning disabilities
research support
- found that patients w arachnopobia who recieved SD were less fearful than control group (arachnophobics that didnt recieve SD) both 3 months and 33 months after recieveing SD = long term efficacy
flooding AO1:
- extinction (2)
- ethical safeguards (2)
extinction:
- no option for avoidance
- quickly learns phobic stimulus is harmless = extinction
ethical safeguards
- unpleasent + traumatic
- informed consent required
AO3 flooding (3)
less preferred by patients
- traumatic
- dont carry on till end
- wastes time and money
quick treatment
- small no. long sessions
- cost effective
cant treat all kinds of phobias
- eg social phobias are caused by irrational thinking not by an unpleasant experience (or learning through classical conditioning).
- cant be treated by behaviourist treatments - better forms of treatment = CBT which treats the irrational thinking.
