Psychopathology - Phobias

Question 2

What is a phobia?

Answer 2

an irrational and extreme fear of an object or situation

Question 3

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

Answer 3

fear + worry

Question 4

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Answer 4

catastrophising

ruminating

Question 5

What does ruminating mean?

Answer 5

overthinking

Question 6

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Answer 6

avoidance

aggression

withdrawal

Question 7

What is the two-process model?

Answer 7

the theory that phobias are learnt through classical + operant conditioning:

patients associate a neutral stimulus with a traumatic event and strengthen the association through negative reinforcement by avoiding it

Question 8

How can social learning theory explain phobias?

Answer 8

identify with scared role model

imitate phobic behaviours of role model

indirect vicarious reinforcement through seeing their successful avoidance of stimulus

Question 9

What can social learning theory explain about phobias that the two-process model can’t?

Answer 9

how people develop phobias without a traumatic event

Question 10

What is the procedure on Watson and Rayner’s experiment into behavioural phobias?

Answer 10

one participant - baby

IV(1) - baby presented with white fluffy stimuli, no bar + hammer

IV(2) - steel bar struck with hammer each time he touched the white rat

DV - if baby still scared of rat without bar + hammer

Question 11

What were the findings from Watson and Rayner’s experiment?

Answer 11

after conditioning, when shown the rat Albert would cry and crawl away from it

this fear was generalised to other white furry objects, but less intense

Question 12

What are some strengths of Watson and Rayner’s experiment?

Answer 12

applications in healthcare - counterconditioning avoids drugs or surgery

Question 13

What are some weaknesses of Watson and Rayner’s experiment?

Answer 13

reductionist - ignores evolutionary or genetic fears (heights, spiders)

also ignores SLT phobias

poorly supported - only 1 participant - can’t generalise

mundane realism - stimuli presented aggressively after conditioning

investigator bias - Watson presented the stimuli himself and tried to scare the child after conditioning

ignores biological factors shown in brain scans

Question 14

What is flooding?

Answer 14

a behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders

Question 15

What is the method used for flooding?

Answer 15

the patient is suddenly exposed to an extreme form of the phobic stimulus and is taught to relax

uses the theory that anxiety doesn’t last forever - it eventually plateaus due to lack of energy

uses reciprocal inhibition and counterconditioning

Question 16

What is counterconditioning?

Answer 16

learning to associate relaxation with the phobic stimulus instead of anxiety

Question 17

What is reciprocal inhibition?

Answer 17

the idea that you cannot feel afraid and relaxed at the same time - one emotion prevents the other

Question 18

What is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 18

a behavioural therapy used to treat phobias

Question 19

What are the stages of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 19

therapist and patient construct an anxiety hierachy

patient is taught how to relax

patient is exposed to phobic stimulus at the bottom of the hierachy until they can relax in the prescence of it

patient moves up the hierachy until they can remain relaxed in the most feared situation

Question 20

What is an anxiety hierachy in systematic desensitisation?

Answer 20

a list of stimuli related to a phobia arranged in order from the least to most frightening

Question 21

What are some advantages of behavioural treatments to phobias?

Answer 21

treatment can be generalised to other phobias and overall is a good coping mechanism

research supports that therapy works - 33/42 patients found it more useful than no exposure to stimulus

Question 22

What are some disadvantages of behavioural treatments to phobias?

Answer 22

alternative treatments - sedation just before experiencing, good for phobias less frequently experienced (eg flying)

flooding makes phobias worse if unsuccessful, also seen as a last resort to patients so can cause depression/other disorders

therapy very expensive, therapists need lots of training

flooding less effective for more complex phobias eg social situations