Psychopthology - Phobias

Question 1

What is the definition of a phobia?

Answer 1

A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation.

Question 2

What are the DSM-5 categories of phobia?

Answer 2

The DSM-5 identifies three categories of phobias:

Specific phobia: Phobia of an object (e.g., animal, body part) or situation (e.g., flying, injections).

Social anxiety (social phobia): Phobia of social situations (e.g., public speaking, using a toilet in public).

Agoraphobia: Phobia of being outside or in a public place.

Question 3

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Answer 3

Behavioural characteristics of phobias include panic, avoidance, and endurance:

Panic: A phobic person may panic in response to the phobic stimulus. This can involve crying, screaming, freezing, or having a tantrum.

Avoidance: The phobic person may go to great lengths to avoid the phobic stimulus, which can disrupt daily life (e.g., someone with a fear of toilets may limit their time away from home).

Endurance: The phobic person remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus while experiencing high levels of anxiety (e.g., enduring a flight despite a fear of flying).

Question 4

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

Answer 4

Emotional characteristics of phobias include anxiety and unreasonable emotional responses:

Anxiety: Phobias are classed as anxiety disorders, involving an unpleasant state of high arousal that prevents the sufferer from relaxing or experiencing positive emotions. Fear is immediate and directed at the phobic stimulus.

Unreasonable emotional responses: Emotional responses are out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the phobic stimulus (e.g., an intense fear of a harmless spider).

Question 5

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Answer 5

Cognitive characteristics of phobias include selective attention, irrational beliefs, and cognitive distortions:

Selective attention: If the phobic stimulus is present, the sufferer struggles to look away, which may increase anxiety (e.g., keeping focus on a wasp in the room).

Irrational beliefs: Phobic individuals may hold unfounded beliefs about the stimulus (e.g., “I must avoid spiders or I will die”).

Cognitive distortions: The phobic person’s perception of the phobic stimulus may be distorted (e.g., seeing a clown as sinister or threatening).