Section 4: Psychopathology Flashcards
Define phobia
A phobia is a persistent, excessive or unreasonable fear of something to the point of impairment
What are the two types of phobia?
Simple/ Specific
Complex
What is the DSM- 5?
The diagnostic and statistical manual
What can the DSM-5 recognise about phobias?
- Specific phobias (of an object, or situation etc)
- Social phobia (social situations)
- Agoraphobia (being outside or in a public place)
How does age effect simple phobias?
They often develop during childhood or adolescence, and may become less severe as you get older.
How does age effect complex phobias?
They usually develop during adulthood.
What is the most common complex phobia?
Agoraphobia
Describe agoraphobia
Fear of open spaces- they can feel anxious about being in a place or situation where escaping may be difficult if they have a panic attack.
What are the characteristics of a phobia?
Behavioural, Emotional, Cognitive
Label the PHOBIAS acronym
P- panic
H- high levels of anxiety
O- out of proportional fear
B- beliefs which are irrational
I- irrational and immediate fear
A- avoidance
S- selective attention
What did Mowrer (1947) put forward?
The two-process model
Describe the two process model
- phobias are learned through classical conditioning (initiation). Phobias can be learned through association, often involving traumatic event.
- phobias are maintained through operant conditioning (maintenance) The ongoing avoidance or unpleasant involuntary physical response negatively reinforces the association
Name the case study used for phobias
The “Little Albert” experiment
When was the little albert experiment done?
1920
Who conducted the little albert experiment?
Watson and Rayner
What happened in the little albert experiment?
They made him learn a fear to rats (and then other furry things) by striking a metal bar with a hammer whenever he saw the rat. Within 7 pairings, a fear of rats was learned.
What are the two behavioural treatments phobias?
Flooding and Systematic desensitisation
Outline systematic desensitisation
This is the main behaviourist therapy to treat phobias and it is designed to slowly reduce the anxiety caused by the phobia using classical conditioning.