The Behavioural Approach to Explaining Phobias Flashcards
How are phobias acquired?
Through classical conditioning - associated a neutral stimulus with something that already elicits fear - the unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus then becomes associated with the fear response and becomes the phobic stimulus. This can then be generalised to similar objects.
What is the Watson & Rayner study that shows how phobias are acquired?
Little Albert.
How are phobias maintained?
Responses tend to decline over time however phobias are long-lasting. Operant conditioning takes place when our behaviour is reinforced - usually negative here. An individual avoids the phobic stimulus, which results in the desirable consequence of not seeing the stimulus so the behaviour of avoidance will be repeated.
What is the strength - RWA?
Its real-world application in exposure therapies. The distinctive element is that phobias are maintained through avoidance of the phobic stimulus, so systematic desensitisation and flooding both work to prevent avoidance and therefore the anxiety declines. This shows the value of the two-process approach.
What is the limitation - cognitive aspects?
This is geared towards explaining all behaviour, however we know they are not simply avoidance responses as they have a significant cognitive component. For example irrational beliefs. The two-process model does not completely explain the symptoms of phobias.
What is the strength - phobias and traumatic events?
Ad De Jongh - found that 73% of people with a fear of dentists had experienced a traumatic experience. This is compared to a control group of people with low dental anxiety where only 21% had a traumatic experience.
What is the limitation - not all phobias are acquired this way?
Snake phobias occur in populations despite most people never having seen a snake, and also not all traumatic experiences lead to a phobia. This means the two-process model is not as strong as we thought.
