U4 AOS2 Dot Point 10 Flashcards
biological factors for specific phobia
GABA dysfunction
stress response
LTP
GABA dysfunction symptoms
anxiety
fight-flight-freeze response triggered more easily
what is GABA dysfunction
where the body fails to produce, release or receive the correct amount needed to regulate neuronal transmission in the brain
the role of the stress response in phobias
the stress response to a phobic stimulus is often triggered in the absence of any real threat and tends to be excessive
more likely to occur if there is also GABA dysfunction
Psychological factors in phobias
Behavioural Model:
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
Cognitive Model:
cognitive bias
memory bias
catastrophic thinking
ABC operant conditioning - phobia
Antecedent - fear and seeing phobic stimulus
Behaviour - Avoidance
Consequence - fear is reduced (negative reinfocement)
what is cognitive bias
tendency to think in a way that involves errors in judgement and faulty decision making
what is memory bias
memories are distorted though reconstruction to incorporate our fears
whenever we recall a past experience we exaggerate the difference between what we felt and what we currently feel
this leads to phobias growing over time
results in recalling only the negative information
what is catastrophic thinking
overestimating, exaggerating or magnifying a situation and predicting the worst possible outcome
underestimate ability to cope
social factors relating to phobias
specific environmental triggers
stigma
what are specific environmental triggers
a direct, negative traumatic experience with the phobic stimulus