2 process model Flashcards
Good explanatory power and implications for therapy
another strength of the two-process
model was that it was a definite step forward as it went beyond the original idea of just classical conditioning to explain phobias. It explained how phobias could also be MAINTAINED over time and this had important implications for therapies because it explains
why patients need to be exposed to the feared stimulus. Once a patient is prevented from practicing their avoidance behaviour the behaviour ceases to be reinforced and so it declines. This can be seen in the success of systematic desensitization, which pairs the feared stimulus with relaxation, which are two incompatible emotions, as a treatment for phobias. The effectiveness of systematic desensitisation in addressing phobic symptoms lends support to the behaviourist explanation of phobias
Overemphasises the role of nurture in the development of phobias
limitation of the behaviourist model is that it focuses solely on the role of the environment in the development of phobias, whereas other researchers have identified that phobias have an innate
component suggesting that nature plays a part. Seligman (1970) suggested the preparedness
theory to explain why some phobias are more readily acquired than others. This theory proposes that humans have been ‘prepared’ by evolution to be fearful of things which in our distant past were a danger to survival. Our ancestors who were predisposed to avoid
stimuli like snakes, heights and spiders improved their chance of survival, resulting in them passing on these adaptive characteristics through genetic transmission to their offspring. This suggests that the behaviourist model of phobias, with its focus on nurture, is not a complete explanation of phobias.
Cognitive factors might also be relevant in the development of phobias
limitation of the behavioural approach to explaining phobias is that it ignores the role of cognitive factors. It should be possible to trace a phobia back to its original learning experience, but this is often
not possible. Ost & Hugdahl (1981) claim that nearly half of all people with phobias have never had an anxious experience with the object of their fear, and some have had no
experience whatsoever. If it is the same learning principles that underpin all phobias, then it
is not clear why only some people develop phobia following a similar trauma. DiNardo et al (1988) found that 50% of people with a fear of dogs had had some kind of negative experience with a dog in their childhood. However, 50% participants who had no phobias at all reported that they had experienced a traumatic event involving a dog. Di Nardo et al. noted that those who had developed a phobia tended to have focused more the likelihood of that kind of event happening again, suggesting a role for cognition in the development of phobias. This suggests that cognitive factors may play a role in the development of phobias
