ANXIETY explanations psychological Flashcards
(24 cards)
behavioural explanations
classical conditioning
maintenance of fear reactions
operant conditioning
classical conditioning
pavlov neutral stimulus at same time or right b4 food
so two stimuli associated
dogs salivated at presence of the neutral one like a bell or smth
bell nor conditioned stimulus
maintenance of fear reactions
fear acquired thru classical conditioning
mowrer 1947
fears maintained through operant conditioning
classically conditioned behaviours usually become extinct as the person learns that the conditioned stimulus is not always followed by the unconditioned stimulus
eg albert fear of rats shld become less intense as he learns rat not always followed by loud noise
operant conditioning
people w intense fears usually avoid feared objs or situations
avoidance helps escape unpleasant feeling of fear
avoidant behaviour neg reinforced and more frequent it becomes
but then person rarely in contact w feared obj so no opportunity to unlearn the association between conditioned and unconditioned stimulus
fear reactions also pos reinforced as provides comfort and reassuranced
well intentioned but tend to reinforce or strengthen the fear
behavioural explanation strength research
strength of classical conditioning as phobia explanation
supported by research evidence
watson and rayner 1920 conditioned albert
highlights role of learning experiences nurture in dev of phobias
behavioural strength application
phobias can be learned
so can be unlearned/replaced w new behaviours
realisation inspired dev of therapies like systematic desensitisation SD
where fear response sub for relaxation response in presence of feared obj
real world applications strengthen validity of explanation
behavioural nature vs nurture
weakness
ignores bio factors nature in acquiring phobia
doesnt explain why some fears can be conditioned easier than others
ohman et al 1975 fear of snakes can be conditioned w j 1 pairing of snake and electric shock
but 5 for pic of house
we may be genetically prepared to acquire some phobias more quickly than others
due to significance of snakes in our evolutionary past????
behavioural determinism vs free will
too deterministic weakness
research findings dont match w predictions
di nardo et al 1988
50% of sample of people scared of dogs never had traumatic experience to trigger it
ps in non phobic group recalled a traumatic experience w dog but didnt develop phobia
shows the explanation is over simplified
interpretation of events may be more important than the events themselves
stages of conditioning
BEFORE: UCS > UCR
DURING: NS+UCS > UCR
AFTER: CS > CR
psychodynamic explanation
freud believed without therapy people w phobia will never know why they have these irrational fears
bc reasons for these symptoms r stored below the level of conscious awareness in the unconscious
for freud symptoms of mental disorder including phobias are caused by unresolved conflicts from early infancy and childhood
id ego and superego
personality has 3 parts from birth to age 5
birth > id within unconscious
babies life all about meeting needs sooner the better
age 2 > ego
allowd them to make rational plans about how to get what they need
age 3-5 superego
sense of morality
part of it is conscience
makes us feel guilty about thoughts and wishes that conflict w society’s norms for socially acceptable behaviour
id and superego often in conflict
id may desire mother’s love and want to keep her to themselves
superego demands child share mother’s love w family and become independent
defense mechanisms
conflicts between id and superego resolved by ego using defense mechanisms
short term coping strategies
prevent us from becoming aware of anything that overwhelms conscious mind w neg emotions
eg shame anger fear
allow id socially unacceptable impulses to be accepted socially acceptably
id strongest impulses in freud’s mind were for sexual pleasure and aggression
dreamwork and wish fulfilment
ego use process called dreamwork
turn unconscious desires into symbols
linked tgt into dream
dreams help people express id’s desires
therefore purpose of dreams as wish fulfilment
manifest content of dreams > what we remember
can be interpreted to reveal
latent content > true unconscious meaning of dream
eg…dream about vigorously beating eggs in bowl = symbolise unconscious desire to attack a rival
psychosexual stages of development
divided first 5 years of life into 3 stages
each focus on diff area of body > erogenous zone
where child derives interest and pleasure
each stage associated w specific conflict/challenge to overcome
if conflict not fully resolved can lead to development of certain personality traits
thru process called fixation
oral stage
birth to 18 months
erogenous zone: mouth
pleasure and interest focus on sucking and biting
conflict: weaning off of milk to solid food
anal stage
18 months to 3 years
erogenous zone: anus, rectum
pleasure and interest focused on withholding and expelling faeces
conflict: potty training from nappies to toilet
phallic stage
3 - 5/6 years
erogenous zone: genitals
pleasure and interest focused on touching genitals and receiving attention from opposite sex parent
conflict: oedipus complex
moving from neg to pos emotions towards same sex
castration anxiety
fearful of castration as punishment for male infants 3-6 wanting to spend all time w mothers
jealous and angry of fathers
identification
neg emotions resolved by this defense mechanism
child develops pos feelings of wishing to be like father instead of competing w him
repression
if conflict unresolved neg emotions moved into unconscious via repression defense mechanism
this conflict is oedipus complex
once resolved next part of personality is superego > societal expectations and morality
poorly resolved oedipus complex may weaken superego and increase likelihood of immoral and impulsive behaviour
psychodynamic strength supported by evidence
little hans case study
psychodynamic strength development of new theories > application to life
led to development of psychoanalytic therapy
techniques like free association and dream interpretation
used in therapy w adult patients
explore troubling memories and resolve past conflict
freudian theory controversial bc lack of scientific evidence
BUT inspired development of new talking therapies
effective alt to bio treatment and confinement in long stay hospitals
weakness subjective
overreliance on case study data
evidence subjective
info al from fathers pov
father freud glazer
weaken the evidence for the theory in comparison w other theories
like watson’s behavioural explanation
weakness unscientific
no way of testing whether id ego superego interpretation is accurate
bc contents of the unconscious can only be inferred
not observed directly
