Behavioural app to expl phobias Flashcards
What is the two-process model
A theory that explains the two processes that lead to the development of phobias
1) they are initiated through classical conditioning
2) and they are maintained through operant conditioning
Classical conditioning: initiation
Phobia is acquired through association
- the assoc between a NS (eg white furry rat) and a loud noise results in a new stimulus response being learned
Little Albert:
They sought to demonstrate that emotional responses could be learned through classical conditioning. Their subject was an 11-month-old boy called Little Albert.
At the beginning of the study Little Albert showed no fear response to white furry objects: a white rat, a white rabbit and white cotton wool, i.e. they were neutral stimuli.
Watson and Rayer created a conditioned response to these previously neutral objects.
To do this they used a steel bar. When Albert reached out for the rat they struck the bar with a hammer behind Albert’s head to startle him. They repeated this three times, and did the same a week later.
After this, when they showed Albert the furry rat and other furry white objects, he began to cry.
They had conditioned a fear response to furry white objects in Little Albert.
Loud noise (UCS)= fear (UCR)
Loud noise + furry object (NS) = fear (CR)
Furry object (CS)= Fear (CR)
Little Alberts phobia generalised to other furry white objects. Little Albert showed anxiety when exposed to a non-white rabbit, a fur coat and Watson wearing a Santa Claus beard.
The same steps can explain how a person might develop a fear of social situations after having a panic attack in such a situation.
Operant conditioning: maintenance
CC does not explain why individuals continue to feel fearful, nor does it explain why individuals avoid the feared object.
Operant conditioning - the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated is increased if the outcome is rewarding.
In the case of a phobia, the avoidance of the phobic
stimulus reduces fear and is thus reinforcing.
This is an example of
negative reinforcement (escaping from an unpleasant situation). The individual avoids the anxiety created by, for example, the dog or social situation by avoiding them entirely.
Social learning
Social learning theory is not part of the two-process model but it is a neo-behaviourist explanation, i.e. the fear seems reduced.
Phobias may also be acquired through modelling the behaviour of others.
For example, seeing a parent respond to a spider with extreme fear may lead a child to acquire a similar behaviour because the behaviour appears rewarding, i.e. the fearful person gets attention.
AO3: beh expl to phobias
Str: importance of cc and slt
lim: incomplete expl
lim: biological preparedness
lim: ignores cog
sup: therapies
Beh expl to phobias str: therapies
SD
Flooding
Beh expl to phobias str: importance of CC
The two-process model is supported by research asking people about their phobias.
People with phobias often do recall a specific incident when their phobia appeared
However, not everyone who has a phobia can recall such an incident- could have happened but forgotten
Sue et al: suggest that different phobias may be the result of different processes. Eg: agoraphobics were most likely to explain their disorder in terms of a specific incident, whereas arachnophobics were most likely to cite modelling as the cause.
This demonstrates the role of classical conditioning in developing phobias but also the importance of Social learning
Moreover a n experiment by Bandura and Rosenthal supported the social learning explanation.
In the experiment a model acted as if he was in pain every time a buzzer sounded.
Later on, those participants who had observed this showed an emotional reaction to the buzzer, demonstrating an acquired fear response.
This demonstrates that modelling the behaviour of others can lead to the acquisition of phobias.
Beh expl to phobias lim: incomplete explanation
If a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a fearful experience the result should be a phobia, but this doesn’t always happen.
Di Nardo: found not everyone who is bitten by a dog develops a phobia of dogs
~ This could be explained by the diathesis-stress model. Proposes that we inherit a genetic vulnerability for developing mental disorders. However, a disorder will only manifest itself if triggered by a life event, such as being bitten by a dog. This suggests that a dog bite would only lead to a phobia in those people with such a vulnerability.
Therefore, the behavioural explanation is incomplete
on its own.
Beh expl to phobias lim: biological preparedness
The fact that phobias do not always develop after a traumatic incident may be explained in terms of biological preparedness.
Seligman: argued that animals, including humans, are genetically programmed to rapidly learn an association between potentially life-threatening stimuli and fear.
These stimuli are referred to as ancient fears - things that would have been dangerous in our evolutionary past (such as snakes, heights, strangers). It would have been adaptive to rapidly learn to avoid such stimuli.
This would explain why people are much less likely to develop fears of modern objects such as toasters and cars that are much more of a threat than spiders. Such items were not a danger in our evolutionary past.
This suggests that the behavioural approach cannot explain all phobias.
Beh expl to phobias lim: ignores cog factors
There are cognitive aspects to phobias that cannot be explained in a traditionally behaviourist framework.
An alternative explanation is the cognitive approach, which proposes that phobias may develop as the consequence of irrational thinking.
Eg a person in a lift may think: I could become trapped in here and suffocate’ (an irrational thought). Such thoughts create extreme anxiety and may trigger a phobia.
The value of this alternative explanation is that it leads to cognitive therapies such as CBT
For example, social phobia responds better to CBT than behaviourist treatments
