Behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Question 1

What is the behavioural approach

Answer 1

-Behaviourism is a theory of learning which states all behaviours are learned through interactions with the environment through a process called conditioning
- behaviour is simply a response to environmental stimuli

Question 2

What is classical conditioning

Answer 2

Learning through association

Question 3

What is the famous research associated with classical conditioning

Answer 3

• Watson’s Little Albert
• Pavlov’s salivating dogs

Question 4

What is operant conditioning

Answer 4

Learning through consequences

Question 5

What is the famous research associated with operant conditioning

Answer 5

• Skinner’s boxes

Question 6

What is Mowrer’s 2 process model

Answer 6

1. Phobias are acquired or inhibited through classical conditioning
2. Phobias are maintained or continued through operant conditioning

Question 7

What are the behavioural approaches to treating phobias

Answer 7

• flooding
• systematic desensitisation

Question 8

Systematic desensitisation includes what 3 processes

Answer 8

1. Anxiety hierarchy
2. Relaxation
3. Gradual exposure

Question 9

How does flooding work

Answer 9

• stops phobic responses quickly
• prevents avoidance
• patient learns quickly the phobic stimuli is harmless (extinction)
• may only take 1 session to cure a phobia

Question 10

Case study for flooding

Answer 10

• Wolfe (2009)
• teenage girl with phobia of cars
• forced into car, driven round for 4 hrs
• hysteria gradually subsided to relaxation
• not phobic by end of journey

Question 11

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 11

the patient is exposed to progressively more anxiety-provoking stimuli and taught relaxation techniques.