Characteristics

Question 1

What is a phobia?

Answer 1

A disorder characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a particular stimulus or a group of stimuli. The anxiety interferes with normal living.

Question 2

What are the behavioural characteristics of a phobia?

Answer 2

Panic: responding to a situation by freezing, becoming clingy or having a panic attack.
Avoidance: Avoiding coming into contact with the phobic stimulus, it interferes significantly with the persons normal routine, occupation, social activities or relationships
Endurance: They remain in the presence of the stimulus and continue to experience high levels of anxiety.

Question 3

What are the emotional characteristics of a phobia?

Answer 3

Anxiety: High arousal which prevents the sufferer relaxing & it makes it very difficult to experience any positive emotion.
Being unreasonable: The individual often suffers from a strong emotional response which is disproportionate to the danger posed.

Question 4

What are the cognitive characteristics of a phobia?

Answer 4

Selective attention: It is hard to look away and stop thinking about the stimulus
Irrational beliefs: The individual often resists rational arguments.
Cognitive distortions: The phobic perception of the stimulus may be distorted.