learning theories and phobias

Question 1

what is a phobia

Answer 1

• type of anxiety disorder
• more serious than a fear
• affects emotions and social life
• complex behaviour

Question 2

what are the types of phobia

Answer 2

specific phobia
social phobia
agoraphobia

Question 3

what is a specific phobia

Answer 3

• fear of animals like snakes
• fear of objects like heights
• fear of illness like cancer

Question 4

what is a social phobia

Answer 4

• fear of public speaking
• fear of eating in public

Question 5

what is agoraphobia

Answer 5

• fear of crowded places
• fear of places with lots of people

Question 6

what is classical conditioning in phobias

Answer 6

• learning by linking two things
• ucs is paired with something scary (ns)
• person starts fearing the ucs

Question 7

example of classical conditioning in phobias

Answer 7

• loud noise (ns) makes person jump
• wind (ucs) heard before the noise
• person starts to fear the wind

Question 8

what research supports classical conditioning in phobias

Answer 8

• dollinger et al (1984): child lightning survivors feared thunder, lightning, tornadoes more than others
• shows fear can develop after scary events

Question 9

what research goes against classical conditioning in phobias

Answer 9

• kleinknecht (1982): tarantula phobics had no traumatic event
• hekmat (1987): only 23% of animal phobics had conditioning
• dinardo et al (1988): only 56% of dog phobics had conditioning

Question 10

what do studies suggest about classical conditioning in phobias

Answer 10

• some phobias come from scary events
• but not all phobias can be explained this way
• classical conditioning has limited support

Question 11

what is operant conditioning in phobias

Answer 11

• learning through rewards and punishments
• explains why phobias continue over time

Question 12

how does avoidance keep phobias going

Answer 12

• avoiding scary situations reduces anxiety
• this feels like a reward
• makes avoidance more likely next time

Question 13

what is negative reinforcement in phobias

Answer 13

• escaping fear removes anxiety
• removal of bad feeling is a reward
• makes escape and avoidance more common

Question 14

example of operant conditioning in phobias

Answer 14

• scared of parties so you don’t go
• anxiety goes away
• makes you keep avoiding parties in future

Question 15

what is observation in social learning theory

Answer 15

• seeing someone show fear
• example: child watches sibling scream at spider

Question 16

what is social learning theory in phobias

Answer 16

• learning by watching others
• fear can be copied from people we see

Question 17

what is vicarious reinforcement in phobias

Answer 17

• seeing someone get comforted for being scared
• makes it more likely to copy their fear

Question 18

what is imitation in social learning theory

Answer 18

• copying what was seen before
• example: child screams at spider like sibling did

Question 19

how does reinforcement keep phobias going in social learning

Answer 19

• child is comforted after showing fear
• comfort feels good
• makes fear response stronger next time

Question 20

what study supports vicarious reinforcement in phobias

Answer 20

• mineka and zinbarg (2006): boy feared vomiting after seeing grandpa vomit while dying
• fear was so strong he once feared being sick so much he thought about suicide

Question 21

how did dubi et al (2008) support social learning in phobias

Answer 21

• toddlers watched mums react negatively to spiders and snakes
• toddlers then feared and avoided those objects
• shows fear can be learned by watching others (maternal modelling)