phobias Flashcards
1
Q
what is fear?
A
- response to something in the immediate environment
- fear = basic emotion that involves activation of the ‘fight-or- flight’ response of the autonomic nervous system
- functional value = alarm response to escape imminent danger
2
Q
what is anxiety?
A
- anxiety = complex blend of diffuse and unpleasant emotions and cognitions
- response to something not in immediate environment - further away (e.g., future)
- functional value = helps to prepare and plan for possible threat/danger
3
Q
why are women more likely to report anxiety than men?
A
- because more socially acceptable for women to display and express that emotion/emotions in general than men
- culture dependent?
4
Q
what is the adaptive value of anxiety?
A
- in mild or moderate degrees, anxiety is adaptive
- has been selectively favoured in an evolutionary sense: organisms able to response quickly and efficiently to life-threatening situations
- allows us to learn to anticipate upcoming frightening events by mobilising resources
5
Q
what are anxiety disorders?
A
- anxiety must be chronic and/or severe
- anxiety must be in response to things most people would not perceive as threatening
- anxiety = umbrella term to describe multiple different conditions characterised by unrealistic, irrational fears
- highly co-morbid with depression
6
Q
what is some of the criteria for a specific phobia?
A
- marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation
- almost always provokes immediate fear or anxiety
- actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety
- lasts for 6 months or more
- causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning
- not better explained by symptoms of another mental disorder
7
Q
a, ne, b-i-i, s, o
what are some different types of phobia?
A
- animal type
- natural environment type
- blood-injection-injury type
- situational type
- other type
8
Q
ubep
specific phobias are … ?
A
underpinned by evolutionary preparedness
9
Q
what does the psychoanalytic perspective say about phobias?
A
- phobias = defence against anxiety that stems from repressed impulses from the ID
- ‘too dangerous’ to know the repressed ID impulse
- therefore, the anxiety is replaced onto some external object or situation that has a symbolic relationship to the real object of anxiety
10
Q
what does the behavioural perspective say about phobias?
A
- many anxiety behaviours are learned
- Watson & Rayner (1920) = Little Albert study, classical conditioning
- fear can be a conditioned response
11
Q
what is Mowrer’s 2-factor theory?
A
- Mowrer (1947)
- explains appearance of phobia by classical conditioning (e.g., bitten by dog, anxiety, fear of dogs)
- maintained by operant conditioning (e.g., if you see a dog, you feel anxiety, so you walk away from the dog and anxiety subsides -negative reinforcement- but that reinforces your fear towards dogs)
- see this cycle in phobias
- can be conditioned just by observing someone else being scared (vicarious)
12
Q
what could cause a vulnerability to fear conditioning?
A
- familiarity with the object or situation & nature of past experiences
- the conditioning experience per se
- experiences after the conditioning experience
13
Q
what is exposure therapy?
A
- systematic desensitisation
- controlled exposure to the stimuli or situations that elicit phobic fear
14
Q
what is social phobia?
A
- marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others
- the individual fears that he or she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated
- the social situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety
- lasting for 6 months or more
15
Q
what does the behavioural perspective say about social phobia?
A
- classical conditioning = a neutral social situation paired with a negative outcome
- can also be vicarious
