Phobias

Question 1

what type of disorder is a phobia?

Answer 1

an anxiety disorder

Question 2

define what a phobia is?

Answer 2

a irrational fear of something that poses little/no actual danger

Question 3

what are SPECIFIC phobias?

Answer 3

phobias of an object or situation

Question 4

what are SOCIAL phobias?

Answer 4

phobias of social situations

Question 5

what is agoraphobia?

Answer 5

fear of public places or the outside world

Question 6

3 behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 6

endurance - remaining in the presence of the phobia stimulus

avoidance

panicked response

Question 7

3 cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 7

selective attention - only concentrating on the stimulus

self-critical - aware its irrational and blame themselves

irrational belief - that the stimulus is dangerous /deadly and resistance to rational arguments

Question 8

what is the two process model TPM?

Answer 8

assumes behaviour is learned through classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning

Question 9

How does classical conditioning explain phobia development?

Answer 9

phobias can develop when a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that causes fear - making the neutral stimulus itself induce fear

Question 10

what is operant conditioning in the context of the TPM?

Answer 10

operant conditioning is learning via consequences, where behaviour is reinforced through positive/negative reinforcement

Question 11

what is positive reinforcement in operant conditioning?

Answer 11

rewarding behaviour (avoiding a fear gives person relief)

Question 12

what is negative reinforcement in operant conditioning?

Answer 12

removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage behaviour (avoiding a fear reduces anxiety)

Question 13

What 2 people did the Little Albert case study

Answer 13

Watson and Rayner

Question 14

How did Rayner and Watson demonstrate that an irrational fear could be induced using classical conditioning?

Answer 14

Whenever a rat was placed in Alberts lap, watson made a loud noise behind Albers back.
Loud noise = (UCS)
Alberts crying (UCR)
Before conditioning - rat = (NS)
After conditioning - rat = (CS)

Question 15

what is - the tendency to respond in the same way to stimuli that are similar but not identical to the CS - called?

Answer 15

generalisation

Question 16

what is - the return of a CR in a weaker form after a period of time when it had subsided - called?

Answer 16

spontaneous recovery

Question 17

what is - the gradual weakening of a CR by breaking the association between the CS and UCS - called?

Answer 17

extinction

Question 18

what is - learning to differentiate among similar stimuli and respond appropriately to each one - called?

Answer 18

discrimination

Question 19

2 strengths of the two process model

Answer 19

1 . real world application, eg exposure therapy through systematic desensitisation.
2. there is evidence that links bad experiences and phobias

Question 20

2 limitations of the two process model?

Answer 20

1. doesnt account for cognitive factors behind a phobia
2. doesnt justify evolutionary explanations

Question 21

what is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 21

behavioural therapy which reduces phobic anxiety through classical conditioning and a gradual process

Question 22

what is the aim of systematic desensitisation?

Answer 22

to relax the patient in the presence of a phobic stimulus and to learn a counter - conditioning response

Question 23

what are the 3 process of SD

Answer 23

1. anxiety hierarchy
2. relaxation
3. exposure

Question 24

what does the anxiety hierarchy process involve?

Answer 24

the patient ranks situations from least to most frightening relating to their phobia

Question 25

what does the relaxation process involve

Answer 25

breathing exercises, mental imagery techniques, meditation , Valium

Question 26

what does the exposure process involve?

Answer 26

whilst relaxed, the patient is exposed to the stimulus in line with the hierarchy

Question 27

what are 3 strengths of SD

Answer 27

- it is effective - appropriate for all people - flexible

Question 28

what are 3 limitations of SD

Answer 28

- ignores cognitive - expensive - long process

Question 28

what is flooding?

Answer 28

exposing patients to their phobic stimulus without a gradual build up

Question 29

how long does flooding usually take

Answer 29

2-3 hours

Question 30

how are clients prepared before flooding

Answer 30

they are taught relaxation techniques before they face their fear

Question 31

what happens in flooding?

Answer 31

The client is unable to avoid the situation and eventually learns that their phobic stimulus isnt harmful ( extinction) so now the learned response is extinguished when the CS is encountered without the UCS

Question 31

Why does flooding work?

Answer 31

clients exhaust themselves by their own fear and become relaxed

Question 32

2 strengths of flooding

Answer 32

effective cheaper than SD

Question 33

3 limitations of flooding

Answer 33

traumatic high drop out rates not appropriate for all phobias