Phobias Flashcards
(10 cards)
1
Q
Phobia:
A
An irrational fear of an object or situation.
2
Q
Behavioural:
A
Ways in which people act.
3
Q
Emotional:
A
Ways in which people feel.
4
Q
Cognitive:
A
Refers to the process of thinking- knowing, perceiving, believing.
5
Q
DSM-5: Categories of phobia
A
- Specific phobia: phobia of an object or situation.
- Social anxiety (social phobia): phobia of a social situation, like public speaking.
- Agoraphobia: phobia of being outside or in a public place.
6
Q
Behavioural Characteristics of Phobias:
A
- Panic: crying, screaming or running away. Children may freeze, cling or have a tantrum.
- Avoidance: going through a lot of effort to avoid coming into contact with the phobic stimulus.
- Endurance: sufferer remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus but continues to experience high levels of anxiety.
7
Q
Emotional characteristics of phobia: Anxiety
A
- Phobias are classed as anxiety disorders.
- Anxiety is an unpleasant of high arousal. This prevents the sufferer relaxing and makes it difficult to experience any positive emotion.
- Emotional responses we experience in relation to phobic stimuli go beyond what is reasonable and are wildly disproportionate to the danger posed by the phobia.
8
Q
Cognitive characteristics of phobias: Selective attention to the phobic stimulus
A
- If the sufferer can see the phobic stimulus it is hard to look away from it.
- Gives us the best chance of survival, but this is not so useful when the fear is irrational.
9
Q
Cognitive characteristics of phobias: Irrational beliefs
A
- A phobic may hold irrational beliefs in relation to phobic stimuli.
- Social phobias might think ‘I must sound intelligent all the time.’
- Puts pressure on them to perform well in social situations.
10
Q
Cognitive characteristics of phobias: Cognitive distortions
A
- The phobic’s perception of the phobic stimulus may be distorted.
- An ophidiophobic may see snakes as alien and aggressive looking.
