phobias Flashcards
(30 cards)
What is a phobia?
An irrational fear of an object or situation.
What are the DSM-5 categories of phobia?
Specific phobia – Fear of a specific object/situation (e.g., flying, injections).
Social anxiety (social phobia) – Fear of social situations (e.g., public speaking).
Agoraphobia – Fear of being outside or in a public place.
What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?
Panic – Crying, screaming, freezing, clinging, tantrums.
Avoidance – Avoiding the phobic stimulus.
Endurance – Remaining in the presence of the stimulus but with high anxiety.
What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?
Anxiety – A long-term, high-arousal unpleasant emotion.
Emotional responses are unreasonable – Disproportionate to the actual danger.
What is an example of an emotional response in a phobia?
A person with arachnophobia (fear of spiders) may feel extreme anxiety even from a small, harmless spider.
What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?
Selective attention to phobic stimulus – Hard to look away.
Irrational beliefs – Unrealistic thoughts about the danger.
Cognitive distortions – The stimulus may appear distorted or disgusting.
What is the two-process model in psychology?
Proposed by Hobart Mowrer (1960), it explains the development of phobias through two key mechanisms: acquisition by classical conditioning and maintenance by operant conditioning. It suggests phobias are learned responses that persist due to reinforcement patterns.
How does classical conditioning explain the acquisition of phobias?
A phobia is acquired when a neutral stimulus (NS) is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that triggers a natural fear response (unconditioned response, UCR). Over time, the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), eliciting a conditioned response (CR) of fear even in the absence of the UCS.
What did the Little Albert experiment demonstrate?
Watson and Rayner conditioned a 9-month-old boy named Albert to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise (UCS), which naturally caused fear (UCR). After repeated pairings, Albert displayed fear (CR) to the white rat (CS) even without the noise, demonstrating classical conditioning. He also showed stimulus generalization, becoming afraid of other white, furry objects.
How does operant conditioning maintain phobias?
Phobias are maintained through negative reinforcement. When a person avoids the phobic stimulus, they reduce their fear and anxiety, which acts as a reward, reinforcing the avoidance behavior. This cycle prevents the person from learning that the stimulus is not harmful, solidifying the phobia over time.
What is a key strength of the two-process model?
It effectively explains why phobias are long-lasting. Avoidance behavior is reinforced by anxiety reduction, making it clear why phobias do not simply fade over time. It also has practical applications for therapies, like systematic desensitization and flooding, which focus on breaking the conditioned response.
Why is the two-process model considered incomplete?
The model does not account for biological preparedness, which suggests humans are evolutionarily predisposed to fear certain stimuli (e.g., spiders, heights) because they posed threats to survival. Bounton (2007) argues that evolutionary factors are important for understanding why some phobias are more common and easier to acquire.
What is biological preparedness, and how does it challenge the two-process model?
Biological preparedness, proposed by Seligman (1971) and later expanded by Bounton (2007), suggests humans are innately programmed to fear objects or situations that were dangerous to our ancestors. This challenges the two-process model, as it implies some fears are not solely learned through conditioning but are partly inherited.
What is an alternative explanation for why people avoid phobic stimuli?
Research suggests avoidance may not always be about anxiety reduction. It can be driven by feelings of safety. For example, agoraphobics often avoid leaving their homes not just to reduce anxiety but because they feel safer inside (Buck, 2010). This contradicts the two-process model, which solely focuses on fear reduction.
What is Systematic Desensitisation (SD)?
A behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through classical conditioning by replacing anxiety with relaxation (counterconditioning).
What are the three processes involved in Systematic Desensitisation?
- Anxiety Hierarchy, 2. Relaxation Techniques, 3. Gradual Exposure.
- Anxiety Hierarchy, 2. Relaxation Techniques, 3. Gradual Exposure.
A list of situations related to the phobic stimulus, ranked from least to most frightening.
What relaxation techniques are used in SD?
Breathing exercises, mental imagery, and sometimes the use of drugs like Valium.
What is Reciprocal Inhibition?
The concept that one cannot be anxious and relaxed simultaneously.
What is the role of Exposure in SD?
Gradual exposure to the phobic stimulus while practicing relaxation, moving up the anxiety hierarchy.
What study supports the effectiveness of SD?
Gilroy et al. (2003) found that patients with spider phobia showed less anxiety after three 45-minute SD sessions, with effects lasting up to 33 months.
What are two strengths of Systematic Desensitisation?
- Effective for specific phobias, 2. Suitable for a wide range of patients, including those with learning difficulties.
What are two limitations of Systematic Desensitisation?
- Less effective for complex phobias (e.g., social phobia), 2. Requires multiple sessions, making it time-consuming.
What is Flooding?
A behavioural therapy that exposes the patient directly to their phobic stimulus without a gradual buildup, aiming to extinguish the fear response quickly.
