Phobias

Question 1

What does behavioural, emotional and cognitive refer to in this topic?

Answer 1

Behavioural = ways in which people act

Emotional = related to a person’s feeling or mood

Cognitive = refers to the process of knowing, including thinking, remembering and believing

Question 2

What are the three DSM-5 phobia categories?

Answer 2

Specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia

Question 3

Describe ‘specific phobia’

Answer 3

Phobia of an object, such as an animal or body part, or a situation such as flying or having an injection

Question 4

Describe ‘social phobia’

Answer 4

Phobia of a social situation such as public speaking or using a public toilet

Question 5

Describe ‘agoraphobia’

Answer 5

Phobia of being outside or in a public place

Question 6

What are the two main behavioural characteristics of phobias?

Answer 6

Panic - A person with a phobia may panic in response to the presence of the phobic stimulus
This could involve behaviours such as crying, screaming or running away
Children may react differently; they may freeze, cling or have a tantrum

Avoidance - People will tend to go to a lot of effort to prevent encountering their phobic stimulus
Depending upon their phobia, it can make daily life harder
EG: fear of public toilets may reduce the time you are able to be away from your home for. This could interfere with social life, work and education

Question 7

What are the two main emotional characteristics of phobias?

Answer 7

Anxiety and fear - Fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus
They involve an emotional response of anxiety - an unpleasant state of high arousal
This prevents the person from relaxing and makes it difficult to experience any positive emotion. This can be long term

Emotional response is unrealistic - The anxiety or fear is much greater than is ‘normal’ and disproportionate to any threat posed
EG: a person with arachnophobia will have a very strong emotional response to a tiny spider

Question 8

What are the two main cognitive characteristics of phobias?

Answer 8

1. Selective attention to the phobic stimulus - If the person can see the phobic stimulus, it is hard to look away from it
   When there is something dangerous is it a good idea to keep an eye on it so we can react quickly if there is a threat, but this isn’t useful when the threat is irrational
   EG: a person with pogonophobia (fear of bread) will struggle to concentrate if there is someone with bread in the room
2. Irrational beliefs - A person with a phobia may hold unfounded thoughts in relation to phobic stimulus
   They can’t be easily explained and don’t have any basis on reality
   EG: a person with social phobias can believe they “must always sound intelligent” or “if I blush then people will think I am weak”
   This kind of belief increases the pressure on the person to perform well in social situations