Phobias - Psychopathology

Question 1

What is a phobia?

Answer 1

A mental disorder characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a stimulus.

Question 2

What percentage of the population have phobias?

Answer 2

2.6% of the population.

Question 3

What are the behavioural characteristics of a phobia?

Answer 3

Avoidance, Endurance, Disruption of functioning, Panic.

Question 4

What is avoidance as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

Answer 4

When faced with the situation that creates fear, the response is to avoid the object or situation. This can interfere with the person’s normal daily life and can cause distress.

Question 5

What is endurance as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

Answer 5

When a person is stressed their bodily response is usually fight/flight. However, when faced with the object or situation that is feared a person might freeze or faint instead.

Question 6

What is disruption of functioning as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

Answer 6

Anxiety and avoidance created by the phobia might be so extreme that this could interfere with the person’s ability to function socially or at work.

Question 7

What is panic as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

Answer 7

The person with the phobia might panic in the presence of the stimulus. They might show behavioural characteristics of crying, screaming, vomiting, running away or freezing.

Question 8

What are the emotional characteristics of a phobia?

Answer 8

Fear, Panic and anxiety.

Question 9

What is fear as an emotional characteristic of phobias?

Answer 9

Persistent, excessive and unreasonable fear might be felt in the presence of the stimulus.

Question 10

What is panic and anxiety as an emotional characteristic of phobias?

Answer 10

The person will feel highly anxious and experience unpleasant negative feelings when faced with the phobic situation.

Question 11

What are emotions as an emotional characteristic of phobias?

Answer 11

Strong emotions are cued by the presence or anticipation of the phobic object/situation, and these are out of proportion to the actual danger that is posed.

Question 12

What are the cognitive characteristics of a phobia?

Answer 12

Irrationality, Insight, Cognitive distortions, Selective attention.

Question 13

What is irrationality as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

Answer 13

The person will think in an irrational manner about their phobia, and they will resist rational arguments that counter it.

Question 14

What is insight as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

Answer 14

The person will know that their fear is excessive or unreasonable, but they still find it difficult not to fear the object.

Question 15

What is cognitive distortions as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

Answer 15

The person will have a distorted perception of the stimulus.

Question 16

What is selective attention as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

Answer 16

When the person encounters the phobic stimulus, they cannot look away and they focus all of their attention on it.

Question 17

What is the behavioural approach to explaining phobias?

Answer 17

All behaviours, including phobias, can be learnt and people with abnormalities can learn negative behaviours.

Question 18

What is the two process model?

Answer 18

Classical conditioning and Operant conditioning causing and maintaining phobias.

Question 19

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 19

Building up an association between two different stimuli.

Question 20

What study looks at classical conditioning?

Answer 20

Study by Watson and Rayner: Little Albert (1920).

Question 21

What are the disadvantages of classical conditioning?

Answer 21

• Only carried out once
• It doesn’t explain how all phobias develop
• Menzies criticises.

Question 22

Why is it a disadvantage that the Little Albert study was only done once?

Answer 22

Findings not repeated so not reliable, unethical so cannot be repeated.

Question 23

Why doesn’t classical conditioning explain all phobias?

Answer 23

DiNardo et al. Some people have a traumatic experience however, they do not always develop a phobia.

Question 24

Why does Menzies criticise the behavioural model?

Answer 24

He criticises behavioural model and classical conditioning after studying hydrophobia and only 2% had it due to classical conditioning.

Question 25

What are the advantages of classical conditioning?

Answer 25

- King (1998) supports.

Question 26

Why does King (1998) support classical conditioning in causing phobias?

Answer 26

From reviewing case studies he has found that children acquire phobias by encountering traumatic experiences with the phobic object.

Question 27

What is social learning theory?

Answer 27

Based on observational learning whereby young children might observe a reaction that their parents or family have to a particular situation.

Question 28

What did Minneka find about social learning?

Answer 28

When one monkey in a cage showed a fear response to snakes, the other monkeys in the cage copied this response.

Question 29

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 29

Learning a new response that can result in reinforcement.

Question 30

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 30

The reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus.

Question 31

What is positive reinforcement in phobias?

Answer 31

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers. By avoiding the phobic object and not feeling fear, this is rewarding.

Question 32

What are the disadvantages of the Two Process Model?

Answer 32

- Ignores other factors causing phobias - Weak in explaining.

Question 33

How does the two process model ignore other factors that could cause phobias?

Answer 33

Does not take into account biological or evolutionary factors that could cause phobias.

Question 34

How is the two process model weak?

Answer 34

Does not adequately account for the cognitive characteristics of phobias and is reductionist.

Question 35

What are the advantages of the Two Process Model?

Answer 35

- Bandura supports social learning theory - Involves two clear steps.

Question 36

How does Bandura support social learning theory within the two process model?

Answer 36

Research was conducted whereby a person acted as if they were in pain when a buzzer sounded, and participants had to watch this reaction.

Question 37

What is systematic desensitisation?

Answer 37

Behavioural therapy to reduce phobias through classical conditioning.

Question 38

Who came up with systematic desensitisation?

Answer 38

Wolpe (1958).

Question 39

What is the process involved in Systematic Desensitisation?

Answer 39

- Hierarchy of fear - Relaxation techniques - Gradual exposure.

Question 40

What is hierarchy of fear?

Answer 40

Constructed by therapist and patient. Situations involving phobic object are ranked from least to most fearful.

Question 41

What are relaxation techniques in systematic desensitisation?

Answer 41

Patients are taught deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation techniques.

Question 42

What is gradual exposure in systematic desensitisation?

Answer 42

Patient is introduced to their phobic object gradually and they work their way up the fear hierarchy.

Question 43

What are the advantages of Systematic Desensitisation?

Answer 43

- Klosko et al (1990) supports - SD is less traumatic than flooding.

Question 44

Why does Klosko et al (1990) support systematic desensitisation?

Answer 44

He assessed various therapies for the treatment of panic disorders and found that 87% of patients were panic free after receiving SD.

Question 45

What are the disadvantages of Systematic Desensitisation?

Answer 45

- Not always practical to confront the fear in real life - May only address the surface level issues of the phobia.

Question 46

What is flooding?

Answer 46

Directly exposing the patient to feared object after being taught relaxation techniques.

Question 47

What are the advantages of flooding?

Answer 47

- Cost effective and faster - Ost (1997) stated that it's effective and rapid.

Question 48

What are the disadvantages of flooding?

Answer 48

- Less effective for some phobias such as social phobia - Highly traumatic and some patients may pull out of the experiment.