Psychopathology - Phobias Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is a phobia?
an irrational and extreme fear of an object or situation
What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?
fear + worry
What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?
catastrophising
ruminating
What does ruminating mean?
overthinking
What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?
avoidance
aggression
withdrawal
What is the two-process model?
the theory that phobias are learnt through classical + operant conditioning:
patients associate a neutral stimulus with a traumatic event and strengthen the association through negative reinforcement by avoiding it
How can social learning theory explain phobias?
identify with scared role model
imitate phobic behaviours of role model
indirect vicarious reinforcement through seeing their successful avoidance of stimulus
What can social learning theory explain about phobias that the two-process model can’t?
how people develop phobias without a traumatic event
What is the procedure on Watson and Rayner’s experiment into behavioural phobias?
one participant - baby
IV(1) - baby presented with white fluffy stimuli, no bar + hammer
IV(2) - steel bar struck with hammer each time he touched the white rat
DV - if baby still scared of rat without bar + hammer
What were the findings from Watson and Rayner’s experiment?
after conditioning, when shown the rat Albert would cry and crawl away from it
this fear was generalised to other white furry objects, but less intense
What are some strengths of Watson and Rayner’s experiment?
applications in healthcare - counterconditioning avoids drugs or surgery
What are some weaknesses of Watson and Rayner’s experiment?
reductionist - ignores evolutionary or genetic fears (heights, spiders)
also ignores SLT phobias
poorly supported - only 1 participant - can’t generalise
mundane realism - stimuli presented aggressively after conditioning
investigator bias - Watson presented the stimuli himself and tried to scare the child after conditioning
ignores biological factors shown in brain scans
What is flooding?
a behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders
What is the method used for flooding?
the patient is suddenly exposed to an extreme form of the phobic stimulus and is taught to relax
uses the theory that anxiety doesn’t last forever - it eventually plateaus due to lack of energy
uses reciprocal inhibition and counterconditioning
What is counterconditioning?
learning to associate relaxation with the phobic stimulus instead of anxiety
What is reciprocal inhibition?
the idea that you cannot feel afraid and relaxed at the same time - one emotion prevents the other
What is systematic desensitisation?
a behavioural therapy used to treat phobias
What are the stages of systematic desensitisation?
therapist and patient construct an anxiety hierachy
patient is taught how to relax
patient is exposed to phobic stimulus at the bottom of the hierachy until they can relax in the prescence of it
patient moves up the hierachy until they can remain relaxed in the most feared situation
What is an anxiety hierachy in systematic desensitisation?
a list of stimuli related to a phobia arranged in order from the least to most frightening
What are some advantages of behavioural treatments to phobias?
treatment can be generalised to other phobias and overall is a good coping mechanism
research supports that therapy works - 33/42 patients found it more useful than no exposure to stimulus
What are some disadvantages of behavioural treatments to phobias?
alternative treatments - sedation just before experiencing, good for phobias less frequently experienced (eg flying)
flooding makes phobias worse if unsuccessful, also seen as a last resort to patients so can cause depression/other disorders
therapy very expensive, therapists need lots of training
flooding less effective for more complex phobias eg social situations
