Characteristics of phobias

• Behavioural characteristics


  • Panic - crying, screaming, running away
  • Avoidance - preventing coming into contact with the phobic stimulus
  • Endurance - choosing to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus
• Emotional characteristics


  • Anxiety - phobias are classed as anxiety disorders, an unpleasant state of high arousal
  • Fear - the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter a phobic stimulus
  • Unreasonable emotional response - the anxiety or fear is disproportionate to any threat posed
• Cognitive characteristics


  • Selective attention to phobic stimulus - keeping attention on the stimulus and struggling to concentrate on what they are doing
  • Irrational beliefs - unfounded thoughts in relation to phobic stimuli
  • Cognitive distortions - perceptions of a person with a phobia may be inaccurate and unrealistic