The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias

• phobia

  An excessively fearful response to an object, place or situation
• classical conditioning


  Conditioning based on the association of stimulus with response.
• two process model


  A way of explaining phobias which involves both classical and operant conditioning
• unconditioned stimulus


  Something in the environment which triggers a response.
• unconditioned response

  A natural response to an unconditioned stimulus
• conditioned stimulus


  A neutral stimulus which has become associated with a particular response.
• neutral stimulus


  Something in the environment which initially produces no response.
• conditioned response

  The response to a conditioned stimulus brought about by learning by association
• generalised

  Applying a response to one stimulus to other similar stimuli
• operant conditioning

  Learning through action
• negative reinforcement


  Occurs when an unpleasant stimulus is avoided through an action.
• MZ twins

  Identical twins who share a complete genotype
• DZ twins

  Non-identical twins who share genes to the same extent as other brothers and sisters
• systematic desensitisation


  A form of counter conditioning for use with phobias based on a clear and orderly process.
• hierarchy


  A list of situations from the least to the most fearful
• counter-conditioning

  Replacing a conditioned response with an alternative and harmless response.
• cognitive therapy

  Therapy which asks people to think about their own thoughts and beliefs in relation to their fears.
• flooding

  A technique which exposes the person with a phobia to his/her feared stimulus directly and without a hierarchy until anxiety has receded.
• extinction


  Breaking the association between conditioned stimulus and conditioned response.
• prevention of avoidance

  Stopping the person with a phobia from moving away from their feared object or situation, meaning that they cannot be negatively reinforced for doing so.
• meta-analysis


  Combining secondary data from a number of studies with the same procedure in order to produce an overall conclusion.
• agoraphobia

  Fear of public spaces
• social phobia


  Fear of interacting with others or being in social situations that might lead to a negative evaluation