Phobias

• Phobias


  Instances of irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of the feared object or situation

  The extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus
• Behavioural symptoms of phobias 


  • Avoidance behaviours
  • Freezing/ fainting
  • Increased heart rate/ perspiration
  • Fight or flight response
• Emotional symptoms of phobias 


  • Excessive and intense fear
  • Anxiety
• Cognitive symptoms of phobias


  • Recognition the fear is irrational and not required
  • Irrational thinking
• Examples of phobias


  Social phobias (e.g. agoraphobia - fear of public spaces, being out of the house)

  Arachnophobia- spiders

  Claustrophobia - enclosed spaces

  Acrophobia- heights
• Classical conditioning


  • Learning through association
  • Can shape and change a behaviour
  • Neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus becomes the conditioned response which elicits the same response
• Pavlov’s dogs


  • Example for classical conditioning
  • Made his dogs salivate through a bell
• ‘Little Albert’


  • Example of classic conditioning
  • Associating a rat with a loud bang which creates fear
  • Good evidence that phobias are learnt
• Operant conditioning


  Changing a behaviour because of a reward or for avoidance

  • Once the fear is established, individual avoids the object or situation causing it
  • Negatively reinforces phobia by reducing anxiety but strengthening fear
• Two-process model (Mowrer)

  Classical conditioning - stage 1 (acquiring a phobia)

  Operant conditioning- stage 2 (maintaining a phobia)

  Negative Reinforcement