phobias

• How are mental disorders diagnosed?

  Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (DSM-5)
• What are the aims of DSM-5?

  • Identify disorders using explicit criteria
  • Multiaxial system (shows a variety of symptoms)
  • Once diagnosed can receive treatment
  • Avoid theoretical bias
• Advantages of the DSM-5

  • Standardized billing and coding
  • Standardized diagnoses and treatments
  • Guides research
  • Guides treatment
• Disadvantages of DSM-5


  • Oversimplifies human behaviour
  • Increases risk of mis / over diagnosis
  • Provides labels - stigmatizing
• What are the behavioral symptoms of a phobia?

  Avoidance

  • Panic if unable to avoid
  • Can cause a significant disruption to a patients life
• What are the cognitive symptoms of a phobia?

  Selective attention - the person becomes fixated on the object of fear

  • Can cause irrational beliefs (e.g, its going to case them danger)
• What are the emotional characteristics of a phobia?

  Excessive/Unreasonable fear, anxiety and panic

  • Triggered by the presence or anticipation of phobic stimulus
• What is the definition of a simple/specific phobia?

  fear of specific objects, places or situations
• What is the definition of a social phobia?

  fear of social situations (specific or general)
• What is the definition of agoraphobia?

  fear of open or public spaces where it is difficult to leave quickly, get help, or where you might experience a panic attack
• Who developed the two-process model?

  Mowrer (1960)
• What are the steps in the two-process model?

  • Classical conditioning - development of fear - fear response can be generalized (application of fear to similar properties)
  • Operant conditioning - maintenance of fear - avoidance reduces anxiety (negative reinforcement so strengthens behaviour)
• Studies that relate to behaviourist explanations for phobias

  • Little Albert - Watson and Rayner
  • Phobia of running water (classical) - Bagby
  • Phobia of cars - Di Gallo
• Strengths of behaviourist explanations for phobias

  • Empirical evidence - studies = credible + reliable
  • Application - 2-process model = treatments (flooding/SD) improve productivity
• Weaknesses of behaviourist explanations for phobias

  • Little Albert lacks ecological validity (artificial) so less credible + generalisable
  • No treatments are 100% accurate - not always behaviourist
  • Not everyone has a specific event that leads to phobia
  • Deterministic - assumption all phobias are caused by environment = reductionist
  • Traumatic events don't always lead to phobias
  • Doesn't consider other explanations - cognitive + biological
• What is the cognitive explanation for phobias?

  Faulty thinking
• What is the biological explanation for phobias?

  Evolutionary behaviour to fear things that posed danger to ancestors