Foundation Learning

• Behavioural Characteristics of Phobias

  Panic - A person may panic when exposed to their phobia

  Avoidance - People tend to avert their phobia day-to-day

  Endurance - A person may rather monitor their phobia than avoid it when exposed
• Emotional Characteristics of Phobias

  Anxiety - Reduces the likelihood of relaxation when exposed to the phobia

  Fear - Extreme and immediate feelings when exposed to their phobia

  Unreasonable response - People may use unreasonable force when they are exposed to their phobia in an attempt to rid them of it. E.g. Killing a spider even if it's tiny in the fear that the spider is poisonous.
• Cognitive Characteristics of Phobias

  Selective attention - Focusing on the phobia when exposed to it

  Irrational beliefs - Unfounded thoughts about the phobia

  Cognitive distortions - Inaccurate/unrealistic beliefs about the phobia