The behaviourist approach to explaining phobias

    Cards (5)

    • The acquisition of classical conditioning
      • Involves learning to associate a neutral stimulus with a UNS that produces a fear response
      • The response produced by the UNS is now produced by the NS - making it the CS
      • Leading to the acquisition of phobia complete
    • Maintenance by operant conditioning
      CR - eg a learnt fear declines over time - if not for reinforcement
      According to OP - phobias are maintained via negative reinforcement
      Indv avoids the phobic stimulus - acts as a desired action - as it ends the unpleasant experience
      This reinforces the avoidance behave - making avoidance more likely - continues to avoid phobic stimulus - maintaing phobia
    • Strength - Research support for the two-process model
      • Little Albert - 9-month-old baby
      • When interacting with a white rat - showed no fear
      • During conditioning every time Albert interacted with the rat a loud noise was made scaring Albert.
      • Eventually, Albert became scared of the rat even when no noise was made
      • The rat had become the CS that produced a CR (fear)
      • SB shows phobias can occur through classical conditioning
    • Strength - Understanding phobias - led to treatments
      • Explains how phobias can be maintained (OC)
      • Important for therapies because it explains why patients need to be exposed to the feared stimulus
      • This led to treatments such as flooding where patients are prevented from avoiding the stimulus which helps them to get rid of the phobia
    • Weakness - reductionist
      • The cog approach proposes that phobias develop as a result of irrational thinking
      • These thoughts contribute to anxiety which leads a person to show the emotional symptoms of phobias and avoidance of phobic stimulus
      • Since the model does not take account for this, this decreases the validity of the theory