Phobia - Explanations

• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning via association
• What is operant conditioning?

  Learning via consequences
• What was the unconditioned stimulus in the Little Albert study?

  Loud, frightening noise
• What did the white rat become in the Little Albert study?

  Conditioned stimulus producing fear
• What is the role of negative reinforcement in maintaining phobias?

  Avoidance of anxiety-inducing situations
• What are the implications of the two-process model for therapy?

  • Explains need for exposure to phobic stimulus
  • Preventing avoidant behavior reduces phobia
• What is a limitation of the two-process model regarding avoidance behavior?

  Not all avoidance is linked to anxiety reduction
• What is biological preparedness according to Seligman?

  Innate predisposition to acquire certain fears
• What is a phobia that doesn't follow a trauma?

  A fear developed without a related bad experience
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the two-process model?

  Strengths:

  • Good explanatory power
  • Application to therapies

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Alternative explanations for avoidance behavior
  • Incomplete explanation of phobias