Characteristics

• Behavioural

  • panic - panic in response to the prescense of a phobic stimulus
  • avoidance - avoid coming in contact with stimulus, interfere with everyday life
  • endurance - sufferer remains in presence of phobic stiumulus
• Emotional

  • anxiety - phobias are anxiety disorders, involve an emotional response, long term
  • unreasonable emotional response - response is disproportionate to the stimulus
• Cognitive

  • selective attention - focusing on the phobic stimulus
  • irrational belief - phobic people may hold irrational beliefs towards the phobic stimulus
  • cognitive distortions - phobic perceptions of phobic stimulus is likely to be distorted