T4.2 Phobias

• A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation.
• All phobias are characterised by excessive fear and anxiety, which is triggered by a phobic stimulus, such as an object, place or situation.
• The three categories of phobias are:

  • Specific phobias
  • Social phobia
  • Agoraphobia.
• Specific phobia is a phobia of an object or situation.
• Social phobia is a phobia of a social situation.
• Agoraphobia is a phobia of being outside or in a public place.
• The three behavioural characteristics of phobias are:

  • Panic (in response to the presence of the phobic stimulus)
  • Avoidance (to prevent coming into contact with the phobic stimulus)
  • Endurance (choosing to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus)
• The two emotional characteristics of phobias are:

  Anxiety (long-term effect) and fear (short-term and immediate effect)
• The three cognitive characteristics of phobias are:

  1/ Selective attention to the phobic stimulus

  2/ Irrational beliefs

  3/ Cognitive distortions
• What approach is used to explain phobias?

  Behaviourist Approach
• The behaviourist approach explains behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
• Mowrer (1960) proposed the ‘Two-Process Model’, which states that phobias are (1) acquired by classical conditioning then (2 maintained by operant conditioning).
• What is classical conditioning?

  It is learning by association. It occurs when an unconditioned and neutral stimulus are paired together to produce a conditioned response.
• What is operant conditioning?

  A form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Consequences are in the form of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment.
• 1. Acquisition By Classical Conditioning

  An unconditioned and neutral stimulus are paired together to produce a conditioned response.

  Essentially, a stimulus that initially does not produce fear (NS) is associated with something that already triggers a fear response (UCS) to produce the phobia.
• Stimulus Generalisation


  Other stimuli. which are similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS), also evolve the conditioned response (CR).
• 2. Maintenance By Operant Conditioning

  Operant conditioning involves the reinforcement of behaviour or punishment. Reinforcement increases the frequency of the behaviour.

  — In the case of negative reinforcement, an individual produces a certain behaviour to avoid an unpleasant situation.

  — When a phobic stimulus is avoided, the fear and anxiety that would have been experienced if remained in the situation is reduced. This reduction in fear reinforces the behaviour to avoid, so the phobia is maintained.
• What are the two limitations of using the behaviourist approach to explain phobias?

  • There are other explanations of how phobias are formed
  • Ignores the cognitive aspects of phobias
• The two behavioural therapies used for treating phobias are: systematic desensitisation and flooding.
• Systematic Desensitisation is a behavioural therapy designed to gradually reduce phobic anxiety through the principle of classical conditioning.
• In systematic desensitisation, phobic anxiety is reduced by learning a new response to the phobic stimulus. (known as counterconditioning)

  The phobic stimulus is paired with relaxation instead of anxiety.
• The three processes involved within systematic desensitisation are:

  1. Anxiety Hierarchy
  2. Relaxation
  3. Exposure
• What is the anxiety hierarchy?

  A client and therapist put together a list of situations related to the phobic stimulus, arranged in order from least to most frightening.
• What is relaxation?

  • It is impossible to feel anxiety and relaxation simultaneously, so one emotion prevents another (reciprocal inhibition).
  • If the client can learn to relax, then the client can therefore avoid any feelings of anxiety
  • The therapist teaches the client to relax as deeply as possible, through:
  • breathing techniques
  • mental imagery techniques
  • meditation
  • pharmaceutical drugs
• What is exposure?

  Exposure involves exposing the client to the feared object or situation while they remain relaxed. This process allows them to associate the phobic stimulus with relaxation rather than fear.

  • Exposure takes place across several sessions, starting at the bottom of the anxiety hierarchy.
  • The client then moves up the hierarchy when they are able to stay relaxed in the presence of the lower levels of the phobic stimulus
  • Treatment is successful when the client can stay relaxed in all situations on the anxiety hierarchy.