Phobias

• Phobias are extreme irrational fears of certain objects or situations. Examples of phobias are arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and claustrophobia (a fear of enclosed spaces)
• Three key behavioural characteristics of phobias

  • avoidance
  • panic
  • failure to function
• Two key emotional characteristics:

  • anxiety
  • fear
• Two key cognitive characteristics of phobias are:

  • irrational beliefs
  • reduced cognitive capacity (sufferers focus their attention on the phobic object to the extent that it interferes with other tasks).