Behavioural approach to explaining Phobias

• What is behaviourism?

  -Behaviour (including phobic behaviour) that is learned from interacting with the environment, so from experience
• What is the two-process model?

  The two-process model (Mower):

  -Phobias are acquired through classical conditioning (learning through association).

  -Phobias are maintained through operant conditioning (learning from consequences/reinforcement).
• What happens for the acquisition of a phobia: Classical conditioning?

  Acquisition of a phobia: Classical conditioning

  -A phobic object (e.g. a bee) starts as a neutral stimulus (NS), it causes a neutral response (NR), so there is no response.

  -An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) (e.g. pain of being stung) produces an unconditioned fear response (UCR), Unconditioned stimulus-response links are automatic; they don't need to be learnt.

  -An association is formed when a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). The object (Bee) becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), now producing the conditioned response (NR) (fear)

  -Phobias can be generalised, so a conditioned fear response is also experienced in the presence of stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. So fear of bees could be generalised to other small flying insects.
• Maintenance of a phobia: Operant conditioning

  -Operant conditioning is a form of learning that occurs through learning the consequences of our actions.

  -A person with a phobia is aware of their phobia and will try to avoid the phobic object and the situations that put them in

  contact with it.

  -This avoidance behaviour leads to a reduction in anxiety, which is a pleasant sensation. This reinforcement strengthens the phobia, making the person more likely to avoid the phobic object in the future.
• Evaluation - Reductionist

  -The approach may be criticised for being reductionist:

  -This means the approach may reduce phobias down to the activity of specific variables such as environmental (external), and this ignores the role that inborn biological (internal) factors may play.

  -For example, many people develop a phobia despite never having a related bad experience.

  -This is a problem because the behavioural approach may be limited and oversimplify complex behaviours, like phobias which require a more holistic approach to fully explain them.
• Evaluation - Practical applications

  -The behavioural explanation can be praised for having practical applications:

  -This means that 'systematic desensitisation' (which uses classical conditioning to 'unlearn' previously learned phobias) has been shown to be an extremely successful therapy for a range of different phobias.

  -Evidence to support this comes from McGrath et al (1990) who found that 75% of phobic patients showed an improvement in their symptoms after treatment.

  -This is positive as it suggests the approach has been useful in developing treatments that are effective in addressing phobias