PHOBIAS

• What are 3 behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  • Panic
  • Avoidance
  • Endurance
• What are 3 emotional characteristics of phobias?

  • Anxiety
  • Feeling of dread
  • Unreasonable emotional responses.
• What are 3 cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  • Selective attention
  • Irrational beliefs
  • Cognitive distortions.
• Behaviourist Psychologists believe that all our behaviour is learnt through the environment. Watson one of the founding fathers of behaviourism states that we are born with a 'blank slate." Any behaviour that we act is all learnt from the

  environment around us. "Give me a child, any child, and I'll shape them.
• What is the two process model?

  States that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and maintained through operation conditioning.
• What is a phobia?

  Triggered by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object, place or situation. The extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus.
• what is classical conditioning?

  Behaviour that is learnt through 'stimulus response' associations. A

  stimulus can be anything in the environment and the response

  would be flinching. Phobias assume the feared object is

  associated with some distress in past.

  e.g. Watson and Rayner (1920)- 'little Albert'.
• Before: unconditioned stimulus (UCS) = unconditioned response (UCR)

  Before LA: loud banging noise = fear and distress.
• During: neutral stimulus + UCS = UCR

  During LA: rat + loud banging noise = fear and distress
• After: conditioned stimulus = conditioned response 


  After LA: rat = fear and distress
• What is operant conditioning?

  Phobias are then maintained as a result of operant conditioning (learning through reinforcement), which focuses on the consequences of behaviour.

  -positive reinforcement

  -negative reinforcement.

  -both types of reinforcement increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.
• Sufferers often avoid phobia stimuli that are unpleasant and this results in the removal of something negative, and leads to a reduction in anxiety, reinforces the avoidance behaviour and maintains the phobia.
• What are the strengths of the behavioural approach to explaining phobias?

  Focus is on the behaviour- may be easy to identify. Empirical research in support e.g Little Albert. The fact you can change from maladaptive to adaptive behaviour is good. This overcomes the stigma of labels attached by other approaches (e.g. biological). Only looking at observable behaviours means it can be tested in lab studies. The treatment is successful- Systematic desensitisation - this

  involves 'un-learning' maladaptive behaviour. This has been successful in many cases.
• What are the weaknesses of phobias?

  It doesn't deal with the underlying causes. This approach just focuses

  on the symptoms. Not the deep underlying causes that create the behaviour.

  It is a limited view: the approach is accused of being reductionist -ok for phobias, not for schizophrenia. It tries to explain complex human behaviour ni terms of rewards and punishment etc. This ignores the role of biology (DNA and genes) and cognitions (irrational thinking).
• What is flooding?

  A form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders. The client is immersed in the experience in one long session, experiencing the phobia at its worst. The session continues until the patients anxiety has disappeared.
• What is systematic desensitisation?

  A form of behavioural therapy used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders. The client is gradually exposed to or imagines the threatening situation under relaxed conditions until their anxiety is extinguished.
• What is counterconditioning?


  Taught a new association that runs counter to the original association. This is taught through classical conditioning - relaxation instead of fear.
• What is relaxation?

  Focusing on their breathing and taking slow breaths. Progressive muscle relaxation is also used.
• What is the desensitisation hierarchy?

  SD works by gradually introducing the person to the feared situation so its not as overwhelming.at each stage the patient practices relaxation so its more familiar and their anxiety diminishes.
• What are weaknesses of flooding?

  • Doesn't work fro all phobias
  • Social phobias involve cognitive aspects - unpleasant thoughts May be seen as unethical- lots of discussion beforehand.
  • Trauma may lead to high attrition and patients down see it through - waste of money.
• What are the strengths of systematic desensitisation?

  • Suitable for a diverse range of patients compared to flooding
  • Some patients with phobias also have learning difficulties- why is this better than flooding and cognitive/ thought based approaches?
  • Patients are accepting of the treatment (some even enjoy the relaxing)
  • Preferred of flooding as it doesn't have the same degree of trauma.
  • Low refusal rates and low attrition rates.