Characteristic's

• phobias

  group of mental disorders characterised by high levels of anxiety in response to a particular stimulus or group of stimuli. The anxiety is irrational, extreme fear response which interferes with daily life

  fear becomes a phobia when its maladaptive
• phobias types of fear

  • Social phobia = fear of interacting and performing in front of people
  • Specific phobia = fear of specific objects, animals or places
  • Agoraphobia = fear of being trapped in a public place where escape is difficult
• Phobias characteristics


  • Behavioural
  • Emotional
  • Cognitive
• phobia behavioural characteristics

  • panic (crying, screaming, running away)
  • endurance (suffers will be in the presence of phobia stimulus but high anxiety levels continue)
  • avoidance (suffers will go to great lengths to avoid contact with the phobia stimulus which can affect daily life)
• phobia emotional characteristics

  anxiety (unpleasant state of high arousal preventing relaxation and positive emotions which is long term and unreasonable)
• phobia cognitive characteristics

  • selective attention (suffers find it difficult to look away from a phobia stimulus)
  • irrational beliefs (increase the pressure on suffers in relation to the phobia stimulus)
  • cognitive distortions (suffers perception of phobia stimulus)