Characteristics of Phobias

• Emotional Characteristics The person usually has an excessive or unreasonable fear of something, which occurs when there is anticipation of the phobic stimuli or a cue present.
• Behavioural characteristics The primary behavioural characteristic linked to phobias is avoidance i.e when presented with the feared object the initial response is usually to avoid it to prevent the feared response e.g 31 anxiety.
• Cognitive characteristics The individual may acknowledge that the fear is excessive and unreasonable, which is the characteristic that distinguishes the phobia from a delusion
• Another cognitive characteristic is the irrational nature of the person's thinking and the resistance to rational argument, e.g if they are scared of flying an argument that flying is the safest mode of transport wont help.