Explaining Phobias: Psychopathology

• AO1

  - Behavioural approach emphasises the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour

  -Mowrer (1960) proposed the two-process model based on the behavioural approach to phobias - States that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and continue because of operant conditioning
• AO1


  acquisition by classical conditioning (acquiring a phobia)

  - classical conditioning involves learning to associate something of which we initially have no fear (neutral stimulus) with something that already triggers a fear response

  -Little Albert study, baby didnt have fear of rats yet experimenters set out to give Albert a phobia. Every time he tried to play with the rat it would make a loud noise. The noise became an unconditioned stimulus which creates an unconditioned response of fear. The rat is an NS which is associated with the UCS so now both produce the fear response. the rat is now a conditioned stimulus and produces a conditioned response of fear

  -This conditioning is generalised to similar objects with similar animals like rabbits and LIttle albert showed distress to all of these
• AO1


  Maintenance by operant conditioning

  -Takes place when our behaviour is reinforced or punished

  -Reinforcements tends to increase the frequency of a behaviour, this is true with both negative and positive reinforcement

  -In the case of negative reinforcement an individual avoids a situation that is unpleasant , such behaviour results in a desirable consequence which means the behaviour will be repeated

  -Mowrer suggests that when we avoid a phobic stimulus we escape fear and anxiety successfully. This reduction in fear reinforces the avoidance behaviour and so the phobia is maintained
• AO3 - strength

  -one strength of two process model is idea that phobias are maintained by avoidance

  - once avoidance behaviour is prevented it ceases to be reinforced by the reduction of anxiety. Avoidance behaviour therefore declines

  -Shows the value of two-process approach because it identifies a means of treating phobias
• AO3- limitation

  -limitation is the inability to explain cog aspects of phobias

  -Behavioural explanations like two process model are geared towards explaining behaviour- in this case avoidance of the phobic stimulus

  -However we know that phobias also have a significant cognitive component e.g irrational beliefs about phobias

  -Means two process model doesnt fully explain symptoms of phobias
• AO3 - strength

  -strength is evidence linking phobias to bad experiences

  -study showed that 73% of dental phobics had experienced a trauma (mostly involving dentistry), evidence of link between bad experience and phobia

  -Further support came from the control group of people with low dental anxiety, where only 21% had experienced a traumatic event

  -confirms that associating between stimulus and an unconditioned response does lead to a phobia
• AO3- counterpoint

  -Although not all phobias appear following bad experiences

  -Snake phobias still exist in populations where very few people have any experience with snakes

  -Also, not all frightening experiences lead to phobias

  -Means that behaviour theories probably dont provide an explanation for all cases of phobia.