Behavioural approach explaining phobias

• Classical conditioning

  Learning to associate a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that triggers a fear response
• Acquisition of phobias by classical conditioning

  1. Neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus that creates fear

  2. Neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus that produces fear response
• Classical conditioning experiment

  • Watson and Rayner created a phobia in 'Little Albert' by pairing a white rat (neutral stimulus) with a loud noise (unconditioned stimulus)
• Classical conditioning

  Generalises to similar stimuli
• Operant conditioning

  Behaviour is reinforced (rewarded) or punished, which affects the frequency of that behaviour
• Maintenance of phobias by operant conditioning

  1. Avoidance of phobic stimulus reduces fear, reinforcing the avoidance behaviour

  2. Phobia is maintained through this negative reinforcement
• The two-process model proposes that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and then maintained through operant conditioning
• Responses acquired through classical conditioning tend to decline over time, but phobias are often long-lasting due to operant conditioning