Behaviouralist approach

• The behavioural approach to explaining phobias-

  Mowrer 2-process model- 1960-

  • classical and operant conditioning
  • classical- Having a neutral stimulus (no fear of something) with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)(something that triggers a fear response).
  • operant- behaviour is reinforced (reward/punishment), increasing its frequency- repetition.
• Little Albert-

  • Watson and Rayner 1920
  • 9-month baby that showed no unusual anxiety/fear.
  • When a rat (neutral stimulus) was presented an iron bar was banging near his ear (UCS) creating a fear (UCR-unconditioned response).
  • When the rat (NS) was presented and the UCS is encountered together the rat then becomes a fear triggering the response from the noise.
  • The rat is now a conditioned stimulus (CS) producing a conditioned response (CR).
  • He was then shown a fluffy rabbit, Santa mask and fur coat which he was upset by both.
• • S-Real world application in exposure therapies to help get rid of the phobia.
  • W- Doesn’t show cognitive aspects of phobias, like people seeing snakes as alien like/personal thoughts on why they have the phobia.
• • CPS- Little Albert shows the link between bad experiences and phobias.
  • CPW- phobias can come from little exposure to it (snakes) not a bad experience.
• • CPS- explains how people could have developed a fear and maintained it.
  • CPW- Seligman 1971- phobias are from our evolutionary past (the dark).