Phobia

Question 1

Define phobias

Answer 1

when you experience extreme fear or anxiety activated by an object (eg 🕷)
or situation (groups)
fear of phobic stimulus is irrational and often out of proportion to any real danger

Question 2

Give two behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 2

Avoidance - of feared object making conscious effort to avoid coming in contact w their phobic stimulus

Panic - crying, screaming or running away from phobic stimulus 🏃🏻‍♂️ 😭

Question 3

Give two cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 3

Selective attention - keeping attention on the phobic stimulus finding it difficult to look away 👀 🕷

Persistent irrational beliefs - about the phobic
> 🕷 will harm you

Question 4

Give two emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 4

Anxiety- exposure to phobic stimulus causes worry distress

Fear - exposure to phobic stimulus causes terror

Question 5

What is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 5

• phobias are a learned behaviour
• Mowrer initially learnt through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning called two process model

Question 6

What is classical conditioning

Answer 6

• involves learning to associate something which we initially have no fear of (NS) with something that already triggers a fear response (UCS)
• fear response triggered every time they see or think about feared object

Question 7

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 7

• phobias are maintained through operant conditioning
• continuing to avoid feared stimulus being negatively reinforced
• reducing anxiety they feel
• explains why phobias are long lasting through continued avoidance

Question 8

What happened in Watson and Reynor’s Research?

Answer 8

• ‘little albert’ not afraid of rats 🐀 ❌
• whenever rat came loud noise was made
• noise is an (UCS) rat is (NS)
• albert learnt to associate them together
• rat now (CS)
• fear generalised to similar objects like fur hat

Question 9

Why is the two process model criticised for environmental reductionism?

Answer 9

E - reduces complex human of phobias down to simple basic units of learning phobias
E - neglects a holistic approach take account person’s culture and social background
> 🇯🇵 Taijin Kyofusno extrem fear of displeasing others collectivist culture
L - lacks internal validity dont allow us to understand behaviour in context

Question 10

Give a strength of the two process model

Answer 10

P - practical applications
E - phobias can be unlearnt theory used to create treatments; systematic desensitisation using 🕯relaxation techniques
E - learn to associate fear phobic stimulus w relaxation
L - important in applied psychology

Question 11

Give an alternative explanation for the two process model

Answer 11

P - evolutionary explanation
E - born w certain phobias because feared stimulus dangerous in our evolutionary past passed down thru survival advantage 🧬
E - explains why a person fears 🐍
L - behavioural approach not sole explanation

Question 12

What is Systematic Desensitisation?

Answer 12

1) patient taught to use breathing exercises puts these into practice when exposed to phobia

2) make a graded scale least-most
3) client gradually exposed to least feared situation reciprocal inhibition
>anxiety and relaxation
4) once relaxed then exposed to the next stage of hierarchy
5) patient completes treatment when they are desensitised and able to move hierarchy

Question 13

Give one advantage of SD

Answer 13

P - can be completed using VR
E - exposure through VR used to avoid dangerous situations such as heights
E - cost and time effective because psychologist and client cant leave consulting room
L - used to treat wide scope of phobias
accessible to wide variety of patients

Question 14

Give one strength of SD

Answer 14

P - more appropriate behavioural therapy for most patients due patient high control over their own therapy
E - create own hierarchy and move on once relaxed
E - unlike flooding which can be quite traumatic as of immediate exposure
L- SD as appropriate treatment for phobias

Question 15

Give a weakness of SD

Answer 15

P- not appropriate for all patients motivation and commitment from patients
E - patients must attend sessions over time if stop then therapy is ineffective
E- unlike drug therapy requires little motivation requires little will power
L - limiting appropriateness of SD

Question 16

What is flooding?

Answer 16

• patient is immediately exposed to most feared stimulus and must stay in it’s presence
• experience high levels of anxiety and panic unable to avoid stimulus
• remain exposed until anxiety response is exhausted
• 2-3 hours (extinction)
• phobic stimulus is harmless

Question 17

Give a strength for Flooding

Answer 17

P - strength of flooding cost-effective 
This is because the therapy has been
found to be effective, yet it is not expensive.
E- Flooding can work in as little
as one session due to the immediate exposure and extinction of phobia flooding might be a more cost effective treatment for the NHS  benefit the economy as more people would be treated for phobias in less
time using fewer resources, 
L - flooding may be regarded as a
more appropriate therapy 🌍

Question 18

Give a weakness of Flooding

Answer 18

P - unethical treatment,
E - the patient may experience extreme anxiety exposed to their most feared phobic stimulus for 2-3 hours.
E- SD could be seen as a more ethical treatment as it gradually exposes patients to their phobia at the patients own rate. Schumacher (2015) found that ppts and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful
than SD. attrition rates
(drop out) are higher than for SD.
L- reducing the appropriateness and effectiveness of flooding