phobias

what is a fear?

something which can be sensible, such as a fear of heights stopping you leaning too far over an edge

what is a phobia?

something more than a fear as it is irrational and life-limiting

how is a phobia irrational and life-limiting?

a person may experience strong anxiety, such as increased breathing or heart rate as well as nausea, when they are near their phobic situation or object, which may lead to avoidance

how can a fear be acquired through classical conditioning?

a fear response to a neutral stimulus arises when the neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus to form an association

what is an unconditioned stimulus?

something that brings about a fear or startle response naturally

how could a person acquire a phobia of birds through classical conditioning?

the neutral stimulus (birds) would have originally gained no response, until paired multiple times with the unconditioned stimulus (such as a loud noise) to form an association, which would lead to the conditioned response of fear

how can a fear be acquired through operant conditioning?

through a pattern of rewards, if a fear is rewarded such as through attention from others, it is likely to be repeated

how could a person acquire a fear of flying through operant conditioning?

if a person shown fear and distress when on a plane, their irrationality may gain attention from others passengers, if the attention is desired then the fear response is likely to be repeated to receive the same reward

how can a fear be acquired through social learning theory?

if a role model shows fear in certain situations or towards a certain object, the observer can learn that phobia and will imitate the role model

how could a person acquire a phobia of spiders through social learning theory?

if a parent shows a fear response to seeing a spider in front of their child, they are likely to observe and behave in the same way by imitating the fear response, resulting in their own phobia

how is a phobia maintained through classical conditioning?

through renewal of the association which is required to prevent extinction

how could Little Albert's fear have been maintained through classical conditioning?

if Albert's fear to the white rat became weaker, the association could be renewed by repairing the white rat with the loud noise of the hammer and steel bar to prevent extinction

how is a phobia maintained through operant conditioning?

through negative reinforcement, such as avoiding undesired situations or objects to prevent the fear response

how could a phobia of flying be maintained through operant conditioning?

if a person is scared of flying they are likely to avoid planes or travelling, encouraging the fear response as the undesired situation of flying is removed

how is a phobia maintained through social learning theory?

if a role model is modelling the phobia, such as by avoiding their phobic situation or objects, which will be imitated by the observer, retaining their own fear

how could a phobia of spiders be maintained using social learning theory?

if a parent continues to show a fear response towards spiders or situations where they may see them, the child will observe and imitate the parent which would maintain their own phobia of spiders

how can phobias be treated?

systematic desensitisation or flooding

what is systemic desensitisation based on?

the principles of classical conditioning

what is systematic desensitisation?

a step by step approach (systematic) to get a person used to their phobic object or situation (desensitisation)

what is the idea behind systematic desensitisation?

the phobia has been learned through classical conditioning so can be unlearned in the same way, a relaxed response is required instead of the fear response

what is the first step of systematic desensitisation?

a conversation between the therapist and client to identify the nature and possible triggers of the anxiety

what is the second step of systematic desensitisation?

developing a hierarchy of fear from the least anxiety provoking situation to the most, the client should have input to determine the speed of treatment and the stages they progress through

what is the third step of systematic desensitisation?

relaxation training where the client is taught how to relax using methods that suit them best, such as breathing exercises or visualisation

what is the fourth step of systematic desensitisation?

gradual exposure where the agreed hierarchy is worked through and the phobic object is gradually introduced, the speed is determined by the client and stages are not progressed until they are fully relaxed

what is flooding an example of?

exposure therapy

what is flooding based on?

the principles of classical conditioning

what is the idea behind flooding?

the fear response will be replaced with a different response (non-fear)

how is the principle of flooding biological?

someone can only experience an alarm reaction for a certain length of time and then it would have to subside

what is the process of flooding?

the client being physically placed in a situation with their fear for a prolonged period of time with no means to remove themselves

how does a person learn by association through flooding?

a calmer response forcibly links to the previously feared object or situation

how does flooding demonstrate phobias as irrational?

after flooding the person can see they have calmed down and the worst did not happen

how did psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe demonstrate flooding in 1973?

he took a girl who was scared of cars and drove her around for hours, despite being initially hysterical the girl calmed down when realising her situation was safe, meaning she then associated a sense of ease with cars

what are the similarities of systemic desensitisation and flooding?

they are both based on the principles of classical conditioning and that a fear can be unlearnt, and both treatments aim to gain a relaxation response through extinguishing phobias

what are the differences of systemic desensitisation and flooding?

flooding a quick treatment which often only requires one session whereas systemic desensitisation is a slower process of gradual exposure, also considered more ethical with input from the client, unlike flooding which immerses the client into their situation of distress