Behaviourist approach of phobias and treating phobias

Two-process model

An explanation for the onset and persistence of disorders that create anxiety such as phobias. Proposed by Orval Hobart Mowrer. This states that phobias are acquired by classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning.

Mowrer suggested that whenever we avoid a phobic stimulus we successfully escape the fear and anxiety that we would have experienced if we had remained there. This reduction in fear reinforces the avoidance behaviour so the phobia is maintained.

Two-process model strength : Little Albert

One strength is that research supports the role of classical conditioning in the acquisition of phobias. For example Watson and Rayner demonstrated that Little Albert developed a fear of a white rat after it was repeatedly paired with a loud noise.This suggests that fears can be learned through association, supporting the first process of the model.Therefore, the study provides support for the classical conditioning element of the model.

Two-process model strength : Negative reinforcement explains maintenance

Another strength of the Two-process model is that it explains how phobias are maintained through negative reinforcement. For example, someone with a dog phobia may cross the road to avoid a dog and feel immediate relief. This relief reinforces the avoidance behaviour, preventing them from learning that the dog may not be dangerous.Therefore, the model provides a useful explanation of why phobias persist, even when the original cause of the fear is no longer present.

Two-process model limitation : Not all phobias result from direct conditioning

A limitation of the Two-process model is that it cannot explain the development of all phobias. Some people develop phobias without experiencing a traumatic event involving the feared object or situation. For example, someone may fear spiders without ever having had a frightening encounter with one.This suggests that direct classical conditioning is not always responsible for the acquisition of phobias. Some fears may develop through observational learning, such as watching a parent react fearfully.Therefore, the model has limited explanatory power because it does not fully account for all the ways in which phobias can develop.

Systematic desensitisation

A behavioural therapy designed to reduce an unwanted response such as anxiety. It involves drawing up a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking situations related to a person’s phobic stimulus, teaching them to relax, and exposing them to phobic situations

Reciprocal inhibition and relaxation

The idea that two opposing emotional responses cannot occur at the same time. For example, relaxation is incompatible with anxiety. Before the hierarchy, the patient needs to relax as deeply as possible using progressive muscle relaxation

Anxiety hierarchy

A list of situations related to the phobic stimulus that provoke anxiety, arranging from least to most frightening.

Flooding

An immediate exposure to phobic stimulus without a gradual build up in a hierarchy. Mostly only one session is needed to cure a phobia. It often stops a phobic response very quickly as the patient would learn that the phobic stimulus is harmless, where an extinction has occurred.

Classical conditioning : Extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus, so the conditioned stimulus no longer produce the conditioned response

SD strength - Effectiveness

Lisa Gilroy did a follow up session with 42 people who fear spiders. After a couple of months, the SD group were less fearful than a control group treated by relaxation without exposure.

Recently, Wechsler also concluded that SD is effective for specific phobias such as social phobia and agoraphobia. This means that SD is likely to be helpful for people with phobias

SD strength - learning disabilities

People with learning difficulties may struggle with other alternatives such as cognitive therapies which requires complex rational thoughts, or flooding where they could feel distressed. This means that SD is often the most appropriate method for treating phobias for those who has learning disabilities