Characteristics of phobias

Define phobia

an irrational response to an object, place or situation that includes feelings of excessive fear and anxiety. The reaction is disproportionate

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

avoidance, endurance and panic

Avoidance

unless making an effort to tackle their fear, people tend to do anything they can to avoid their phobia. This can make it hard to go about daily life, i.e avoiding public toilets

Endurance

if a phobia can’t be avoided, the individual might have to endure it. Someone might face their phobia but experience high levels of anxiety

Panic

someone with a phobia might panic in response to seeing their phobia. This might include crying, screaming or trying to escape. Children might react differently by freezing or clinging to someone

What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

unreasonable, fear and anxiety

Unreasonable

the emotional responses we experience in relation to phobias aren’t reasonable or logical. For example, being scared of a tiny spider is unreasonable because it is disproportionate to the danger posed

Fear

someone with a phobia will immediately feel extremely unpleasant responses when presented with their stimulus such as being frightened. Fear is short-term

Anxiety

phobias are classed as anxiety disorders. The individual might experience high levels of arousal, making it difficult to experience any positive emotions. Anxiety is long-term

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

selective attention, irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions

Selective attention

if the individual can see the phobic stimulus, they find it hard to look away because they think they have the best chance of escaping if it suddenly poses a large threat

Irrational beliefs

someone with a phobia might have irrational beliefs. For example, someone with social phobias might think that ‘If I blush people will think I’m weak.’ Someone with a phobia of spiders will think a tiny spider will kill them

Cognitive distortions

the perception of a phobic stimulus might be distorted. For example, someone with a phobia of snakes will see them as aggressive and ugly