Characteristics

Phobias

Are characterised by excessive fear or anxiety triggered by an object or situation

The extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus

Specific phobia- phobia of an object or a situation. Almost anything can become a phobic stimulus but there are five named subtypes, including natural/ environment, injury and animal

Agoraphobia- marked fear or anxiety, lasting more than six months, for two or more situations: using public transport, being in open spaces or being in an enclosed space, standing in line or in a crowd, and being alone outside the home

Behavioural characteristics of phobias

Panic- person with a phobia may panic in response to the presence of the phobic stimulus- panic may involve crying screaming or running away

Avoidance- Tend to go to a lot of effort to prevent coming into contact with the phobic stimulus, makes it hard to go about daily life

Endurance- Alternative behavioural response to avoidance is endurance- this occurs when the person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus

Emotional characteristics

Anxiety- phobias are classified as anxiety disorders- they involve an emotional response of anxiety, an unpleasant state of high arousal. Prevents a person relaxing and can be long term

Fear- fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus- usually more intense but experienced for shorter periods than anxiety

Emotional response is unreasonable- anxiety or fear is much greater than what people usually experience

Cognitive characteristics

Selective attention to the phobic stimulus- if a person can see the phobic stimulus- keeping our attention on something really dangerous is a good thing as it gives us the best chance of reacting quickly to a threat, but this is not useful when the fear is irrational

Irrational beliefs- Person with a phobia may hold unfounded thoughts in relation to the phobic stimuli i.e. that can’t be easily explained and don’t have any basis in reality

Cognitive distortions- perceptions of a person with a phobia may be inaccurate or unrealistic