Understanding Phobias
•Phobias: extreme, irrational fear responses
•Often represent overgeneralization
-Extreme, irrational fear reactions are known as phobias
-Seem to represent a process of overgeneralization, in which a conditioned fear response to one event has become overgeneralized to other harmless events
-Little Albert was the infant who was trained to fear a white rat because the researchers, Watson and Rayner, would bang on a pipe, making a startling noise, in association with the rat
-Not really a phobia, though, as their experiment shows it took a long time (many trials) to condition, and significant weakening of fear response in Little Albert in-between sessions
-Finding him later, it was clear that Little Albert never remember any of the “training” and grew up fine.•Remember Little Albert – although not quite a phobia
•What leads to development of a fear CR?
•Observational learning: behavior of model is witnessed by an observer and the observer’s behavior is changed
•CR acquired when observing fearful reactions in others
•How might this work? Vicarious emotion
Fearful face (US) à Fear in oneself (UR)
Snake (NS): Other fear (US) à Self-fear (UR)
Snake (CS) à Self-fear (CR)
•What leads to development of a fear CR?
•Observational learning: other bodily expressions of fear may need to be learned
•Some emotional reactions are CSs and produce higher-order conditioning
Flailing arms (NS): Scary event (US) à Self-fear (UR)
Flailing arms (CS) à Self-fear (CR)
Jellyfish (CS2): Flailing arms (CS1) à Self-fear (CR)
Jellyfish (CS2) à Self-fear (CR)
•What leads to development of a fear CR?
•Temperament: one’s level of emotional reactivity
•Largely inherited, varies widely across people
•Affects individual susceptibility to any phobia
•Preparedness: innate tendency to make certain types of associations more easily than others
•Inherited collectively, as an entire species
•Affects species susceptibility to selective things
•What leads to development of a fear CR?
•Incubation: strengthening of an already established fear due to repeated brief exposures to the CS
•Extinction does not occur because the person avoids the CS
•Worrying (covert exposure) may also incubate
•What leads to development of a fear CR?
•US Revaluation: US of a different intensity can alter strength of CR
Phase 1:
Skateboarding (NS): Injury (US) à Pain (UR)
Skateboarding (CS) à Slight anxiety (CR)
Phase 2:
Car accident (↑US) à Severe pain (↑UR)
Phase 3:
Skateboarding (CS) à Strong anxiety (↑CR)
Key terms and concepts
•Phobias
•Observational Learning
•Vicarious Emotion
•Temperament
•Preparedness
•Incubation
US Revaluation
•Preparatory-Response Theory: the purpose of the CR is to prepare the organism for the arrival of the US
•Explains situations where the CR and UR are different
Drug Room (NS): Heroin (US) à BP decrease (UR)
Drug Room (CS) à BP increase (CR)
•Compensatory Response: a response to counteract and buffer the primary response
•The US is an A-process, which produces a B-process
Heroin (US) à BP decrease (A) à BP increase (B)
•
•The CS comes to elicit the B-process
Drug Room (NS): ↓BP (US) à ↑BP (UR)
Drug Room (CS) à ↑BP (CR)
•Rescorla-Wagner Theory: a given US has a limit on how much conditioning it can support, which is distributed to all present NSs
Tone (NS): Shock (US) à Freeze (UR)
Tone (V = 0): Shock (Max = 10) à Freeze
Tone (V = 10) à Freeze (10)
•Preparatory-Response Theory: the purpose of the CR is to prepare the organism for the arrival of the US
•Explains situations where the CR and UR are different
Drug Room (NS): Heroin (US) à BP decrease (UR)
Drug Room (CS) à BP increase (CR)
•Compensatory Response: a response to counteract and buffer the primary response
•The US is an A-process, which produces a B-process
Heroin (US) à BP decrease (A) à BP increase (B)
•
•The CS comes to elicit the B-process
Drug Room (NS): ↓BP (US) à ↑BP (UR)
Drug Room (CS) à ↑BP (CR)
•Rescorla-Wagner Theory: a given US has a limit on how much conditioning it can support, which is distributed to all present NSs
Tone (NS): Shock (US) à Freeze (UR)
Tone (V = 0): Shock (Max = 10) à Freeze
Tone (V = 10) à Freeze (10)
•Preparatory-Response Theory: the purpose of the CR is to prepare the organism for the arrival of the US
•Explains situations where the CR and UR are different
Drug Room (NS): Heroin (US) à BP decrease (UR)
Drug Room (CS) à BP increase (CR)
•Compensatory Response: a response to counteract and buffer the primary response
•The US is an A-process, which produces a B-process
Heroin (US) à BP decrease (A) à BP increase (B)
•
•The CS comes to elicit the B-process
Drug Room (NS): ↓BP (US) à ↑BP (UR)
Drug Room (CS) à ↑BP (CR)
•Rescorla-Wagner Theory: a given US has a limit on how much conditioning it can support, which is distributed to all present NSs
Tone (NS): Shock (US) à Freeze (UR)
Tone (V = 0): Shock (Max = 10) à Freeze
Tone (V = 10) à Freeze (10)