Behavioural Approaches to Phobic Disorders

?
View mindmap
  • Behavioural Approach to Phobias
    • Classical Conditioning
      • CC is based on Involuntary Responses (e.g. Fear response) and how that fear becomes associated through association and repetition with the object in the environment.
        • Initially, the individual may learn to fear a neutral stimulus, which is to become the phobic object or situation.
          • This process involves the neutral stimulus pairing with an unconditioned response.
            • The individual may well associate the neutral stimulus with the fear that was produced in the event involving the unconditioned stimulus. Resulting in the neutral stimulus becoming a conditioned stimulus.
    • Operant Conditioning
      • Voluntary Response - behaviours we choose to undertake. We learn to avoid our phobic object or situation which reduces our anxiety and is therefore something we are likely to repeat. This is negative reinforcement/avoidance learning.
        • A phobia may continue where an individual avoids conditioned stimulus to avoid the fear response associated with it.
          • This avoidance may lead to erratic and extreme phobic behaviours.
            • These avoidance behaviours lead to a type of reward for the individual in that they don't experience the fear response e.g negative reinforcement
    • Classical Conditioning
      • The theory of CC (Pavlov 1927) explains how abnormal behaviour is learned through 'stimulus-response' associations.
        • An event in the environment results in physiological reaction in the individual. The event and the reaction then forged into an association.
          • For example, looking down and feeling dizzy/nausea may develop into a fear of heights so strong it becomes a phobia.
    • Operant Conditioning Case Study
      • 'Little Albert' can be used to explain the behavioural approach to phobic disorders.
        • Watson and Rayner found that initially that items such as a white rat, a rabbit and white cotton didn't trigger any fear  response in Albert.
          • They then introduced an unconditioned response of fear, by striking a metal bar that made Albert cry.
            • They then gave him a white rabbit to play with, but every time he went to touch it they struck the metal bar, producing a fear response.
              • This was repeated and then redone a week later and when Albert was giving a rat he showed the fearful response.
    • Social Learning
      • According to social learning theory (Bandura 1973), many abnormal behaviours are learned through imitation that is, by observing others who serve as models for abnormal behaviour.
        • Observational learning is particularly powerful if those who model the abnormal behaviour are seen to be rewarded.
          • For example, some specific problems, such as, fear of harmless spiders, may be explained by social learning - by observing other people showing abnormal responses or fear when they see a spider.

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Phobic disorders resources »