Anixety Disorders Studies

BAGBY & THE WATERFALL

• woman got foot stuck in rocks near waterfall
• became increasingly panicked
• the sound of the waterfall was paired with the feelings of panic
• she escaped..
• but had an intense and irrational fear of running water for many years

• feet trapped in rocks = unconditioned stimulus
• fear of trap = unconditioned response
• running water = conditioned stimulus
• fear of running water = conditioned response

EXAMPLE OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING CAUSING PHOBIAS

FREUD & LITTLE HANS

• Hans had a fear that horses would bite him
• this was during the Oedipus stage
• Freud stated this was due to fear of castration from his father once finding out about sexual desires for his mother
• Freud said that this fear of castration had been displaced onto horses
• the ego displaces thoughts that may cause unconcious conflict

SHOWS THE EGOS DISPLACEMENT OF CONFLICT WHICH CAUSES PHOBIAS OF AN EXTERNAL OBJECT.

LANG AND LAZOVIK & THE SNAKES

• had two groups of people
• each person had a phobia of snakes
• group 1 recieved systematic desensitisation
• group 2 recieved no treatment 

• those in group 1 showed less fear of snakes than those in group 2...
• both immediately and 6 months after therapy

SHOWS THE SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM EFFECTIVENESS OF SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION ON PHOBIAS.

1. Presence of obsessional thoughts/images 

2. Catastrophic misinterpretation of the thought/image 

3. Fear & high levels of anxiety

4. Attempts to resist and avoid the thoughts