Atypical behaviour

Key Terms

Typical behaviour - behaviour considered normal - applies to majority

Atypical behaviour - behaviour considered abnormal - applies to minority

Phobia - Intense, pesistent, irrational fear of an object/situation/place or activity with a desire to avoid it

Agoraphobia - fear of open spaces

Socialphobia - fear of emabarrassing yourdelf in public

Schoolphobia - fear of school

Acrophobia - fear of heights

Arachnophobia - fear of spiders

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Nurture over nature
Classical conditioning - learning through association
Pavlov's dogs --> Unconditioned stimulus = Unconditioned response --> Unconditioned stiumlus + neutral stimulus = Unconditioned response --> Conditioned stimulus = Conditioned response
Operant conditioning - learning through consequences - negative reinforcement
Extinction - conditioned stimulus doesn't cause conditioned response - phobic association weakened

Evaluation

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Animals have evolved to instinctively behave in a certain way to survive and reproduce
Nature over nurture
Fear is instinctive - helps them to survive
Preparedness = instinctive awareness of danger
Difficult to get rid of phobias that threaten survival

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Aim: to test the theory of classical conditioning
Participant: Little Albert - 9-11 months old
Method: lab experiment
Procedure: a rat was offered to Little Albert and as he reached out for it a hammer was hit against a metal bar. This was repeated 7 times over 2 weeks
Results: rat scared Albert on its own without the hammer and he avoided it
Conclusion: Watson & Raynor conditioned fear into Little ALbert - this proves classical conditioning

Evaluation

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Flooding - immersed in fear and face their phobia full on which makes them realise no harm comes from it. This makes them calmer and forms a new association
Systematic desensitisation - gradually introduced to your fear
Implosion therapy - made to imagine worst fear rather than be exposed to the stimulus

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