Phobias

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Briefly outline how flooding might be used to treat a phobia.

(2 marks)
Flooding can be used to treat a phobia by giving the participants full exposure of their fear and leaving them in this situation until they feel calm. This puts them in a place where they can no longer avoid their fear. Therefore, the association of fear
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Outline a behavioural explanation of phobias.

(2 marks)
Behavioural explanations of phobias suggest that phobias are learnt. Phobias are the result of a classically conditioned association between an anxiety provoking unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and a previously neutral stimulus.
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Briefly discuss one limitation of the behavioural explanation of phobias that you previously outlined.

(3 marks)
Some phobias are not triggered by a traumatic situation, and therefore this explanation cannot account for all phobias that people develop. Therefore, this is a limitation as it could be said that the explanation is reductionist, and that other factors ar
3 of 8
Explain one weakness of systematic de-sensitisation.

(2 marks)
One weakness of systematic de-sensitisation (SD) is that it relies on the client's ability to be able to imagine the fearful situation. Some people cannot create a vivid image and therefore SD is not effective. Another weakness is that, while SD might be
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Read the item and then answer the question that follows.

Tommy is six years old and has a phobia about birds. His mother is worried because he now refuses to go outside. She says, 'Tommy used to love playing in the garden and going to the park to play fo
Tommy would be taught relaxation techniques he could use when he encounters birds as part of the therapy. Tommy would then devise his hierarchy so it reflects his least to most feared bird situation. For example, he could start with imagining a small bird
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Explain why systematic desensitisation might be more ethical than using flooding to treat Tommy's phobia.

(2 marks)
SD is a gradual process, so the anxiety produced in the treatment is limited. However, in flooding, the most feared situation is presented immediately which would be too traumatic for a child. Therefore, SD will cause less harm to Tommy.
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Read the item and then answer the question that follows.

Kirsty is in her late twenties and has had a phobia of balloons since one burst near her face when she was a little girl. Loud noises such as 'banging' and 'popping' cause Kirsty extreme anxiety, a
Kirsty's phobia has developed through classical conditioning - she has formed an association between the neutral stimulus (balloon) and the response of fear - the conditioned response - is triggered every time she sees a balloon (or hears similar noises).
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Hamish has a phobia of heights. This phobia has now become so bad that he has difficulty going to his office on the third floor, and he cannot even sit on the top deck of a bus anymore. He has decided to try systematic desensitization to help him with his
Firstly, the therapist would teach Hamish relaxation techniques, such as breathing patterns. Then, the therapist and Hamish would construct an anxiety hierarchy, starting with situations that cause a small amount of fear - in Hamish's case, this might be
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Outline a behavioural explanation of phobias.

(2 marks)

Back

Behavioural explanations of phobias suggest that phobias are learnt. Phobias are the result of a classically conditioned association between an anxiety provoking unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and a previously neutral stimulus.

Card 3

Front

Briefly discuss one limitation of the behavioural explanation of phobias that you previously outlined.

(3 marks)

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Explain one weakness of systematic de-sensitisation.

(2 marks)

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Read the item and then answer the question that follows.

Tommy is six years old and has a phobia about birds. His mother is worried because he now refuses to go outside. She says, 'Tommy used to love playing in the garden and going to the park to play fo

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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