Behaviourism and the Learning Theories PHOBIAS

Spec check! How learning theories explain the acquisition and maintenance of phobias. Treatments for phobias based on theories of learning, including … systematic desensitisation and one other; flooding (to include implosion therapy)

Anxiety disorders and fear Fear is a fundamentally adaptive reaction to stressors or threats in the environment but… When fear is disproportionate/mismatched to objective circumstances, it can be classified as ABNORMAL Fear acts as a warning, but people with anxiety disorders are subject to constant false alarms

Phobias An extreme irrational fear of some specific object or situation Typically the person will recognise that their reaction is excessive (hence irrational) Attempts to avoid the feared object/situation at all cost interferes with the persons everyday life/normal functioning and this is what distinguishes a phobia from a fear People who hide their phobias from others often experience further anxiety, guilt, and shame

Different types of Phobia Agoraphobia Social phobias Specific phobias

Specific Phobias Can develop at any age Some phobias more common in children, e.g. dogs, the dark Others come later in life, e.g. illness and injury, death

The DSM criteria marked and persistent fear of a specific object or situation that is excessive or unreasonable cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object/situation exposure to the phobic stimulus almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response, e.g. Panic Attack In children, anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or clinging.

the person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable, although this feature may be absent in children the phobic situation(s) is avoided or else is endured with intense anxiety or distress. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared situation(s) interferes significantly with the person's normal routine, occupational (or academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress about having the phobia In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.

Differential Diagnosis The anxiety, Panic Attacks, or phobic avoidance associated with the specific object or situation are not better accounted for by another mental disorder such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (e.g., fear of dirt in someone with an obsession about contamination) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (e.g., avoidance of stimuli associated with a severe stressor) Separation Anxiety Disorder (e.g., avoidance of school) Social Phobia (e.g., avoidance of social situations because of fear of embarrassment) Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia, or Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder.

Prevalence & Prognosis As many as 11% of the population at some time in their lives may have a phobia In most cases the sufferer recognizes that their feelings and behaviour are irrational and seek assistance in overcoming the problem Phobias are quite amenable to treatment, and in 90% of cases significant improvement is reported.

Little Albert Remember Little Albert? Explain how he acquired his fear of white rats using the terminology of classical conditioning Explain the following phobias using the stages of classical conditioning… Courtney is 35, she has a phobia of the dentist Sandra is 24; she is phobic of water Maurice is 17; he is phobic of blood

Classical conditioning and phobias Some problems of this explanation… Some phobias are much easier to induce in the lab than others Certain phobias are far more common than others, e.g. spiders These findings are consistent with the Seligman’s preparedness explanation of phobias Classical conditioning cannot explain why fears persist even when the CS is no longer ever accompanied by the UCS; why does extinction not occur?

Phobias and operant conditioning Antecedents: Feared object Behaviour: running away Consequences? Positive/negative reinforcement Escape learning/avoidance

Learning explanation of phobias Acquired via Classical conditioning Maintained via operant conditioning Mowrer’s two-process theory of phobias (1960)

Social Learning Theory Explain how Courtney, Sandra and Maurice may have acquired their phobias through the processes of social learning theory e.g. vicarious reinforcement