 A phobia is a persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation. (fundamentals of abnormal psychology by Ronald J. Comer)

 In some studies, African Americans and Hispanic Americans report having at least 50% more specific phobias than do white Americans, even when economic factors, education, and age are held steady across the groups. (Hopko et al., 2008; Breslau et al., 2008)  More than 23% of individuals develop such phobias at some point during their lives, and many people have more than one at a time. (pg. 107)

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 Exposure treatments- individual is exposed to objects or situations they dread  Systematic desensitization learn to relax while gradually facing the objects or situation they fear  Flooding: people will stop fearing things when they are exposed to them repeatedly  Modeling, the therapist who confronts the geared object while the fearful person observes. Proves the person’s fear is groundless.  Key to success is actual contact with the feared object or situation.

 Arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias in the world.

 Within the book, there is quoted a woman named Marianne, who has a fear of spiders. She says, “Seeing a spider makes me rigid with fear, hot, trembling and dizzy. I have occasionally vomited and once fainted in order to escape from the situation. These symptoms last three to four days after seeing a spider. Realistic pictures can cause the same effect, especially if I inadvertently place my hand on one.” (Comer)

 Social Phobia Treatment – categorize as social fears and or poor social skills. › Treat Social fears by drug (anti-depressants), exposure therapy, group, or cognitive therapy › Social skills can be improved by social skills training.  Model appropriate social behaviors for clients, role play, reinforcement from other people with social phobias

 Role play a situation. Rather than avoid a social setting due to fear of embarrassment or humiliation, role play a situation in advance. With a friend's assistance, practice introducing yourself and starting a conversation. Be calm and speak slow.  Focus on your good qualities. Individuals with social phobia tend to focus on the bad and have a negative self-image. In turn, they fear that other people will view them as uninteresting or boring. Everyone has good and bad qualities. Pinpoint your three strongest character traits. This will help boost your Confidence and improve your self-worth.

 Practice good eye contact. Make an effort to look people in the eye. Be the first say "hello," and return smiles.  Prepare for a conversation. It can be difficult to start a conversation with someone new. Before attending a social event, brainstorm three or four topics that will make good conversations. People with social phobia can spark a discussion with a current event, hot news topic or the weather.  Talk to a stranger. Social phobics avoid interaction with strangers. Stepping outside your comfort zone is one way to overcome anxiety. Ask a stranger for directions, compliment someone or request help from a retail salesperson.

 Is the fear of heights  You may experience shaking, swearing, heart palpitations, crying, yelling out, feeling terrified, confusion, or a feeling of being paralyzed.  According to Harold Levinson’s research with dyslexia it unexpectedly led him to the discovery that over 90% of all phobic behavior and panic attacks are due to a dysfunction within the inner-ear and its supercomputer- the cerebellum.

 Claustrophobia is defined as an irrational, exaggerated fear of being in small, confined, or closed spaces.  Most cases of claustrophobia stem from a traumatic incident involving being trapped in a small space taking place in the person’s life.  When someone who suffers from claustrophobia finds themselves in a small space, they might feel a tightening in their chest, rapid heartbeat, a sudden weakening of limbs, and they can ultimately faint.  Claustrophobia is categorized as a specific phobia due to the nature of the situation that is feared.  Three types of treatment commonly used in cases of claustrophobia are desensitization, flooding, and modeling.  Most people suffer from claustrophobia to a degree, but studies estimate that about 10 percent of people are actually diagnosed with having claustrophobia.

By, Britne Gose

 Don’t confuse with obsessive compulsive personality disorder  Marked by obsessions and/or compulsions

 Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors  Downregulate the reuptake of serotonin at the synaptic cleft via the serotonin transporter protein, 5-HTT  Due to SSRI’s, the serotonin system is a very popular research subject

 Serotonin Transporter Gene that encodes the serotonin transporter protein, 5-HTT  There are two variants in the promoter region of this gene called the long and the short.  The long variant produces 3 times as much of 5-HTT then the long variant

 Bengel et al., (1999) found that individuals with OCD were more likely to be homozygous for the long allele  Billet et al., (1997) found that there was no statistical significance between the control groups and the experimental group

 No conclusive results  continued research  Due to the complexity of OCD  Environmental factors  There are probably many genes involved, interacting in different ways