The Behavioural, Emotional And Cognitive Characteristics Of Phobias
March 5, 2021 - Paper 1 Introductory Topics in Psychology | Psychopathology
AO1, Description:
(1) Phobias Behavioural, Emotional and Social Characteristics
Phobic disorders are including in diagnostics manuals (DSM and ICD) within the category of ‘anxiety disorders,’ a group of mental illnesses that share the same primary symptom of extreme anxiety. Phobic disorders or phobias are cases of irrational fears that produce a conscious avoidance of the feared object or situation.
Behavioural Symptoms/Characteristics of Phobias:
| Avoidant, anxiety response | Confrontation with feared objects and situations produces a high anxiety response, efforts are made on the part of the individual to avoid the feared objects and situations in order to reduce the chances of anxiety occurring. For example, if someone is afraid of ghosts, they would avoid taking a short cur through a graveyard at night. |
| Disruption of functioning | Anxiety and avoidance responses are so extreme that they can severely interfere with the ability to conduct everyday working and social functioning. For example, a person with a social phobia will find it very difficult to socialise with others. |
Emotional Symptoms/Characteristics of Phobias:
| Persistent, excessive fear | Anxiety is produced from the presence of or anticipation of feared objects/situations |
| Fear from exposure to phobic stimuli | Phobias produce an immediate fear response (e.g. panic attacks) due to the presence of the phobic object/situation |
Cognitive Symptoms/Characteristics of Phobias:
| Recognition of exaggerated anxiety | People who suffer from phobias are consciously aware that the anxiety levels they experience in relation to their feared object or situation are overstated (over exaggerated) |
There are many psychological and biological explanations of phobias, specifically, the AQA A level specification requires that students learn the Behavioural Explanation of phobias.
Interested in how the Behavioural Explanation would approach treating a phobia? Click the hyperlink to find out!