© banff and buchan college 2004 phobias – psychological theories

© Banff and Buchan College 2004

Phobias – Psychological Theories


Phobia – Psychological Theories

• Phobias are acquired through learning from the environment

– Classical conditioning– Operant conditioning– Social learning

• Two process theory of phobia1. Acquisition of phobia

2. Maintenance of phobic behaviour


Initial Acquisition

• Through classical conditioning (direct):– Traumatic experience e.g. get bitten by a dog– False alarm e.g. have a panic attack in a lift

• Through social learning (vicarious):– Observe fear in another e.g. parent– Hear about danger from another


Maintenance

• Through operant conditioning:– Approaching phobic object/situation elicits

conditioned anxiety response– Retreat from phobic object reduces anxiety– This acts as a (negative) reinforcer, so the more the

person avoids the phobic object/situation the more likely they will continue to do so.

– Others may unwittingly reinforce avoidance


Phobia

• Hypotheses from learning theory:– Phobias should be traceable to an original

learning experience– Should centre on situations/objects that are

potentially harmful– Should be possible to condition and

decondition phobias artificially


Phobias – psychodynamic view

• Psychological disorders are a manifestation of repressed emotional problems– Phobias are symbols for other fears that the

conscious mind can’t face– Unconscious fears are displaced onto innocuous

objects


Simple Phobia

Conscious

Unconscious

Fear & avoidance of a specific object or situation

Trauma

Unresolved developmental issue

Unacceptable fear that has been repressed

A symbolic link between the two


Simple Phobia

Conscious

Unconscious

Fear of sharp instruments, knives, scissors

Oedipus complex

Overbearing or excessively punitive father

Fear of castration

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk


Simple Phobia

Conscious

Unconscious

Fear of snakes

Oedipus - incomplete identification with mother?

Sexual abuse?

Fear of the phallus/sexual intercourse


‘Little Hans’ (Freud, 1909)

Conscious

Unconscious

Fear & avoidance of horses/being bitten

Oedipus complex only recently resolved

Fear of his father & castration

Playing horses

Glasses, beard

Horse collapsing


Issues for evaluation

• Limited evidence from clinical case studies• Methodological issues – bias, incomplete

reporting, sampling etc.• Conceptual issues – reliance on

interpretation of symbols• Competition from other theories (Occam’s

razor)


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© banff and buchan college 2004 phobias – psychological theories

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