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phobias: explaining acquisition - Coggle Diagram
phobias: explaining acquisition
acquisition: classical
one stimulus initially creates no fear and the other triggers a fear response
through association the NS becomes the CS producing a CR of fear
learning to associate one stimulus with another stimulus
example: sound of wasps usually is unharmful but you associate it with a bite/ sting therefore you fear them immediately by the sound
maintenance: operant
operant conditioning takes place when a behaviour is reinforced (rewarded/ punished)
'avoidance response'- when someone with a conditioned phobia responds by avoiding the fear-provoking stimulus, anxiety lessens and provides negative reinforcement for avoidance behaviour
responses acquired by classical conditioning tend to decline over time (extinction)
negative reinforcement takes place when a behaviour is rewarded by the removal of something unpleasant i.e. anxiety
two process model
based on learning theory to explain acquisition and maintenance of phobias
Mowrer = two process model
social learning of phobias
humans may similarly acquire phobias by imitating the fear responses modelled by others such as parents
cook and mineka= observational learning, demonstrated that infant rhesus monkeys who watched adult monkeys displaying fear of fear relevant stimuli such as toy snakes and crocodiles they then acquire fear of those toys
evaluation
+application to treating phobias, learning new ways to cope (systematic desensitisation and flooding)
-learning is not a complete explanation, some fears are evolutionary and some people acquire phobias without conditioning
+supporting evidence from Watson and Rayner study of Little Alb and Cook and Mineka's monkeys