...into thoughts about last summer. You see the water cover your brother’s head as your mom pulls you away saying “baby he’s gone we have to save you!” You fight your mom trying to reach for your brother but you get pulled away instead. You begin to hear what seems like your alarm clock. You wake up and realize that you just had a terrible nightmare but what happened seemed so real. It scared you so much and you can’t even begin to think about going near water again. The story you just read is not true, but it does describe the experience of phobias. A phobia is the sensation of extreme fear when it’s not justified by the presence of any real danger or threat, or by any rational cause, and when it is accompanied by a systematic avoidance of the situations that leads to it."(White,2002). I chose this subject because it’s something that really struck my interest. The human brain is always a puzzle and plenty of people try to figure it out. Phobias are one of the things that I noticed many people don’t know much about. We know that people have them, but the cause we are still unsure of. I have arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, and when doing research about phobia’s...
Words: 469 - Pages: 2
...phobia is perception of danger associated with specific situations that could be avoided such as Heights elevators certain animals social situations A person was afraid of heights may believe that a building will tip over why he is towards the top Masked fears A person who is Agoura phobic is probably not even afraid of space she's afraid of something terrible happened to her while she is out in the world in other words people link their fears to previous experiences CBT for Phobias Primary method of overcoming phobias is Behavioural practice of exposure to extinction. Four instance a person was afraid of flying might first look at pictures of pains after that they would read a book about flying then they might watch a movie after that they would visualize and after that they would get in a real plane with a close friend or a therapist Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Flashbacks and Visions or even nightmares that occurs following a trauma. in other words its triggered by a terrifying event either experiencing it or witnessing it first hand for example, if someone was shot every time they hear a door slammed a flashback strikes. What are some causes of PSTD? The most common causes are: Natural disasters Spousal abuse Rape, Sexual assault Robbery/Shooting/mugging Child abuse war experience car or plane accident Eating disorders According to author Jean Antonelle When one is highly stressed the normal...
Words: 264 - Pages: 2
...disorder more than men. Phobic disorder is a very common mental disorder of our time. How we develop them is based on the individual itself, from a traumatic event during a person’s childhood, to the perception of something that was brought to their attention. Depending on the person that is suffering from a phobia will determine the level of help, if needed, to overcome a phobia. Phobias are the extreme fear of a specific object, situation, or activity. Having a phobia can determine whether a person is able to live a normal life. Some phobias are extreme and some are very mild. Most extreme phobias alter a person’s life dramatically for example the fear of the color red. If someone were to think of how many red things we encounter on a daily basis, being afraid of that color would confine you to your home, and also harm you. On the other hand, common phobias like the fear of heights wouldn’t do so much damaged to your life because that is a more understanding phobia. Most people that suffer from phobias also have another psychological issue going on. Phobias can be developed by many different stimuli in a person’s life but the cause of a phobia is unknown. Phobias develop in a person when something has happen to that person or a situation that a person has experienced like getting...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...experiment with his dog is known to nearly everyone who has taken a psychology class. He fed his dog in a pattern, every time he fed his dog he rang a bell. Eventually the dog associated the bell with food and would begin to salivate just on hearing the bell. That is the original experiment proving classical conditioning. Classical conditioning can cause a phobia. A phobia is a fear that is so irrational that the amount of fear is not warranted by the cause, and it interferes with the daily functioning of the sufferer. If one were to see and hear something that naturally produces a great deal of fear they may develop a phobia to similar sights and sounds. For example, if a car is heard honking and then seen and heard crashing at an intersection one might develop an irrational fear of car horns or crosswalks. Though a crosswalk at an intersection can be considered a dangerous place; if someone is so afraid to use one that they go completely out of their way to avoid it or change their plans all together, this would be considered a phobia because the level of fear is irrational and hinders the persons confidence. A phobia can be defined as an irritating fear of a stimulus that gradually evolves into a severe anxiety which can heavily disrupt and interfere with one’s daily activities. Fear naturally begins to surface in childhood, though gradually dissolves as a child ages. If a child enters...
Words: 1240 - Pages: 5
...Course assignment Topic: Phobias Prepared by: Accepted by F1-10 ------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents What is a phobia? pg 3 Types of phobias pg 3 Symptoms of phobias pg 5 Coping with phobias pg 5 Bibliography pg 7 What is a phobia? The word “Phobia” comes from the Greek “phobos” meaning fear. But it is not an ordinary type of fear. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational, fear of something that possess little or no actual danger. In many cases it is usually limited to one particular thing such as the fear of heights or lifts, of enclosed or open spaces, of travelling by plane, of certain animals and, in the worst of cases, of people. A phobia that has recently become very common is the fear of being “unclean” or contaminated by dirt or germs, and this leads to frequent and obsessive washing. Although the hands of a person with this phobia will get sore from repeated use of soap, he will not stop washing them. Some people have purely personal phobias. One woman was frightened that while she was driving a car, a bird would fly in front of a widescreen. Another man would never stand on a balcony fearing that at any moment it might collapse...
Words: 1654 - Pages: 7
...suffer from dog phobias live their lives with anxiety that he or she will come into contact with a dog. He or she live their lives with the fear that the situation will get worse over time and that something bad might or will happen to them. In Sally’s case, she first needs to understand your phobia to be able to overcome it. It is important to her to know that phobias are common. Meaning of Phobia What is a phobia? The meaning of phobia is fear of something that is intense and persistent of that certain situation, activity, animal or person. The fear of dogs is known as Cynophobia. The main symptom an individual might have from this disorder is the excessive and unexplainable desire to stay away from that fear. The fear can become beyond the control of an individual which then can control an individual’s daily life. One example of a phobia is dogs. Phobias are one form of anxiety disorders. Signs and symptoms of phobias The symptoms of a phobia can range from mild feelings of apprehension and anxiety to a full-blown panic attack. Usually when an individual gets closer to the dog, he or she starts to have greater fear. Physical signs and symptoms of a phobia is an individual starts to have the following issues: difficulty breathing, racing or pounding heart, chest pain or tightness, trembling or shaking, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, a churning stomach, hot or cold flashes; tingling sensations or sweating. There are some emotional signs that go along with phobia also. Some...
Words: 1375 - Pages: 6
...be like without your phobia and fear? If you have a phobia you may feel helpless in its grasp, knowing that it’s irrational but it feels mighty uncomfortable all the same. What would it be like to be able to fly whilst feeling relaxed and safe? Where would you travel to if you felt free to do so? If you have a fear of tunnels, what would life be like if you could travel by train whenever you wished and actually enjoyed the experience? What new opportunities and experiences will be open to you as a result of overcoming your phobia? There are currently over 200 known phobias including fear of making a fool of oneself (social phobia), water, spiders, enclosed spaces, flying, birds, snakes, etc. A phobia is an intense and irrational fear of an object, animal, person, place, situation or thought. This intense and extreme fear can lead the sufferer to avoid the stimulus of the fear (e.g. spiders), causing them anxiety and restriction in their lives. Some people confuse fears with phobias. Fear can be normal. For example, it is normal to experience fear in certain situations – fear is a normal response to dangerous situations such as being caught up in a riot. To feel extreme fear and for that fear to be irrational, is a phobic reaction. For example, to have a fear of thunder and lightning is irrational and phobic. The phobic person will be able to produce some of the physical symptoms of that fear just thinking about the trigger for their phobia. A phobia is an external symbol...
Words: 474 - Pages: 2
...(Filson 35). Other causes may be that the child fell into a deep pool not knowing how to swim, or being in a crowded area such as an amusement park and getting separated from their parents or the group they were with, or crawling into a closet and getting locked in. Another theory behind the cause of claustrophobia is a smaller amygdalae- a tiny part of the brain that is used to control how the body processes fear (“What is Claustrophobia? . . .”). In a study published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Fumi Hayano and colleagues discovered that people who suffered from panic disorders had smaller amygdalae than average. This smaller size could interfere with how the body processes panic and anxiety. There is also a theory that the phobias...
Words: 1402 - Pages: 6
...Running Head: PHOBIA-NOT JUST A FEAR BUT A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER Phobias: Not Just A Fear but a Psychological Disorder Fear, an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Fear is an unavoidable part of everyday life, and affects everyone in the world. However, there is a more powerful form of fear known as a phobia. Not everyone is affected by phobias, approximately eleven percent of the worlds population is (de Jong & Merckelbach, 2000). The world today associates any fear as a phobia, by tacking on the suffix “phobia” to the end of any word. However, a fear is not the same as a phobia. A phobia is a psychological disorder, not just an irrational fear. Belief that a phobia is not the same as a fear is controversial. This is increasingly important in this age of advanced psychology, medicine, and technology. Many people think that a phobia is defined as having a fear of a certain stimuli, but seem to overlook the fact that a phobia is more than a fear it is a psychological disorder. Phobias are quite difficult to understand, even to a person who has one. A phobia is an unrealistic and disproportionate fear of a certain stimuli resulting in panic, severe anxiety, lack of control and impairment. Phobias can be classified into two main groups, simple specific and complex general. Simple specific phobias are defined as an irrational fear to one specific stimulus, like a snake for example...
Words: 2175 - Pages: 9
...Phobias and Addictions PSY300 Phobias and Addictions Phobias and addictions are usually seen together because most people with an addition already had a phobia they may not have been aware of to begin with. To understand this they need to be broken down into both classical and operant conditioning and the effect each has on both phobias and addictions. Classical conditioning occurs when people learn to react to a stimulus in the environment whereas operant conditioning occurs when people react to a reward or punishment. The major difference between classical and operant conditioning lies in the nature of the response to a given stimulus. Addictions Addiction to anything comes from a persistent behavior that despite knowing it can have adverse consequences a person will continue this behavior. Most addictions start when someone has a pleasurable experience and wishes to continue or relive this experience. They will continue the behavior with little or no self-control even when it can become destructive. A person who is addicted will experience urges or cravings to engage in the behavior, which intensify until the he or she carries out the behavior again, usually experiencing relief, and elation (Grant, Potenza, Weinstein, &Gorelick, 2010). Addiction seeks immediate gratification of drives and impulses. Operant conditioning focuses on behavior that is voluntary such as gambling where this behavior is done for a reward. Sex addiction is a behavior...
Words: 1242 - Pages: 5
...Irene Torres September 22, 2015 HS-121-1642 Phobia Essay Acrophobia The Phobia I picked to write about is Acrophobia. Acrophobia is one of the most common phobias and is an extreme abnormal excessive and persistent fear of heights. People that suffer from this phobia experience severe anxiety which may include heart racing, shortness of breath, muscle tension, sweating, trembling and intense fear. The person who suffers from this phobia doesn’t just need to experience being in a high location but can experience this phobia in different activities which can include being in a elevator or getting on a ride at a amusement park, going up a ladder even being on a bridge or just the thought of being in a situation where they know that this might be coming up or someone might ask to get on a ride with them or go in a elevator or climb up the ladder to get something. All this can trigger this phobia and the result is to panic. This phobia can easily curtail everyday activities and the main theories used to explain this phobia is that the fear became uncontrollable after a traumatic incident in early childhood. There are different types of methods that they say could help with this phobia. The usual is medication, behavior therapy or relaxation techniques. They say people suffering from a phobia are aware of the inappropriateness if their fears. People suffering from different phobias supposedly have the capacity to accurately control the levels of danger and know that their...
Words: 465 - Pages: 2
...Phobias and Addictions PSY/300 July 29, 2013 Abstract Week Two of PSY/300, which is the General Psychology class, has an assignment of writing a paper regarding phobias and addictions. It includes the meanings and the differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. The paper explains what phobias are as compared to addictions and how each of them affects behavior in individuals. It also explains what classical conditioning means to phobias as well as what operant conditioning means to addictions. Phobias and Addictions Every person is in one way or another, conditioned by either operant or classical conditioning. Phobias develop through classical conditioning, whereas addictions develop through operant conditioning. The classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behavior via the process of association, (McLeod, 2012). Operant conditioning is the other type of conditioning whereas an individual learns through a reward system. It is more or less association made between behavior and consequence of that behavior. Phobias and addictions develop through these two types of conditioning. Phobias develop through classical conditioning and addictions through operant conditioning. Through the past decades, psychologists studied these two relationships to develop a more understanding of these emotional disorders. Phobias and addictions are negative behaviors and usually come from classical conditioning or operant conditioning. Phobias happen...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
...phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely, the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities. Symptoms involve an irrational, persistent fear of a specific object or situation that's out of proportion to the actual risk. This includes a fear of situations (such as airplanes or enclosed spaces); nature (such as thunderstorms or heights); animals or insects (such as dogs or spiders); blood, injection or injury (such as knives or medical procedures); or other phobias (such as loud noises or clowns). There are many other types of specific phobias. It's not unusual to experience phobias about more than one object or situation. It’s only natural to want to avoid the thing or situation you fear. But when it comes to conquering phobias, facing your fears is the key. While avoidance may make you feel better in the short-term, it prevents you from learning that your phobia may not be as frightening or overwhelming as you think. You never get the chance to learn how to cope with your fears and experience control over the situation. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting in your mind. Exposure: Gradually and...
Words: 1529 - Pages: 7
...Speech phobia goes far beyond the normal fear of public speaking that most people have. It is a crippling fear that is so severe that the phobic individual often goes to great lengths to avoid giving a speech. In schools that require a public speaking course for graduation, some phobics will take every other course they need and then drop out of school rather than take the dreaded class. Some will forego jobs or promotions if public speaking is a requirement—even though they know they are hurting themselves financially. When there is no escape, and phobics are forced to give a speech, they suffer tremendous agony. In addition to the symptoms displayed by the average speaker, phobics may experience dizziness, faintness, nausea, loss of memory, breathing problems (such as hyperventilation), and overwhelming feelings of terror and panic. It is estimated that one out of 100 Americans suffers from this kind of phobia. If you are among the unlucky one percent, there is hope for you. You don't have to go through life with this crippling disability. By using some or all of the methods outlined below, you can bring down your anxiety to manageable levels. Thousands of speech phobics, either working alone or with a therapist, have conquered their problem. The first step is not to run away: if you are in a speech class, don't drop out; if you are scheduled to give a talk to your fellow employees next month, don't quit your job. Get help. If the information below helps you, fine; if...
Words: 3971 - Pages: 16
...Phobias and Addictions Camille Sere' PSY/300 October 2, 2012 Shari Tumlin Phobias and Addictions In this paper I will be discussing phobias and addictions in relation to classical and operant conditioning. I will research and explore how phobias can be developed through classical conditioning, and how addictions can be developed through operant conditioning. I will also explain what extinction means in psychology and how it is achieved in both classical and operant conditioning. The first thing you need to know is what exactly a phobia is. A phobia is an uncontrollable fear of an object or situation that is unreasonable and can develop in many ways; one of these ways is through conditioning. People have fears all the time, but a phobia affects a person’s daily life. Phobias for some people make it to where they become reclusive, or they cannot leave the comfort of their own homes, or their safe place. There are two main types or categories of phobias; they are specific phobias and social phobias. A specific phobia is an uncontrollable fear of a specific thing or a specific stimulus. There are animal phobias where a person is afraid of a certain animal or insect, for example the fear of spiders is called arachnophobia. There are environmental phobias like a fear of storms or heights. There are phobias of medical procedures as well as situational phobias like small spaces or flying. A social phobia is an uncontrollable fear of a particular situation such as giving...
Words: 849 - Pages: 4
