✏️The behavioural approach to explaining phobias
Mowrer suggested that phobias are caused by classical and operant conditioning, meaning that two
processes are involved. Therefore it is called the two-process model. Classical conditioning involved
learning through association. An unconditioned stimulus triggers a fear response, meaning that fear
is the unconditioned response. An example of this is being bitten which creates anxiety. The neutral
stimulus is associated with the unconditioned stimulus. An example is being bitten by a dog. The dog
didn't previously cause anxiety and stress, but now the dog is associated with anxiety due to biting.
The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, meaning that the dog now becomes a
conditioned stimulus creating a conditioned response of anxiety and fear. An example of this
explanation for phobias is Little Albert. Watson and Rayner got a child called Albert to play with a
white rat, and whenever he did a loud bang noise was made near his ear. The noise, an
unconditioned stimulus, caused a fear response, an unconditioned response. The rat, which was
previously a neutral stimulus was associated with the loud bang after being paired together multiple
times. Albert then showed a fearful response every time he came into contact with a rat. Little
Albert also showed fear when he interacted with other white fluffy objects including a fur coat and a
Santa Claus beard. This shows how his fear has generalised to other stimuli.
Fear is maintained through the use of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning happens when our
behaviours are reinforced or punished. Negative reinforcement is involved in maintaining phobias
and is when someone produces certain behaviours so that they avoid something unpleasant. This is
when a person with a phobia avoids the stimulus so that they can avoid the feelings of anxiety and
fear they would have experienced. The lack of fear that they experience reinforces the avoidance
behaviour and therefore the phobia is maintained. An example of negative reinforcement is
someone who has a fear of clowns and avoids a circus. They, therefore, feel relief from avoiding the
clowns and the phobia is therefore maintained instead of confronted.
A strength of the two-process model is that it has real-world applications. The fact that phobias are
maintained by avoidance supports the fact that people can get over their phobias through exposure
therapy. Once people stop avoiding their phobias and instead confront them, they will experience a
reduction of anxiety and the avoidance behaviour will reduce. This shows that there is real-world
value to the two-process model because it helps people to treat phobias.
A limitation is that the two-process model doesn't explain the cognitive aspects of phobias. The two-
process model includes behavioural explanations for explaining phobias; the avoidance of the
stimulus. However, this doesn't explain the cognitive symptoms such as irrational beliefs about the
phobias stimulus. Therefore the two-process model doesn't fully explain all the symptoms of
phobias.
Another strength is that there is evidence linking phobias to bad experiences. One researcher found
that 73% of dental phobias involved people who had experienced trauma, showing evidence linking
phobias and bad experiences. More support comes from a control group with low dental anxiety,
where only 21% had experienced a traumatic event. This shows that there is a link between
traumatic events and phobias.
However, a counterpoint is that not all phobias involve a bad experience. Many people have a
phobia of snakes, however, they have never encountered a snake before. Also, not all frightening
experiences lead to phobias, as some people may have a bad experience with a dog but still love
dogs. This means that behavioural explanations don't explain all types of phobias.
Mowrer suggested that phobias are caused by classical and operant conditioning, meaning that two
processes are involved. Therefore it is called the two-process model. Classical conditioning involved
learning through association. An unconditioned stimulus triggers a fear response, meaning that fear
is the unconditioned response. An example of this is being bitten which creates anxiety. The neutral
stimulus is associated with the unconditioned stimulus. An example is being bitten by a dog. The dog
didn't previously cause anxiety and stress, but now the dog is associated with anxiety due to biting.
The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, meaning that the dog now becomes a
conditioned stimulus creating a conditioned response of anxiety and fear. An example of this
explanation for phobias is Little Albert. Watson and Rayner got a child called Albert to play with a
white rat, and whenever he did a loud bang noise was made near his ear. The noise, an
unconditioned stimulus, caused a fear response, an unconditioned response. The rat, which was
previously a neutral stimulus was associated with the loud bang after being paired together multiple
times. Albert then showed a fearful response every time he came into contact with a rat. Little
Albert also showed fear when he interacted with other white fluffy objects including a fur coat and a
Santa Claus beard. This shows how his fear has generalised to other stimuli.
Fear is maintained through the use of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning happens when our
behaviours are reinforced or punished. Negative reinforcement is involved in maintaining phobias
and is when someone produces certain behaviours so that they avoid something unpleasant. This is
when a person with a phobia avoids the stimulus so that they can avoid the feelings of anxiety and
fear they would have experienced. The lack of fear that they experience reinforces the avoidance
behaviour and therefore the phobia is maintained. An example of negative reinforcement is
someone who has a fear of clowns and avoids a circus. They, therefore, feel relief from avoiding the
clowns and the phobia is therefore maintained instead of confronted.
A strength of the two-process model is that it has real-world applications. The fact that phobias are
maintained by avoidance supports the fact that people can get over their phobias through exposure
therapy. Once people stop avoiding their phobias and instead confront them, they will experience a
reduction of anxiety and the avoidance behaviour will reduce. This shows that there is real-world
value to the two-process model because it helps people to treat phobias.
A limitation is that the two-process model doesn't explain the cognitive aspects of phobias. The two-
process model includes behavioural explanations for explaining phobias; the avoidance of the
stimulus. However, this doesn't explain the cognitive symptoms such as irrational beliefs about the
phobias stimulus. Therefore the two-process model doesn't fully explain all the symptoms of
phobias.
Another strength is that there is evidence linking phobias to bad experiences. One researcher found
that 73% of dental phobias involved people who had experienced trauma, showing evidence linking
phobias and bad experiences. More support comes from a control group with low dental anxiety,
where only 21% had experienced a traumatic event. This shows that there is a link between
traumatic events and phobias.
However, a counterpoint is that not all phobias involve a bad experience. Many people have a
phobia of snakes, however, they have never encountered a snake before. Also, not all frightening
experiences lead to phobias, as some people may have a bad experience with a dog but still love
dogs. This means that behavioural explanations don't explain all types of phobias.
