294 CHAPTER 7
encounter the feared stimulus (Tomarken, Mineka, & Cook, 1989). They also
overestimate the probability that an unpleasant event, such as falling from a high
place or an airplane’s crashing into a tall building, will occur (Pauli, Wiedemann, &
Montoya, 1998). People who have a specifi c phobia may also have perceptual dis-
tortions related to their feared stimulus. For example, a person with a spider pho-
bia may perceive that a spider is moving straight toward him or her when it isn’t
(Riskind, Moore, & Bowley, 1995).Conditioning: Classical and Operant
From a learning perspective, classical conditioning and operant conditioning could
account for the development and maintenance of a specifi c phobia. Watson and
Rayner’s conditioning of Little Albert’s fear of rats was the fi rst experimental induc-
tion of a classically conditioned phobia (see Chapter 2). For Kevin, in Case 7.5,
the ocean was the conditioned stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus was almost
drowning, and the conditioned response was fear. Avoidance of the feared stimulus
is negatively reinforced (Mowrer, 1939): The feared stimulus causes anxiety, which
is then relieved by avoiding the stimulus. In Kevin’s case, anxiety about water is
reduced when he avoids water.
Some recent research, however, has questioned the importance of classical con-
ditioning in the development of specifi c phobias. In studies of people with phobias
of water, heights, and spiders, researchers usually have not found evidence that clas-
sical conditioning played the role that had been predicted (Jones & Menzies, 1995;
Menzies & Clarke, 1993a, 1993b, 1995a, 1995b; Poulton et al., 1999). Further evi-
dence for a limited role of classical conditioning comes from everyday observations:
Many people experience the pairing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli but
do not become phobic.
Regardless of the extent of the role of classical conditioning, operant conditioning
clearly plays a key role in maintaining a specifi c phobia: By avoiding the feared stimu-
lus, a person can decrease the fear and anxiety that he or she would experience in the
presence of it, which reinforces the avoidance. Hughes knew from experience with his
social anxiety how easily such avoidance could narrow his life; his passion for fl ying
motivated him to return to the skies after a disastrous plane crash.Social Factors: Modeling and Culture
Sometimes, simply seeing other people exhibit fear of a particular stimulus is enough
to make the observer become afraid of that stimulus (Mineka, Cook, & Miller,
1984). For example, if as a young child, you saw your older cousin become agitated
and anxious when a dog approached, you might well learn to do the same. Simi-
larly, repeated warnings about the dangers of a stimulus can increase the risk of de-
veloping a specifi c phobia of that stimulus (Antony & Barlow, 2002). After hearing
about a plane crash on the news, it is no surprise that some people became afraid to
fl y—even though they had not been in a plane accident themselves.
Modeling is not the only way that culture can exert an effect on the content of
specifi c phobias. Consider the fact that people in India are twice as likely as people
in England to have phobias of animals, darkness, and bad weather, but are only half
as likely to have social phobia or agoraphobia (Chambers, Yeragani, & Keshavan,
1986). One explanation for this fi nding is that women in India are apt to spend
more time at home than their English counterparts, so they have less opportunity to
encounter feared social situations. Similarly, dangerous and predatory animals are
more likely to roam free in India than in England.FEEDBACK LOOPS IN ACTION: Understanding Specifi c Phobias
A person may be neurologically vulnerable to developing a specifi c phobia (neuro-
logical factor), in part because of his or her genes. Through observing others’ fear
of a specifi c stimulus (social factor), the individual can become afraid and develop
faulty cognitions, which can lead to anxious apprehension, distorted thinking, and
the conditioning of false alarms to the feared stimulus (all psychological factors).P SNP SN