PSY 034 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Anxiety Disorder, Locus Coeruleus, Social Skills
Document Summary
Definition: persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation. People with a phobia become fearful if they even think about the object or situation they dread, but they usually remain comfortable as long as they avoid the object or thoughts about it. People with phobias often feel so much distress that their fears may interfere with their lives. Specific phobias-persistent fear of a specific object or situation. Vast majority to of people with specific phobias do not seek treatment, they try instead to avoid the objects they fear. Social phobias-people with severe, persistent, and irrational fears of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur. Classical conditioning-when two events occur close together and in time become closely associated in a person"s mind. Stimulus generalization-responses to one stimulus are also elicited by similar stimuli. Preparedness- people are prepared to acquire some phobias and not others (fear of heights-helps you stay alive)