Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Anxiety Disorders541The core of social phobia seems to be an irrational fear of being embarrassed,judged, or critically evaluated by others. People with social phobia recognize thattheir fear is excessive and unreasonable, but they still approach social situations withtremendous anxiety (Hofmann & Otto, 2008). In severe cases, they may even suffera panic attack in social situations. When the fear of being embarrassed or failing inpublic significantly interferes with daily life, it qualifies as social phobia (DSM-IV-TR, 2000).As with panic attacks, cultural influences can add some novel twists to socialphobia. Consider the Japanese disorder called taijin kyofusho. Taijin kyofushousually affects young Japanese males. It has several features in common with socialphobia, including extreme social anxiety and avoidance of social situations.However, the person with taijin kyofusho is not worried about being embarrassedin public. Rather, reflecting the cultural emphasis of concern for others,the person with taijin kyofusho fears that his appearance or smell, facial expression,or body language will offend, insult, or embarrass other people (Iwamasa,1997).specific phobiaAn excessive, intense, and irrational fear ofa specific object, situation, or activity that isactively avoided or endured with markedanxiety.social phobia or social anxietydisorderAn anxiety disorder involving the extremeand irrational fear of being embarrassed,judged, or scrutinized by others in socialsituations.Explaining PhobiasLearning TheoriesThe development of some phobias can be explained in terms of basic learningprinciples (Craske & Waters, 2005). Classical conditioning may well be involvedin the development of a specific phobia that can be traced back to some sort oftraumatic event. In Chapter 5, on learning, we saw how psychologist John Watsonclassically conditioned “Little Albert” to fear a tame lab rat that had beenpaired with loud noise. Following the conditioning, the infant’s fear generalizedto other furry objects. In much the same way, our neighbor Michelle has beenextremely phobic of dogs ever since she was bitten by a German shepherd whenshe was 4 years old. In effect, Michelle developed a conditioned response (fear) toa conditioned stimulus (the German shepherd) that has generalized to similarstimuli—any dog.Operant conditioning can also be involved in the avoidance behavior that characterizesphobias. In Michelle’s case, she quickly learned that she could reduce heranxiety and fear by avoiding dogs altogether. To use operant conditioning terms,her operant response of avoiding dogs is negatively reinforced by the relief from anxietyand fear that she experiences.Observational learning can also be involved in the development of phobias. Somepeople learn to be phobic of certain objects or situations by observing the fearful reactionsof someone else who acts as a model in the situation. The child who observesa parent react with sheer panic to the sight of a spider or mouse may imitate thesame behavioral response. People can also develop phobias from observing vividmedia accounts of disasters, as when some people become afraid to fly after watchinggraphic TV coverage of a plane crash.Yuck! It’s hard to suppress a shudder ofdisgust at the sight of a slug sliming itsway across the sidewalk . . . or a cockroachscuttling across the kitchen floor. Are suchresponses instinctive? Why are peoplemore likely to develop phobias for slugs,maggots, and cockroaches than for mosquitoesor grasshoppers?