Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology

Psychology 1 EA

Etiology and Criteria of Diagnosis for Phobia

Submitted by:

Submitted to: Mr Voltaire Marquez Instructor

Phobia:
A phobia is a type of psychological disorder that is defined as a fear of a certain object, situation in which the person affected goes at great lengths to avoid. This fear is exaggerated and typically disproportional to the actual fear the object or situation brings

Etiology (contributing factors):

Environmental Much of the progress in understanding is attributed to the Pavlovian Model or Classical Conditioning model. This procedure involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance. This is known as the unconditional stimulus. The neutral stimulus is any event that does not bring up a significant change of behavior in a person. The unconditional stimulus is any event or situation that evokes a response or a change of behavior, usually reflexive The acquisition of a phobia through a persons environment is described when a conditioned stimulus (neutral stimulus) is paired up with an negative unconditional stimulus results into a person exhibiting a conditioned fear response.

Evolutionary This point of view explains that phobias were the key to ancient human survival. For example, in ancient human times, snakes and spiders, unlike dangerous predators, tend to be hidden from view until they appear and may be a threat to children hence evoking an instinctive and fearful response Phobias however, are genetically inevitable but it is already genetically common to learn to fear certain things more easily.

Neurobiological Phobias are known to be caused by an event recorded by the amygdala and hippopocamus as deadly or dangerous. Hence if the situation or fear is encountered again in another way, the human reacts that the event has occurred repeatedly afterward The amygdale tends to secrete hormones that affect fear and aggression, hence if a fearful or aggressive response is initiated, these hormones are secreted into the human body into an alert state in which they are ready to react back.

Diagnosis:
According to the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-fourth edition-text revision), a diagnostic manual that provides the standard criterion for the classification of mental disorders, the following criterion are used in diagnosing a phobia: A marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms) that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Note: In children there must be evidence of the capacity for age-appropriate social relationships with familiar people and the anxiety must occur in peer settings, not just in interactions with adults. Exposure to the feared social situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, which may take the form of a situationally bound or situationally predisposed Panic Attack. Note: In children the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or shrinking from social situations with unfamiliar people. The person recognized that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children this feature may be absent. The feared social or performance situations are avoided or else are endured with intense anxiety or distress. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared social or performance situation(s) interferes significantly with the person's normal routine, occupational (academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress about having the phobia. In individuals under age 18, the duration is at least 6 months. The fear of avoidance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder. If a general medical condition or another mental disorder is present, the fear in Criterion A (Exposure to the social or performance situation almost invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response) is unrelated to it, e.g., the fear is not of Stuttering, trembling in Parkinson's disease, or exhibiting abnormal eating behavior in Anorexia

Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa.

Note: Some parts are in bold if the fears include most social situations

Sources: - Phobia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobia - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSM-IV-TR

Examples of Treatment:
Cognitive behavioral therapy This therapy allows the patient to challenge dysfunctional thoughts or beliefs by being mindful of their own feelings with the aim that the patient will realize that their fear is irrational. This is successful provided that the patient is willing to endure some discomfort Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing mainly used to treat Post traumatic stress disorder. This therapy helps treat phobias by addressing past, present and future aspects of the targeted memory