OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Psychology >> Phobias
We have many free term papers and essays on Phobias. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
phobias. Most of ... However I am here to imform you that while common these phobias
are only a small portion of known phobias. While most ...
Phobias. Phobias A phobia is a psychological fear of certain objects or
situations. ... Millions of Americans are afflicted with phobias. ...
Phobias. Phobias What do you fear? Spiders, snakes, death, the dark? ... But
where do these phobias come from how are they developed? ...
Phobias. Phobias Pho*bi ... The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that
5%-12% of Americans have phobias. Specific phobias affect ...
Phobias. ... There are three types of phobias: Agoraphobias, Social Phobias, and Specific
Phobias. The first: Agoraphobia, is the phobia type that I suffer from. ...
Submitted by k06rl01 on April 14, 2008
Category: Psychology
Words: 1466 | Pages: 6
Views: 185
Popularity Rank: 66,144
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Phobias
What do you fear? Spiders, snakes, death, the dark? These are common examples of fears that millions of people associate with, but to some, it is more than just a fear, it is an obsession. A fear that cannot be overlooked, or reasoned, it is a fear that is not just a thought in the back of the mind but a main concern. To these people, it is no longer considered a fear but a phobia. A phobia can be defined as an irrational, intense persistent fear of certain situations, objects activities or persons. A phobia translates from an everyday fear to an excessive unreasonable desire to avoid the feared object. Phobias are a well known type of anxiety disorder in our society, but to truly understand the nature of a phobia we must look at it from a psychological standpoint and break down not only its history but, the classifications and scientific perspective of why and how phobias occur.
Phobias are said be to the most common anxiety disorder in society, from the fear of confined spaces known as claustrophobia, to the fear of asparagus diagnosed as spargarophobia the list of phobias in our culture is extensive, and under constant growth. But where do these phobias come from how are they developed? Phobias are not a topic of psychology that has been tackled with authority and assurance. It is not well known by psychologists the direct cause of a phobia, but there are suggestions to their origin. Psychologists that study phobias have suggested their cause is related to an unpleasant experience involving the feared object (Wolpe p.115). This unpleasant experience is then stored in the memory and resurfaces when the memory is triggered by encounters with the feared object, which can be closely related to a form of classical or operant conditioning.
From a biological standpoint scientists have linked phobias to an area in the brain known as the amygdala (Wood 522). The amygdala is an area of the brain that lies behind the...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!