
A phobia is a persistent and
unreasonable fear of a particular object,
activity, or situation. (fundamentals of abnormal psychology by Ronald J.
Comer)

In some studies, African
Americans and Hispanic
Americans report having at
least 50% more specific phobias than do
white Americans, even when economic
factors, education, and age are held
steady across the groups.
(Hopko et al., 2008; Breslau et al., 2008)

More than 23% of individuals develop such
phobias at some point during their lives,
and many people have more than one at
a time.
(pg. 107)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E9G
Cpc4QjI
 Exposure treatments- individual is exposed to
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objects or situations they dread
Systematic desensitization learn to relax while
gradually facing the objects or situation they
fear
Flooding: people will stop fearing things when
they are exposed to them repeatedly
Modeling, the therapist who confronts the
geared object while the fearful person
observes. Proves the person’s fear is
groundless.
Key to success is actual contact with the
feared object or situation.

Arachnophobia is one of the
most common phobias in the
world.

Within the book, there is quoted a woman
named Marianne, who has a fear of spiders.
She says, “Seeing a spider makes me rigid with
fear, hot, trembling and dizzy. I have
occasionally vomited and once fainted in
order to escape from the situation. These
symptoms last three to four days after seeing a
spider. Realistic pictures can cause the same
effect, especially if I inadvertently place my
hand on one.” (Comer)
Social Phobia
Treatment – categorize
as social fears and or
poor social skills.
› Treat Social fears by
drug (anti-depressants),
exposure therapy, group,
or cognitive therapy
› Social skills can be
improved by social skills training.
 Model appropriate social behaviors for
clients, role play, reinforcement from

Role play a situation. Rather than
avoid a social setting due to fear of
embarrassment or humiliation, role play
a situation in advance. With a friend's
assistance, practice introducing
yourself and starting a conversation.
Be calm and speak slow.
 Focus on your good qualities.
Individuals with social phobia tend
to focus on the bad and have a
negative self-image. In turn, they fear
that other people will view them
as uninteresting or boring.
Everyone has good and bad
qualities. Pinpoint your three strongest
character traits. This will help boost
your Confidence and improve your
self-worth.
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Practice good eye contact. Make an effort to look people in
the eye. Be the first say "hello," and return smiles.
Prepare for a conversation. It can be difficult to start a
conversation with someone new. Before attending a social
event, brainstorm three or four topics that will make good
conversations. People with social phobia can spark a
discussion with a current event, hot news topic or the
weather.
Talk to a stranger. Social phobics avoid interaction with
strangers. Stepping outside your comfort zone is one way to
overcome anxiety. Ask a stranger for directions, compliment
someone or request help from a retail salesperson.
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Is the fear of heights
You may experience shaking, swearing, heart
palpitations, crying, yelling out, feeling terrified,
confusion, or a feeling of being paralyzed.
According to Harold Levinson’s research with
dyslexia it unexpectedly led him to the discovery
that over 90% of all phobic behavior and panic
attacks are due to a dysfunction within the inner-ear
and its supercomputer- the cerebellum.
Claustrophobia is defined as an
irrational, exaggerated fear of
being in small, confined, or closed
spaces.

Most cases of claustrophobia
stem from a traumatic incident
involving being trapped in a small
space taking place in the
person’s life.

When someone who suffers from
claustrophobia finds themselves in
a small space, they might feel a
tightening in their chest, rapid
heartbeat, a sudden weakening
of limbs, and they can ultimately
faint.
 Claustrophobia is categorized as a specific phobia due to the nature
of the situation that is feared.
Three types of treatment commonly used in cases of claustrophobia
are desensitization, flooding, and modeling.
Most people suffer from claustrophobia to a degree, but studies
estimate that about 10 percent of people are actually diagnosed with
having claustrophobia.
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By, Britne Gose
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Don’t confuse with obsessive compulsive
personality disorder
Marked by obsessions and/or
compulsions
Selective Serotonin
Reuptake Inhibitors
 Downregulate the
reuptake of serotonin at
the synaptic cleft via the
serotonin transporter
protein, 5-HTT
 Due to SSRI’s, the
serotonin system is a
very popular research
subject

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Serotonin Transporter Gene that
encodes the serotonin transporter
protein, 5-HTT
There are two variants in the promoter
region of this gene called the long and
the short.
The long variant produces 3 times as
much of 5-HTT then the long variant

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Bengel et al., (1999)
found that individuals
with OCD were more
likely to be
homozygous for the
long allele
Billet et al., (1997)
found that there was
no statistical
significance between
the control groups and
the experimental
group
No conclusive results
 continued research
 Due to the
complexity of OCD
 Environmental
factors
 There are probably
many genes
involved, interacting
in different ways
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