Year 11 Revision
B541: Studies and Applications in Psychology
ATYPICAL BEHAVIOUR
1. Write a definition for atypical behaviour (1).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Common Phobias.
Match up the definition with the description of that phobia:
DEFINITION
A-G-O-R-A-P-H-O-B-I-A
(agoraphobia)
DESCRIPTION
An extreme fear of being in public spaces away from the safety of the
home. E.g. shopping centres or public transport. People often feel
confined to their own homes
S-O-C-I-A-L P-H-O-B-I-A (Social
An extreme fear of being exposed or embarrassed during social contact
Phobia)
-Sufferers are very anxious about what people may think of them
-They worry that they will act in an embarrassing way in public
S-C-H-O-O-L P-H-O-B-I-A (School An extreme fear of attending and being in school
Phobia)
-It is not the same as truanting
-Non-attendance is related to anxiety
A-C-R-O-P-H-O-B-I-A (Acrophobia) An extreme fear of heights
-Anxious about being high up somewhere
-Also may be anxious from just being at the top of a building e.g may
close their eyes or crawl on all fours because they fear losing their
sense of balance
A-R-A-C-H-N-O-P-H-O-B-I-A
An extreme fear of spiders
(Arachnophobia)
-Suffers’ reactions will differ: in extreme cases some people may
struggle to cope with a cartoon picture of a spider
Note: Students always struggle to spell the words correctly and this is essential for the exam. Make sure you
know the definitions and also how to spell the words correctly. 
3. Symptoms of Phobias
Circle the symptoms of phobias:
sweating
twitchy nose
blocked nose
excessive blinking
sore legs
dizziness
sleepiness
feeling sick
loss of control
headache
heart pounding
4. Core Theory: Learning Theory of Phobias
Some terminology:
 Neutral Stimulus – something that does not provoke a response in you.
 Unconditioned Stimulus – something that naturally provokes a response in you. (Unconditioned =
untrained)
 Unconditioned Response – a natural response. (Unconditioned = untrained)
 Conditioned Stimulus – something that through association and repetition produces a learned
(trained response) in you.
 Conditioned Response – a learned response.
Fill in the gaps in the diagram.
Classical Conditioning
Being stung (unconditioned stimulus) may cause a fear response (unconditioned response) because it could cause
you pain. If it is a bee that stings you, then you could associate the stinging with the actual bee. Before this event a
bee might see quite harmless (neutral stimulus). Through repetition and association the bee becomes a conditioned
stimulus because it triggers a conditioned response (fear).
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is also used by ………………………………… to explain phobias. It is learning by…………………….. . If
the consequences are …………………………… we learn to do them …………………… but if they are negative we tend not to
………………….. the action. This can explain why phobias ……………………. and we do not lose them. For example, why do
people not learn that not every bee is going to sting them? We only learn this when we ………………… our fears. Many
do not face their …………………. because avoiding the fear is rewarding, so they keep on avoiding the …………………….. or
situation. If they do try to face their fear it will result in………………………. As anxiety is ………………………….people won’t
want to face their fear again.
anxiety
Behaviourists
punishing
object
rewarding
repeat
continue
consequences
again
fears
5. Evaluating the Core Theory (AO2)
Colour code the sentences to make the correct PEELS.
face
Point
Evidence
Explanation
Elaboration
P- One criticism of the
behaviourist theory of
atypical behaviour is that it
only focuses on behaviour
and ignores the mind and
thinking behind behaviour.
E- For example, people can
learn their phobias from
imitating and observing their
role models.
E- This suggests that two
people can have the same
experience but may not form
the same associations, so the
thinking behind behaviour is
important.
L- This weakens the credibility
and explanatory power of the
behaviourist explanation of
atypical behaviour.
P- Another criticism of the
behaviourist explanation of
atypical behaviour is that
phobias can be learnt
through indirect
experiences such as social
learning.
E- For example, a number of
British people have a phobia of
snakes even though they are
unlikely to have come across
one.
E- So if a parent hides under
the stairs during a
thunderstorm, a child may
copy this behaviour and
develop a phobia of storms
too. The child has not formed
a phobia through association
but through social learning.
L- This weakens the credibility of
the behaviourist theory for
explaining atypical behaviour.
P- A final criticism of the
behaviourist explanation of
atypical behaviour is that it
cannot explain how some
people have phobias of
objects and situations that
they have no direct
experience of.
E- For example, two people
may have been attacked on a
dark night. One person may
think about it rationally and
realise that they are unlikely to
be a victim of an attack again.
However, another person may
think irrationally, decide they
are likely to get attacked again
and may develop a phobia.
E- This suggests that some
phobias are more to do with
nature rather than nurture
and people are simply born
with them.
L- This weakens the credibility of
the behaviourist theory for
explaining atypical behaviour.
6. Alternative Theory of Phobias: EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
Highlight the key words:
Preparedness to fear certain objects or situations is something that has evolved over thousands of years. Our
ancestors may have been seriously under threat from animals such as snakes and spiders in their day. People in
the past who feared these things were more likely to survive. These are the people who also managed to
reproduce as well. In reproducing, they passed on their preparedness of certain fears. These fears or a
preparedness to fear have been inherited by each new generation.
7. Core Study: Watson and Rayner (1920)
True or False?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
The participant in the experiment was called little Freddie.
Watson and Rayner used a lab experiment to investigate how phobias develop.
Little Albert was 11 months old.
At first everything they tested on Albert scared him (e.g. burning paper or animals).
The only stimuli that triggered a natural fear was a fire alarm.
They conditioned albert to fear a white rat.
They did this by pairing the white rat with a loud bang from a hammer hitting a
steel bar.
h. They paired the neutral stimuli (rat) with the unconditioned stimuli (loud bang) 327
times.
i. Albert became scared of the white rat because he learned to associate it with a
loud bang.
True
True
True
True
True
True
True
False
False
False
False
False
False
False
True
False
True
False
8. Core Study AO2
Fill in the gaps:
a. One weakness of Watson and Rayner’s study is that it lacks …………………….. validity. This is because the
research was conducted in a highly …………………………….. environment (a lab setting). The research was
therefore carried out in an artificial setting. This means that the researchers may have shown that you can
condition a phobia in a laboratory but they did not show it can happen in a more ……………………. setting.
Therefore, the findings cannot be ……………………………….. to a real life setting because individuals would act
differently in the real world. This means that the ………………………….. of the research is weakened as it lacks
applicability.
credibility
Ecological
natural
generalised
controlled
b. Another weakness of Watson and Rayner’s study is that a small ………………………. size was used (lack
population validity). This is a problem because the sample consisted of only ……………….. baby who was 11
months old. This means that we do not know whether it would be easier or more difficult to condition
other………………………... We also do not know whether it would be possible to condition phobias in older
children or adults. Consequently, the results of the study cannot be ………………………….. to the wider
population which means the ………………………….. theory being tested by Watson and Rayner lacks
explanatory……………………………….
power
Sample
one
Behaviourist
children
generalised
c. A final …………………………… of Watson and Rayner’s study is that there are a number of reasons why it is
highly…………………………... For example, Albert was clearly caused …………………………….. as he was made afraid
of white rats and there was no attempt to …………………………….. the phobia. In addition, Albert could have
been left with a …………………………… disorder for life and was therefore psychologically…………………….
Although this was unethical research, a ……………………………………………… would have been conducted
beforehand. This would be to establish if the potential costs (i.e. psychological harm) would outweigh the
benefits (in this case, finding out if phobias can be learnt). If they do not, the research would go ahead. As a
consequence, it can be said that although Watson and Rayner’s study does break ethical…………………………, it
still provides ……………………………….. insight into forming phobias.
guideline
valuable
distress
counter-condition
mental
cost benefit analysis
Weakness
unethical
9. Real Life Applications:
Answer the questions about therapies used to cure phobias.
a. Flooding:

Give an example of curing someone with a fear of flying through flooding.

What is the theory behind flooding?

What will initially happen to clients?

What will happen after some time being faced with their fear?
b. Systematic Desensitisation:

What do patients and therapists need to form at the start of their therapy?

Give an example of systematic desensitisation for a patient with arachnophobia.
c. Implosion Therapy:

Which therapy is implosion therapy similar to?

Why is implosion therapy more ethical?
harmed