Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias

BEHAVIOURAL

The behavioural characteristics of phobias include avoidance and panic. Avoidance is the primary behavioural characteristic of a phobia, where individuals with a phobia tend to avoid the object or situation they fear. For example, individuals with arachnophobia may avoid being near spiders, while those with social phobia may avoid large crowds. However, avoiding one's fears is not always possible, and individuals may come face-to-face with the object or situation they fear, leading to panic and high levels of stress and anxiety. In some cases, the fear response is so intense that it results in a person freezing, which is part of the 'fight or flight' response. This freezing response is an adaptive response that makes a predator believe their prey is dead.

EMOTIONAL

The emotional characteristics of phobias include excessive and irrational fear, anxiety, and panic. The presence or anticipation of a particular object or situation can trigger an intense emotional response that is disproportionate to the actual danger posed by the object or situation.

COGNITIVE

The cognitive characteristics of phobias can be categorised into two components: selective attention and irrational beliefs. Individuals with phobias may have difficulty diverting their attention from the object or situation that they fear, which is known as selective attention. This can occur because of their irrational beliefs about the potential danger posed. Additionally, phobias are characterised by irrational thinking patterns about the feared object or situation. For instance, a person with arachnophobia may hold the irrational belief that all spiders are harmful and poisonous, despite the fact that none of the spiders found in the UK are actually lethal.