10A: Contributing factors to Specific phobia

A specific phobia is a mental health (a)   characterised by excessive or ​ (b)   fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation, often leading to ​ (c)   behaviour.

• disorder
• unreasonable
• avoidance
• problem
• reasonable
• attention seeking

GABA Dysfunction and Long-term potentiation (LTP) are (a)   contributing factors to specific phobia. This means they are ​ (b)   factors that relate to the ​ (c)   .

• biological
• internal
• physiological of an individual's brain and body
• psychological
• social
• external
• thoughts and mental processes
• interaction with people or the environment

Several neurotransmitters have been identified as playing a role in the experience of anxiety and one of these is GABA. GABA is the primary ​ (a)   neurotransmitter in the ​ (b)   nervous system. GABA dysfunction can result in ​ (c)   levels of GABA in the brain. This causes the postsynaptic neuron to ​ (d)   likely fire an action potential, which can lead to a/an ​ (e)   in levels of anxiety.

• inhibitory
• central
• low
• excitatory
• peripheral
• more
• increase
• less
• decrease

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is thought to contribute to phobic anxiety because this process ​ (a)   the association between a phobic stimulus and a fear or anxiety response through its activity at the ​ (b)   due to ​ (c)   co-activation of the ​ (d)   and ​ (e)   .

• strengthens
• synapse
• repeated
• stress response
• perception of the phobic stimulus
• weakens
• nucleus
• singular
• object
• frightened response

​ (a)   by classical conditioning, ​ (b)   by operant conditioning and cognitive biases are (c)   contributing factors to specific phobia. This means they are ​ (d)   factors that relate to the ​ ​ (e)   .

• biological
• internal
• psychological
• social
• external
• thoughts and mental processes
• interaction with people or the environment
• physiological of an individual's brain and body
• Precipitation
• perpetuation

According to behavioural models, phobias can be learned through experience and may be ​ ​ (a)   through ​ classical conditioning. The development of a specific phobia in this way is essentially the process by which a stimulus with no particular significance (i.e. a/an ​ (b)   stimulus) becomes, by association, a sign of impending threat, danger or some other unpleasant event (i.e. an ​ (c)   stimulus). The innate, naturally occurring ​ (d)   fear response eventually becomes a ​ (e)   fear response.

• neutral
• conditioned
• precipitated
• unconditioned
• perpeutated

Specific phobias an also be maintained and therefore ​ (a)   by operant conditioning. Avoidance ​reduces/removes the unpleasant feelings of fear/anxiety, ​ (b)   the likelihood that avoidance behaviours will occur again (​ (c)   reinforcement). Also, ​ (d)   reinforcement can ​ (e)   a fear response / increase the likelihood that a person behaves fearfully the next time they encounter their phobic stimulus if they receive reassurance / encouragement from other people.

• perpetuated
• increasing
• negative
• positive
• strengthen
• precipitated
• decreasing
• weaken

Specific environmental triggers and stigma are ​ (a)   contributing factors to specific phobia. This means they are ​ (b)   factors that relate to the ​ ​ (c)   .

• biological
• internal
• social
• external
• thoughts and mental processes
• interaction with people or the environment
• physiological of an individual's brain and body
• psychological

Many people diagnosed with a specific phobia report have a direct (a)   experience with a particular phobic stimulus at some point in the past. The term 'specific ​ (b)   trigger' is used to describe this type of social factor contributing to the development of a phobia. Often, if a phobia is developed in this way ​ (c)   conditioning processes are thought to have played a role. Research findings indicate that the ​ (d)   severe the trauma associated with an unpleasant or harmful initial fear experience, the ​ (e)   likely it is that a phobia could develop in this way.

• negative
• environmental
• classical
• more
• positive
• situational
• operant
• less

Stigma is a sign of social ​ (a)   , often involving ​ (b)   . It can influence how people with a phobia think and feel about themselves and the way they believe they are viewed by others in the community. Stigma can ​ (c)   people from seeking treatment, therefore ​ (d)   the negative impact of their phobia and ​ (e)   the duration of untreated affects.

• disapproval
• shame/disgrace
• inhibit
• increasing
• approval
• acceptance
• encourage
• decreasing