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Unit3HighAnxiety:PhobiasTEACHER:Goodafternoon.Todaywe'regoingtoturntoanewtopicinpsychologyandstartlookingatsomespecificpsychologicalproblems.Thereareavarietyofmentalproblemsthatcanaffectusinourdailylives-somearenotsoserious,likeafearofcatsorofinsects,andothersaremoreserious.Nowaspsychologists,wetrytostudythesedifferentproblemsandfindwaystohelppeople.Iwanttostartthediscussionbytalkingaboutafairlycommonkindofpsychologicalproblem-aphobia,that'sP-H-O-B-I-A.First,I'llexplainwhataphobiaisandthenI'lltalkaboutsometheoriesonwhypeoplehavephobias.Asyouprobablyknow,aphobiaisafear.Sodoanyofyouhavephobias?Oh,comeon,youcantellme;I'mapsychologist.Yes,Monica?STUDENT1:Ihaveafearofswimming.Idon'tliketogoneartheocean.TEACHER:OK,that'snotanunusualphobia.Anyoneelse?Ali?STUDENT2:Ihatedogs.Imean,Ijustdon'tlikethem.WhenIseeabigdog,actuallyanydog,Ijustgetnervous,soIavoidthem.TEACHER:OK,that'sanothercommonphobia.Thanksforsharingthoseexamplesofphobias.Aphobiaisnotanormalfear;itisanextremefear―averystrongfear.Forexample,mybrother,who'sasuccessfulartist,hadcomputerphobia.Hedidn'tsimplydislikeusingcomputers.Heusedtohaveaverystrongfearofusingthem.Psychologistshavecomeupwiththreecharacteristicsofaphobia.Peopledisplaythesethreecharacteristicsiftheyhaveaphobia,notjustanormalfear.Nowfirst,aphobiaisnotarationalresponse.It'saverystrongreaction,toostrongforthesituation.Formybrother,thismeanthehadaverystrongphysicalreactionifsomeoneaskedhimtouseacomputer.Hestartedshakingviolentlyandhadtroublebreathing.Once,heevenstartedchoking.Physicalreactionslikethisarecommon.Second,aphobiaoftenlastsforalongtime,formonthsorevenyears.Inmybrother’scase,itlastedseveralyears.Third,thereactionistoostrongforapersontocontrol.Forexample,evenifmybrothertoldhimselfnottobeafraidatthecomputer,itdidn'thelp.Hestillfeltveryafraid.Usually,peopleavoidwhateveritistheyaresoafraidof.So,inmybrother’scase,heavoidedusingacomputer.OK,sothosearethethreecharacteristicsofphobias.It'sanextreme,irrationalresponse,it'slong-lasting,andit’suncontrollable.STUDENT3:Souncontrollablemeansevenifyoutrytocontrolit,youcan't?TEACHER:Yes,itmeansyoucan'tcontrolitbytryingtodenyyoufeelthephobia.Therearewaystotreatphobias,andwe'lltalkaboutthoseinaminute.Yes?STUDENT4:Whathappenedtoyourbrother?Didhegetoverit?TEACHER:Yes,hedid.Themainthingwasthathedecidedthathewantedtogetoverit,andhewastreatedbyapsychologist.Nowheusescomputersallthetime.OK,solet'sspendaminutegoingoversomeclassificationsofphobias.Phobiasareclassifiedbythethingorsituationthatthepersonfears.GreekorLatinnamesareusuallyusedtodescribethefear.Here'sanexample:hypno,H-Y-P-N-O,meanssleep,sofearofsleepishypnophobia.Cyno,C-Y-N-O,meansdog.Soafearofdogsis...cynophobia,right?Here'sanotherexample.Aerophobia.Listentothefirstpart,Aero.What'sthefear?Aeroasinairplane-aerophobiaisfearofflying.Let'sturnnowtothecausesofphobias.Onetheoryisthataphobiaislearned.Thismeanssomethinghappensthatcausessomeone,orinasenseteachessomeonetofreeafraid.Forexample,Alicouldhavelearnedtobeafraidofdogsifhewasattackedandinjuredbyoneasachild.Peoplecanalsolearntohavephobiasbywatchinghowotherpeoplereact.Infect,doctorsfindthatphobiastendtoruninfamilies.Forexample,let'simaginethatAli’smotherhasalwaysbeenafraidofdogs.WheneverAllandhismotherweretogetherandsawadog,hismotherwouldgetveryscared,verynervous.WhenAlisawhowhismotherreacted,hewouldthengraduallybecomeveryscared,too.Hewouldthenhavedevelopedcynophobiafromwatchinghismother.So,youcanseethattherearetwowayslearningcanbeinvolvedinphobias.So,thefirsttheoryisthataphobiaislearned.Learnedeitherbydirectexperienceorbywatchingthereactionsofothers.Thesecondtheorysaysthataphobiaisonlyasignofadeeperproblem.Thismeansthatthephobiaisn'tthewholeproblem.Let'stakeanotherexample.Ioncetreatedateenagerwhowasveryafraidofthedark.Hecouldn'tbeinadarkroombyhimself.Hewasterrifiedtogooutsideatnight,andsoon.Accordingtothistheory,whenheactedafraidofthedark,hewasreallyshowinghisfearofsomethingelse.Intherapy,itwasrevealedthathewasafraidofhisfather.Hisfatherwasverystrictwhenhewasyoung,andoncehisfathermadehimsitinadarktheroomwhenhedidsomethingbad.Accordingtothistheory,hisfearofthedarkwasasignofhisdeeper,realfearofhisfather.Yes,question.STUDENT4:Sowhatdidyoudo?Didhehavetotalkwithhisfather?TEACHER:Well,no,wecouldn'tdothat.Butrecognizingthathewasreallyafraidofhisfather,andnotthedarkwasthekeystepinthetreatment.Nowhe'scured.Nomorefearofthedark.OK,solet'sthinkaboutthesetwotheories,andaboutthemaindifferencebetweenthem.Thefirsttheorysaysthatthephobiaistheproblemitself.Right?And,thesecondtheorysaysthatthephobiaisasignofadeeperproblemthepersonhas.Whyisthisdifferenceimportant?It'smostlyimportantindecidinghowtotreattheperson.Accordingtothefirsttheory,ifaphobiaislearned,perhapsitcanbeunlearned.Apsychologistwhofollowsthistheorywilltrytoteachsomeonetoreactdifferently,tobehavedifferentlywhenheorshefeelsafraid.Changingtheperson’sbehavioristhegoal.Ontheotherhand,apsychologistwhobelievesthesecondtheorymaystartbytryingtoteachthepersontoreactdifferently,butthedoctorisinterestedinmorethanthat.Th