Specific Phobia

• Persistent and irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation
• Leads to avoidance or intense anxiety on exposure to feared stimulus
• Fear recognised as excessive
• Disruptive to functioning (important – who cares about a snake phobia in NZ)
• Can also be anxious about fear reaction
• Usually related to animals (mice, snakes, spiders), natural environment (earthquakes), blood, injection or injury; specific situations (eg claustrophobia)

· Develop due to:

• Direct conditioning through personal experience
• Verbal or vicarious transmission (eg develop shark phobia after watching Jaws)

· Treatment:

• Graded exposure
• Cognitive restructuring
• Physiological control: relaxation and medication (short-term only)

Social Phobia

• Fear of negative evaluation of performance in social situations. Fear they will do or say something embarrassing or humiliating. Fear visible anxiety symptoms
• Probability and cost of negative evaluation is over-estimated
• Early onset
• Leads to avoidance of social gatherings, public travel, etc
• Epidemiology: 6 month prevalence is 2 per 100, more females, onset in teens through to 35 ® social isolation
• Aetiology: ?conditioned response, genetics