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Phobias and Preparedness - Republished Article.

Martin E P Seligman1

  • 1University of Pennsylvania.

Behavior Therapy
|November 7, 2016
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Phobias are difficult to extinguish and specific, unlike laboratory fear conditioning. This study proposes phobias are instances of "prepared" learning, acquired rapidly and resistant to change.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Classical conditioning models inadequately explain phobias' resistance to extinction and specificity.
  • Laboratory fear conditioning extinguishes rapidly and occurs to arbitrary stimuli, unlike phobias.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze phobias using a contemporary model of fear conditioning.
  • To propose phobias as instances of highly "prepared" learning.

Main Methods:

  • Discusses inadequacies of classical conditioning for phobias.
  • Proposes a contemporary model analyzing phobias as prepared learning.

Main Results:

  • Phobias are highly resistant to extinction and selective, unlike laboratory fear conditioning.
  • Phobias are often acquired in one trial and resistant to cognitive change.

Conclusions:

  • Phobias are best understood as highly "prepared" learning, which is selective, rapid, and resistant to extinction.
  • Prepared learning offers a more accurate framework for understanding phobia acquisition and maintenance.