What Is The Relationship Between Fear For Evolutionary And Recent Stimuli?
Submitted by freefortermpapers on 06/24/2008 03:00 PM
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What Is The Relationship Between Fear For Evolutionary And Recent Stimuli?
The relationship between experience and fear for "evolutionary" and "recent"
stimuli.
Abstract
This study investigated Rachman's three pathways of fear theory, which consists of direct
Conditioning, vicarious conditioning and instruction/ information. Two subject groups;
females over 30 years (mean age 45.1 years) and males over the age of 30 (mean age 46.5
years) were included in this study. In this study, the relationship between ones level of
fear of cars and spiders was compared to ones exposure to cars and spiders. Results failed
to support predictions from Rachman's theory, as the subjects' fears appeared to be
evolutionary, rather than recent. These results may be explained in terms of Darwinian's
nonassociative theory of phobia acquisition rather than Rachman's three pathways of fear
theory.
Introduction
In Rachman's study (cited in King et al 1998) the three pathways theory suggests there
are three distinct pathways in phobia acquisition. These pathways are direct conditioning,
vicarious conditioning and instruction/ information. However, studies completed by
Menzies and Clark (1993) and Merckelbach (1996) suggest findings contradictory and
are inconsistent with Rachman's theory.
The Menzies and Clark study (1993) required the parents of 50 water phobic children to
complete a questionnaire in relation to the origins of their child's water phobia. The
findings showed majority of parents believed their child's phobia had been present from
their first contact with water, thus supporting the Darwinian approach with a
nonassociative perspective approach of phobia onset.
In Merkelbach's (1996) study,...
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