Classical Conditioning Spiders
Most of the time, people are afraid of spiders because they've been trained to fear them by their parents and friends. Psychologists Bandera and Rosenthal felt fear reactions are acquired by modeling (Comer, p. 112). Classical conditioning and genetics also come into play (Comer, p. 111-113). I think it is wise to fear spiders; some spiders can inflict a nasty bite as with the brown recluse spider. I know there are ways to overcome your fears such as reconditioning and exposure therapy, but I have no interest in doing that. Exposure treatments that desensitize you are the standard treatments for phobias (Comer, p. 113). But why would anyone want to be exposed to spiders on purpose? If there happens to be a TV show on The National Geographic
Channel about spiders I turn the channel. My best friend is scared to death of spiders. She screams, panics and I think she suffers from a true phobia. For instance, she walked past a spider on her deck going into the house then she couldn’t sleep all night even after tearing her bedding up to make sure there were no spiders in it and looking all around her bedroom with a flashlight. I would prefer not to have anything to do with spiders and don’t like it when I find one in the house. I worry that there is more of them around, and I obsess about it for a while but do not panic to the extent that my friend does. I stay on the lookout for them and call on my husband who takes care of them. There isn’t much worse than opening the shower door when you are half asleep only to find an enormous black spider looking back at you. Some spiders jump. They are the worst. I don’t think my fear of spiders and the anxiety they cause me is excessive, and since it doesn’t interfere with my daily life, I don’t think I need professional help or even a Xanax. My friend thinks she does need professional help but is so afraid she refuses to think about being exposed to spiders on purpose.
Channel about spiders I turn the channel. My best friend is scared to death of spiders. She screams, panics and I think she suffers from a true phobia. For instance, she walked past a spider on her deck going into the house then she couldn’t sleep all night even after tearing her bedding up to make sure there were no spiders in it and looking all around her bedroom with a flashlight. I would prefer not to have anything to do with spiders and don’t like it when I find one in the house. I worry that there is more of them around, and I obsess about it for a while but do not panic to the extent that my friend does. I stay on the lookout for them and call on my husband who takes care of them. There isn’t much worse than opening the shower door when you are half asleep only to find an enormous black spider looking back at you. Some spiders jump. They are the worst. I don’t think my fear of spiders and the anxiety they cause me is excessive, and since it doesn’t interfere with my daily life, I don’t think I need professional help or even a Xanax. My friend thinks she does need professional help but is so afraid she refuses to think about being exposed to spiders on purpose.