...Fear of Heights Essentials of Psychology University of Phoenix December 15, 2012 Robert Strausser Fear of Heights Several individuals suffer from a phobia a natural fear of something or a situation. Acrophobia is the most common phobia identified with the society (Fritscher, 2011). This type of phobia known as the fear of heights and is unlike aerophobia the fear of flying and other phobias, acrophobia can cause a person to fear numerous things related to fear of heights (Fritscher, 2011). Acrophobic may cause a person to have fear on an elevator of a building or flying on a plane. People associated with acrophobic will sudden go into a panic mode when at certain heights. They automatically begin to search for something to hold on to. Some may begin to shake, sweat, and even cry, or yell out for help (Fritscher, 2011). Their unconditioned response kicks in immediately and may even cause them to crawl on all fours, kneel, or lower they body (Fritscher, 2011). One reason for these actions is that people with acrophobic find it, difficult to trust their own sense of balance. These people believe and find it hard to think when dealing with this phobia (Fritscher, 2011). Unconditioned Stimulus is the system that alerts people (Ruden, 2012). Example, If individuals never seen a plane crash or imagine a plane falling out of the sky or crashing into a building he or she would not have the fear of heights. They are in a metal plane thousands of feet above the ground traveling...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...Much of this application to psychoanalysis is focussed on the use of monsters to showcase unconscious desires, which produce many of the instinctual feelings of wish-fulfillment. Carroll uses the example of vampires, who carry attributes of bloodsucking, which he substitutes for the sexual desire of seduction (169). While this explains the attractiveness of horror, it differs from the previous application of horror and religious feelings. While the explanation of horror’s attractiveness is explained by the awe of the unknown, this differs because the application of psychoanalysis is based on the desires of the known, however unconsciously. Similar to the previous criticism Carroll used in his application to cosmic fear, the application of psychoanalysis served to be limited in its scope, not being comprehensive to the genre as a whole (171). For example, while the vampire example works in an unconscious application to seduction, other monsters like the Blair Witch does not exhibit sexualized characteristics as she is not seen throughout the movie. Despite Carroll discounting the use of psychoanalysis as a comprehensive answer to the horror paradox, its application did identify aspects of art-horror like the creatures being a manifestation of what is culturally repressed (174). In other words, the use of psychoanalysis failed to generalize the horror audience as being attracted to horror due to their unconscious sexual desires, but identified how aspects...
Words: 824 - Pages: 4
...treatment dropout (p.7). The trust, rapport, and relationship development between client/child and family could possibly be the most valuable piece in any treatment for anxiety especially with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), being as though you will be presenting a treatment of challenging internalized thought processes and activities that can sometime be hard to grasp mentally. The next step in the intervention would be introducing probability of overestimation, helping the child understand that thoughts often can contain predictions about the future (Practicewise, 2009). This would be a great time in the treatment to add material and activities like the fear ladder or fear thermometer, weekly ratings can be conducted for feedback that can be beneficial for the client, parent, and the clinician. Tools such as the fear ladder and fear thermometer helps build that awareness for the child to understand that some of their thoughts of those like false alarm and helps with practicing to reduce unwanted anxiety (Practice, 2009). The next step with in the CBT approach is to review the concept of probability, help the client/child by providing a variety of examples of occasions and ask the child which event is more or less likely to happen. By ask the child to create and record examples of events and their probabilities give further insight into how the client may be thinking. It’s important with the CBT approach to provide feedback if any probability estimates seem inaccurate, for example;...
Words: 1053 - Pages: 5
...An Experiment on Public Speaking Anxiety in Response to Three Different Types of Virtual Audience David-Paul Pertaub*, Mel Slater*, Chris Barker** *Department of Computer Science **Department of Psychology University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT 2 An Experiment on Public Speaking Anxiety in Response to Three Different Types of Virtual Audience Abstract This paper describes an experiment to assess the anxiety responses of people giving five minute presentations to virtual audiences consisting of eight male avatars. There were three different types of audience behaviour -an emotionally neutral audience that remained static throughout the talk, a positive audience which exhibited friendly and appreciative behaviour towards the speaker, and a negative audience, which exhibited hostile and bored expressions throughout the talk. A second factor was immersion: half of the 40 subjects experienced the virtual seminar room through a head-tracked head-mounted display and the remainder on a desktop system. Responses were measured using standard Personal Report of Confidence as a Public Speaker (PRCS) which was elicited prior to the experiment and after each talk. Several other standard psychological measures such as SCL-90-R (for screening for psychological disorder), the SAD and the FNE were also measured prior to the experiment. Other response variables included subjectively assessed somaticisation and a subject self-rating scale on performance...
Words: 6019 - Pages: 25
...paper will discuss the mental disorder of phobias, and the available treatment options. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. There are many specific phobias. Acrophobia is a fear of heights. You may be able to ski the world's tallest mountains but be unable to go above the 5th floor of an office building. Agoraphobia is a fear of public places, and claustrophobia is a fear of closed-in places. If you become anxious and extremely self-conscious in everyday social situations, you could have a social phobia. Other common phobias involve tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, animals and blood. People with phobias try to avoid what they are afraid of. If they cannot, they may experience panic and fear, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and a strong desire to get away. Treatment helps most people with phobias. Treatment options include medicines, therapy or both. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/phobias.html A phobia is defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes one to want to avoid it. The three types of phobias are social phobia (fear of public speaking, meeting new people, or other social situations), agoraphobia (fear of being outside), and specific phobias (fear of particular items or situations). Phobias are largely underreported, probably because many phobia sufferers find ways to avoid the situations of which they are...
Words: 1362 - Pages: 6
...ELEMENTARY STRESS AND ANXIETY 1 STRESS IN ELEMENTARY CHILDREN By Marcy L. Kusz SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING AT NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY March 29, 2009 APPROVED BY: Derek L. Anderson, Ed.D. DATE: March 30, 2009 ELEMENTARY STRESS AND ANXIETY 2 Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Chapter I: Introduction……………………………………………………………… 4 Statement of Problem……………………………………………………………… 5 Research Question(s)………………………………………………………………. 6 Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………… 7 Chapter II: Review of Literature…………………………………………………….. 9 The Effects of Stress………………………………………………………….. 9 Media and Stress……………………………………………………………… 11 Stress in the Family…………………………………………………………… 13 Stress in the School…………………………………………………………… 15 Helping Children Cope with Stress and Anxiety……………………………... 16 Chapter III: Results and Analysis Relative to the Problem…………………………… 20 Chapter IV: Recommendations and Conclusion……………………………………… 21 Recommendation…………………………………………………………………… 21 Areas for Further Research………………………………………………………….. 23 Summary and Conclusion…………………………………………………………… 24 References……………………………………………………………………………… 25 ELEMENTARY STRESS AND ANXIETY 3 Abstract Changes in our society have put new pressures and stresses on elementary children. Many children are now starting to feel the pressures of...
Words: 6044 - Pages: 25
...implementations such as shaking chairs, or strange devices used to view the movie would be used. Some theaters would even rent out a hearse to park in front of the theater. Other theaters would hire nurses to occupy the theater as well (Oatman-Stanford). This is also the age where people started to make very low-budget films in order to make a quick buck (Kantilaftis). That would soon become a trend following the genre. There are many low budget films being made even today. It was around this time where zombie films would be introduced as well. Compared to the other villainous beings within horror at the time, zombies are pretty lackluster. They’re basically just slow-walking dead people. Of course there’s more to them, however. Their true fear comes from the sheer amount there can be at one time. It’s because of the zombie why we have so much gore in horror today. They sparked the introduction of gore and special effects and verged away from the horror of only mere silhouettes and cut-away screeches. Special effects would soon become one of the biggest things in horror (“The Birth of the Zombie Genre”). The zombie trend, like all things, must eventually come to an end and with its downfall came the rise of a new trend: demonic/supernatural possession. The main reason this trend became as popular as it was, was because of the brilliant movies The Exorcist and The Omen. Another inspiration to the movies of this generation would be the famous author Stephen King. He contributed to...
Words: 1991 - Pages: 8
...PSYC 101 Week 8 Final Exam Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwaid.com/shop/2353/ Week 8 Final Exam Part 1 of 1 100.0/ 100.0 Points Question 1 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Recovering a memory is like a _____________. A.Replaying a videotape of an event and filling in the missing sensory experiences, such as smell B.Reading a short story in which the plot is detailed but mental images must be generated C.Hearing the soundtrack of a story without access to the visual, and other sensory images D.Watching unconnected frames of a movie and figuring out what the rest of the scene was like. Question 2 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Which term is used to describe the confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you. A.Confabulation B.Flashbulb memories C.Serial position effects D.Priming Question 3 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Detective Adams interrogates eyewitnesses of crimes on a regular basis. To ensure that their testimony is accurate, it is important that he ____________________. A.Ask leading questions B.Make suggestive comments C.Avoid misleading information D.Provide misleading information Question 4 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points The relearning method of measuring implicit memory, devised by Ebbinghaus involves _____________. A.Recognition of previous information shared B.Recall of previously performed tasks C.Studying information or a task learned previously D.Reteaching of information learned at an earlier age. Question 5 of 50...
Words: 2291 - Pages: 10
...costs and ranks among the most expensive psychiatric disorders (White et al., 2013). Merriam-Webster defines panic disorder, panic attack and agoraphobia as follows: Panic disorder (PD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring unexpected panic attacks followed by a month or more of worry about their recurrence, implications, or consequences, or by a change in behavior related to the panic attacks. Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that come on suddenly accompanied by at least four or more bodily or cognitive symptoms (i.e. heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or feelings of unreality) and last from minutes to hours. Agoraphobia (AG) is abnormal fear of being helpless in a situation from which escape may be difficult or embarrassing that is characterized by panic or expected anxiety and finally avoidance of open or public places (Merriam-Webster, 2014). Cognitive behavior therapies, which combine both cognitive and behavioral principles and methods in a short-term treatment approach, have generated more empirical research than any other psychotherapy model (Corey, 2013). CBT can include so many varying techniques within the approach that it is sometimes difficult to study which techniques are effective. Although it is not known which CBT components are essential and which might be redundant in the treatment of PD with and PD without AG, (in vivo) exposure is generally considered to be superior to CT in treating AG (Van Apeldoorn et al...
Words: 4124 - Pages: 17
...In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, It is said that fear is the strongest motivator in the world. People in fear are willing to do whatever, go beyond any border and forget all rules. Fear can easily take over our mind and control our every move. But how much does it take to push a person beyond his limits? What kind of a fear can make us forget everything about humanity and morals? These questions are one of the main themes in Cormac McCarthy’s novel ”The Road” We are all afraid of different things. Some are afraid to lose their family and friends others on the other hand their money and possessions. Cormac McCarthy’s great novel ”The Road” tells us a story of a post-apocalyptic world where everything is destroyed and life is almost extinct. There are left only handful people, who are willing to do everything to survive. But some of them are willing to go further than the others. Fear influences every person differently. But how can some of us still maintain our moral values even though we might be scared to death? In ”The Road” the main characters, the man and the boy represent a group of people who does not let the fear control their minds. The man is constantly afraid of his son getting killed or starving to death. The boy is worried about his father and about being left alone in this terrible world if his father should die. Every single day they live in fear. They can never be sure whether they find food, whether they will survive the cold nights in the woods, or whether...
Words: 828 - Pages: 4
...Research on therapeutic options for anxiety disordrers . Therapy? Pharmaceuticals? Alternative treatments? Evaluate the success rates. * An anxiety attack (panic attack) as defined by, Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003, an episode of acute intense anxiety, with symptoms such as pounding or racing heart, sweating, trembling or shaking, feelings of choking or smothering, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, feelings of unreality, and chills or hot flashes. It is the essential feature of panic disorder and other anxiety disorders as well as other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and mood disorders. [Link]http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/anxiety+attack *Anxiety is the body’s natural response to danger, an automatic alarm that goes off when you feel threatened. Although it may be unpleasant, anxiety isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, anxiety can help you stay alert and focused, spur you to action, and motivate you to solve problems. But when anxiety is constant or overwhelming, when it interferes with your relationships and activities—that’s when you’ve crossed the line from normal anxiety into the territory of anxiety disorders. Anxiety Disorders The DSM is divided into different sections which represent separate, broad categories of psychiatric disorders. One of these categories is anxiety disorders...
Words: 2085 - Pages: 9
...apprehensive feeling somehow cannot be ignored. Some people may find it easy to overcome this problem, but some others do not. Glossophobia, irrational or morbid fear of speaking or verbally communicating in public, can be the most suitable term for this problem. People with this severe fear usually do not know or realize what the reasons are. The only thing they know is that it is best to avoid speaking in public because they cannot do it. Actually, there are some reasons, which may not be realized by the sufferers, behind this irrational fear of public speaking. Glossophobia is a result of traumatic events. Speaking in public is not easy for some people, especially for those who experience bad things which may or may not be directly linked to public speaking or performing (Douglass, 2003). For example, a person who had experienced being ridiculed when he or she was giving a speech in a stage, and unfortunately made a huge error. This traumatic event may lead the person into vulnerable traumatic effects. Some traumatic events about speaking in public may raise a person’s anxiety to do the same thing. Sometimes, they do not even know how to produce a word to start the speech since it is like bringing them to the same situation which reminds about those particular events. Moreover, environment also contributes to the raise of this fear. It is best to start from the least scope, house. In this case, family plays a big role, especially parents. Parents sometimes overprotect their kids and...
Words: 983 - Pages: 4
...Public Speaking: Fear at its Finest The day when I spot a big, black, hairy spider and refrain from screaming will most likely never come. But, the day when I am one hundred percent confident to give a public speech is somewhere in the near future. How do I know this? Through my public speaking course this semester, I completed an anxiety survey. Although I was already aware that I have a slight fear of public communication, this self-examination revealed to me my speaking apprehension score that was labeled with a specific level of anxiety. Not only, though, was I faced with a given intensity of anxiety, I was learning things about myself that I never thought I would obtain such an insight to. Moderate: the level at which my public speaking apprehension score happened to fall. I recognized right away that I wasn’t necessarily in the higher or lower range. This assisted me in looking at the glass as half full, which happens to be an obligation if I plan to eliminate this category of anxiety from my life. As I sat and thought about my score, it hit me that I over emphasized my partial fear of publicly speaking in front of large groups of people. What I thought was going to be the end of the world was really just normal amounts of tension, stress, and anxiety that I was way too easily letting get to me. Seeing these results brought to my attention strengths that can assist my in kicking public speaking anxiety: I radiate optimism, am smart and energetic, and I have confidence...
Words: 588 - Pages: 3
...This excerpt from Nabokov's Pnin focuses on the main character Pnin and how he is obsessed about his health and assumes every worst possibilities that could happen to him. In this extract Pnin is in a station waiting to board a bus to Cremona. Due to circumstances he has to leave his bag in the station and board the bus and that's when he starts getting paranoid and anxious that something is happening to him and he thinks to himself that it's because he left his bag in the station and something bad is going to happen to him. So he stops the bus, gets his refund and lands in the middle of a strange town and starts thinking more about why he is feeling the way he is. He manages to pull out all sort of discomfort he is feeling at that moment and questions everything he did the day earlier. It seems like this story was written from the viewpoint of Pnin's Physician and he knows that Pnin has always had the tendency to over think every situation that comes his way and has a way to make it look bad, like it's written in the excerpt, “...That the repulsive automation he lodged had developed consciousness of its own”. Pnin has also kept track of and noted down the date of all those time he got the same anxious feeling and he's very specific about it. He seem like a very fidgety and a nervous person as a whole. The narrators of this story sounds like he is also in the same state of mind as Pnin's because of the way he ponders about life, death and the world. Pnin seems very confused...
Words: 457 - Pages: 2
...many people forever. Young men between eighteen and twenty-three years old were shipped off to a foreign land to fight in a war that they didn’t fully understand. Over the years, there have been many literary works about the Vietnam War, but none compare to the accuracy and brutal reality of Tim O’Brien’s works. Tim O’Brien’s short story “The Things They Carried” explores the hardships of the Vietnam War during combat, and his short stories “Speaking of Courage” and “Field Trip” show the after effects of the Vietnam War and how it changed people forever. Tim O’Brien is considered one of the only authors who portrays the Vietnam War exactly how it was. Through the use of tone and characterization, Tim O’Brien demonstrates a soldier’s constant fear of impending death, and the emotional toll of war. Tim O’Brien uses tone throughout is stories to show what the Vietnam War was like, and how it affected people. The tone in O’Brien’s short story, “Field Trip”, emphasizes the meaning of the trip and why the field is important. The whole purpose of the narrator’s trip to Vietnam is to get closure about Kiowa’s death. The narrator said, “I’d gone under with Kiowa, and now after two decades I’d finally worked my way out” (Field Trip 736). By visiting the site where Kiowa died, some of the burden of his death is taken off the narrator’s conscience. The tone of the passage is shown when the narrator’s daughter, Kathleen, does not understand what is going through her father’s mind as he is gazing...
Words: 2147 - Pages: 9
