Phobias

GOD AT THE CENTRE August 24,

2011

NDIPENOCK DANIEL NDIPACHERE (S.MD)

PHOBIAS

1. Achlophobia – fear of crowds

2. Acrophobia- fear of heights

3. Aerophobia- fear of high objects

4. Agoraphobia- fear of open spaces

5. Ailurophobia- fear of cats

6. Algophobia – fear of pain

7. Androphobia – fear of men

8. Ankhophobia – fear of flowers

9. Anthrophobia – fear of people

10. Apiphobia – fear of bees

11. Aquaphobia – fear of water

12. Arachnephobia – fear of spiders

13. Astraphobia – fear of storms

14. Aviophobia – fear of flying

15. Baccilophobia – fear of microbes

16. Bacteriophobia – fear of germs

17. Ballistophobia – fear of bullets

18. Bathophobia – fear of depth

19. Belonephobia – fear of pins and needles

20. Botanophobia – fear of plants

21. Brontophobia – fear of thunder

22. Chromophobia – fear of certain colors

23. Claustrophobia – fear of enclosed places

24. Clinophobia – fear of beds

25. Cynophobia – fear of dogs

26. Decidophobia – fear of making decisions

27. Demonophobia – fear of demons

28. Domatophobia – fear of being confined in a house

29. Entomophobia – fear of insects

30. Equinophobia – fear of horses

31. Ergophobia – fear of work

32. Gephydrophobia – fear of crossing bridges

33. Gynephobia – fear of women

34. Hematophobia – fear of blood

35. Herpetophobia – fear of reptiles

36. Hydrophobia – fear of water

37. Iatrophobia – fear of doctors

38. Monophobia – fear of being alone

39. Mysophobia – fear of dirt

40. Necrophobia – fear of dead bodies


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41. Nosophobia – fear of disease

42. Nucleomitiphobia – fear of nuclear bombs

43. Numerophobia – fear of numbers

44. Nyctophobia – fear of night

45. Ombrophobia – fear of rain

46. Ophidiophobia – fear of snakes

47. Optophobia – fear of opening your eyes

48. Pathophobia – fear of disease

49. Peccatophobia – fear of sinning

50. Pediphobia – fear of children of dolls

51. Phobophobia – fear of your own fears

52. Psychrophobia – fear of cold

53. Sitophobia – fear of food

54. Sophophobia – fear of learning

55. Stenophobia – fear of open places

56. Syphilophobia – fear of syphilis

57. Taphephobia – fear of being buried alive

58. Technophobia – fear of technology

59. Thalassophobia – fear of the ocean

60. Thanatophobia – fear of death

61. Topophobia – fear of performing on stage

62. Trichophobia – fear of hair

63. Triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13

64. Tropophobia – fear of moving

65. Verbophobia – fear of words

66. Vestiophobia – fear of clothing

67. Xenophobia – fear of strangers

68. Zoophobia – fear of animals

Courtesy: PSYCHOLOGY AND YOU by Frank B.

McMahon, Judith W. McMahon and Tony Romano.

Psychology: scientific study of human and animal behavior

Philosophy: study of human behavior using logic and reason

Dark ages: 400 A.D – 900 A.D ; period of chaos and civil wars when intellectual progress stopped

Middle ages: 900A.D – 1400A.D; period of little science

Renaissance: 1400A.D – 1700A.D; the rebirth of learning

Introspection: the process of looking into yourself and describing what is there

Eclecticism: the process of making your own system by borrowing from two or more other

systems

Neurobiology: viewing behavior as the result of biology plus nerve cells


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Behaviorism: the believe that we are the product of association

Humanism: the believe that people are basically good and capable of helping themselves

Psychoanalysis: viewing the individual as a product of unconsciousness

Cognitive psychology: the study of how humans use mental processes to handle problems or

develop certain personality characteristics

Sensation: the process of receiving information from the environment

Perception: the process of interpretation of an incoming message

Afterimage: the firing of the cones not used after viewing something steadily in order to bring

the visual system back to balance

Pheromones: odor chemicals in animals that communicate a message

Size constancy: the ability to retain the size of an object regardless of where it is located

Color constancy: the ability to perceive an object as the same color regardless of the

environment

Brightness constancy: keeping brightness constant as object changes environment

Depth perception: the ability to see objects in space

Binocular disparity: the difference between the image provided by each eye

Space constancy: the ability to keep objects in the environment steady

Visual texture: depth perception based on how rough or smooth objects appear

Illusion: an inaccurate perception

Closure: filling in the missing details of what is viewed

Motivation: the need to seek a goal such as food, water, friends etc.

Emotion: a state of body causing feelings of hope, fear, love etc.

Set point: the body-regulating mechanism that determines a person’s typical weight

Contact comfort: satisfaction obtained from pleasant soft stimulation

Hierarchy of needs: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging, self-esteem, self-actualization

James-Lange theory: for emotion, the body first responds, then one feels the emotion

Cannon-Bard theory: the bodily reaction and the emotional response to an event occur at the

same time

Anorexia nervosa: a disorder that involves loss of weight to the point of imminent starvation and

death

Bulimia: a disorder that involves trying to avoid gaining weight by throwing up or using laxatives

Consciousness: awareness of, or the possibility of knowing, what is happening inside of outside

the organism

Sub-consciousness: consciousness just below our present awareness

Unconscious: thoughts or desires about which we can have no direct knowledge

Chronobiology: the study of forces that control the body at different times of the day, month or

year

Biological clocks: internal chemical units that control parts of the body and are regulated by

nature

Free-running cycles: cycles set up by biological clocks that are under their own control,

neglecting the environment


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Entrainment: altering a free-running cycle to fit a different rhythm

Circadian rhythm: sequences of behavioral changes that occur every 24hrs

Twilight state: time just before when we fall into deep sleep

REM sleep: rapid eye movement sleep when we dream

Beta waves: rapid brain waves; appear when a person is awake

Alpha waves: stage 1, fairly alert brain waves occurring just before going to sleep; relaxed

Delta waves: slow, lazy, deep-sleep brain waves

NREM sleep: involves partial thoughts, images, or stories, poor organization

Nightmare: frightening dream during REM

REM rebound: increase in the number of dreams after being deprived them

Incubus attack: horrible nightmare occurring during NREM when the body is not prepared for it

Social entrainment: fitting sleep and dreams into your social schedule

Insomnia: the inability to get enough sleep

Narcolepsy: disorder in which a person falls instantly into sleep no matter what is going on in the

environment

Sleep apnea: breathing stops while sleeping, waking the person

Hypnosis: a state of suggestion in which attention is focused on objects, acts or feelings

Trance: another word for the state of deep relaxation that can occur during hypnosis

Meditation: a form of self-control in which the outside world is cut off from consciousness

Conditioning: making an association between an event and something positive or negative by

continuous exposure

Classical conditioning: ivan Pavlov’s method of conditioning in which associations are made

between a natural stimulus and a learned, neutral stimulus

Extinction: gradual loss of association over time

Operant conditioning: conditioning that results from one’s actions and the consequences they

cause

Reinforcement: the strengthening of a tendency to do ( or not to do ) something; primary and

secondary; positive and negative

Generalization: a behavior that spreads from one situation to a similar one

Discrimination learning: learning to tell the difference between one event or object and another

Shaping: the process of developing a part of a whole learning sequence

Chaining: reinforcing the connection between different shaped acts

Social learning: all learning that occurs in a social situation

Observational learning: a form of social learning in which the organism observes and imitates

the behavior of others

Cognitive learning: a way of learning based on abstract mental processes and previous

knowledge

State-dependent learning: the fact that material learned in one chemical state is best

reproduced when the same state occurs again

Transfer of learning: a learning process in which learning is moved from one task to another

based on the similarities or dissimilarities (positive or negative) between the tasks


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Elaboration: the process of attaching a maximum number of associations to a basic concept or

other material to be learned so that it can be retrieved more easily

Principle learning: a method of learning in which an overall view of the material to be learned is

developed so that the material is better organized

Chunking: putting items learned in groups rather than separate

Forgetting: an increase in errors when trying to bring material back from memory

Overlearning: the process of learning something beyond one perfect recitation

Interference theory: the believe that we forget because new and old material conflict with one

another

Amnesia: the blocking of older materials and loss of new ones

Short-term memory: the memory system that retains information for a few seconds to a few

minutes

Long-term memory: the memory system that retains information for days, weeks, months,

decades

Iconic and Acoustic memory: a very brief visual or sound memory that can be sent to the STM

Eidetic memory: and iconic memory lasting a minute or so that keeps images ‘in front of the

person’ so that objects can be counted or analyzed; also called photographic memory

Intelligence: direction, adaptability, comprehension and self-evaluation

IQ: ratio of mental age to chronological age

Creativity: breaking set

Set: a tendency to solve problems in the same old way over and over

Imprinting: a process that occurs at a preset time in an animal’s development, when the

animal’s brain is ready to receive a belief or behavior

Critical period: a specific time of development that is the only time when a particular skill can

begin to develop or an association can occur

Feral children: wild, untamed children

Self-esteem: the feeling that you are worthwhile and useful

Early maturer: someone who develops one half a year or more ahead of average growth

Late maturer: someone who develops one half a year or more ahead of average growth

Crowds: large groups with loose rules and changeable membership

Clique: tightly knit group with strict rules and limited membership usually tied to school activities

Gang: rebellious, antisocial group with strict rules not accepted by social organizations such as

school

Identity confusion: Erik Erikson’s term for an uncertainty about who one is or where he or she is

going

Moratorium: an adolescent’s delay in making the commitments normally expected of adults

Midlife crisis: a time of upheaval and loss of purpose that occurs to some people around the age

of 40.

Empty-nest period: the time of life when the children are grown and leave home.

Gerontology: the branch of Psychology that studies the aging process and the problems of the

elderly


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Senile: loss of mental faculties as a result of aging

Alzheimer’s disease: loss of chemical nerve cell transmitters and other damages to nerve

transmission that result in mental deterioration

Thanatology: study of death and methods for coping with it

Hospices: places where terminally ill people can live out their lives in comfort and away from

hospital

Spatial skills: ability to imagine how an object would look like if it was moved about in space

Androgyny: the quality of having both masculine and feminine characteristics

Personality: a person’s broad, long-lasting patterns of behavior

Freud’s map of the mind: consists of the id, superego and ego

Id: unit containing our animal impulses (needs and drives)

Superego: unit roughly synonymous with conscience

Ego: the “self” that allows controlled id expression within the limits of the superego

Persona: Carl Jung’s term for a ‘mask’ people wear to hide what they really are or feel

Modeling: learning by imitating others

Fully functioning individual: someone who has become what he or she should be i.e. ideal self =

real self

Norms: patterns of test answers from different types of people

Projective tests: tests measuring inner feelings projected unto a vague stimulus, such as an ink

blot or unclear picture

Aptitude: one’s special skills

Halo effect: a situation where a person comes off well in class or in an interview, even though

this is not his or her ‘real’ personality.

Barnum effect: stating the obvious as if it comes from special knowledge

Frustration: blocking or hindering of goals we are seeking

Conflict: a problem that demands a choice between alternatives in order to be solved

Anxiety: the feeling that something is wrong and disaster is imminent

Stress: the physical pressure and strain that result from changes in the environment

Eustress: good stress; motivates us to do something worthwhile

Distress: bad stress; causes physical problems and is nonproductive

Stress hormone: a chemical that signals the adrenal glands to activate the body

Type A personality: people who are always operating at full speed, are impatient, and are filled

with distress

Type B personality: people who are open to change, are flexible, enjoy life, and low levels of

stress

General adaptation syndrome: the sequence of behavior that occurs in reaction to prolonged

stress; alarm, resistance and exhaustion

Substance abuse/chemical dependence: excess use of drugs

Alcoholic withdrawal delirium: the ‘horrors’ that can result from severe alcoholism; weakness,

anxiety, cramps and hallucinations

Hallucinations: seeing of hearing things that are not physically present


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Synergistic effect: the result of taking two drugs in combination, which makes each more potent

than either one by itself

Psychedelic: a drug that distorts or confuses the user’s perception of the world

Tolerance: the need to take larger and larger amounts of a drug while still having the same

effect

Paranoia: the belief that others are out to get you

Psychological dependence: a craving by the psyche for a drug, although the body doesn’t

demand it

Opiates: opium, morphine and heroine; sedatives that reduce body functioning

Physical dependence: a craving by the body for a drug

Steroids: artificially produces male sex hormones

Sudden death phenomenon: a death that results from panic and overload of the major nerves

going to the heart

Headaches ( muscle contraction and migraine )

Muscle contraction headache: from holding oneself in a fixed position , causing the muscles of

the neck and head to exert pressure on the nerve endings

Migraine headache: results from and insufficient supply of the brain chemical serotonin

Phantom-limb pain: severe pain that feels as if it is coming from a missing limb

Endorphins: morphine-like substance produced by the body and responsible for reduction of

strain and enhancing pleasurable feelings

Placebo effect: physical reaction to the power of suggestion

Acupuncture: a system of pain relief that involves inserting needles into the skin

Cognitive strategy: organized mental task designed to convince the brain that all is well;

distraction and redefinition

Biofeedback: a method of mental control in which a machine attached to the body records

events like high BP so that the individual can change them

Defense mechanisms: techniques used to remain psychologically stable (repression,

rationalization, projection, regression and denial)

Psychotic disorders: involve serious inability to think rationally and perceive the world accurately

Nonpsychotic disorders: characterized by serious discomfort or inefficiency from which the

person seeks relief

Anxiety disorder (panic, phobias and obsession/compulsion): living in continuous destructive

state of anxiety

Panic: disorder in which one cannot relax and is plagued by frequent and overwhelming attacks

of anxiety

Phobia: one becomes disabled and overwhelmed by fear in the presence of certain objects or

events

Obsession: an endless preoccupation with an urge or thought

Compulsion: a symbolic ritualized behavior that a person that a person must keep acting out in

order to avoid anxiety


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Obsessive compulsive disorder: having continued thoughts about performing a certain act over

and over

Dissociative disorder: nonpsychotic disorder in which a part of one’s life becomes disconnected

from other parts; amnesia, multiple personality

Psychogenic amnesia: a disorder in which traumatic events “disappear” from memory

Selective forgetting: “forgetting” only things that are traumatic

Multiple personality: a person who divides himself or herself into two or more separate

personalities that can act independently

Dysthymic disorder: a moderate nonpsychotic depression

Thought disorder: a serious distortion of the ability to think or speak

Disorder: discomfort, bizarre, inefficient

Delusion: a belief in something that is not true

Major effect disorder: serious disturbances of affection, or emotion; person’s moods go very

high or very low

Major depression: a psychotic effective disorder involving mammoth depression, loss of

appetite, hopelessness, thoughts of death

Mania: disorder involving extreme agitation and restlessness

Flight of ideas: a confused psychotic speech in which thoughts and speeches go In all directions

with no unifying idea

Bipolar disorder: a major affective disorder with up and down swings of moods from ‘high’ to

‘low’

Schizophrenia: the most serious mental disturbance, involving loss of contact with reality,

thought disorders, hallucinations, and delusions

Word salad: speech in which words are mixed together incoherently

Clang associations: psychotic speech in which words are rhymed

Psychotic episodes: periods of psychotic behavior that can alternate with periods of relative

coherence and calm

Dopamine: the brain chemical present in excess in schizophrenics, which causes nerve cells to fire

too rapidly and leads to thought and speech confusion

Personality disorder: a disorder in which the person is neither neurotic nor psychotic but the

personality is clearly disturbed

Antisocial personality disorder: the disorder of the sociopath

Sociopath: someone with personality disorder who is in constant conflict with the law and seems

to have no conscience

Counseling psychology: deals with problems not fitting into the formal classifications of mental

disturbances

Clinical psychology: deals with the emotional disturbances of any kind; may work with formal

mental patients

Psychiatrist: mental health worker with a degree in medicine

Psychotherapy: method used to help people with emotional and psychological problems


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Free association: the process of saying whatever comes to mind; uncovers the unconscious in

psychoanalysis.

Transference: the process in which patient transfers emotional conflicts of earlier years onto

therapist

Humanistic therapy: emphasizes the individual’s own ability to heal himself or herself with some

assistance.

Client-centered therapy: reflects belief that the client is more important than the therapist

Nondirective therapy: reflecting and bringing together whatever the client says

Unconditioned positive regard: a principle in which the client’s feelings and thoughts are

accepted for whatever they are

Behavioral therapy: uses principles of learning to alter the person’s behavior that is causing

trouble

Systematic desensitization: a behavioral technique in which the therapist step by step increases

the patient’s anxiety and counters it by association with relaxation in a step by step sequence

Aversive conditioning: a behavioral technique in which unpleasantness is associated with acts

that are to be avoided

Token economy: a behavioral technique in which rewards for desired acts are accumulated

through tokens, which represent a form of money

Internalized sentences: the opinions we form of ourselves by listening to our own inner voice

Awfulize: to see things in the worst possible light

Group therapy: more than one person treated at a time

Encounter groups: normal people brought together to become more sensitive to others’

problems as well as to themselves

Chemotherapy: use of drugs to relieve psychological disturbance

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): an electric shock sent through the brain to try to reduce

symptoms of mental disturbance

Psychosurgery: surgery that destroys part of the brain to make the patient calmer, freer of

symptoms

Deindividuation: a loss of ones sense of individuality and responsibility when in a group

Risky shift phenomenon: the situation where the danger of an act is split among the members of

a group; hence, it is smaller for each person

Imitation learning: the process of learning behavior by view others and imitating them

Catharsis: the supposed ability to get rid of aggressive energy by viewing others acting

aggressively

Diffusion of responsibility: for an individual member of a group, responsibility for others is

spread out among all group members

Evaluation apprehension: the concern about how others will judge us; we make our behavior

conform to what we think they will approve of

Internalize: to take as part of us the behavior of others

Reference group: a group with which one identifies and that provides standards of behavior

Prejudice: a bias that leads to treating people unfairly, ignoring the real person involved


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Illusory correlations: connections that seem very strong in one’s mind but that don’t really exist

Cognitive dissonance: a contradiction between actions or events and beliefs , which must be

reconciled or justified

Immunization: an attempt to train a person beforehand to resist persuasion an propaganda

Polygraph: a lie detector

Documents

Phobias