Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 PHOBIC DISORDER 
It’s not easy moving through the world when you’re terrifi ed of electricity. “Donna,” 45, 
a writer, knows that better than most. Get her in the vicinity of an appliance or a light 
switch or—all but unthinkable—a thunderstorm, and she is overcome by a terror so 
blinding she can think of nothing but fl eeing. That, of course, is not always possible, so 
over time, Donna has come up with other answers. When she opens the refrigerator 
door, rubber-sole shoes are a must. If a light bulb blows, she will tolerate the dark until 
someone else changes it for her. Clothes shopping is done only when necessary, lest 
static on garments send her running from the store. And swimming at night is absolutely 
out of the question, lest underwater lights electrocute her. (Kluger, 2001, p. 51)
anxiety disorder
The occurrence of 
anxiety without an obvious external 
cause that affects daily functioning.
Key Concept 
What are the major psycho-
logical disorders?
M O D U L E 4 7 
The Major Psychological 
Disorders
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514 Chapter 
15 
Psychological Disorders
Donna suffers from a  phobia  , an intense, irrational fear of a specifi c object or situ-
ation. For example, claustrophobia is a fear of enclosed places, acrophobia is a fear 
of high places, xenophobia is a fear of strangers, social phobia is the fear of being 
judged or embarrassed by others, and—as in Donna’s case—electrophobia is a fear 
of electricity. 
The objective danger posed by an anxiety-producing stimulus (which can be just 
about anything, as you can see in Figure 1 ) is typically small or nonexistent. How-
ever, to someone suffering from the phobia, the danger is great, and a full-blown 
panic attack may follow exposure to the stimulus. Phobic disorders differ from gen-
eralized anxiety disorders and panic disorders in that there is a specifi c, identifi able 
stimulus that sets off the anxiety reaction. 
Phobias may have only a minor impact on people’s lives if those who suffer from 
them can avoid the stimuli that trigger fear. For example, a fear of heights may have 
little impact on people’s everyday lives (although it may prevent them from living 
in a high fl oor in an apartment)—unless they are fi refi ghters or window-washers. On 
the other hand, a social phobia, or a fear of strangers, presents a more serious problem. 
In one extreme case, a Washington woman left her home just three times in 30 years—
once to visit her family, once for an operation, and once to purchase ice cream for a 
dying companion (Adler, 1984; Kimbrel, 2007).