Serena has a severe phobia of elevators (lifts). When she was seven years old, she was trapped in a dark elevator for several hours during a power outage, which caused her to experience extreme panic, difficulty breathing, and crying. Since that event, Serena has refused to use elevators and experiences high levels of anxiety even when just looking at elevator doors.
To avoid experiencing distress, Serena always takes the stairs, even when visiting offices on the 15th floor, and she plans her journeys specifically to avoid buildings that only have elevator access. If she accidentally finds herself near an elevator door and begins to panic, her coworkers quickly guide her away to a quiet breakroom and comfort her with hot tea and reassurance until she calms down.
Discuss how learning theories can explain the acquisition and maintenance of Serena's phobia of elevators.
205 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Content, covering Main features of classical conditioning, Pavlov (1927) salivation in dogs, Main features of operant conditioning, Properties of reinforcement, Behaviour modification and shaping, Main features of social learning theory, Social learning stages, Bandura (1961, 1963) Bobo doll experiments, Bandura (1965) vicarious reinforcement, Learning theories and phobias, Treatments for phobias, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.