Learning experience paper acrophobia - 949 Words

Acrophobia Patrick Targioni Psy/103 September 11, 2014 Nicole Parkinson Acrophobia Have you ever been on top of a large building and were too afraid to look over the side? Have you ever climbed a really tall tree and were too afraid to climb down? I have, when I was younger I climbed a really tall tree and when I got to the top I looked down, I was too afraid to climb back down. What I was experiencing was a fear of heights know as acrophobia. Acrophobia (n.d.) according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an abnormal dread of being in a high place: fear of heights. I believe that most people become a little scared when it comes to heights. There is nothing wrong with having acrophobia to an extent. It is a defense†¦show more content†¦Some Causes What causes people to become afraid of heights? Some psychologist believe that the fear of heights enters your life from something that happened in your past. Psychologist believe that it is caused by some emotional trauma that has to do with heights. For example a person who is suffering from acrophobia may have fallen out of a tall tree when they were little. It is also believed that this condition can be triggered by trauma seen in a movie, television, or a real life event involving another person that has to do with heights. Research and Studies There has been some research done on the fear of heights. Psychologists by the name of Gibson and Walk did an experiment in 1960 called â€Å"Visual Cliff†. The â€Å"Visual Cliff† experiment was an experiment to see if babies who were still crawling would cross a thick piece of glass that covered a steep drop off. They then put the mother on the other side of the drop off to call the baby over to the other side. Even with the mother calling the crawling babies to come to them, the babies still did not cross over the glass. This experiment shows that most humans if not all humans have acrophobia at least partially ingrained in our genetics. I believe this is part of our survival instincts. The Cure Many people who are suffering from acrophobia are often prescribed medications to help them out with their fear of heights. Medications will not actually cure someone of their fears it only masks them.Show MoreRelatedInformal Learning926 Words   |  4 PagesInformal Learning The fear of heights or acrophobia seems to be a normal fear for those afflicted with it. It would seem that this fear is a basic way to protect ourselves from falls that could do serious harm. This fear is not universal, and luckily so. We would have many unclean windows on skyscrapers and our electric lines would be out of repair or nonexistent. This paper will look at the informal learning experience that can bring about acrophobia. Informal learning is an undirected formRead MoreLiving with the Extreme Fear Created by Anxiety Disorders Essay3389 Words   |  14 Pagesmean possessing exaggerated fear of specific stimulus (Gazzaniga et al. 564). Like other anxiety disorders, it also exhibits symptoms, such as anxiety and panic attacks. Symptoms and other effects of phobia will be furthered discussed later on in the paper. In addition to this, phobia is categorized according to the object of fear. Phobia consists of three main categories. First is agoraphobia, which is said to be the most common type of phobic disorder. It is the fear of entering unfamiliar situationsRead MoreOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 Pagessystem, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher. Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper. Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 LIMITED PHOTOCOPY LICENSE The Publisher grants to individual purchasers of this book nonassignable permission to reproduce the appendices of this book. This license is limited to you, the individual purchaser