Biological explanations of phobia - genetic factors
Biological explanation of phobias
Genetic factors
One biological explanation for the cause of phobic disorders suggests that we can relate it back to our genetics. This theory values the ‘nature’ side in the nature vs nurture debate. This theory uses twin studies to try and separate genetic factors from environmental factors in order to draw a causal conclusion between genetics and phobias. If a closer concordance rate was found between MZ and DZ twins we could suggest a genetic inheritance for the phobia. Kindler predicted a 67% heritability rate for agoraphobia, 59% for blood injury, 51% for social phobia and 47% for animal phobia. This suggests that there are genetic factors which influence the development of a phobic disorder and those with a phobic relative are greater predisposed to develop a phobia.
This theory suggests that phobics may have developed an oversensitive fear response which could explain why they are so anxious in the presence of their feared stimuli, called the adrenergic theory. This can be explained through the functioning of the ANS which controls organs stimulated in arousal, such as the heart. Individuals who inherit abnormally high levels of arousal in the ANS would exhibit higher levels of adrenaline which may result in panic attacks and increased anxiety that the same will happen again when exposed to the feared stimuli. This suggests that individuals who inherit an oversensitive fear response are more likely to develop phobias as they inherit a genetic predisposition to exhibit more fearful characteristics in the presence of fearful stimuli than non-phobics.
Supporting evidence for this theory comes from a study by Fyer et al. they found that probands had 3 times as many relatives that experienced phobias than normal controls. This provides evidence to support the theory as it suggests that there is a high heritability rate between probands and family members, implying there must be a genetic origin for the trait. Further
Genetic factors
One biological explanation for the cause of phobic disorders suggests that we can relate it back to our genetics. This theory values the ‘nature’ side in the nature vs nurture debate. This theory uses twin studies to try and separate genetic factors from environmental factors in order to draw a causal conclusion between genetics and phobias. If a closer concordance rate was found between MZ and DZ twins we could suggest a genetic inheritance for the phobia. Kindler predicted a 67% heritability rate for agoraphobia, 59% for blood injury, 51% for social phobia and 47% for animal phobia. This suggests that there are genetic factors which influence the development of a phobic disorder and those with a phobic relative are greater predisposed to develop a phobia.
This theory suggests that phobics may have developed an oversensitive fear response which could explain why they are so anxious in the presence of their feared stimuli, called the adrenergic theory. This can be explained through the functioning of the ANS which controls organs stimulated in arousal, such as the heart. Individuals who inherit abnormally high levels of arousal in the ANS would exhibit higher levels of adrenaline which may result in panic attacks and increased anxiety that the same will happen again when exposed to the feared stimuli. This suggests that individuals who inherit an oversensitive fear response are more likely to develop phobias as they inherit a genetic predisposition to exhibit more fearful characteristics in the presence of fearful stimuli than non-phobics.
Supporting evidence for this theory comes from a study by Fyer et al. they found that probands had 3 times as many relatives that experienced phobias than normal controls. This provides evidence to support the theory as it suggests that there is a high heritability rate between probands and family members, implying there must be a genetic origin for the trait. Further