Perceptions of Phobia and Phobics

Perceptions of Phobia and Phobics connects perceptual theory to understanding phobia, relating it both to clinical experience and quantitative experimental results. The book gives a general treatment of contemporary theories of perception on concepts of control, and discusses the question of information actually available to phobic patients and normal persons in situations that have been clinically described as phobogenic. The book begins by tracing the historical roots in phobia, arguing for a more multidimensional approach in understanding the disorder. It then gives a more general treatment of contemporary theories of perception and presents the case of reconciling the representational and the ecological standpoint. The nature of the information available to perceptual systems which initiates and maintains the phobia is also discussed, raising new and intriguing questions regarding the perceptual process and the dynamics of control in normal and phobic behaviors. Perceptions of Phobia and Phobics is of interest to practicing clinicians, researchers, graduate students and academia in psychology, clinical psychology, and psychiatry and perception.