Through the Looking Glass: A Logical Look at Spectrophobia

Through the Looking Glass: A Logical Look at Spectrophobia
Lilli Munoz
PSY/211
May 9, 2013
Professor Gromoll
Through the Looking Glass: A Logical Look at Spectrophobia

The human brain is an amazing thing. It is always working; learning and processing. With technology the way it is now, people are in constant contact with each other and media. It is then easy to see how someone’s conscious and subconscious mind is taking in what is seen and heard, learning, and then arranging their behavior based on what they have learned. A phobia is the irrational and intense fear of an object, activity, or situation and the resulting avoidance of the object, activity, or situation. Sometimes the focus of the phobia is a completely ordinary object or experience; such as a mirror and seeing one’s own reflection. Spectrophobia is the intense fear of mirrors and seeing one’s own reflection as it applies to the supernatural. Perhaps those afflicted with spectrophobia are indeed suffering from paranormal experiences or perhaps this extreme fear is a learned behavior. Ivan Pavlov discovered what is now known as “classical conditioning”. “Classical conditioning deals with behaviors that are elicited automatically by some stimulus…the stimulus doesn’t produce a new behavior but rather causes an existing behavior to occur” (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2014, p. 186). In other words an ordinary object causes a reflexive response because of a learning experience. This can happen when the neutral stimulus is paired with another stimulus that causes the reflexive response. When paired several times eventually the neutral stimulus will produce the reflexive response on its own. If we consider the extent and influence of today’s media which promotes the horror genre in music, films, television and even clothes then it is not too far a leap to consider the media could be causing the condition known as spectrophobia. In many horror based productions mirrors are a means of seeing apparitions. The natural fear of something inhuman coupled with a mirror several times over could produce the fear of mirrors even if a mirror itself has produced no supernatural phenomena. If spectrophobia is being formed from classic conditioning it is, in fact, a learned behavior. B. F. Skinner discovered what he believed to be another learning process and called it “operant conditioning”. While in classic conditioning a subject reacts to a stimulus naturally, in operant conditioning we take a look at voluntary responses (responses that are not reflexive). Operant conditioning is the theory that behavior is shaped by cause and effect. As in; if a behavior causes pleasant results it is more likely to reoccur, if a behavior causes unpleasant results it is less likely to reoccur. The operant coupled with reinforcement produces the learned behavior. In the case of spectrophobia let us assume the subject has had no influence from media. Perhaps the subject finds themselves seeing their own reflection in a mirror in the dark, they could become frightened because they don’t immediately recognize it is their own reflection because the absence of light distorts the image. The subject voluntarily looking at themselves in the mirror and being frightened by a distorted image a few times could affect the person psychologically. Because our brains are constantly learning one could develop spectrophobia through this type of operant conditioning, in which case it would be a self taught behavior. Observational learning is possibly the type of learning most are familiar with. It is learning by observing behavior and consequences. “Albert Bandura, the psychologist most associated with observational learning, “believes that observational learning is the result of cognitive processes that are ‘actively judgmental and constructive,’ not merely ‘mechanical copying’ (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2014, p.219). There are four basic elements to observational learning; attention, memory, imitation, and motivation. One must first pay attention to what they are observing. Secondly one must remember what they have observed. Thirdly one must imitate what they have observed. Lastly one must have the desire to imitate what they have observed. In the case of spectrophobia perchance one observes a parent figure react with fright to a mirror. If a parent figure is observed regarding a mirror with fear and is observed safe and calm with avoidance to mirrors then spectrophobia could be produced in the observer. In this way also spectrophobia would be a learned behavior. In all of these theories some things remain constant. Firstly, humans react to their environment. Secondly, humans learn from their experiences. Thirdly, humans shape their behavior upon their learning experiences. Of course, as with everything, there are differences as well. In classic conditioning responses are learned to be reflexive, while in operant conditioning responses are learned to be voluntary. In observational learning behavior is a kind of inherited behavior from someone else. Any of these theories of learning could be applied to any behavior. Through the view of classic conditioning, operant conditioning, or observational learning the condition, spectrophobia, can be explained quite easily. Perhaps the subject saw a horror film containing mirrors, perhaps they caught sight of themselves in the dark, or perhaps they learned it from someone else. Is spectrophobia a learned behavior? Science would say so.

Reference
Hockenbury, D. H., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2014). Discovering Psychology (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Retrieved from University of Phoenix PSY/211 Version 3-Essentials of Psychology course website.