“Lay Beliefs About Phobias” 25 Years Later: A 2020 Conceptual Replication of Furnham (1995), on the Development of Phobias

Abstract

Fears are relatively quick, adaptive responses to environmental stimuli and inner, cognitive events and sensations which allow for one’s survival. Some take a more severe form and morph into phobias–extreme fear resulting in functional impairments. While some researchers are concerned with clinical definitions and theories of phobia, others are interested in what the general public believes. Adrian Furnham, in a 1995 study, Lay Beliefs About Phobias, was one. Now, based on data collected 25 years later (2020), we report a conceptual replication of this work. Results suggest that people today most concisely believe the development of phobias is predicated on one’s personality; traumatic events; psychoanalytic and behavioral-learning associations; genetic and biochemical influences; cognitive style, such as tendencies to catastrophize; and cultural and social factors.

Weather Salience: A Preliminary Investigation into Relationships with the Big Five Personality Traits, Exposure to Severe Weather Events, Weather Anxiety, and Storm Safety Behaviors

“…In line with research into the origins of severe weather phobia (Watt & DiFrancescantonio, 2012) and work examining the lay beliefs of individuals on the development of phobias (insofar as they perceived that social-learning components preclude phobias; Bolton et al, 2021), the external, social influence of friends and family was also predictive of storm fear above and beyond individual difference-related trait neuroticism. It was interesting to verify openness was significantly (though weakly) related to the direct-sensing aspect of salience (replicating , although we hoped to discover other personality variables related to weather salience as well.…”