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phobia

vr.tr.phobia · thing-q175854

Let an agent explain phobias and their kinds and features in general terms, relay treatment and self-help information from health bodies, distinguish clinical phobias from ordinary fears and coined terms, and route personal mental health questions to professionals and crisis services where needed.

Thing Registry Activities and processes ACT.ACT
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Understand What phobias are.

Concept

Concept and kinds.

Concept

Concept.

  1. What is a phobia, how does it differ from ordinary fear, and what kinds are recognised? definition
  2. Is the user asking about their own fear, which needs a professional? boundary

Names

Named phobias.

Names

Names.

  1. How do coined phobia names such as trypophobia relate to clinical diagnoses? provenance
  2. Is a clinical or a popular sense meant? boundary
Help Treatment and support.

Treatment

Treatment.

Treatment

Treatment.

  1. What treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure do health bodies describe, in general terms? provenance
  2. Is the user in crisis and in need of emergency or helpline support now? boundary

Self-help

Self-help.

Self-help

Self-help.

  1. What self-help approaches and resources do health bodies recommend? provenance
  2. Which entry fits mental health support? action
Science Causes and research.

Causes

Causes.

Causes

Causes.

  1. What does research say about the origins of phobias in learning, genetics and evolution, with findings attributed? provenance
  2. Which findings are contested? boundary

Prevalence

Prevalence.

Prevalence

Prevalence.

  1. How common are phobias, and which are most frequent, according to surveys? provenance
  2. Which entry fits epidemiology of mental health? action
Learn History and teaching.

History

History.

History

History.

  1. How have phobias been understood and treated historically? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Teach

Teaching.

Teach

Teaching.

  1. How can phobias be taught in mental health education without stigma? action
  2. Which misconceptions arise? provenance

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Activities and processes
Entry kind
thing
Plane
ACT
Domain
ACT.ACT
Other names and narrower kinds
kinesiophobia, trypophobia, onomatophobia, ombrophobia, theophobia, apeirophobia, anti-Chinese sentiment, optophobia, pediophobia, school refusal, halitophobia, surdophobia

What it is Filled

An anxiety disorder characterised by persistent, excessive and irrational fear of a specific object, situation or activity that leads to avoidance and distress, including specific phobias such as fear of animals, heights, flying, blood and injections, social phobia and agoraphobia, and many named fears from trypophobia to apeirophobia; phobias are common, are diagnosed by clinicians, and respond well to treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure, and are described here in general terms.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain phobias and their kinds and features in general terms, relay treatment and self-help information from health bodies, distinguish clinical phobias from ordinary fears and coined terms, and route personal mental health questions to professionals and crisis services where needed.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Irrational intensity
  • Avoidance
  • Treatable
  • Common

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Diagnose a phobia in a specific person.
  • Expose a person to the object of their fear without their consent, even as a joke or test.
  • Use a person's known phobia to frighten, coerce or manipulate them.
  • Mock or trivialise a phobia as mere weakness.
  • Use the word phobia to label legitimate disagreement as mental illness.

Only with a human decision

  • Any exposure therapy or treatment plan for a person.

May

  • Explain what phobias are, their common forms and recognised treatments in general terms.
  • Encourage a person with a distressing fear to seek a qualified professional.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Phobias cause real suffering and can restrict a person's life severely.
  • Knowing someone's fear gives power over them that can be abused.

Who is affected

  • People living with phobias
  • Their families and carers

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody: a health condition; clinicians answer for diagnosis and treatment.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q44619 - registry parent class
  • Q544006 - registry parent class

related

  • anxiety disorder - category
  • fear - category
  • animal phobia - a specific phobia type
  • depression - a condition that may co-occur

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.phobia
  • Wikidata: Q175854 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q175854)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Persistent excessive fear with avoidance
  • Specific phobias, social phobia, agoraphobia
  • Ordinary fear is proportionate; coined phobia words often name dislikes rather than disorders
  • Not visible; experienced fear and avoidance.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • explain kinds and features
  • relay treatment information
  • distinguish from ordinary fears
  • route personal questions

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Agents giving personal diagnosis or treatment advice
  • Treating coined phobia words as diagnoses
  • Failing to route people in crisis

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Diagnostic classifications
  • Clinical guidelines for anxiety disorders
  • Mental health service standards

Context of use required Filled

  • Excessive fear of specific things.
  • animal phobias
  • natural environment phobias such as heights and storms
  • blood, injection and injury phobias
  • situational phobias such as flying and enclosed spaces
  • social phobia and agoraphobia

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q175854: phobia - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Phobia - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should specific phobia types be separate entries?
  • How should guidelines be linked?
  • How should self-help resources be linked?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q175854/spec.json