page_title: Claustrophobia
section_title: Conditioning experiences
hierarchical_section_title: Claustrophobia / Causes / Conditioning experiences
caption_attribution_description: GE Signa MRI machine
context_page_description: Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, small cars, and tight-necked clothing can induce a response in those with claustrophobia. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.
  One study indicates that anywhere from 5-10% of the world population is affected by severe claustrophobia, but only a small percentage of these people receive some kind of treatment for the disorder.
  The term claustrophobia comes from Latin claustrum "a shut in place" and Greek φόβος, phóbos, "fear".
context_section_description: A few examples of common experiences that could result in the onset of claustrophobia in children (or adults) are as follows:
  A child (or, less commonly, an adult) is shut into a pitch-black room and cannot find the door or the light-switch.
  A child gets shut into a box.
  A child is locked in a closet.
  A child falls into a deep pool and cannot swim.
  A child gets separated from their parents in a large crowd and gets lost.
  A child sticks their head between the bars of a fence and then cannot get back out.
  A child crawls into a hole and gets stuck, or cannot find their way back.
  A child is left in their parent's car, truck, or van.
  A child is in a crowded area with no windows (a classroom, basement, etc.) and has run-ins with other people, or is put there as a means of punishment.
  The term 'past experiences', according to one author, can extend to the moment of birth. In John A. Speyrer's "Claustrophobia and the Fear of Death and Dying", the reader is brought to the conclusion that claustrophobia's high frequency is due to birth trauma, about which he says is "one of the most horrendous experiences we can have during our lifetime", and it is in this helpless moment that the infant develops claustrophobia. 
  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can trigger claustrophobia. An MRI scan entails lying still for some time in a narrow tube. In a study involving claustrophobia and MRI, it was reported that 13% of patients experienced a panic attack during the procedure. The procedure has been linked not only to the triggering of 'preexisting' claustrophobia, but also to the onset of the condition in some people. Panic attacks experienced during the procedure can stop the person from adjusting to the situation, thereby perpetuating the fear. 
  S.J. Rachman tells of an extreme example, citing the experience of 21 miners. These miners were trapped underground for 14 days, during which six of the miners died of suffocation. After their rescue, ten of the miners were studied for ten years. All but one were greatly affected by the experience, and six  developed phobias to "confining or limiting situations". The only miner who did not develop any noticeable symptoms was the one who acted as leader.
  Another factor that could cause the onset of claustrophobia is "information received." As Aureau Walding states in "Causes of Claustrophobia", many people, especially children, learn who and what to fear by watching parents or peers. This method does not only apply to observing a teacher, but also observing victims. Vicarious classical conditioning also includes when a person sees another person exposed directly to an especially unpleasant situation. This would be analogous to observing someone getting stuck in a tight space, suffocated, or any of the other examples that were listed above.
caption: In an MRI, the patient is inserted into the tube.
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