Persistent unrealistic intensive fear of an object, place or situation is

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2023

Explanation

The question describes the classic definition of a phobia.
A phobia is an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent and irrational fear of a specific object or situation.
The fear is excessive and out of proportion to the actual threat, leading to avoidance.
Exposure to the phobic stimulus provokes an immediate anxiety response, which can take the form of a panic attack.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: A seizure is a neurological event caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, not a psychological fear.
Option C: Hysteria is an outdated term for unmanageable emotional excess and is not a specific diagnosis for persistent fear.
Option D: An illusion is a misinterpretation of a real stimulus, which is a perceptual error, not a persistent, irrational fear.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Definition of Phobia as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses must be able to differentiate between anxiety, fear, and phobia to provide appropriate patient education and support.
When caring for a patient with a known phobia, the nurse's priority is to create a safe environment by avoiding exposure to the phobic stimulus whenever possible.
What if? If a patient's fear was realistic and proportional to the situation (e.g., fear during a house fire), it would be considered a normal fear response, not a phobia. The key element of a phobia is the irrational and excessive nature of the fear.

How to Approach the Question

This is a definition-based recall question.
Read the stem carefully to identify the key defining characteristics: 'persistent,' 'unrealistic,' 'intensive fear.'
Evaluate each option against this definition.
Seizure is a neurological condition. Eliminate it.
Phobia directly matches the definition of a persistent, irrational fear. This is the likely answer.
Hysteria is an outdated, non-specific term. Eliminate it.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Definition of Phobia
Stem keywords: persistent fear, unrealistic fear, intensive fear, object, place, situation
Lead-in keywords: is

Question ID

QzMPl2fK9OMhhSulUu9brU

Reference Book

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) pp. 1291-1293, 1290-1292

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 3867-3869

Practise the full RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2023

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.

Attempt this paper Attempt in the NPrep app