Much is still unknown about the actual cause of specific phobias. However, the development and course of specific phobias can be traced to or determined by several different factors. Behavioral, cognitive, and social theories of learning and conditioning, psychodynamic models such as the psychoanalytic theory of Freud, physiological studies of the brain, family background and genetic predisposition, variations in sociocultural themes, and theories on trauma are some of the factors that can help explain the development of specific phobias. Some theorists suggest that biological researchers have ignored the disorder due to medication not being the most common treatment for specific phobias. Since 2002, research on phobias has focused on conditioning,
