Behavioural approach to treating phobias Flashcards
Behavioural therapies definition
phobias are learnt association to fear, therapies attempt to replace the fear association with one of relaxation/calm
Systematic desensitization (SD) definition
is an attempt to use classical conditional principles in a process to counter condition the phobia. Associating the phobic object with feelings of relaxation.
what does the sd process assume
that fear and relaxation are two opposite emotions, if this is true they cannot co-exist at the same time (reciprocal inhibition)
what is the first stage phobia..
it is broken down into a anxiety hierarchy, from least feared presentation of the stimulus to most feared.
what are some relaxation techniques
breathing techniques, as they approach each stage of the anxiety hierarchy in a stepped approach
what does this gradual exposure lead to
an extinction of fear association and a new association with relaxation
bond between cs(bees) and cr(fear) must be broken by
replacing fear response with antagonistic response - relaxation
what is flooding ?
an attempt to counter condition the phobia by immediate and full exposure to the maximum level of phobic stimulus.
how does flooding work
immediate exposure will cause temporary panic, eventually panic stops and client calms down, fear will be extinguished due to exhaustion
comparison of sd and flooding
sd is often more successful
sd often higher completion rate
flooding not appropriate for older people
evaluation positive:
Research by lang and lazovik 1963, used sd on college students suffering snake phobias, after 11 sessions using hierarchy and hypnotism to help with relaxation, all participants fear reduced and remained low 6 months later.
evaluation negative:
several ethical concerns about protecting the client from emotional harm with flooding, could end up reinforcing fear if treatment is ended too soon
