Behaviourist - Therapy

Question 1

what is addiction

Answer 1

compulsive, chronic, physiological, harmful needs which cause anxiety and withdrawals

Question 2

main components of aversion therapy

Answer 2

1) the client undergoes a medical examination and health check to ensure they are fit, well, and able to proceed with the therapy
2) the therapist then works with the client, educating them on how the therapy will work and what they can expect throughout the therapeutic process
3) the final step involves the therapist obtaining valid consent from the client to proceed with at. the client must demonstrate they understand what the therapy will involve and confirm they consent and agree to proceed with it

Question 3

how can we use the principles of classical conditioning to treat addiction?

Answer 3

a naturally unpleasant stimulus (ucs) - a negative response (ucr)
a naturally unpleasant stimulus (ucr) + addictive behaviour (ns) - a negative response (ucr)
addictive behaviour (cs) - a negative response (cr)

Question 4

aversion therapy for alcoholism

Answer 4

antabuse - throwing up
antabuse + alcohol - throwing up
alcohol - throwing up

Question 5

aversion therapy for nicotine addiction

Answer 5

shock - pain
shock + nicotine - pain
nicotine - pain

Question 6

covert sensitisation

Answer 6

unique type of aversion therapy that differs from traditional therapy by getting patients to imagine the negative consequences rather than experiencing them in real life

Question 7

operant conditioning and negative reinforcement

Answer 7

the avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus means that patients are unlikely to repeat the negative behaviour. e.g. a phone addict will start to feel anxious if they even see a phone so they avoid them to avoid that negative feeling

Question 8

tryptophan metabolites

Answer 8

prevent alcohol from being properly converted in the body. they turn into a chemical that causes unpleasant side effects (nausea, hot flushes)

Question 9

what do tryptophan metabolites reward

Answer 9

abstinence by inducing feelings of well-being (Badawy 1999)

Question 10

how do tryptophan metabolites combine the best of reward and punishment

Answer 10

negative reinforcement

Question 11

blank slate - apply to aversion therapy

Answer 11

all behaviour is learned from the environment
unlearning learned behaviour to reduce/avoid undesirable behaviour

Question 12

behaviour learnt through conditioning - apply to aversion therapy

Answer 12

stimulus = response
- classical conditioning - learn by association
- operant conditioning - learn by consequence
condition the patient to associate the undesired behaviour with something unpleasant
use of positive reinforcement (rewards) for abstinence from undesirable behaviour

Question 13

humans and animals learn through similar ways - apply to aversion therapy

Answer 13

make generalisations
generalise from one undesirable stimulus to another

Question 14

aversion therapy is effective - miller (1979)

Answer 14

discovered counselling is just as affective as aversion therapy

Question 15

aversion therapy is effective - smith et al. (1997)

Answer 15

alcoholics treated with aversion therapy had higher abstinence rates after one year than people who only went to counselling

Question 16

aversion therapy is effective - smith (1988)

Answer 16

52% of 300 smokes smith greatest with shocks stayed abstinent after one year

Question 17

aversion therapy may not be effective - bancroft (1992)

Answer 17

up to 50% of patients either refuse treatment or drop out of aversion therapy, which make it difficult if only willing people partake

Question 18

aversion therapy may not be effective - are the effects long term?

Answer 18

long term affects of aversion therapy are questionable
in office, appear to recover - outside when punishment is gone they don’t stick
conditioned response extinguished when cs not paired with ucs

Question 19

aversion therapy may not be affective - symptom substitution

Answer 19

behaviourist approach believe maladaptive behaviour is the disorder and there are no underlying causes to be treated
one consequence - symptoms may be removed (original) but new symptoms appear in a different form
because underlying cause hasn’t been identified

Question 20

aversion is unethical because (1)

Answer 20

the client is often exposed to noxious substances such as antabuse, which results in extremely unpleasant side effects such as sickness and headaches

Question 21

aversion is ethical because (1)

Answer 21

causes both physical and psychological harm, which are major ethical issues, but nevertheless the physical harm from nausea - inducing drugs and electric shocks may not be as damaging in the long term as addiction itself

Question 22

aversion is unethical because (2)

Answer 22

in 1962, billy clegg-hill died after he underwent aversion therapy to cure his homosexuality. he died from a coma and convulsions caused by apomorphine

Question 23

aversion is ethical because (2)

Answer 23

use of covert sensitisation (milder form of therapy)

Question 24

aversion is unethical because (3)

Answer 24

do patients understand what is involved in aversion therapy? electric shocks = high control over patients - social control 50%

Question 25

aversion is ethical because (3)

Answer 25

the therapy cannot be administered without full consent (and where all other treatments have failed) 1) medical 2) educated