behaviourist therapy - systematic desensitisation Flashcards
what does systematic desensitisation treat
phobias
how does SD work according to behaviourists
as HUMANS ARE BORN A BLANK SLATE, fear responses are learned through CONDITIONING and so they can be unlearned through SD
how does SD work generally
feared stimuli are conditioned through therapy to be associated with relaxation and as you cannot feel both fear and relaxation at the same time (RECIPROCAL INHIBITION) this will lead to the extinction of the fear response
what is reciprocal inhibition
two opposing emotions cannot be felt at the same time. a state incompatible with fear/anxiety (eg relaxation) is evoked in the presence of an anxiety provoking stimulus, and so a new response to the stimulus is learned
case study for GENERALISATION of feared stimuli
little albert- he was conditioned to fear the white rat as he heard a loud noise at the same time - he was ALSO afraid of other things that look like the white rat such as a white dog - this is GENERALISATION
what is in vivo
the client is ACTUALLY exposed to the REAL phobic stimulus
what is in vitro
the client IMAGINES exposure to the phobic stimulus as it is impractical to get the real thing (eg submechanophobia- fear of large man made objects in bodies of water)
name the four steps of SD
- client is given training in relaxation techniques
- client and therapist work together to create the ANXIETY HIERARCHY- a series of imagined scenes, each one causing more anxiety than the last
- client moves they way up the anxiety hierarchy starting at the bottom (least anxious) at each situation, they use their RELAXATION TECHNIQUE to remain calm. due to RECIPROCAL INHIBITION, after a while they should be able to remain calm
- the client moves to the next step in the hierarchy , again remained relaxed. only when each step is mastered can they move on to the next. the therapy moves at the clients pace (graduated exposure)
name some cases where SD was effective
Lang and Lazovik (1963) - students afraid of snakes - 11 sessions, students fear ratings fell, was effective for most- improvement was still evident 6 months later
name an example of a relaxation technique
progressive muscle relaxation- squeeze a muscle breathe in- hold - relax minuscule and breathe out- repeat for every muscle going down body then with all muscles
how does SD work
through COUNTER CONDITIONING
what is a weakness of SD
it is not effective for some types of phobias e.g ones for adaptive response - is has been less effective for phobias that were dangerous in our past, the phobia is ADAPTIVE. it would be beneficial to our survival eg spiders poisonous - question it’s effectiveness as a therapy
one weakness of SD from a psychodynamic perspective
it doesn’t treat the ACTUAL cause of the phobia. if we don’t eradicate the real cause e.g projection (psychodynamic approach) fear will return. FOR EXAMPLE - little hans- fear of horses- real issue was with his father- when he realised this , fear of horses went away. question SD effectiveness
how is SD more ethical than flooding
- SD paced by client they have more control- gradual
- flooding places client at top of anxiety hierarchy right away- causes a lot of anxiety/ stress could cause panic attack
- this makes SD more suitable for people like children
how is SD more ethical than drug therapy
-SD easier to administer - easier for kids to be manipulated and phobia unlearned- less life experience and less conditioning to be scared of phobia
-drug therapy hard to administer to children ( forget to/don’t want to take it)
- drugs may have negative side effect that are painful for children
- strength of SD - more suitable for children - other methods cannot do the same
