Behvaioural Treatments For Phobias Flashcards
A01
One behavioural treatment for phobias is systematic desensitisation. This involves gradually increasing exposure to the feared stimuli until it no longer induces anxiety. For example, someone with a fear of spiders (arachnophobia) may initially be asked to imagine spiders and guided through relaxation strategies until they can stay calm. Then, the process may be repeated with pictures of spiders, then real-life spiders in cages, and then repeated again with the subject actually holding a spider.
Systematic desensitisation is another example of classical conditioning: the subject is conditioned to associate the object with relaxation instead of anxiety.
A01
Another behavioural approach to treating phobias is flooding. Whereas systematic desensitisation increases exposure step-by-step, flooding involves exposing the subject to the most extreme scenarios straight away. For example, returning to arachnophobia, the subject would be placed in direct contact with spiders until their anxiety response subsides.
The idea behind flooding is that extreme anxiety cannot be maintained indefinitely. Eventually, the fear subsides and, in theory, the phobia.
A03 strength research
An example of successful treatment of phobia using flooding is described in Wolpe (1969). A girl with a phobia of cars was driven around in a car for four hours until she calmed down and her phobia disappeared.
A03 SD
An example of successful treatment of phobia using systematic desensitisation is described in Jones (1924). A 2 year old boy – Peter – had a phobia of white rats and similar stimuli. Jones was able to remove Peter’s phobia over several sessions with him by progressively increasing his exposure to a white rabbit.
WeaknessA03
Behavioural treatment works better with some phobias than others. For example, simple phobias such as of dogs or spiders are more amenable to behavioural treatments than social phobias. This suggests that not all phobias can be explained or treated in behaviourist terms.
Weakness a03
Behaviourist treatment of phobias – particularly flooding – may raise ethical concerns. For example, forcing a girl with a phobia of cars into one for four hours may be seen as cruel.
