Button Phobia Flashcards
Phobias are classified into how many types?
Three
What are the three types of phobias?
Social, specific and agoraphobia
What are three features of a specific phobia
- the individual has a marked fear of a specific object
- the phobic object almost always provokes immediate anxiety/fear
- The fear/anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the object and to the socio-cultural context.
Specific phobia def
an irrational fear of a specific object/ situation that markedly interfered with an individual’s ability to function
Phobia
a persistant and unreasonable fear of an object. The fear is disproportionate to the danger posed.
Fear
An unpleasant emotion caused by an organism’s defensive response to an imminent threat
Disgust
a feeling of revulsion aroused by something unpleasant or offensive
Evaluative learning (4)
- a form of classical conditioning
- in which a person comes to perceive a previously neutral object negatively
- the person negatively evaluates the object without anticipating any danger
- this negative evaluation elicits a feeling of disgust rather than fear
Expectancy learning
when a neutral object is associated with a negative outcome increases the expectation of coming into contact with the object
Aim 1 (disgust)
To investigate disgust as an emotion that would lead to the acquisition of a specific phobia
Aim 2 (learning)
To investigate evaluative learning and how it could predispose one to the fear of buttons.
Aim 3 (why)
To determine the cause of the button phobia
Aim 4 (tr..)
To successfully treat the button phobia using exposure-based cognitive behavioural therapy, imagery and in vivo desensitization
All 4 aims
- disgust
- learning
- why
- treat
Method
Case study
Ppt
9 year old American-hispanic boy
How did the child meet the criteria for the specific phobia of buttons? (3)
- Met requirements on DSM-IV
- Met requirements on ADIS
- Affected his social/ occupational and other important areas of function
Why did the boy not meet the criteria for OCD
His symptoms did not include recurrent/persistant thoughts, impulses or images that may be intrusive.
His symptoms instead, included the persistent avoidance of buttons cued by the presence and anticipation of buttons– as observed in a specific behaviour.
Describe the feelings thermometer? (2)
- had a 9 point scale in which the boy rated his feelings of distress
- the bigger the button, the less the fear/disgust
Cause of button phobia
When the boy was 5, he ran out of buttons so he went to the front of the class to retrieve more. When he reached into the large bowl on the teacher’s desk, the buttons fell on him. This experience was distressful.
In vivo desensitisation def
this is a form of exposure therapy in which the individual is exposed to a fear invoking object/ situation for a prolonged time without the option of escaping within a safe environment
CBT def
a treatment technique in which the therapist alters or changes the way the individual thinks with the goal of changing the way the individual behaves
Imagery def
a form of exposure therapy in which the individual is exposed to certain images and thoughts empirically (with the use of senses) with the aim of helping the individual imagine anxiety provoking events which are then treated or reduced by applying psychological techniques e.g. Breathing exercises and relaxation
Results
After 6 months and 12 months follow up, the boy reported having minimal distress from wearing clear small buttons on his school uniform
Conclusion
Imagery and cognitive restructuring are effective in treating specific phobias
What is Agoraphobia
fear of being in a social place in which one may cause embarrassment
How old was he when his phobia started
5 years old
How long did treatment sessions last?
30 minutes with the boy alone and 20 minutes with the boy and his mother
How was the boy’s daily life interfered with the phobia (2)
inability to dress himself
difficulties in concentrating in school because of an excessive preoccupation with not touching anything his buttoned shirt touched
Effects of in vivo desensitisation- at session 4:
his subjective ratings of distress increased dramatically
What did he find the most distressing
Small plastic buttons- clear and coloured
What did he find the least distressing
Large denim jean buttons
Nurture arguments (2)
During art class, he reached for a bowl of buttons and his hand slipped and the bowl fell on him. This stressful experience led to the development of the phobia
He was cured using imagery exposure which involves conditioning. This procedure make him unlearn his phobia hence it is nurture
Describe how results of the study can help in understanding or treating phobias (2)
- boy revealed that the cause of the phobia was during an art class, when a bowl of buttons fell on him. Therefore, a therapist may need to investigate and discover the cause of the phobia to treat it.
- after just four sessions with the mother providing positive reinforcement, the boy could cope with his fears. Therefore, for children with phobias, having a parent involved could bring out faster, positive outcomes
Real life application
The boy’s fear of buttons was found out using a feelings thermometer. This might be useful for schools to use with students who show fear to help understanding what is causing this fear
Describe how the rating changed over the first three sessions in response to imagery (4)
- dropped between session 1 and 2
- dropped again between session 2 and 3
- as sessions advanced, there were lower levels of disgust
- dropped from 8 to 5 midway through imagery exposure
Describe the Disgust/ Fear Heirarchy (3)
He was asked to rate 11 different scenarios including buttons
Each was on a distress scale of 0-8
Subjective ratings used a feelings thermometer
Weakness of the disgust/ fear hierarchy (3)
- are subjective
- may have given desirable answer
- 0-8 is restrictive
Results from post treatment session (3)
Boy reported minimal distress
No longer met criteria on DSM-IV for specific phobia
could wear clear buttons on his school uniform shirt
Explain why this study is from the learning approach
The learning approach states that conditioning helps to explain changes in behaviour. The therapy involved positive reinforcement to motivate him to complete his distress heirarchy
Problems when using children (2)
- Using children may be unethical as they can get distressed easily- in this study, the boy would have been distressed as he was exposed to buttons which he had a phobia of
- Sometimes, children may not understand the language used by adults- therapist may have explained the feelings thermometer but he may not have understood it.
Results from 6 month follow up (3)
He reported minimal distress
continued to wear clear plastic buttons
daily
Showed a recession on the DSM-IV
Describe use of Child Anxiety and Phobia Program to diagnose the boy who had a phobia of buttons (4)
- both mother and child were interviewed
- using a standardised interview schedule
- this was the ADIS-C/P
- he was also assessed using DSM-IV
Describe disgust-related exposure sessions (5)
- explored reasons why buttons felt disgusting
- imagined buttons falling on him
- imagined hugging mother with buttons on her shirt
- asked how they looked
-cognitive restructuring was used when necessary
Conclusion (3)
Disgust plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of a button phobia
imagery exposure can have a positive long-term effect on reducing distress linked to phobias
a phobia can be treated with positive reinforcement and imagery
