Chapter 8 - Case Studies, Phobias

Question 0

Jones (1924) - curing a boys phobia

Answer 0

Find out whether a boy could be deconditioned
Food —> happy
Rabbit —> afraid
Food+rabbit —> happy
Rabbit —> happy
Strengths:
Jones made detailed observations over a long period
Asked others to order the tolerance series to avoid being biased herself
Weaknesses:
Gaps between sessions were variable progress could be due to time not deconditioning
Used 2 techniques; social learning and classical conditioning

Question 1

Coombes et al (1980)

Answer 1

2 rats
One was injected to make it sick
They both drank from a water sprout
One rat was sick so both rats avoided it

Question 2

Bennett-levy and marteau 1984: fear of animals

Answer 2

See whether we are more afraid of animals that are ugly, slimy, quick, sudden
Strengths:
Different people answered the 2 questionnaires - stopped them knowing what the questionnaire was about
Good to use men and women as their phobias are different
Weaknesses:
Participants were told animals weren’t dangerous but they still thought rats are
Questionnaire only asked about 6 factors and people said other things make them scary

Question 3

Heinrichs et al 2005: cultural differences in fears

Answer 3

See if being brought up in different cultures affected social anxiety and fear of blushing
Conclusion:
Collectivist groups show greater social anxiety and fear of blushing than individualistic cultures