Evaluation of aversion therapy

Question 1

Strength regarding effectiveness?

Answer 1

Found to be very effective for alcohol misuse in the short time because of the unpleasant side effects

Question 2

What happened in Frawley and smith?

Answer 2

They evaluated an aversion therapy programme for alcohol misuse and found that 81% abstained from alcohol for 6 months with 71.3% still after 20 months

Question 3

When else has aversion therapy being useful?

Answer 3

is cognitive behavioural therapy and social support of family and friends

Question 4

Strength regarding other addictions?

Answer 4

Can be used to stop many substance misuses such as Frawley and Smith found it could also be successful for treating Marijuana and cocaine dependencies..

Question 5

Strengths regarding costs?

Answer 5

Relatively cheap as it treats very serious life threatening addictions

Question 6

Weakness regarding relapse?

Answer 6

Especially in the long term relapse rates are very high as when the emetic drug is no longer being used the CR will slowly go extinct
-some patients go around a year without drinking alcohol but do not link the treatment with a home environment

Question 7

Weakness regarding spontaneous recovery?

Answer 7

if the alcoholic every drinks alcohol again it would instantly activate the reward system

Question 8

Weakness regarding unethical?

Answer 8

requires patient to first undergo a detox which will produce unpleasant withdrawal symptoms however often the alternate is worse with serious health implications

Question 9

Weakness regarding social control?

Answer 9

Criticised for trying to change behaviour that society finds undesirable for example it had been used to try and condition homosexual men

Question 10

How were homosexual men conditioned?

Answer 10

showing slides of naked men with electric shocks when the men became aroused
not being used clinically since 1970’s