Learning Theory Treatment Of Phobias

Question 1

What are the 2 treatments for phobias

Answer 1

Systematic desensitisation
Flooding

Question 2

What is counter conditioning and what does it do

Answer 2

This is defined as classical conditioning where the association of relaxation is taught to replace fear with the phobic object

Question 3

What is used to regain control over anxious tendencies

Answer 3

Relaxation techniques

Question 4

What is the desensitization hierarchy

Answer 4

A list designed by the therapist and client from least to most feared scenarios

Question 5

the process of systematic desensitisation

Answer 5

-create the hierarchy
-taught relaxation techniques
-exposed to their least fearful point on the hierachy
-use counterbalancing to classically condition relaxation with phobic stimuli
-once comfortable at this level they progress to the next level
-once completed theyre cured of their phobia

Question 6

What is flooding

Answer 6

p.t. is exposed and bombarded to their most phobic stimulus straight away (without avoidance) for a long period of time

Question 7

Explain why flooding breaks down phobia?

Answer 7

so their anxiety of their fear will then reduce and therefore break their classical condition as their association of fear with the stimulus unrealistic

Question 8

strengths of treatments of phobias

Answer 8

-there’s evidence that this does appear to be effective, McGarth et al (1990) reported that 95% of patients with phobias respond to SD
P: The treatment is causative
E: meaning it’s treating the root cause of the problem rather than other treatments that only treat the symptoms like biological treatments that would be prescribed drugs.
L: these would only lower anxiety and not deal with the actual cause of the behaviour

Question 9

limitations of treatments of phobias

Answer 9

-these treatments do not always work on every phobia especially those that have an evolutionary survival component, e.g fear of heights/dangerous animals

-flooding has ethical implications due to the extreme stress and anxiety it causes p.t. we would have to question how appropriate the treatment is

-this is a deterministic concept as its suggests that if you are treated, you will be cuured however, it fails to explain cases where people do not recover succesfully