phobias, SD and Flooding Flashcards

1
Q

phobia

A

an exaggerated fear of an object or situation

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2
Q

percentage of significant improvement of phobias through treatment

A

90%

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3
Q

4 diagnostic criteria for a specific phobia

A

.persistent excessive or unreasonable fear cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation

.the person recognises the fear as excessive or unreasonable

.interferes significantly with a person’s normal routine

.exposure to the stimulus provokes an immediate anxiety response

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4
Q

what does behaviour therapy through classical conditioning do?

A

aims to change behaviour by changing the associations we make

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5
Q

what are therapies derived from classical conditioning based on

A

exposure and response prevention

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6
Q

exposure

A

facing or confronting a fear repeatedly until the fear subsides

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7
Q

habituation

A

the process by which a person’s behavioural and sensory response diminishes over time after repeated exposure to a particular stimulus

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8
Q

response prevention

A

refraining from engaging in typical avoidance or escape behaviours when faced with a feared situation

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9
Q

how is a behaviour extinguished

A

the fear is eliminated

by reversing the process of paired association between a neutral stimulus and a fear inducing stimuli (UCS)

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10
Q

Systematic desensitisation

A

a therapy based on the principles of classical conditioning

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11
Q

when is SD complete

A

when the agreed therapeutic goals are met

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12
Q

what 2 things can the process of SD be?

A

in vitro

in vivo

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13
Q

in vivo

A

exposure to the real object

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14
Q

in vitro

A

imaginary exposure to the object

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15
Q

reciprocal inhibition

A

the fear response is gradually replaced by a relaxed response

two contrasting emotions cannot co-exist

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16
Q

4 stages to SD

A

functional analysis

construction of an anxiety hierarchy

relaxation training

gradual exposure

17
Q

functional analysis

A

careful questioning to discover the nature of the anxiety and possible triggers and the persons responses to them

18
Q

anxiety hierarchy

A

hierarchy of anxiety provoking situations from least to most fearful

19
Q

relaxation training

A

desensitisation

people are taught muscle relaxation, breathing exercises and how to use their imagination to decrease anxiety

20
Q

gradual exposure

A

each stage of the anxiety hierarchy are worked through using the relaxation techniques learnt

21
Q

what other treatment can SD be paired with

22
Q

modelling

A

the patient observed others in the presence of the phobic stimulus who are responding with relaxation instead of fear

participant is encouraged to imitate the models

23
Q

why are the therapeutic outcomes of SD easy to measure

A

the goals are clearly specified

good scientific justification for this use of therapy

24
Q

why are in-vitro methods used more frequently than in-vivo methods

A

due to ethical problems - such ass distress to the participant

25
Q

why is SD not very effective for people with more severe disorders?

A

the person needs to be able to relax

the person has to be involved in the whole process

not everyone is able to do these things

26
Q

which disorders is SD not effective for

A

schizophrenia

psychoses

27
Q

what criticism do all theories based on the learning approach face?

A

they fail to identify and treat the underlying causes of abnormality

causes have not been addressed

28
Q

what did Craske & Barlow (1993) study on agoraphobics show?

A

between 60-80% of agoraphobics showed some improvement after SD

improvement was only slight and often clients relapse after 6 months

29
Q

why does SD have limited effectiveness for complex phobias?

A

if the phobia is secondary to something else, the other thing needs to be dealt with first for SD to be effective

e.g. agoraphobia is secondary to panic attacks, as clients do not fear the public space but having the panic attack in a public place

30
Q

what are the two other terms that flooding can be referred to as

A

exposure therapy

prolonged exposure therapy

31
Q

ethical issues for flooding

A

the experience may be traumatic

32
Q

what is flooding

A

the rapid exposure to the CS rather than more spaced presentations

33
Q

what are the two rationale behind flooding

A

the patient’s anxiety if maintained at such a high level that eventually some process of exhaustion or stimulus satiation takes place

if a patient is prevented from making their normal escape / avoidance response extinction will occur

34
Q

Example of a study involving Flooding

A

Wolpe (1973) - took a girl who was scared of cars and drove her round for hours

initially the girl was hysterical but eventually she calmed down when she realised her situation was safe

from then on she associated cars with a sense of ease

35
Q

how does rapid exposure help the extinction of a phobia

A

the person becomes to physically exhausted for the CR to occur

36
Q

why are patients more likely to choose SD over flooding

A

SD does not cause the same degree of trauma

37
Q

why can flooding be more effective than SD for people with very strong phobias

A

these people may struggle to keep up with the relaxation of S.D

38
Q

what are the benefits of flooding being so quick

A

cheaper than alternatives

patients are free of symptoms as soon as possible

39
Q

which disorders has flooding also reduced symptoms of

A

PTSD and OCD