psychopathology 1.3 Flashcards
The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias: the two-process model, including classical and operant conditioning; systematic desensitisation, including relaxation and use of hierarchy; flooding.
two process model
phobias are initiated through classical conditioning (learning through association) and maintained through operant conditioning (negative reinforcement)
acquisition of phobias
phobic objects are at first a NS and do not produce a phobic response
however, if then presented with an UCS that produces an UCR then the NS will become associated with the UCS
the fear will occur whenever the NS is there
the NS becomes a CS and the UCR becomes the CR
generalisation
phobia applies to similar objects
maintenance of phobias
if person avoids phobic stimulus, anxiety is greatly reduced, which is rewarding for sufferer
operant conditioning happens when behaviour is reinforced negatively, by being rewarded by not experiencing anxiety the avoidant behaviour is reinforced
example of acquisition of phobia
Little Albert (1920)
watson and rayner wanted to study development of phobias
9 month old baby called Little Albert
start of study, Albert showed no unusual anxiety of worries about different objects
Albert tried to play with white rat and they made a loud scary noise by banging on iron bar
noise (UCS) created fear response
rat (NS) + (UCS) became associated and created fear response
displayed fear when saw rat (NS)
rat then became the (CS) that produces the (CR) and phobia started
Watson and Rayner showed that the (CS) could be generalised to similar objects e.g. when they showed Albert other fluffy objects such as Santa’s beard and a fur coat Albert showed distress at all of them
his phobia became generalised
why wouldn’t the Little Albert experiment take place today?
due to ethics and harm Albert was put under
supporting evidence for behavioural explanations of phobias AO3
Watson and Rayner Little Albert
Albert was presented with a range of animals to see his emotional reaction, included white rate
normal reactions, no fear
at 11 months old he was presented with them again, loud noise behind him
Albert cried and moved away, they repeated this
white rat (NS) paired with (UCS) of loud noise which led to rat becoming (CS)
practical application behavioural explanations of phobias AO3
able to treat phobias
systematic desensitisation, applying principles of classical conditioning to learn to associate fear object with a new response
patient taught to relax as deeply as possible e.g. deep breathing
gradually exposed to fear object and then move through different levels of exposure on a hierarchy whilst in relaxed state
e.g. associate balloon with something relaxing because can’t be anxious and scared at same time
comparision with biological explanations AO3
behaviourist explanation - all phobias learnt, doesn’t consider biology
sometimes people experience same incident but don’t develop a phobia
Seligman (1971) argued that sometimes humans are genetically predisposed or susceptible to learn an association that could be highly fearful because in the past we’ve evolved to understabd potential threats
biological prepardness
increased likelihood of developing certain phobias because of a specific variation in our DNA which predisposes us to this fear
as a result, could be argued behaviourist explanation alone can’t account for development of all phobias
comparision with cognitive explanations AO3
doesn’t take into role of cognitive factors
there are aspects to phobias which can’t be explained through behaviourist principles
e.g. one key characteristic of phobias is irrational thoughts which create anxiety and may trigger a phobia
researchers like Beck have drawn attention to importance of irrational thoughts like over-generalising and catastrophising that can be involved in people’s fear
therefore could be argued behaviourist explanation of phobias is oversimplified because it neglects cognitive processes
systematic desensitisation
main behaviourist therapy used to treat phobias
designed to slowly reduce the anxiety caused by the phobia using classical conditioning
3 processes involved in systematic desensitisation
anxiety hierarchy
relaxation
exposure
anxiety hierarchy
patient and therapist work together to create anxiety hierarchy
a list of situations that involve the phobic stimulus ordered from least to most frightening
relaxation
it is impossible to be afraid and relaxed at the same time and so the therapist teaches the patient relaxation techniques
could be in form of breathing exercises or imagining techniques (imagine self in relaxing situation)
could also include medication to relax, valium
exposure
whilst in relaxed state, being exposed to phobic stimulus
exposure starts at bottom of hierarchy
likely to take several sessions
once relaxed in lower levels, they move up the scale
aim of treatment is to allow the patient to be successful and move to top of hierarchy while being relaxed
supporting evidence for SD (snakes)
range of supporting evidence for positive impact
research was done into people with fear of snakes
students went through 11 sessions, anxiety hierarchy
relaxation techniques were used which included the use of hypnosis to help people stay relaxed
p’s fear ratings were reduced and effect lasted 6 months later
supporting evidence for SD (flying)
rothbaum et al (2000) used virtual reality exposure therapy as well as standard exposure with people who had a fear of flying
p’s were given 8 sessions over 6 weeks
following treatment, p’s agreed to take a real flight where they measured participants willingness to fly and their anxiety levels
anxiety levels were lower than a control group who hadn’t received SD, maintained 6 months later
strength of SD (less traumatic compared to flooding)
due to gradual exposure to fear stimulus as well as the experience of relaxation
whereas being immediately exposed to your feared object in flooding can be quite a shock and difficult to handle which may not be suitable for many people
limitation of SD (doesn’t treat cause)
SD doesn’t treat the cause of the phobia, only the behaviour it causes
may lead to patient being vulnerable to other phobias developing
limitation of SD (time consuming)
biological treatments involve use of drug medication such as beta blockers and benzodiazepines
these drugs can be very beneficial as short term solutions as they reduce the physiological response that people have to a fear, doesn’t take long
flooding
a person to their phobic stimulus gradually, a person is exposed to the most frightening situation immediately
e.g. a person with a phobia of dogs would be placed in a room with a dog and asked to stroke the dog straight away
what is a person unable to do in flooding
person is unable to avoid (negatively reinforce) their phobia and through continuous exposure, anxiety levels decrease
how does flooding differ to SD?
there is no anxiety hierarchy made, exposed to fear all at once
takes much less time
what 2 forms can flooding take?
in vivo (actual exposure)
in vitro (imaginary exposure)
process of flooding
patient receiving treatment will be flooded with immediate exposure to their phobia e.g. fear of heights taken to stand on edge of tall building
flooding is designed to stop the phobic response using a ‘short, sharp, shock’ approach
patient can’t avoid phobic stimulus, avoidance is prevented and patient is ‘magically cured’
phobic response stops, learned response becomes extinct
results in counter-conditioning
counter-conditioning
conditioning someone to change their response from fear to excitement or excitement to fear
strengths of flooding
cost effective, although sessions are usually longer than SD, fewer sessions are needed
works well with simple phobias e.g. arachnaphobia
limitations of flooding
can be very traumatic and may be ethically compromised, Schumacher et al (2015) found patients and therapists rated flooding as significantly more stressful than SD
less effective with more complex phobias such as social phobias
