Psychopathology - Key Studies Flashcards
Who created the two process model of phobias (1947)?
Mowrer
What were the two types of conditioning in Mowrer’s two process model of phobias?
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning
When was Watson and Raynor’s study on classical conditioning done?
1920
What was the name of the infant in Watson and Raynor’s 1920 study on phobias?
“Little Albert”
How old was little Albert?
11 months old
Originally, what behaviour did little Albert show to the White rat?
No fear, he played happily with the rat
What did Watson use to scare little Albert?
A loud clanging noise
What did Watson do to condition little Albert into being scared of the White rat?
Everytime the White rat appeared, the loud clanging noise was made
What changes were seen in little Albert’s behaviour towards the rat?
He started to show fear, crying and crawling away from the sight of the White rat
How did watson’s experiment show stimulus generalisation?
Little Albert showed some fear of other small furry animals such as rabbits
What are some ethical issues with Watson and Raynor’s 1920 study?
Watson intended to de condition little Albert, but his mother left before it was possible
It is now thought that little Albert was not as easy to condition as thought, and Watson “topped up” the conditioning by using the clanging noise
What evidence for classical conditioning of phobias is seen in patient surveys?
50% of people with a driving phobia recall a traumatic driving incident (Durand 1995)
50% of people with a phobia of dogs recall a traumatic experience with dogs (DiNardo et al 1988)
What animal did Mower use in his 1960 study on operant conditioning in phobias?
Rats
What was the procedure of Mower’s 1960 study?
Rats were classically conditioned to fear the sound of a buzzer as it was associated with an electric shock
They were then placed in a cage with a barrier they could jump to avoid the electric shock, if the buzzer sounded
The rats started jumping the barrier whenever they heard the buzzer, suggesting this jumping behaviour had been negatively reinforced by the reduction of fear
Which study provided evidence for observational learning of fear?
Bandura and Rosenthal (1966)
What was the procedure of Bandura and Rosenthal’s 1966 study on observational learning of fear?
Participants watched another person (confederate) ‘receive’ electric shocks when a buzzer sounded, after a few times the participant started to show emotional signs of fear at the buzzer, despite never being shocked themselves.
Which study suggested animals may be biologically predisposed to certain phobias?
Cook and Mineka (1989)
What is important background knowledge required for Cook and Mineka’s study?
Monkeys in the wild generally show strong fear to snakes, but lab reared monkeys do not, which suggests that monkeys are NOT innately afraid of snakes
What did Cook and Mineka want to find out in their study?
Whether monkeys learned to be afraid of snakes (a potential threat) quicker than rabbits
What was the method of Cook and Mineka’s study?
None of the monkeys had seen snakes or rabbits before
The monkeys were shown a picture of a snake and a video of mother acting fearfully, then it was measured how long it took for the baby monkeys to show fear of the snake
This was then repeated for the pairing of the rabbit and the mothers fear.
What were the results of Cook and Mineka’s study?
The monkeys quickly feared the snake, but did not fear the monkey, suggesting baby monkeys were BIOLOGICALLY PREPARED to learn to be afraid of snakes
Who created systematic desensitisation?
Wolpe (1958)
What did Marie Jahoda do?
She identified 6 factors to define the ideal mental health in 1958
Which study looked at the effects of systematic desensitisation in those with fear of spiders?
Gilroy (2000)
How many patients were there in Gilroy’s (2000) study?
45 patients
What were the three treatment groups in Gilroy’s (2000) study?
Computer aided vicarious exposure
Therapists delivered live exposure
Relaxation placebo