saavedra and silverman Flashcards
what is the psychology being investigated
classical conditioning
evaluative learning
what is evaluative learning
a type of classical conditioning where an individual forms an association between a neutral stimulus and an emotion
define ‘phobia’
an irrational, persistent fear of an object or an event that poses little real danger but creates real anxiety and avoidance in the sufferer
what is the aim of the study
to examine classical conditioning in relation to fear and avoidance of a particular stimulus. in context to the study, researchers wanted to see if a type of exposure therapy would reduce disgust and distress associated with buttons
what was the research method and design
case study, self report measures, interview, nine point scale of distress known as the ‘feelings thermometer’
what was the sample
9 year old Hispanic American boy, along with his mother, met the criteria for a phobia, symptoms for 4 years prior, sought support from the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program at Florida international university
what was the procedure?
Step 1) boy and mother provided informed consent
step 2) interviewed to see if any trauma or abuse caused phobia
step 3) hierarchy of fear known as feelings thermometer
step 4) treated with 2 interventions, contingency management and imagery exposure therapy
what is contingency management
a type of positive reinforcement therapy, boy rewarded for showing less fear around buttons and handling them
what is imagery exposure therapy
therapy in which the individual is asked to vividly imagine their feared object or situation
what were the results of positive reinforcement therapy
the boy was observed approaching the buttons more confidently, he started handling more buttons as the therapy progressed. However, feelings of distress increased as the therapy progressed. So despite his behaviour improving his feelings did not. This finding is consistent with previous research in evaluative learning.
what were the results of imagery exposure
imagery exposure therapy appeared to be successful in reducing the boys feelings of disgust. Before the therapy, the boy rated ‘imagine hundreds of buttons falling all over your body’ this was rated the most disgusting at an 8 and after the exposure was complete it was rated a 3
what was the conclusion
positive reinforcement successful in reducing observed behaviour, imagery exposure successful in reducing feelings of fear and disgust.
emotions and cognitions are important when learning new responses
imagery exposure can have a long term effect on reducing distress
what are the weaknesses of this experiment
case study, small sample, hard to generalise. Very specific phobia so less likely to be representative. Could be considered subjective since the boy gave his own ratings. Less room for anonymity, higher risk of bias. demand characteristics may have occurred
what are the strengths of this experiment
a large amount of qualitative data was collected, useful because it can help psychologists understand underlying psychological disorders. Highly valid, qualitative and quantitative data collected.
what button was rated the least disgusting
large denim jean buttons rated a 2
