Saavedra and silverman

Question 1

What is the psychology being investigated

Answer 1

-Classical conditioning
-Evaluative learning

Question 2

What is classical conditioning

Answer 2

This is the idea that we learn by associating two or more events , so that the presence of one event signals the presence of the other event

Question 3

What is evaluative learning

Answer 3

Here the individual does not expect a threat/harm from the object or situation of phobia.However he evaluates the object or situation of phobia with a negative emotion e.g disgust

Question 4

What is a unconditional stimulus

Answer 4

This is a natural stimulus that elicits a reflexive (natural) response

e.g food elicits saliva

Question 5

What is a unconditional response

Answer 5

A natural/reflexive response to a unconditional stimulus

e,g Saliva is a unconditional response to food

Question 6

What is a conditioned stimulus

Answer 6

This is a stimulus that induces a response with the help of conditioning

This is a stimulus that acquires the characteristic of the unconditional stimulus after repeated pairings

e.g pairing a bell with food will elicit the occurrence of saliva even without the food

Question 7

What is conditioned response

Answer 7

This is a learned response to a conditional stimulus

Question 8

What is the experimental method in the study by Saavedra

Answer 8

It is a case study , because the boy is presenting a rare type of phobia

• It obtains detailed data about the boys button phobia through triangulation

Question 9

What was the ADIS-C/P (anxiety disorder interview schedule , child and parent version)
used to gather data about?

Answer 9

-The onset of the phobia
-The event proceeding the phobia
-How the phobia affected the boys functioning
-How the boy presented with the phobia

Question 10

What is the name of the interview that the researchers used in the study by Saavedra and Silverman to gain more information about the boys phobia

Answer 10

ADIS-C/P

Question 11

The interviews with the boy and his mother in the study by Saavedra ruled out what other possible causes for the boys phobia

Answer 11

-Sexual abuse
-Accidents
-Other significant trauma

Question 12

What is the feelings thermometer in the study by Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 12

This was a hierarchy of feared buttons with specific distress ratings created by the boy

This hierarchy was used during therapy to;
-Asses entry symptoms
-Asses progress of treatment
-Asses long - term effectiveness of treatment at follow up sessions

Question 13

What were the aims of the study (button phobia)

Answer 13

1) To investigate the role of classical conditioning in the development of a button phobia
More specifically to investigate the role of evaluative learning in the development of disgust towards phobias

2) To investigate the role of imagery exposure therapy in the treatment of disgust towards buttons

Question 14

Describe the sample of Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia)

Answer 14

• 9 year old Hispanic American boy

-He developed an intense fear of buttons which interfered with his school life \

-He sought support at the Child anxiety and phobia program in Florida international university Miami

-He met the DSM-iv criteria for a specific phobia

Question 15

What is the sampling technique in the study by Saavedra

Answer 15

Opportunity sampling

Question 16

When did the boys phobia begin according to the ADIS-C/P interview

Answer 16

when he was 5 years old

Question 17

Describe the kindergarten experience that caused this phobia

Answer 17

The boy and his classmates were doing an art project using buttons on their poster boards

The boy ran out of buttons to paste on his poster board and was asked to go to the front of the class and get more from a large bowl on the teachers desk

when he reached for the bowl his hand slipped and all the buttons fell on him

Question 18

How did the boy feel about his experience
in the study by saavedra and silverman

Answer 18

He described the experience as distressful and from then on his avoidance of buttons increased

Question 19

How did the boys phobia affect his functioning

Answer 19

-He was not able to dress himself
-He could not concentrate in school because he was always preoccupied in not touching his school uniform or anything his uniform touched

Question 20

During diagnosis the boy did not meet the DSM-IV criteria for one disorder

name the disorder

Answer 20

OCD

Question 21

What intervention procedures were used on the boy

Answer 21

1)Positive reinforcement therapy
2) Imagery exposure therapy

Question 22

Describe the positive reinforcement therapy (behavioural exposures procedure)

Answer 22

The boys mother was used to provide positive reinforcement on the boys successful completion on gradual exposure to buttons

the sessions lasted 30 mins with the boy alone and 20 with the mum

the exposure progressed from the least difficult to the most difficult buttons

the exposures were done in vivo (in flesh)

Question 23

Describe the Imagery exposure therapy (disgust related exposure sessions)

Answer 23

-it was done in 7 sessions
- it targeted disgust
- it was done through visualizing
- The boy was told to imagine hundreds of buttons falling all over him and to ;
a)describe how they felt
b)how they smelt
c) how they look

• it progressed from the least to the most difficult buttons
• Self control (a type of cognitive behavioural therapy) was used to help the boy deal with the anxiety caused by the buttons

Question 24

describe the Positive reinforcement therapy results

Answer 24

-The boys avoidance behaviour had decreased significantly , he was now approaching buttons more positively for example he was now able to handle larger amounts of buttons in the later sessions

-However his subjective ratings of distress increased significantly between sessions 2 and 3 and continued to rise for a number of items
e.g hugging his mum while wearing buttons

This means that despite his avoidance behaviour decreasing his feelings of disgust increased

Question 25

Describe the imagery exposure results

Answer 25

-It was successful in reducing the boys distress ratings
for example the small plastic buttons (clear and colored) were given a distress rating of 8 before therapy
however they reduced to 5 midway during therapy and 3 at the end of therapy.

Question 26

Describe the post treatment results

Answer 26

-He reported minimal distress about buttons
-He no longer met the DSM-IV criteria for specific phobia of buttons

• He was now wearing plastic clear buttons on his school shirt on a daily basis

Question 27

Describe the 12 and 6 months post treatment results

Answer 27

-He reported minimal distress ratings towards buttons

• He was in remission for DSM-IV specific phobia diagnosis
• He continued wearing clear plastic buttons on a daily basis , on his school uniform

Question 28

Describe the conclusions of the study by Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 28

1) Imagery exposure therapy has long-term effectiveness in the management of a button phobia

2)Emotions and cognitions related to disgust are important when learning new responses to phobic stimuli

Question 29

List and 3 advantages of the study by Saavedra and silverman

Answer 29

-Its a Longitudinal study
-High in internal validity
-Ethics
-Quantitative data

Question 30

List 3 weaknesses of the study by Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 30

1)Ethics
2)Low generalisability
3)Subjectivity
4)Demand characteristics

Question 31

Why is the study by Saavedra and Silverman from the learning approach

Answer 31

-Classical conditioning can be used to explain changes in behaviour
for example in the study the boy developed a fear of buttons that disrupted his academic function. This fear is thought to have been learnt from classical conditioning

Question 32

List two useful applications to everyday life from the study by Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 32

Imagery exposure therapy and self control can be used in clinical set ups to target disgust during treatment and management of phobias