Saavedra and Silverman Flashcards
Phobia
a persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, or activity or situation
Classical conditioning
a form of learning in which an unconditioned response becomes linked to a previously neutral stimulus to create a learned association
Evaluative learning
when individual forms an association between neutral stimulus and a negative emotion outcome = disgust (no fear emotion)
Expectancy learning
previously neutral/non-threatening stimulus becomes associated with a potentially threatening outcome = FEAR
Background
- one form of classical conditioning is expectancy learning, this is when…
- phobias may be caused by evaluative learning, this is when…
- If evaluative learning is true, disgust, as well as fear should be targeted in the treatment of phobias
- This contrasts to a behaviourist approach which suggests that there is little to no role in thinking/feeling in the learning process
Aim
- To investigate the causes of button phobia in a child
2. To attempt to treat a child’s phobia of buttons via targeting both disgust and fear responses
What is the research method?
case study
Why case study?
This method is most fitting as it is particularly useful in researching unusual or rare phenomena
What is the sample and sampling technique?
- volunteer sample
- 9 year old Hispanic American boy
- met for having a specific phobia measured by DSM-IV
What is the procedure before the study? (how are the sure that the boy has phobia)
Mother and son both interviewed, to ensure the phobia hadn’t occur because of any trauma or abuse. → also ruled out of OCD as the boy had no recurrent, intrusive thoughts
- met DSM-IV criteria for specific phobia
- did not meet criteria for OCD
When and why did the phobia begin?
Phobia began at aged 5
He accidently split a jar of buttons when to collect for more for an art project - this occured in front of his class and teacher
How did his phobia affect his daily life?
it interfered with his normal functioning!
Couldn’t dress himself anymore and avoid clothing with buttons
How is the boy’s feeling towards buttons established?
Through the creation of a hierarchy of feared / disgust provoking stimuli
How did he rate the items in the hierarchy?
Rated each item on a 9-point scale (0-8, 8=most distress)
Rating of 2 = large denim jean buttons
Rating of 8 = small plastic buttons (clear and colored)
What are the two types of intervention used?
Behavioural exposure therapy and imagery exposure
For behavioural exposure therapy, how many sessions? How long each?
Gradual exposure of 4 treatment sessions with 20-30mins each
Is behavioural exposure therapy in-vivo or in-vitro?
in-vivo
What happens during the behavioural exposure therapy?
using positive reinforcement where boy rewarded by his mother each time he demonstrated less fear and for touching buttons.
For imagery exposure, how many sessions?
7 sessions
What beliefs are based on for imagery exposure?
- buttons touching his body disgusting
- buttons smell unpleasant
What are the self-control strategies taught in imager exposure?
Imagined buttons falling on him and to consider how they looked, felt and smelled. He was asked to talk freely about how this imagery exposure made him feel
How did imagery exposure progress?
Exposures progressed from images of smaller to larger buttons, according to his hierarchy
3 findings for behavioural exposure
- By session 4, boy had successfully completed all the tasks
- His distress level increased dramatically from session 2 to 3 and 3 to 4
- In session 4, his subjective ratings to specific items was even higher than the ratings he reported when the hierarchy was initially devised
2 findings for imagery exposure
- In a session where he had to imagine hundreds of buttons falling on him, before the cognitive restructuring, he rated this as 8 – decreased to 5 and then to 3 by the end of a session.
- In a session where he had to imagine hugging his mother who was wearing a shirt with many buttons, distress ratings went from 7 to 4 and then 3.
What did they find about the boy after the treatment? How long was he followed?
He was followed up 6 and 12 months after treatment and at both times, no longer met the DSM criteria for a specific phobia.
He was also able to wear clear plastic buttons on his school uniform shirt.
State the conclusion (which is more effective?)
Disgust imagery exposure is more effective at treating specific phobia than behavioural exposure
State the conclusion (does disgust play a role)
Emotions and cognitions relating to disgust do play a role in the development and maintenance of phobia
State the conclusion (long term effect of imagery exposure)
Imagery exposure can have a long-term effect on reducing the distress associated with specific phobias as it addresses negative evaluations
Does it have a useful application to real life?
- developed a better treatment for phobias.
- disgust imagery is more effective than behavioural exposure in treating specific phobia.
- disgust imagery should be used more often
- educational purposes,deeper understanding of the emotions associated with phobia
Not useful because case study, lacks generalisability
Does it support the nature or nurture side of the debate?
Nurture
- shows that phobia is learnt, after he split a jar of buttons, after that situation he developed the fear of buttons
and can be unlearnt, the formation is not due to the evolution theory of preparedness
Use of children
- distress is caused / violated protection of harm
- gave informed consent
How is evaluative learning different from expectancy learning?
- one is forming association between a neutral stimulus and threatening outcome, feeling fear, the other one is feeling disgust
- evaluative learning does not depend on the individual’s expecting, or being aware, of the association between neutral stimulus and negative outcome, rather, they PERCEIVE it negatively
