Saavedra & Silverman - Buttons Phobia

Question 1

Which classical conditioning learning type was present in the Saavedra & Silverman study?

Answer 1

Evaluative learning

Question 2

What is Evaluative learning?

Answer 2

(looking back) A form of classical conditioning where attitudes towards stimuli is as a result of a negative evaluation, commonly causing emotions such as disgust, rather than fear which may be more present in expectancy learning

Question 3

Which assumption of the learning approach does the buttons phobia study best suit?

Answer 3

Conditioning can help to explain changes in behaviour

Question 4

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 4

Learning through association - for example: Pavlov’s dog and bell experiment

Question 5

What is the psychology investigated in the Buttons phobia experiment?

Answer 5

Evaluative learning

Question 6

What is the aim of the Buttons Phobia experiment?

Answer 6

To bring disgust and evaluative learning to the forefront of children’s psychiatric literature, as they are lacking at present
To get rid of the boy’s phobia of buttons

Question 7

What was the demographic of the sample in Saavedra & Silverman - buttons phobia?

Answer 7

1 9-year-old Hispanic, American boy

- Diagnosed with a specific phobia of buttons according to the DSM IV 4

Question 8

What was the volunteer sample used in Buttons Phobia study?

Answer 8

Opportunity - Florida international University, Miami

Question 9

At what age did the boy’s symptoms begin in Saavedra and Silverman?

Answer 9

5

Question 10

How did the boy develop his fear of buttons?

Answer 10

• During a kindergarten arts project, the boy had run out of buttons for his posterboard, and was asked to go up to the front of the classroom and retrieve more buttons from the teachers desk.
• Boy reached up to grab buttons, and his hand slipped and all buttons fell on him

Question 11

Independent variables of Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 11

Which session used (1 or 2)

• how many buttons the boy could manipulate
• The boy’s distress severity rating

Question 12

Dependent variables of Saavedra and Silverman

Answer 12

• Boy’s ratings of distress on the “feelings thermometer” (9 point scale) 0-8

Question 13

Length of behavioural exposure sessions, and how many?

Answer 13

4 sessions:

• 30 minutes with just the boy
• 20 minutes with both the boy and his mother

Question 14

How many sessions of imagery exposure were there in Saavedra & Silverman?

Answer 14

7

Question 15

What happened in therapy 1 in Saavedra and Silverman?

Answer 15

The boy was faced with handling an increasing number of buttons in each session. His mother was used for positive reinforcement which helped with the exposure.

Question 16

What were the results of therapy 1 in Saavedra ad Silverman?

Answer 16

The boy was able to increase the number of buttons he handled from session 1 (5 buttons) to session 4 (30 buttons). HOWEVER, the boy’s distress ratings only increased as a result. This went from 6 in the first session to an 8 in the fourth session.

Question 17

What was the issue found with the buttons after therapy 1 in Saavedra and Silverman?

Answer 17

The boy reported feeling more “disgust” towards the buttons, and that they emitted “unpleasant odours”

Question 18

What happened in therapy 2 in Saavedra and Silverman?

Answer 18

The boy was told to imagine disgust-related imagery such as imagining buttons falling onto his body, and . hugging his mother with a shirt full of buttons. Some questions included “What do they look, feel and smell like?”

Question 19

What were the three steps to Therapy 2 in Saavedra & Silverman?

Answer 19

1. identify the thought
2. Challenge the thought
3. Replace the thought with something more positive

Question 20

What were the results of Therapy 2 in Saavedra & Silverman?

Answer 20

The boy’s distress ratings of buttons decreased.
Imagining buttons falling onto his body: 8, 5, 3
Imagining hugging his mother with a shirt full of buttons: 7, 4, 3

Question 21

How often were the post-treatment sessions held in Saavedra & Silverman?

Answer 21

6-12 month follow-ups

Question 22

What was reported during the follow-up sessions in Saavedra and Silverman?

Answer 22

• The boy no longer met the DSM IV for specific phobia of buttons
• The boy was wearing his school shirt with buttons with minimal to no distress

Question 23

What were the highest and lowest scoring buttons on the feelings thermometer in the buttons phobia case study?

Answer 23

Highest: Small, clear, plastic buttons - 8
Lowest: Large denim jean buttons - 2

Question 24

What were the conclusions of the Saavedra and Silverman study? (3)

Answer 24

• Disgust imagery related exposure can be successful in getting rid of specific phobia of buttons
• Evaluative learning can form, as well as help cure specific phobias.
• Imagery exposure can have long-term effects on diminishing stress due to phobias.

Question 25

Nature or Nurture? Buttons phobia case study

Answer 25

This study supports the nurture side of the debate - evaluative learning.

Question 26

Generalisability

Saavedra & Silverman

Answer 26

Negative:
- 1 Participant
- rare phobia

Question 27

Reliability

Saavedra & Silverman

Answer 27

Positive:
- Feelings thermometer was created by the child, and used throughout
- DSM IV criteria used for both diagnosis and follow-ups
negative
- Feelings thermometer was a subjective rating device
- not enough detail within the study to be accurately replicable.

Question 28

Application of the Saavedra & Silverman study

Answer 28

Therapists may be able to use the same procedure to tackle other phobias, and use of the feelings thermometer for measurement of progress.

Question 29

Validity

Saavedra & Silverman

Answer 29

Positive:
- Boy checked specifically for button phobia, and it was assured he didn’t have OCD, GAD, or past traumas
- 2 treatments - after first one was unsuccessful, used another one
- ecological validity - experiments conducted in the safe environment of a therapists office
- Both qualitative and quantitative data for in depth understanding of boy’s phobia

Negative:
- potential demand characteristics
- potential researcher bias - having gotten to know the boy over time

Question 30

Ethics

Saavedra & Silverman

Answer 30

Positive:
- No deception used
- Debrief - with follow-ups
- informed consent
- confidentiality

Negative
- psychological distress due to treatment of phobia