The behavioural approach to treating phobias Flashcards
Phobias (AO1)
A group of mental disorders characterised by high levels of anixety in respone to a particular stimulus or group of stimulus.
Emotional characteristics of phobias (AO1)
Excessive/unreasonable/presistent
Feelings for anixeity in public
Emotions cued by presence
Behavioural characteritics of Phobias (AO1)
Avoidance eg a person with a phobia of spiders
Freeze or flight, response
Cognitive characteristic Phobias (AO1)
- Intrusive thoughts
- impluses that are precieved as inappropriapte or forbidden.
Two process model (AO1)
States that phobias are learned by classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning (Mowrer 1960).
According to the behaviour approach, abnormal behaviour can be caused by:
(AO1)
1) Classical conditoing
2) operant conditoning
3) Social learning theory
Mowrer (1947) (AO1)
put forward a two-process model, to explaim how phobias are learned through classical conditioning and mainted through operant conditioing.
Pavlov (1903) (AO1)
Discovered the idea of classical conditioning in his work with dogs and in his original research, dogs learned to salivate at the sound of the bell,
Watson & Rayner (1920) (AO1)
conducted a laboratory experiment to examine whether a fear response could be learned through classical conditioning, in humans.
Strengths of the behaviourists explanation of phobias (AO3)
Watson & Rayner (1920) demonstrated the process of classical conditionig, in the formation of phobias in little albert, who was conditioned to fear white rats.
Strengths of the behaviourist explanation (AO3) - Application to theraphy.
Have been used for treatments for phobias eg systematic desensitation and flooding.
Systematic desensitation (AO1)
Help people unlearn their fear, using principles of classical conditioning
Flooding (AO1)
A type of behaviour theraphy that prevents people from avoiding their phobias. A client is exposed to an image under relaxed conditons
Critisms of the behaviourists explaination for phobias (AO3) - Ignores cognitive factors.
Ignores the role of cognition in the formation of phobias and cognitive psychologists suggest that phobias may develop as a result of irrational thinking. eg claustrophobia
What’s the first stage of the two-process model (AO1)
Classical conditioning.
Weakness Some phobias don’t follow a traumatic experience
AO3
A person may have a fear of snakes without ever having encountered a snake. This suggests some phobias have not been acquired through learning, weakening this explanation
Weakness of behaviour explanation of phobias
(AO3)
may be pre-disposed to some phobias
We may be pre-disposed to some phobias, such as snakes or spiders, which would have given human ancestors a survival advantage.
This means the capacity for certain phobias is ‘hard-wired’, and therefore not learnt.
Phobias of guns and cars, which are far more dangerous to most human today, are very rare, perhaps because these things were not present in humans’ evolutionary past. This weakens the behavioural explanation.
What’s the second stage of the two-process model? (AO1)
Operant conditioning
Counterconditioning
The paitent is taught a new association that runs counter to the original association.
Paitent taught through classical conditioning to associate the phobic stimulus with a new response. i.e relaxtion instead of fear. in this way way their anixety is reduce - desensitisted.
Wolpe called this ‘reciprocal inhibition because the response of relaxtion inhibits the response of anxiety.
Relaxtion
The first thing the therapist would do is teach the paitent relaxtion techinque.
- Can be achieved by focusing om their breathing etc
When were anxious we breathe quickly so slowing helps this.
Densisitation hierachy
SD works by gradually introducing the feared situation one step at a time so it is not overwhelming. At this stage the paitent practices relaxation so situation becomes familiar and less overwhelming.
Systematic desenstitation steps:
Step 1: Paitent is taught how to relax their muscles
Step 2: Therapist and paitent together construct a desensitation hierachy (could be a series of imagined scenes each one causing more anxiety.
step 3: Paitent gradually works his/her way through the Desenistiation hierachy visualing anxiety
Step 4: Once the paitent has mastered one step in the hierachy (they can remain relaxed whileimaging it) ready to move onto the next
Step 5: Paitent eventually masters the feared situation that caused to seek help in the first place.
2 Steps of Flooding
Step 1: Paitent is taught how to relax muscles
Step 2: Paitent masters there feared situation that caused them to seek help in the first place, This is accomplised in one long session.
AO3
Evaluation of SD
Effectiveness of SD
(Strength)
PEEL
P: Research has found that SD is successful for a range of phobias
EV: For examples McGrath et al (1990) reported that about 75% of paitents with phobias respond to SD. Key success tends to lie with actual contact with feared stimulus so in vivo techniques are more successful than ones just using pictures or imaging fear stimulus (in vitro) (Choy et al. 2007)
EX: This demonstrates that effectivness of SF but also how the value of using a range of different exposure techniques.
L:
No appropriate for all phobias.
Weakness of SD
PEEL
P: There is evidence that demonstrates a weakness of SD in terms of it not being appropriate for all phobias.
Ev: Ohman et al. (1975) suggests that SD may not be as effective in treating phobias that have an underlying evolutionary survival component (e.g fear of dark, height or animals) than in treating phobias which have been acquired as a result of personal experience.
EX: This suggests that SD can only be used effectively in tackling some phobias
L: Therefore this indicates that SD may not be a useful method for treating phobias.
Evaluation for Flooding
Effectiveness of Flooding
Strength
P: There is research that demonstrates that flooding can be effective treatment for those who stick with and is relatively quick compared to CBT.
EV: Choy et al reported that both SD and flooding were effective but flooding was the more effective of the two at treating phobias. On the other hand, Craske et al, found that both flooding and SD are equally effective.
EX: This shows that flooding is an effective therapy, albeit just one of several options.
Individual differences
Flooding
P: There is evidence that illustrates a weakness of flooding as it is not for every paitent (or indeed every therapist.
Ev; It can be highly traumatic procedure. Paitents are obviously made aware of this beforehand but, even then, they may quit during the treatment, which reduces the ultimate effectiveness of the therapy for some people.
EX: This shows that individual differences in responding to flooding therefore limits the effectiveness of the therapy.
Evaluation of Behavioural therapies in general
Stengths of behavioural therapies
P: make it up
Evidence: Behavioural therapies for dealing with phobias are generally relatively faster, cheaper and require less effort on the paitent’s part than other psychotherapies.
EX: For example, CBT requires a willingness for people to think deeply about their mental problems, which is not true for behavioural therapies. This lack of thinking means that the technique is also useful for people who lack insight into their motivations or emotions e.g children.
L: This shows that behavioural therapies are a more appropriate treatment for phobias as it also benefits the economy.
Relaxtion may not be necessary
Behavioural therapies weakeness
P:
E: It may be that the success of both SD and flooding is more to do with exposure to the feared situation than relaxtion.
EX: For example, it might also be that the expectations of being able to cope with the feard stimulus is most important. Klein et al. (1983) compared SD with supportive psychotheraphy for paitents with either social or speciic phobias. Founf no difference in effectiveness, suggesting that the ‘active ingredient’ in SD or flooding may simply be the generation of hopeful expectancies that the phobia can overcome.
L: This demonstrates that cognitive factors are more important than the behavioural approach generally acknowledges.
Rationale
AO1
A person’s fear response (and the release of adrenaline underlying this) has a time limit. As aderenaline level naturally decrease, a new stimuls response is now associated with a non-anxious response.
