Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Psychopathology 3-
Behavioural Approach
- The Behavioural Approach
To Explaining Phobias
- Draws on what is
knows as 2-process
model to explain origins
and maintenance of
phobias
- Classical Conditioning:
Initiation- Phobia acquired
when association made
between neutral object and
fear response
- WATSON & RAYNER (1920): Baby Albert
and White Rat
- Albert had no intentional fear
of white rat. Once exposed to
rat several times WATSON &
RAYNER clanged bars
together. Loud noise startled
Albert, he learnt to show fear
when seeing white rat
without bars
- Fear Of Dogs Explained:
Being Bitten (UCS)--- Creates
Fear (UCR)--- Dog (NS)
associated with being bitten
(UCS)--- Dog (NOW CS)
produces fear response
(NOW CR)
- Operant Conditioning:
Maintenance- Serves to
maintain phobia.
- Likelihood of behaviour increased if
outcome is rewarding e.g.
avoiding/escaping feared object is
rewarding as reduces fear, serves
to reinforce phobia
- This is negative
reinforcement
- EVALUATION
- Some Evidence To Support-
Some acquired phobias through
experience and learning as
theory suggests
- Reductionist- It
overlooks role of
cognitive factors
- Research Is Biased On Animal
Studies- Human much more
complex, we have thoughts and
feelings that will affect behaviour
- The Behavioural Approach
To Treating Phobias
- Flooding
- Places patient in worst case
scenario until they become
relaxed
- Patient can't make usual avoidance
responses and anxiety peaks so much
it eventually can't be maintained so
soon subsides
- Systematic
Desensitsation
- Aims to help patients
unlearn maladaptive
responses to feared
object/situation and to
relearn more adaptive,
clam repsonse
- Gradual process, based
on principle that we
can't be anxious and
relaxed at same time
- Clients work with therapist to
form hierarchy of fear,
detailed from least feared to
worst possible scenario.
Patients taught relaxation
techniques
- Hierarchy for someone scared of spiders
may start with hearing word 'spider'
and end with holding one. At each stage
relaxation techniques used and ONLY
when fully relaxed they will progress to
next stage
- Research: GILROY ET AL (2003)-
Followed up 42 patients treated
for spider phobia in 3, 45 min
sessions. Control group treated
by relaxation without exposure.
- At both 3 months and 33
months after treatment
systematic desensitisation
group less fearful than
control group
- EVALUATION
- Relatively Quick-
Compared with CBT
- Ethical Concerns- Especially with Flooding,
argued that stress caused with
treatment worse than phobia itself or
may increase patient's fear
- Supporting Research- WOLPE (1960)
treated girl with phobia of cars by
flooding. Concrete example that therapy
used effectively