LEARNING APPROACH- Saavedra & Silverman (BUTTON PHOBIA)

Question 1

what was the background of the study

Answer 1

-Saavedra and Silverman wanted to investigate whether classical conditioning be used to treat a boy with button phobia by targeting disgust and fear responses.
-as previously no attempt had been made to investigate this
he also explained how his phobia came to be

Question 2

state the psychology being investigated (terms)

Answer 2

-Evaluative learning
-classical conditioning
-phobias
-Expectancy learning

Question 3

what is classical conditioning

Answer 3

-this is learning through associations whereby a previously neutral stimuli is linked to a conditioned response

Question 4

what is evaluative learning

Answer 4

This is a form of classical conditioning that involves the individual forming an association between a previously neural stimulus and a negative emotion however it does not cause any danger or threat. This links to feelings of disgust rather than fear.

Question 5

What is expectancy learning

Answer 5

• a type of classical conditioning that involves associating a previously neutral stimuli with a strong negative emotion because it may cause some harm or threat.

Question 6

what is a phobia

Answer 6

A persistent, irrational or intrusive fear over an object, item or situation. the individual realises that it may be exaggerated

Question 7

How was the phobia diagnosed

Answer 7

• He met the criteria from the DSM-5 for a phobia and NOT OCD
• The interview managed to investigate how he got the phobia

Question 8

Describe the imagery exposure therapy

Answer 8

• Imagery exposure therapy was based on classical conditioning using the Vivo method.
  -The boy was told to imagine buttons falling on him and was asked how do they:
  >smell
  >felt
  >looked
  -Exposures progressed from images of larger to smaller buttons, in line with the boy’s fear hierarchy.
  -there were 7 sessions

Question 9

what were the 2 aims of the study

Answer 9

-To examine the role of classical conditioning in relation to fear and avoidance of a particular stimulus
-investigate to see if using a type of exposure therapy could reduce the disgust and distress associated with buttons

Question 10

what were the 3 instruments used

Answer 10

*The anxiety disorder interview schedule
*DSM-IV
*The feelings thermometer

Question 11

Give 5 features of the sample

Answer 11

-male
-9 years old ( 5 years old when he got the phobia)
-Hispanic American
-met the criteria for a specific phobia in DSM
-took support from the child anxiety and phobia program at Florida Miami

Question 12

which type of research method was this and design

Answer 12

Case study
Longitudinal design

Question 13

what was the qualitative and quantitative data collection method

Answer 13

through interviews with the mother
as well as the feelings thermometer
the number of buttons he handled

Question 14

describe the feelings thermometer

Answer 14

A 9-point scale of distress with the highest score being an 8

Question 15

what were the 2 interventions used

Answer 15

-Positive reinforcement therapy
-Imagery Exposure

Question 16

Describe how the phobia came to be

Answer 16

The boy was 5 years old and it was during an art class. He had ran out of buttons and went to retrieve more but as he reached for the bowl of buttons on his teachers desk, they fell on him.

Question 17

How did his phobia affect his daily life

Answer 17

-could not dress himself
-difficulties in concentration in class to avoid touching his uniform
- avoided people who had buttons on their shirt

Question 18

why did the researchers create a hierarchy of feared of stimuli

Answer 18

To understand the Boys specific feelings towards different buttons prior to treatment

Question 19

which stimuli had the highest and lowest scores on the hierarchy of fear

Answer 19

Large denime jean buttons- 2/8
Small plastic coloured/ clear buttons- 8/8

Question 20

in the interviews, what did the boy reveal about how the buttons made him feel

Answer 20

-They smelt unpleasant
- if they touched his body, it felt unpleasant

Question 21

How come the boy did not meet the criteria for OCD

Answer 21

His symptoms did not include persistent and recurrent thoughts, images or impulses that may be intrusive

Question 22

Describe the positive reinforcement therapy

Answer 22

-a behavioural therapy based on operant conditioning. Using positive reinforcement principles, contingency management was applied
-Here the boy was gradually exposed to buttons
-the boy was rewarded for handling the buttons by his mother (praise)
-the session lasted 30 mins with the boy and 20 mins with the boy and mother
-had 4 sessions

Question 23

describe the results of the positive reinforcement therapy

Answer 23

-Session 1 was successful of all the exposure tasks listed in the hierarchy of fear
-as the sessions went to session 4, the ratings of distress increased and worsened

Question 24

Describe what happened during Imagery Exposure Therapy (Vitro exposure)

Answer 24

• the therapist used cognitive restructuring
• it involved 2 sessions
• this used imaginary buttons and progressed from larger to smaller buttons
• one session for example had the boy imagine 100 buttons falling over him
• another sessions involved hugging his mother who wore a shirt with buttons
• the boy had to describe how they felt, smelt and looked

Question 25

What was a result from the imagery exposure therapy

Answer 25

-The ratings of distress had decreased from the first to the last session.
-The boy could not give reasons to why the buttons felt and smelt disgusting
- the ratings decreased from a 5 midway till session 3
100 BUTTONS FALLING OVER HIM: ratings decreased from 8 to 5 to 3
HUGGING HIS MOTHER : 7 to 4 to 3

Question 26

How did the researchers follow up

Answer 26

• they used the ADIS-C/P
  they did a 6 month and 12 month follow up
  -here he reported minimal distress of buttons and
  -no longer met the criteria of phobia of buttons in the DSM
  -could wear shirts with clear small buttons on a daily basis

Question 27

what two conclusions did they make

Answer 27

-emotions and cognitions relating to disgust are important in the development and maintenance of a phobia
-imagery exposure therapy has a long term effect on reducing distress relating to specific phobias as it tackles negative evaluations.

Question 28

what were the strengths of the study

Answer 28

-qualitative( the boy being able wear his clothes again on a daily basis) and quantitative(ratings decreased from 8 to 5 to 3) data collected
-standardised by using the feelings thermometer
- managed to get rid of the phobia
-high validity as he was studied for a long time as well as post treatment

Question 29

what were the weaknesses of the study

Answer 29

-lack of generalisability
-subjective as he created his own personal hierarchy of distress and gave personal ratings
-demand characteristics as the boy was fully aware that he was undergoing therapy
-less room for objectivity and may lead to researcher bias which may compromise the validity
-low reliability as the therapy sessions were specific to the boy and cannot be exactly replicated

Question 30

what are ways to apply this study

Answer 30

• disgust based phobias can be targeted with imagery exposure and cognitive restructuring

Question 31

How does the study support the nurture side of the debate

Answer 31

Phobias are not considered innate but are instead a result of negative experiences in response to a previously neutral stimuli. In the study got the phobia when he was 5 years and was not born with it.

Question 32

weaknesses of using children here

Answer 32

-Potentially highly distressing as it involved both real and imaginary exposure to the study

Question 33

what made the study ethically strong

Answer 33

-gave informed consent by the mother
anonymity and confidentiality
-although it was distressing the aim was met and his phobia was treated and there was an improvement in the quality of his life

Question 34

what are some positive outcomes from the exposure therapy

Answer 34

• He handled more buttons in each situation
• he handled all situations on the hierarchy

Question 35

How does the study support the Nature side

Answer 35

• The disgust response from classical conditions helps us to avoid germ ridden stimuli therefore has survival value (evolutionary inheritance)
• Evaluative learning has survival value