Button Phobia

Question 1

Phobias are classified into how many types?

Answer 1

Three

Question 2

What are the three types of phobias?

Answer 2

Social, specific and agoraphobia

Question 3

What are three features of a specific phobia

Answer 3

• the individual has a marked fear of a specific object
• the phobic object almost always provokes immediate anxiety/fear
• The fear/anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the object and to the socio-cultural context.

Question 4

Specific phobia def

Answer 4

an irrational fear of a specific object/ situation that markedly interfered with an individual’s ability to function

Question 5

Phobia

Answer 5

a persistant and unreasonable fear of an object. The fear is disproportionate to the danger posed.

Question 6

Fear

Answer 6

An unpleasant emotion caused by an organism’s defensive response to an imminent threat

Question 7

Disgust

Answer 7

a feeling of revulsion aroused by something unpleasant or offensive

Question 8

Evaluative learning (4)

Answer 8

• a form of classical conditioning
• in which a person comes to perceive a previously neutral object negatively
• the person negatively evaluates the object without anticipating any danger
• this negative evaluation elicits a feeling of disgust rather than fear

Question 9

Expectancy learning

Answer 9

when a neutral object is associated with a negative outcome increases the expectation of coming into contact with the object

Question 10

Aim 1 (disgust)

Answer 10

To investigate disgust as an emotion that would lead to the acquisition of a specific phobia

Question 11

Aim 2 (learning)

Answer 11

To investigate evaluative learning and how it could predispose one to the fear of buttons.

Question 12

Aim 3 (why)

Answer 12

To determine the cause of the button phobia

Question 13

Aim 4 (tr..)

Answer 13

To successfully treat the button phobia using exposure-based cognitive behavioural therapy, imagery and in vivo desensitization

Question 14

All 4 aims

Answer 14

1. disgust
2. learning
3. why
4. treat

Question 15

Method

Answer 15

Case study

Question 16

Ppt

Answer 16

9 year old American-hispanic boy

Question 17

How did the child meet the criteria for the specific phobia of buttons? (3)

Answer 17

• Met requirements on DSM-IV
• Met requirements on ADIS
• Affected his social/ occupational and other important areas of function

Question 18

Why did the boy not meet the criteria for OCD

Answer 18

His symptoms did not include recurrent/persistant thoughts, impulses or images that may be intrusive.

His symptoms instead, included the persistent avoidance of buttons cued by the presence and anticipation of buttons– as observed in a specific behaviour.

Question 19

Describe the feelings thermometer? (2)

Answer 19

• had a 9 point scale in which the boy rated his feelings of distress
• the bigger the button, the less the fear/disgust

Question 20

Cause of button phobia

Answer 20

When the boy was 5, he ran out of buttons so he went to the front of the class to retrieve more. When he reached into the large bowl on the teacher’s desk, the buttons fell on him. This experience was distressful.

Question 21

In vivo desensitisation def

Answer 21

this is a form of exposure therapy in which the individual is exposed to a fear invoking object/ situation for a prolonged time without the option of escaping within a safe environment

Question 22

CBT def

Answer 22

a treatment technique in which the therapist alters or changes the way the individual thinks with the goal of changing the way the individual behaves

Question 23

Imagery def

Answer 23

a form of exposure therapy in which the individual is exposed to certain images and thoughts empirically (with the use of senses) with the aim of helping the individual imagine anxiety provoking events which are then treated or reduced by applying psychological techniques e.g. Breathing exercises and relaxation

Question 24

Results

Answer 24

After 6 months and 12 months follow up, the boy reported having minimal distress from wearing clear small buttons on his school uniform

Question 25

Conclusion

Answer 25

Imagery and cognitive restructuring are effective in treating specific phobias

Question 26

What is Agoraphobia

Answer 26

fear of being in a social place in which one may cause embarrassment

Question 27

How old was he when his phobia started

Answer 27

5 years old

Question 28

How long did treatment sessions last?

Answer 28

30 minutes with the boy alone and 20 minutes with the boy and his mother

Question 29

How was the boy's daily life interfered with the phobia (2)

Answer 29

inability to dress himself difficulties in concentrating in school because of an excessive preoccupation with not touching anything his buttoned shirt touched

Question 30

Effects of in vivo desensitisation- at session 4:

Answer 30

his subjective ratings of distress increased dramatically

Question 31

What did he find the most distressing

Answer 31

Small plastic buttons- clear and coloured

Question 32

What did he find the least distressing

Answer 32

Large denim jean buttons

Question 33

Nurture arguments (2)

Answer 33

During art class, he reached for a bowl of buttons and his hand slipped and the bowl fell on him. This stressful experience led to the development of the phobia He was cured using imagery exposure which involves conditioning. This procedure make him unlearn his phobia hence it is nurture

Question 34

Describe how results of the study can help in understanding or treating phobias (2)

Answer 34

- boy revealed that the cause of the phobia was during an art class, when a bowl of buttons fell on him. Therefore, a therapist may need to investigate and discover the cause of the phobia to treat it. - after just four sessions with the mother providing positive reinforcement, the boy could cope with his fears. Therefore, for children with phobias, having a parent involved could bring out faster, positive outcomes

Question 35

Real life application

Answer 35

The boy's fear of buttons was found out using a feelings thermometer. This might be useful for schools to use with students who show fear to help understanding what is causing this fear

Question 36

Describe how the rating changed over the first three sessions in response to imagery (4)

Answer 36

- dropped between session 1 and 2 - dropped again between session 2 and 3 - as sessions advanced, there were lower levels of disgust - dropped from 8 to 5 midway through imagery exposure

Question 37

Describe the Disgust/ Fear Heirarchy (3)

Answer 37

He was asked to rate 11 different scenarios including buttons Each was on a distress scale of 0-8 Subjective ratings used a feelings thermometer

Question 38

Weakness of the disgust/ fear hierarchy (3)

Answer 38

- are subjective - may have given desirable answer - 0-8 is restrictive

Question 39

Results from post treatment session (3)

Answer 39

Boy reported minimal distress No longer met criteria on DSM-IV for specific phobia could wear clear buttons on his school uniform shirt

Question 40

Explain why this study is from the learning approach

Answer 40

The learning approach states that conditioning helps to explain changes in behaviour. The therapy involved positive reinforcement to motivate him to complete his distress heirarchy

Question 41

Problems when using children (2)

Answer 41

- Using children may be unethical as they can get distressed easily- in this study, the boy would have been distressed as he was exposed to buttons which he had a phobia of - Sometimes, children may not understand the language used by adults- therapist may have explained the feelings thermometer but he may not have understood it.

Question 42

Results from 6 month follow up (3)

Answer 42

He reported minimal distress continued to wear clear plastic buttons daily Showed a recession on the DSM-IV

Question 43

Describe use of Child Anxiety and Phobia Program to diagnose the boy who had a phobia of buttons (4)

Answer 43

- both mother and child were interviewed - using a standardised interview schedule - this was the ADIS-C/P - he was also assessed using DSM-IV

Question 44

Describe disgust-related exposure sessions (5)

Answer 44

- explored reasons why buttons felt disgusting - imagined buttons falling on him - imagined hugging mother with buttons on her shirt - asked how they looked -cognitive restructuring was used when necessary

Question 45

Conclusion (3)

Answer 45

Disgust plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of a button phobia imagery exposure can have a positive long-term effect on reducing distress linked to phobias a phobia can be treated with positive reinforcement and imagery