learning and conditioning e lecture treatments for CC Flashcards
what is evaluative conditioning
-forming or change of an attitude in response to pairing of a previously NS with a pos/neg valanced stimulus (UCS)
-e.g if youve previously had a neutral view about something, you might develop stronger pos/neg views if repeatedly paired with something pos/neg
evaluative cond (EC) study
staats and staats 1958
-2 experiments
-No 1: 2 nationalities, dutch and swedish
-No2: 2 male names e.g tom and bill
-pp told study was about learning words
-words presented aurally and visually
-cond stimulus names (either nationality or male names) were paired 18 times with either pos/neg valanced words
-pos/neg words were the UCS
-cond were counterbalanced e.g dutch sometimes paired with pos , sometimes neg
-other nationalities and male names used and paired with neutral terms as a control
-the CS names were sig more likely to be rated respectively more pos/neg than the neutral names
strengths of EC study
-other research shows it is robust
-strong over time
-explains how we take on pos/neg attitude towards previously neutral stimulus
-used massively on advertising
selective treatment based on EC
Phobias
-systematic desensitisation
-flooding
-virtual reality exposure therapy
addiction
-aversion therapy
what is systematic desensitisation
-relaxation techniques paired with gradual gradual exposure to the stressor
-aims to extinguish distress
-breathing and relaxation techniques are used whilst exposed to the stressor building up from lowest to highest psychologically distressing
-eventually exposure gets stronger in magnitude
-based on gradual idea of extinction
what is flooding and in vivo exposure
-exposing indiv to maximum intensity anxiety producing stimuli
-relaxation techniques used to calm down whilst encountering the stressor
-in vivo exposure = not maximum exposure but involves contact with phobic object
-based on idea of parasympathetic system neutralising fight or flight response after a while so indiv becomes more comfortable with stimulus
how can SD (extinction model) lead to avoidance of phobic stimulus
-people dont want to feel anxiety so avoid the stimulus and reinforcing the problem
-with flooding, you unlearn the fear in one go so there is less chance of avoidance
what type of therapies are SD and flooding
exposure therapies
what is another form of exposure therapy
-modelling (bandura)
-preferred behaviour simply modelled with no verbal instruction
what did marks argue about SD, flooding, in vivo and modelling
the common factor in these forms of therapy is exposure to the phobic stimuli
-exposure is enough to decrease phobic response and habituation of response
popularity of exposure therapies
-popularity declined in 20th century
-thought you didnt need treatment with professionals as you can just expose yourself to stimuli
-CBT on the rise
advancements of exposure therapies
Virtual reality (VR)
-modern alternative for presenting phobic stimuli
-used where exposure to phobic stim is difficult to access e.g fear of flying, open spaces, ghosts, sharks etc
-excellent results so useful alternative to exposure therapies
evaluation of exposure therapies
-evidence for the efficacy of exposure therapies
-flooding can be effective but distressing and difficult to administer
-SD less distressing as client slowly introduced to stressor, takes it at own pace
-SD is a very slow process and pp may drop out
-virtual reality is modern alternative but cost of resources is high
(exposure is KEY)
what is aversion therapy
-helps people to break neg habit or recover from addiction
-habit or addiction is paired with something very aversive e.g bitter taste for biting nails
e.g medication for alcohol addiction, tablet to be taken every day and if alcohol is consumed in this time, it will cause violent sickness
-biggest risk is that client doesnt take the medication
unethical use of aversion therapy
-trying to irradicate homosexuality in mid 20th century
