McGrath - Treatments of Dysfunctional Behaviour Flashcards
1
Q
Behavioural Explanation
A
- Approach believes the all our behaviour arises from reinforcement: we do things which are rewarding, we avoid things that bring negative reinforcement eg. unpleasant outcomes.
- Behaviourist psychologists believe we can link stimulus to outcome. Try to replace our fear with another emotion by retraining patient to associate feared object with feeling relaxed.
- By pairing the phobic stimulus (UCS) with something pleasant or relaxing (NS), in turn this will become the (CS) and the treatment of phobias should be effective as leads to positive (CR). This is known as systematic desensitisation.
- In terms of classical conditioning the fear response can be replaced by a conditioned response of calm.
- The stimulus that causes the fear is presented with something that makes the patient feel calm.
2
Q
McGrath General
A
Shows how successful the treatment can be for reducing phobias in a case study of a girl with a phobia of loud noises. Successful treatment of a noise phobia.
3
Q
Aim
A
To treat a girl with specific noise phobias using systematic desensitisation.
4
Q
Method
A
Case study - details the treatment of a noise phobia in one girl.
5
Q
Sample
A
Lucy
9 year old girl
Fear of sudden loud noises eg. balloon, party popper
Lower than average IQ
Psychometric tests showed… not depressed, anxious or fearful - hence only one specific phobia.
6
Q
Procedure
A
- Session 1: Lucy constructed a hierarchy of feared noises.
Eg. doors banging, cap guns, balloons - Lucy taught breathing imagery to relax and was told to imagine herself at home on her bed with her toys.
- Hypothetical ‘fear thermometer’ to rate her level of fear from 1-10
- Given stimulus of loud noise, she paired her feared object (loud noise) with relaxation, deep breathing and imaging herself at home with her toys.
- This would naturally lead to feel calm
- Associated the noise with feeling calm when the noise was presented.
- She did not need to imagine herself at home with her toys anymore.
7
Q
Findings
A
- End of 1st: Lucy was reluctant to let balloon burst even at the far end of the corridor. When therapist tried to burst the balloon anyway, Lucy cried and had to be taken away. She was encouraged to breathe deeply and relax.
- End of 4th: Lucy was able to signal a balloon being burst 10m away with only mild anxiety.
- End of 5th: Lucy held a deflated balloon, then a slightly inflated balloon, eventually was able to allow small balloon to be burst in the consulting room. By the end able to pop the balloons herself.
- Party poppers introduced over next three sessions. Progressed from to allowing them into the room to being able to pop ones if the therapist held it.
- Cap guns introduced and were used outside. Lucy quickly able to agree to one being fired in the consulting room.
- 10th & final session: significant change in fear thermometer score.
Balloon popping = 7 to 3/10
Party Popper = 9 to 3/10
Cap gun = 8 to 5/10
8
Q
Conclusions
A
- Noise phobias in children are amenable through systematic densensitisation… the classical conditioning of the fear response can be replaced by a conditioned response of calm.
- Important factors to do this are giving:
Lucy control to say when and where the noises were made
Use of inhibitors of the fear response which included relaxation and a playful environment.
Behavioural study using learned behaviour, something that is unlearned shows that it must be learned in the first place.
9
Q
Ethics
A
- Brought to therapeutic session and programme explained, parents gave consent for further sessions.
- Even though distress was caused eg. Lucy cried and had to be taken away when balloon was popped, it was a treatment session so it could be deemed as fine as there is a long term gain of removing a phobia and it is controlled and well constructed for Lucy’s long term benefit.
10
Q
Reliability
A
- Standardised
- Environment is kept constant due to the same room and experiments being used, hence reduced affect of extraneous variables, therefore reliable.
- Consistency of rating scales, used to compares across broad range eg. balloon, cap guns
- Low reliability because only one participant took part in the study, hence it would be difficult to generalise the results to other wider populations.
11
Q
Validity
A
- Excluded extraneous variables and tested specific phobias. Therefore valid as finding a cause and testing what was supposed to be tested.
- No demand characteristics as Little Lucy an infant.
- Ecological validity reduced as study took place in controlled environment.
- Construct validity as the study supports the behaviourist perspective of learning and the behaviourist method of systematic desensitisation.
12
Q
Nature/Nurture
A
- As behaviour can be unlearned, must be learned in the first place. Treatment can consider the way in which she was nurtured and how these effect her and can be changed.
- Cause of phobia induced by environmental factor, therefore needs to be addressed through environmental change.
- As successful change is made through systematic desensitisation it is possible to conclude nurture is the underlying cause of this phobia as dysfunctional behaviour would have been due to the environment. Genetics cannot be changed, therefore nature element impossible.
13
Q
Reductionism/Holism
A
- Behavioural approach to treating dysfunctional behaviours is reductionist as systematic desensitisation is purely behavioural. Reductionist as only considers one method.
- Useful in this study as phobias are behavioural.
- However use in treating dysfunctions (schizophrenia and depression) that have other explanations eg. biological and cognitive would not be appropriate as you are isolating behaviour.
- Most effective would be combination of therapies, therefore holistic as presuming whole is not greater than the sum of its parts.
14
Q
Scientific
A
- Scientific approach would be most effective to establish for effective treatment because it establishes cause and effect.
- Controlled environment, enables establishment of cause and effect. Excludes extraneous variables and only looks at ones being tested, therefore scientific.
- Appropriate to have an effective treatment programme, need to know the cause. In this case environment is the cause as phobia can be unlearned, isolates stimulus in behaviourist therefore conclude environmental cause.
15
Q
Useful
A
- Useful to prove behaviourist explanation of systematic desensitisation helps you get over phobias.
- If method is scientific then it is useful s it is proven and you are establishing the cause.
