SAAVEDRA & SILVERMAN Flashcards
(13 cards)
BACKGROUND
The role of disgust within phobias has received very little attention.
Disgust could interact with the fear of a phobic stimulus produces, to
increase avoidance of that stimulus.
Disgust has been hypothesized as an existing emotion occuring at the same
time that interacts with fear and may result in increased avoidance
behaviour.
Treatments of phobias.
PSYCH BEING INVESTIGATED
AIM
To investigate the cause of button phobia in a child.
To attempt to treat a child’s phobia via targeting both disgust and fear
responses.
SAMPLE
Sample: A 9-year-old Hispanic American boy who was part of the Child Anxiety and
Phobia Program at Florida International University. He came with an avoidance of
buttons.
Sampling Technique: Opportunity Sampling
PROCEDURE
Research Method: Case Study, Observations and Questionnaires
Quantitative data: Distress ratings and Severity ratings
Qualitative data: Questions about why the boy found buttons disgusting
The 9 year old boy has been phobia of buttons for 4 years. The trigger seemed to
be an incident in kindergarten where buttons had fallen on him during an art class
During the first sessions the boy created a hierarchy of fears.
The therapy sessions included both: Behavioural Exposure (4 sessions) and
Disgust imagery and cognitions (7 sessions).
RESULTS
Even though he could handle more and more buttons,his distress rating increased
dramatically from session 2 to 3 and 3 to 4.
In session 4, the boy’s subjective ratings that had been 6 or 7 prior to the treatment were
now higher.
This phenomenon was consistent with evaluative learning.
Disgust-related imagery exposures and cognitions appeared to be successful in reducing the
boy’s subjective ratings of distress.
In the imagery sessions, he had to imagine hundreds of buttons falling on him, before the
cognitive restructuring, he rated the experience as 8. This
decreased to 5 midway through the session and ended up as 3.
CONCLUSION
Disgust plays a key role in the development and maintenance of a
phobia but a mixture of behavioural exposure and cognitive
restructuring helped to eliminate the feelings of disgust.
GRAVE
:) Qualitative and quantitative data was collected meaning there is in depth information and also a holistic view of the phobia and effectiveness of treatment.
:) Ethical considerations were taken into account, the mother and the boy gave fully informed consent.
:) The materials used were child friendly, increasing the validity of the findings.
:( The case study method looks at one unique case and therefore lacks generalisability.
:( The rating on the feelings thermometer were subjective and therefore questions over reliability of measuring tools. Application to everyday life/ Nature vs Nurture/
Strengths: Saavadra and Silverman
Validity-Qualitative and quantitative data were both acquired in this study. – triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data-gathering techniques increases credibility (e.g. Diagnosis by DSM IV, semi-structured interview, observations of therapy sessions, use of feelings thermometer). This is a case study and is focused on one person only, hence detailed data was collected. Validity – follow-up sessions at 6 and 12 months meant long-term efficacy of treatment could be assessed.
The study was conducted in a therapeutic setting hence had ecological validity.
Weaknesses:
Generalisability: This was a case study and used only one participant, hence has low generalisability.
Reliability – therapy sessions were patient focused and therefore cannot be replicated exactly. Reliability of findings cannot be checked. The ratings are subjective and this lowers reliability.
Subjectivity – self-reported data may be biased. For example, the mother sees child’s behaviour differently from child, and vice versa. Both may be overly positive about the long-term benefits of the therapy due to their relationship with the therapist.
Ethical Issues: There was potential for the participant to become severely distressed during the exposure to buttons etc and protection was provided, use of mother as reinforcer.
Informed consent was taken by the mother and the boy, not only for the study but also for publication of the results.
APP TO EVERYDAY LIFE
treating other phobias-Disgust-based phobia therapists should be trained in the use of imagery exposure and cognitive restructuring. These techniques may help treatment-resistant clients who have not shown improvement with traditional exposure theory
NATURE VS NURTURE
the process by which the phobia was acquired relates to nurture (environment). Nurture is supported as learning experiences in therapy helped change the boy’s behavioural and emotional responses.
Phobias may be influenced by nature and nurture:– The disgust response helps us to avoid germ-ridden stimuli and therefore has survival value. It is part of our evolutionary inheritance.– Evaluative learning also has survival value as we learn to avoid stimuli that are associated with disgust.
INDIVIDUAL VS SITUATIONAL
USE OF CHILDREN IN RESEARCH
The diagnostic interview schedule used in the study had been adapted for use with children to
improve validity. A ‘feelings thermometer’ was created to help the boy to express changes in his feelings of distress/disgust.
ETHICS
