Appropriateness

• P- SD is not appropriate for treating all phobias.
• E-  Individuals with phobias which have not developed through a personal experience (classical conditioning), such as the fear of snakes, are not effectively treated using SD. 
• E- Psychologists such as Bouton and Seligman believe that certain phobias have an evolutionary survival benefit and are not a result of learning.
• L- This highlights a limitation of SD, which is ineffective in treating evolutionary phobias which have an innate basis.